Lumia 800 vs. iPhone 4S: how the specs compare

It’s no secret that the world of high-end mobile phones is currently dominated by the iOS andAndroid operating systems. To help you get a perspective on their latest releases, we gave you head-to-head spec comparisons between the iPhone 4S and the Galaxy Nexus, and then between the Droid Razr next to the Galaxy Nexus.

While those two platforms are the kings of the hill right now, Nokia showed us what a Windows Phone 7.5 handset can look like this week, with the gorgeous Lumia 800. Why not put it next to the iPhone 4S, and see how they size up?

Of course you’d be wise to look beyond just specs when shopping for a new device. If technical specifications were the only thing that mattered, then Android tablets would likely be taking a much bigger piece of the iPad’s pie. With that said, you can learn a lot about a device’s capabilities by looking at the individual components that it’s made of.

Design and dimensions

Both phones are similarly proportioned, with one exception. The Lumia is slightly wider, and longer by a hair. The biggest difference in dimensions is that the Lumia is thicker than the 4S. As new devices like the Galaxy Nexus and Droid Razr are racing to see who can become the thinnest, it’s interesting that Nokia’s handset measures a little chunkier than the last two iPhones.

Both of these phones are quite the lookers. While you’ve likely grown accustomed to the look of the iPhone 4S by now (it’s identical to last year’s iPhone 4), it’s hard to find a slicker-looking device. An aluminum antenna is sandwiched between two panels of glass. Even if you prefer a more rounded, less angular device, it’s hard to argue that the iPhone 4S isn’t classic Apple design at its finest.

The Lumia 800, meanwhile, brings something that we haven’t seen a lot of in smartphone bodies – color. It will be available in cyan (above) and magenta, in addition to the familiar black. The body of the phone has a more unified build than many recent handsets, with its smooth one-piece body. If you saw pictures of the Meego-running Nokia N9, it’s virtually identical to the Lumia.

Display

The Lumia’s display is slightly larger than the iPhone’s, but has a lower resolution. The screen uses curved glass to create an effect of blending in with the body of the phone. In that regard, the greatest strength of the Lumia’s display may be that it lends itself to the illusion of no separation between display and body. Windows Phone’s heavy use of deep blacks, next to the black front bezel, will only accentuate this effect.

Pixel density tilts heavily in the iPhone’s favor, though 252ppi on the Lumia’s AMOLED display shouldn’t disappoint too many people.

Processor

Nokia went in an interesting direction here, foregoing a dual-core CPU, and instead opting for a single-core 1.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S2 chip. The iPhone 4S, meanwhile, carries Apple’s dual-core A5 system-on-a-chip, underclocked at 800MHz.

We’ll look forward to getting these two phones side-by-side for some performance testing, but we do already know that the iPhone 4S runs iOS 5 with no lag whatsoever. While some could be let down by the single-core CPU in the Lumia, the Windows Phone software library isn’t currently heavy on resource-intensive apps, so perhaps this single core chip, with a relatively high clock rate, will suffice.

Memory

Both phones are equals in the RAM department, coming in at 512MB. Some were surprised thatApple opted for half of the iPad 2′s 1GB in the 4S, but its performance doesn’t appear to be suffering without the extra memory. Perhaps Nokia and Microsoft came to the same conclusion regarding the Lumia and Mango.

Storage

While neither handset offers SD card support, the iPhone gives you more options for on-board storage. This is another area where Windows Phone’s much younger app library shows its face. Without the extensive library of huge games that the App Store has, there’s less of a need for the extra storage on the Lumia. Still, those who like to store their entire music library or several movies on their device may be disappointed with a maximum of 16GB.

Microsoft’s Skydrive service can help to make up for this, as owners of the phone will get 25GB of free cloud storage.

Battery life

I’d recommend taking the above estimates with many grains of salt. Apple is known for giving solid battery life estimates on both their iOS devices and MacBooks, while many other manufacturers’ claims are known for falling short. With that said, it looks like Nokia is promising longer talk time, and more standby, while the iPhone claims to have longer video playback.

