Nokia Lumia 800 Vs.Samsung Galaxy Nexus: Specs and Detailed Comparison

Samsung has confirmed that Verizon branded Samsung Galaxy Nexus will be hitting the markets in December. But, Verizon has yet to announce an exact release date. Samsung Galaxy Nexus is the first device to feature the new Android 4,0 Ice Cream Sandwich OS locked inside. Nokia just recently entered the market with their first Windows Phone 7 powered device, the Nokia Lumia 800, which is being elevated as the ‘First Real Windows Phone.’ Nokia Lumia 800 is one of the first Windows Phone from the Finnish mobile maker, which is running the new Windows Phone 7.5 Mango OS. As of now, no carrier has been confirmed to launch the Lumia 800 handset in the U.S. But, you can purchase this device from the third party retailers. Both these smartphones are vying for attention in the mobile market today. Has Nokia done enough with their Lumia 800 to make Windows Phone 7.5 shine and a perfect choice for the customers? Is the Lumia 800 Windows Phone you’ve been waiting for – from Nokia? Will the Nokia Lumia 800 be able to live up to its hype? How does the Nokia Lumia 800 stack up against Samsung Galaxy Nexus? Let’s take a brief look and read on to find out.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus Full Specifications.
Nokia Lumia 800 Full Specifications.

Design

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus weighs 135 grams and is considered to be lighter than the Nokia Lumia 800, which is weighing 142 grams. Samsung Galaxy Nexus is a mix of black and medium gray, has a slender curved display, while it feels sturdy and strong. The handset is thinnest at the top and thickest at the bottom. Unlike the previous Android phones, the Galaxy Nexus is having the new navigational keys. It has no longer physical keys beneath the display, and the soft keys have been reduced from four to three.

The Nokia Lumia 800 has got a beautiful design, just like Nokia N9, but with extremely different personality. You will love its contoured screen. Lumia 800’s smooth curves fit comfortably to the hand both with and without the protective case provided in the purchase packaging.

When compared dimensionally with the Nokia Lumia 800 (116.5 x 61.2 x 12.1 mm and 142g) we note that the Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus (135.5 x 67.9 x 8.9 mm and 135g) cuts a very slim profile with a lighter weight. But, unfortunately, Verizon’s LTE variant of the Galaxy Nexus measures 9.47 thickness.

OS

Samsung Galaxy Nexus needs no introduction. This is the latest Google flagship phone and it’s running the very latest version of Android – Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0). The Samsung Galaxy Nexus is the third addition to Google’s Nexus line-up, made by Samsung for the 2nd time. Android 4.0 ICS a bunch of new features, array of improvements never seen before in its prior versions. It fill the gap between a tablet OS and smartphone OS, and it absolutely combines the best of the Android 2.x handset interface with the Android 3.x Honeycomb tablet interface. Some of the new features are including – Face Unlock, Roboto (a new typeface), Folders, Favourite Tray, Landscape Controls, Taking Screenshots, Improved Copy & Paste, Enhanced Talk-to-Text, People App, Data Usage app, Enhanced Camera features, Android beam with NFC technology, Improved Gmail, Easy Multitasking, Rich Notifications, Customizable Home Screens, Flexible & Resizable Widgets, Deep Interactivity and also adds powerful new ways of communicating & sharing.

Nokia Lumia 800 runs the new Windows Phone 7.5, codenamed Mango. The real beauty of Windows Phone lies in its Metro user interface. Tiles are indeed an attractive area. There are many, many features in the OS that you’re sure to enjoy. It is very pleasing to the eyes and its interface is intuitive and easy to use. Some of the new features of Windows Phone 7.5 Mango OS are including – Custom Ringtones, Improved Speech Commands, Improved Search, Multitasking, Threaded Messaging, Conversation view in Email, Better Live Tiles, Improved Calendar, Internet Explorer 9 (default browser), Local Scout in Maps, Sync with Skydrive, OneNote to do Lists, New Games Hub, Improved Windows Marketplace, Mobile Office, Manage Your Phone on the Web.

Nokia Lumia 800 provides some unique and solid apps, that other Windows Phone devices don’t have right now.

Nokia Music app will allow you to see when your favorite band is playing and you can go on purchase tickets and see directions to the venue. It brings a new feature called Gigfinder. which will list the live performances in your locality by date and provides the addresses. You can also share and comment on the ‘gigs’ on social networks and to purchase the tickets from the handset. You can purchase new music from Nokia’s own Music Store. The store also lists top songs, which is a welcome feature that is lacking in Microsoft’s own Marketplace.

The other preinstalled app is the Nokia Drive GPS navigation program, which provides free turn-by-turn directions, free voice guidance, satellite and night views. It allows you to download street maps by continent, country and state. You can also get free offline downloadable maps from all over the world, and it’s very fast. It doesn’t need Internet connection like Google Maps.

