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Nokia Lumia 920 vs Samsung Galaxy S3

Paul Briden

Nokia is aiming to take a chunk of the smartphone market with the Lumia 920, but can it muscle in on the Samsung Galaxy S3's turf?

Published on Nov 6, 2012

Hardware, Software and Performance

Like other Windows Phone models, the Lumia 920 uses Qualcomm processor hardware.
Specifically, it has a dual core Qualcomm S4 Snapdragon MSM8960 clocked at 1.5GHz. This uses 28 nanometre (nm) semiconductor tech, 1GB of dual-channel RAM and an Adreno 225 graphics processing unit (GPU).
All of this is used to run Microsoft’s latest smartphone platform, Windows Phone 8.
Arguably, Windows Phone 8 doesn’t need all that power to run smoothly, which it does, but by leveraging the dual core technology it’s able to deliver fast app load speeds compared to its predecessor and a decent multitasking experience too, though it still doesn’t allow active apps in the background.
We suspect the Lumia 920 is more powerful than its possible to test at present, because this Qualcomm setup performs extremely well on competing Android devices, but right now there is a lack of demanding apps on the Windows Phone Store.
Indeed, that ‘s a problem with the platform more generally, the ecosystem is in its infancy compared to Google Play and the Apple App Store, but there are a few promising gems to be found which outmatch their counterparts on rival systems.
Apart from this, however, Windows Phone 8 makes for a very appealing prospect thanks in part to its visually dynamic interface.
Compared to Windows Phone 7, the interface is improved though because now you can customise the Live Tile size and choose from a range of new colours. You also have control over what information is fed to the lock screen.
The People Hub is also a fantastic feature as it combines your messaging, email, contacts and social networking feeds and interactions in one easy-to-use place. It’s a better implementation of the concept than we’ve encountered anywhere else.
Samsung’s Galaxy S3 is based on the company’s own Exynos quad core 4412 chipset with 1GB of dual-channel RAM, a Mali-400MP quad core GPU and 32 nm semiconductor architecture.
It delivers fast performance, particularly for gaming and intensive HD video, but it does have a tendency to run a little hot.
The Galaxy S3 now runs Android Jelly Bean 4.1 and although that’s now been usurped by 4.2 (also Jelly Bean) it’s not a tremendously significant update, so the Galaxy S3 isn’t missing out on ground-breaking features. Also, it’s sure to be updated in due course.
Jelly Bean introduces unprecedented stability, performance, smoothness and responsiveness for the Android platform.
The Butter UI synchronises the hardware, software and display at the same refresh rate for a slick experience – it’s a significant step forward and brings the fluidity of touch control in-line with Apple’s iPhone.
The presentation of Android is now very distinctive, but it’s also easy to interact with. It still has excellent multitasking but now an intuitive carousel makes jumping between apps a breeze and the swipe-to-close functionality is present throughout the platform – we find ourselves missing it on phones without this feature.
There’s no clear winner here as both platforms offer equally impressive and viable methods of interacting and both have their strengths and weaknesses.
Both tick most of the right boxes but Windows Phone 8 lacks in its quantity of apps while Android doesn’t have a decent aggregated communications suite.
Winner - Draw

Camera

Samsung’s Galaxy S3 has one of the better cameras on the market with an 8-megapixel back-illuminated sensor (BSI) and f/2.6 aperture.
Video capture is 1080p and there’s an LED flash, burst mode, simultaneous video and image capture, digital image and video stabilisation, HDR, panoramic mode, autofocus and face detection.
Picture quality is well above average, although is slightly behind the iPhone. The Galaxy S3 also has a 2-megapixel secondary camera with video call support.
While Samsung might have one of the best, Nokia’s Lumia 920 is undoubtedly the best: it’s rated at 8.7-megapixels, features an f/2.0 aperture, Carl Zeiss optics and, best of all, PureView optical stabilisation with a ‘floating lens’.
The stabilisation is instrumental in delivering excellent picture quality regardless of conditions or user ability, it compensates for any wobble and means the shutter can stay open longer, taking in more light and producing a better photo all or video all round.
Other features include an LED flash, autofocus, 1080p video capture and a 1.3-megapixel secondary capable of video calls.
Winner – Nokia Lumia 920

Final Thoughts

The Nokia Lumia 920 is a very impressive phone and makes the Windows Phone platform very tempting.
While there are some key ways where it wipes the floor with the Galaxy S3, for the most part it’s on an equal footing.
The Lumia 920 has a far superior camera and exterior build. The display is also better on the whole, although the difference between the two is not vast.
Samsung’s device has better storage options, genuine multitasking and a more dynamic app ecosystem.
Meanwhile Windows Phone 8 has many appealing qualities, most notably the presentation and the People Hub, however, it lacks a significant number of apps to prop it up.
It is still perfectly usable for most smartphone tasks with what’s currently available, but there isn’t the wealth of choice or diversity.
For our money we’d take the Lumia 920 and hope the app selection grows over time, but if you want something with more immediate rewards the Galaxy S3 may be the better option.
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