For those more interested in the hardware, the Lumia 800 has a 3.7V 1450mAh battery. The iPhone’s, meanwhile, is a 3.7V 1420mAh model. As always, software and other hardware features can have at least as big of an effect on actual battery life.

Camera

While the iPhone 4S’ camera has been heralded as exceptional for a smartphone camera, the Lumia will also have a particularly high quality camera. We know this because it appears to be identical to the camera in the Nokia N9. The pictures that the N9 takes hold up fairly well next to the 4S (though the 4S still has an edge in terms of color vibrance and lighting).

One major difference in the camera department comes in terms of the front shooter. Namely, the iPhone 4S has one and the Lumia does not. Mobile video chat may not have caught on the way some expected it to, but if you want the option, the Lumia isn’t the phone for you.

Summing up

Regardless of the hardware we compared above, the biggest spec may be that of availability. If you live in the US, you can get the iPhone 4S right now, while there is no information regarding an American launch for the Lumia. Nokia hasn’t had much of a presence in the states for some time, and it doesn’t look like they’re rushing to change that. Perhaps it’s part of a joint strategy withMicrosoft to build an international presence, while easing into the US market. Either way, it will be available throughout most of Europe in November.

We excluded download speeds, as the Lumia obviously has no carrier info for a US release. The iPhone 4S, as you probably know, will get 3G speeds on Verizon and Sprint, and you may get HSPA 14.4 (“4G” according to AT&T) speeds on AT&T.

So while many won’t even have the choice between these two phones yet, the Lumia 800 is significant enough of an entry that it’s worth profiling. Microsoft needs their Nokia Windows Phones to be something special to have a hope of gaining some significant market share, and this phone has the ingredients (particularly in terms of design) to help them do that.

Android vs. iOS vs. Windows Phone 7: A mobile showdown

If you’re a first-time smartphone shopper or a current smartphone shopper approaching an upgrade, you may be curious about the mobile platforms that are available. Everyone knows about the iPhoneand iPad, and everyone knows about “Droids” (Android is the platform, Droid is one specific brand on Verizon). Often overlooked is the newcomer, Windows Phone. How do the three mobile operating systems stack up?

We broke down the three platforms into some of the most distinct categories so you can better understand the differences between them. Let’s take a look…

Total Devices

Before delving into the specifics of each operating system, one of the most important things to know is how many devices you’ll have to choose from. The freely distributed Android has the most devices by a wide margin, in fact there are so many that it’s impossible to get an accurate number.

At the time of publication, there are just under 100 Android devices from some of the biggest manufacturers: Samsung, Motorola, HTC, LG, Sony Ericsson, and Acer. But when you add Asus, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Toshiba, and a billion generic or near-generic manufacturers, that total is easily into the hundreds.

Meanwhile the younger Windows Phone currently tallies 20 devices, and less-is-more iOS is only available on the 11 models of iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

Total apps

iOS leads the way with apps. Not only are there more apps in the App Store than in the Android Market, but there is generally more quality and less junk on Apple’s platform (a highly unscientific observation). This could be changing, as the flood of Android devices has led to the lion’s share of the smartphone market. While analysts have been predicting that Android will catch up for over a year now, it hasn’t happened.

The Windows Phone Marketplace is the newest of the three platforms, and hasn’t yet found the mass adoption of iOS or Android. When viewed from that light, 43,000+ isn’t a bad number of apps for Microsoft’s mobile platform.

Tablet-optimized apps

It’s no coincidence that the market-dominating iPad has the most tablet-optimized apps. Android tablets have been stuck in a vicious Catch-22, where they aren’t selling because they don’t have as many apps, but developers aren’t making apps because they aren’t selling. That will likely change soon (thanks in no small part to the Kindle Fire), but right now the iPad’s app library is utterly dominant.