Display

Samsung Galaxy nexus has a massive and an unbelievably promising screen, which is apt to make your eyes melt – 720p HD display with 720 X 1,280 pixels of resolution, and a 100,000:1 contrast ratio. Nokia Lumia 800 has got 3.7-inch AMOLED “true black” display with 480 X 800 pixels of resolution. AMOLED screens are seen as better than the older TFT technology with more vivid colours and better contrast ratios, but it will not blow you away like the Super AMOLED Plus screens on Samsung’s devices. With the 720p resolution, the display of the Galaxy Nexus is much taller than the Lumia 800 and it is simply too big to be used comfortably, but the trend towards bigger displays is increasing all the time,

Hardware

Samsung Galaxy Nexus is really fast and is sure to be a compelling device, which has higher-clocking processor, thanks to its 1.2GHz Cortex-A9 OMAP 4460 dual-core processor from Texas Instruments. Nokia Lumia 800 has its own merits, which has got 1.4GHz Qualcomm MSM8255 Snapdragon single-core processor, but the phone performs perfectly well enough. You should note that dual-processor difference is not really an issue because the Windows Phone OS is currently more efficient than Android. There is a 512MB RAM inside the Nokia Lumia 800, keep the device running very smoothly, though perhaps not as fast as the Galaxy Nexus, which comes with 1GB of RAM.

When it comes to internal storage, the Nokia Lumia 800 and Samsung Galaxy Nexus are equal with 16GB of fixed internal storage. Unlike the other Android phones, Samsung Galaxy Nexus lacks microSD card slot for memory expansion support. Most of the latest Windows Phone 7.5 devices lack a microSD port, so does the Nokia Lumia 800. But, Lumia 800 users can take advantage of the 25GB of free SkyDrive storage for storing images and music.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus features a 5 megapixels camera that can record 1080p HD video, while the Nokia Lumia 800 has got 8 megapixel rear-facing camera with a dual LED flash and Carl Zeiss lens, but unlike Galaxy Nexus, it doesn’t record 1080p HD video, only 720p. Users can switch switch between Macro and Normal focus modes. Even Galaxy Nexus’ 5MP camera records 1080p video. There is no sign of any special camera features in the Lumia 800, while Galaxy nexus’s camera has got Zero-shutter lag, New faces, Background Replacement features.

Samsung Galaxy nexus sports 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera to make video calls. But, unfortunately and surprisingly, there’s no front camera on the Lumia 800, which will be a pity.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus’s other features are including Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, Android Beam with NFC capability, a 1,750 mAh battery, HSPA+ capability and LTE connectivity.

Nokia Lumia 800’s other features are including Bluetooth, WLAN, GPS, FM radio, 3.5mm headset jack, a door for the Micro USB port, Micro SIM tray, loudspeaker at bottom, accelerometer, access for Windows Marketplace, Bing Maps, 1450mAh battery, GSM 850/900/1800/1900, UMTS 850/900/1900/2100, CSD, GPRS, EDGE, HSDPA, HSUPA, and HSPA+. The unlocked version of the Nokia Lumia 800 is compatible with AT&T’s 3G bands. No LTE connectivity on board. But, the rumors have spreading that that the Nokia Lumia 800 with LTE is being tested on AT&T in the U.S., which could be unveiled during CES in January. It is also being heard that Nokia will roll out the Lumia 800 LTE with Tango, which is the next version of the Windows Phone operating system.

Both the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and Nokia Lumia 800 phones do not offer the HDMI port, so you can’t hook them up to your HDTV to watch videos.

Battery Life

The Nokia Lumia 800’s battery life with the 1450mAh capacity is good, but not fantastic like the Samsung Galaxy Nexus (with HSPA+ version). In fact, Nokia Lumia 800’s users experiencing less than a day’s normal use before they needed to recharge. Good thing is that Nokia has promised a pair of firmware updates for its Lumia 800. The first software update is expected to roll out in early December, bringing “improvements to power efficiency”. An accompanying update planned for early January 2012, which will carry “the further enhancements to battery life and battery charging.”

Nokia Lumia 800 on one of the U.S. carriers with faster data (bring LTE), an aluminum body, will be a tremendous decision both by Microsoft and Nokia.

Apps Availability

Windows Phone is only a year old as a mobile system, and that means the software itself and the available apps are not widely known. Unfortunately, the Windows Phone 7 app store has around 10 times less apps than the Android Market and around 30 times less than Apple’s App Store. But Microsoft has its own reasons to compete with other operating system based phones, saying that “Other phones have you wade through a sea of apps, while we bubble up all the things that are important — centered around the people that matter to you most”.

Samsung Galaxy nexus Vs. Nokia Lumia 800: Specs Comparison

Conclusion

Google-made Samsung Galaxy Nexus can easily replace the Nokia’s Lumia 800. Samsung Galaxy Nexus is the clear winner here in all the areas.

But the Lumia 800 shouldn’t be treated as the looser. Even though it is may not be the best Windows Phone around, it is still a very attractive, desirable and enjoyable device. Windows phone 7.5 Mango’s build quality, responsiveness are the best features. The Nokia Lumia 800 could very well be a game changer for both Microsoft and Nokia. It is Nokia’s first chance to prove that it can stand out in the Windows Phone market. The fate of the Windows Phone won’t change anything if people don’t buy the products running Windows phone OS. Will you buy Nokia Lumia 800?