It’s worth noting that the iPad and Android tablets can all run smaller-screen phone apps, but they look better on Android than they do on iOS. The iPad doubles the pixels of iPhone apps, making them look as pixelated as an Atari game (not really, but they definitely don’t look great). While most Android phone apps don’t look so hot stretched to fit a large display, they still look much better than iPhone apps on the iPad. Taking this into consideration, Android tablets have a bit more software support than the above figures suggest.

Windows Phone doesn’t run on tablets, instead Microsoft is preparing Windows 8 for future tablets.

Unapproved 3rd party apps

Casual users may not worry about this stat, but if you want maximum freedom in the software you install, you’ll want to pay attention. Apple and Microsoft both employ the walled garden approach, with apps needing to go through an approval process before being made available for iOS or Windows Phone. The Android Market, meanwhile, allows most anything (aside from malicious content) and you can also install 3rd party apps by sideloading or downloading from the web.

iOS and Windows Phone devices require a jailbreak (hack) in order to install unapproved apps. Some Android apps that need core system permissions will require a rooted device, but Android is the obvious victor in terms of app freedom.

You can argue that Android’s psuedo-open approach also has downfalls, like a glut of crap apps and less protection from malware, but that’s a debate for another time.

4G

Android is the (present moment) king of 4G. It was first to 4G with Sprint’s HTC EVO 4G, first to LTE with Verizon’s HTC Thunderbolt, and has tons of phones available on all 4G networks.

It’s a stretch to say iOS has 4G, but the AT&T version of the iPhone 4S is capable of HSPA+14.4Mbps speeds, same as the Motorola Atrix, LG Thrill, and HTC Inspire on Android.

Windows Phone has three 4G devices, the Samsung Focus S 4G, Samsung Focus Flash 4G, and HTC Radar 4G. Each runs on either AT&T’s or T-Mobile’s HSPA+ networks.

This will change soon, as the next iPhone will probably adopt LTE, and Windows Phone will also eventually expand into that realm.

One downside to consider is that LTE devices aren’t, at this moment, particularly battery-friendly. It’s slowly improving, but runtime is a concern on every LTE device on the market.

Cloud integration

One of the buzzwords of 2011, the cloud lets you store your data on remote servers. It can save precious flash storage and help you to effortlessly keep multiple devices in sync. Google is no stranger to the cloud, with Gmail and its numerous free web-based services (Google Music, Google Docs, Google Voice). Aside from contact syncing and limited app backups, Android doesn’t have an integrated cloud service. Android users can, however, use third-party apps like Dropbox or Box.net to access cloud files.

Introduced in this Fall’s iOS 5 release, iCloud serves less as direct file storage and more as an invisible syncing of content. Photos, music, contacts, reminders, browser bookmarks, notes, documents, calendar events, and some third-party app content will all stay synced up between iOS devices and Macs. You can also backup your entire device via iCloud. Defined by the lack of effort it requires, iCloud is easily the most advanced — yet simple — cloud service for any device.

Microsoft’s SkyDrive is its cloud service, but it isn’t nearly as seamless as iCloud. It doesn’t even come preinstalled on Windows Phone, requiring a marketplace download. Like third-party service Dropbox, SkyDrive is more of a file locker than an invisible syncing service. It requires manual file transfers, so photos, documents, and other data won’t invisibly sync in the background like they do in iCloud.

Voice control

Android and Windows Phone have had limited voice control for ages, but Apple stole their thunder with the arrival of Siri.

Google is reportedly scrambling to come up with its own answer to Siri, but right now Apple’s assistant is in a different league than Android Voice Commands or Microsoft’s Tellme. While the other two platforms allow for dictation and specific voice commands, Siri lets you speak in natural language. It isn’t perfect, and it will improve over the next few years, but it’s more far-reaching, it creates the illusion of a conversation, and it rids you of the burden of memorizing specific commands.

The only catch with Siri is that, at this moment, it’s only available on the iPhone 4S. By this time next year, though, Siri will likely be on the iPad 3, iPhone 5, and possibly a new iPod touch. It’s unknown whether Apple will retroactively port Siri to the iPhone 4 and other older devices, but we wouldn’t bet on it.

Multitasking

While they use different methods, all three platforms now have multitasking. Power users will insist that only Android offers true multitasking, but for most of us, the app-switching experience will be the same on iOS and Windows Phone.

All offer switching between apps — playing music, GPS navigation, VoIP calls, email notifications, and many other tasks to happen in the background.

Navigation

All platforms offer a variety of voiced turn-by-turn GPS navigation options, but Android has a big advantage. Google Maps Navigation, which is excellent and integrated with Android Voice Commands, is free. There is a growing number of free and cheap navigation apps for all platforms, but few rival Google’s service.

Search

Being Google’s platform, Android is tied to Google search. Few people have a problem with that. Being Microsoft’s platform, Windows Phone is tied to Bing. Many people would have a problem with that.

While those platforms offer search that is integrated into the OS, iOS requires you to open the browser to search. The caveat to add is that iPhone 4S owners can search the web from anywhere by querying Siri to “search the web for ___.’ iOS defaults to Google, but also gives you the option to switch the default search engine to Yahoo! or Bing.

Dual-core devices

In addition to LTE and the cloud, 2011 also saw the advent of dual-core mobile devices. Much like 4G, Android’s greater volume of devices has it leading the charge here too. We could nail down the exact number of dual-core Android devices, but after a week or two the stat would be obsolete. Just know that Android has many more than iOS or Windows Phone.

Apple’s iPad 2 and iPhone 4S both have the dual-core A5 chip. Windows Phone is still waiting for its first dual-core device.

Custom firmware

Most casual users won’t care about custom firmware, but those who want to fiddle with customROMs will gravitate towards Android. There is an active development community with multiple amateur geniuses releasing their own custom versions of Android every day.

Jailbroken iOS devices simply run the same iOS with the Cydia jailbreak app store installed. Windows Phone hacking is still in its infancy, but is more similar to iOS’s jailbreak community than Android’s development scene.

 Third-party keyboard apps

Typing on a virtual keyboard can be a pain. It’s easy to tap out the wrong word, and built-inautocorrect suggestions can sometimes do more harm than good. Having the option of using innovative new keyboards can be a perk.

Right now Android is the only platform that lets you customize the on-screen keyboard. In addition to the default Android keyboard (or default manufacturer keyboard), you can choose to install a trace keyboard like Swype or SlideIt, a prediction algorithm keyboard like Swiftkey, or even a bizarre gesture-based keyboard like 8pen.

NFC

While Near Field Communication (usually used for mobile payments) hasn’t quite taken off with retailers (yet), it’s a nice future-proofing feature to have on your phone. Android currently has a small handful of phones with NFC chips (including the Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S), but it still trumps the number of NFC devices that the other platforms have: zero.

Showcase phones

Reading about the three platforms is one thing, but it always helps to see each in action. If you’re heading to a store to get some hands-on time, you’ll want to compare the best that each has to offer.

For Android, that’s the Galaxy Nexus. As Google’s latest flagship device, it runs the latest version of Android (Ice Cream Sandwich), has a gorgeous 4.65 inch SuperAMOLED display, and it runs on Verizon’s speedy LTE network in the US.

The iPhone 4S is Apple’s showcase phone. While it wasn’t the revolutionary iPhone 5 that many were hoping for, it still offers significant upgrades, including Siri, a dual-core A5 processor, and an 8MP camera.

The Lumia 800 is the flagship phone that Windows Phone has been needing, but, unfortunately, it’s still only available in Europe. Microsoft and Nokia have shown tentativeness in entering the US market, with the Lumia 800′s inferior little brother, the Lumia 710, set to lead the way. If you can get your hands on the Lumia 800, it has solid specs and runs the latest version of Windows Phone, Mango.

Showcase tablets

While it isn’t officially endorsed by Google as a flagship tablet, the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Primeis, at this moment, the best tablet that runs Android. It packs a quad-core Tegra 3 processor, an impressive display, and it will run Ice Cream Sandwich sometime in January.

Until the iPad 3 arrives in a few months, the iPad 2 is obviously the Apple flagship tablet (aside from the original iPad, it’s the only Apple tablet). It has a slick (and thin) design, the dual-core A5 processor, and Apple’s unparalleled library of tablet apps.

Windows Phone isn’t designed for tablets; Windows 8 will eventually be Microsoft’s tablet OS.

Intangibles

What is that extra something that each platform offers? Each OS has its own unique identity, and these help to define what that is.

Android is often mocked for being “open-y” (basically not as open as Google would like you to believe), but it is unquestionably the most customizable and hacker-friendly mobile platform of these three. It’s the only one of the bunch that lets you install homebrewed versions of Android. You can install homescreen widgets, swap keyboards, use live (animated) wallpaper, upgrade outdated devices to the latest version of Android, and tinker with about a billion other things.

iOS, meanwhile, is on the polar opposite side of the spectrum. Walled Garden is a term you often hear when describing Apple products, and it’s appropriate. Step through the gates of the magic Apple kingdom, and enjoy the simple and intuitive experience that the company has excruciatingly crafted for you.

Apple doesn’t want you to tinker. This means that all third-party apps need Apple’s approval, the UI is congruous and tight, and your experience has been prepared for you. Jailbreaking breaks those walls and lets you tinker almost as much as with an Android phone, but that isn’t the way an Apple product comes out of the box.

Windows Phone, meanwhile, is still searching for an identity. Its stance on open vs. closed is much closer to Apple’s, but if it defines itself by only that it will always be in iOS’s shadow. It arguably has the most attractive UI of the three platforms, but that’s too subjective to be a true killer feature.

One thing that draws (some) users to Windows Phone is the Microsoft Office suite. While Microsoft is reportedly developing the apps for the iPad, Windows Phone already includes the suite for free. Unless you’re a hardcore Office user, we wouldn’t recommend basing a smartphone purchase on an office suite alone (the other platforms have quality suites too). But, at this point in its progression, it’s the biggest thing Windows Phone can advertise as being truly unique.

Summing up

We aren’t here to crown a victor in the mobile OS wars. If anything, sales will determine that. From that perspective, Android handily leads in market share, but the iPhone and iPad are the hottest-selling individual devices. But — apart from sports, elections, and other competitions — we don’t live in a world of universal champions. The best platform is whichever OS works for you.

The two big dogs — Android and iOS — each offers its own clear take on the mobile OS experience. The rivalry closely resembles that of Windows vs. Macintosh: one is closed and tied to specific hardware, the other is licensed and available on everything under the sun. Apple is playing the same part, but Google’s OS has replaced Microsoft in the other role.

Whether Microsoft can rebound and make this a three-way race remains to be seen; it’s a steep hill to climb, and the company’s hesitance to enter the US market with its Nokia partnership doesn’t bode well. But smartphones aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, and the company will have years to stage its attempted comeback.

Is this iOS controller the future of gaming?

Gaming on iOS has come a long way. Yet despite the advances that the A5 processor has brought, there is one potentially huge obstacle to enjoying a console-like experience on the iPhone or iPad: touchscreen controls. Developers have done the best that they can with the medium, crafting virtual analog sticks and swipe gestures for camera panning. Yet it still doesn’t compare to the tried-and-true experience of using a physical controller. A company called 60beat is trying to change that with a new controller that is compatible with iOS devices.

If you thought that this controller would be of the Bluetooth wireless variety, you’d be wrong. The 60Beat GamePad connects through, of all places, the headphone jack (a 4-foot headphone cable, to be exact). The controller is nearly a spitting image of current generation console and PC controllers, with two analog sticks, D-pad, and ten action buttons (including the two analog joysticks).

An accessory like the GamePad will live and die by its software support (or lack thereof). Right now, the picture isn’t pretty: it’s only supported by two games. Making matters worse, they probably aren’t games you’ll want. It’s supported by children’s game Bugdom 2 and top-down zombie shooterAftermath (iPhone only).

60Beat promises on its website that more titles will be coming in February. For its sake, let’s hope it’s lining up some top-notch developers, because nobody is going to buy a $50 accessory that only supports a couple of second-tier games.

With that said, the potential for the GamePad — or something similar — is huge. This is particularly the case when you consider AirPlay. Using a controller to play on your phone or tablet might be a bit awkward, but when you’re streaming it via AirPlay to a 56-inch HDTV, you have a new gaming console.

Gaming is an area where Apple has loads of untapped potential. Sure, Angry Birds and Cut the Ropekeep legions of casual gamers happy, but with the A6 processor (that will probably arrive within a few months with the iPad 3), iOS gaming will take another leap forward. The gap between mobile and console gaming will shrink even more. If Apple wants to, it could recruit major developers, release its own controller, and turn the console gaming industry upside down.

If OnLive’s iPad app ever gets approved, it will beat Apple to the punch. The cloud gaming service lets gamers play PC games like Batman: Arkham City,L.A. Noire, and Deus Ex: Human Revolution on mobile devices. It also offers a controller, though it connects via Bluetooth. The app’s release has been delayed, so perhaps Apple does have some gaming plans — and sees OnLive as a threat.

In the meantime, we’ll keep an eye on the 60Beat GamePad and see if it gets enough software support to make it worth its $50 price tag.

60beat, via Ubergizmo

The most pirated video games of 2011 (visualized)

We’ll soon be seeing lists of 2011′s best-selling games on each platform. You can expect to see words like Call of Duty: MW3, Battlefield 3, and Batman: Arkham City appearing on that list. But what about the most pirated games of 2011? Will the list look about the same, or will there be surprises?

One thing to note is that data for PS3 games weren’t included on the list. We’re assuming that this is because PS3 games are directly downloaded onto jailbroken systems, and can’t be as easily tracked as torrented games.

Xbox 360

On the Xbox 360, Gears of War 3 took the crown for most pirated game of 2011. The Xbox exclusive was one of the most anticipated games of 2011, and its torrent status reflects that.

It should be little surprise that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was the second-most torrented Xbox 360 game of 2011. It will be equally unsurprising that EA’s rival franchise entry Battlefield 3 followed it closely in the number 3 slot:

The Xbox list was rounded up by racing game Forza Motorsport 4 and motion controlled sports gameKinect Sports: Season 2.

Wii

It’s little surprise that a Mario game would be 2011′s most downloaded title on the Wii. Though it was released in 2010, Super Mario Galaxy 2 had the dubious honor of being the most pirated Wii game for the second year in a row.

While having just mediocre sales Mario Sports Mix was the second most torrented Wii game of 2011. The RPG Xenoblade Chronicles came in at number three, followed by Lego Pirates of the Caribbean(how appropriate), and FIFA 12.

PC

If console game pirating is a niche boutique, PC pirating is a booming corporation. While most of the top downloads for the Wii and Xbox 360 number in the thousands, PC downloads are counted in millions upon millions.

If you expected to see the Call of Duty or Battlefield franchises in the number one slot, you’d be wrong. Crysis 2 is the most pirated PC game of 2011. Of course its March release gave it months of a head start, or else one of the military shooters would have easily overtaken it.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 did manage to squeeze into the number two slot, despite being released eight months later than the number one game. Battlefield 3 is once again not far behindActivision’s war shooter, coming in at number three.

FIFA 12 was the fourth most downloaded PC game of 2011. Finishing up the list was Portal 2, with 3,240,000 downloads.

Data via TorrentFreak