Showing posts with label compare. Show all posts
Showing posts with label compare. Show all posts

Wednesday, 22 July 2015

Lenovo K80 Simply Outshines Asus Zenfone 2

Asus and Lenovo moved many eyelids across the globe when they announced smartphones with 4GB RAM. Lets’ find out how the two first 4 GB Devices i.e Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML and Lenovo K80 compare with each other. 


Starting with dimensions Asus Zenfone size is 152.5x77.2x10.9mm and it weighs around 170gm, where as Lenovo K80 is 150.0x77.2x8.50mm and weighs 158gm. However, there is no difference in the display screen size and quality as both the devices come with 5.5” Full HD (1080p) IPS LCD capacitive touch screens. Both the devices run on Android 5.0 Lollipop operating system (OS). The most important feature is the 4GB RAM that allows both device for faster switching between various applications. In the sea of similarities the only distinguishing factor is the slight difference in the processor where Asus Zenfone acquires a slight edge in processing capacity as it powered by Intel Atom 2.3 GHz Quad-Core processor that offers a slightly better clock speed than Lenovo K80 which is powered by Intel Atom 1.8 GHz Quad-Core processor. Both devices have 13 megapixel rear cameras with LED flash and 5 megapixel front cameras with a fixed focus.

As far as connectivity is concerned both have Wi-Fi capabilities (802.11 a/g/b/n/ac), Bluetooth v4.0 and dual SIM slot. In terms of connectivity, both devices are available in 2G, 3G and 4G, depending on the market. In the Indian market, Asus Zenfone is priced at around INR23,000, where as Lenovo K80 is around INR17,000.

Tuesday, 23 June 2015

Lenovo RocStar A319 vs Huawei Y330: Will front camera make a difference?

By introducing the Android operating system (OS), Google changed the smartphone game for good. It does not take huge amounts in order to buy a smartphone anymore. This warrants that look at select budget smartphones competing in the Kenyan smartphone market to help customers make more informed choices. Therefore, in this review, we are comparing two budget smartphones Lenovo RocStar A319 and Huawei Y330 to see what they have to offer.

Design & Display 
We start with the design of the two smartphone models. While Huawei is available in black, white, red, blue and yellow colour, Lenovo’s RocStar comes in red, white and black variants. Furthermore, although the dimensions are quiet similar, Lenovo’s RocStar gives a slightly sleeker feel with 123.5x63.8x10.2mm dimensions. On the other hand, Huawei with 122.1x63.5x11.3 dimensions is relatively smaller and thicker. Both the devices have a comparable display screen size of 4 inch, resolution (800x480) WVGA, and a multi-touch LCD capacitive touch screen. 


OS & Processor 
Both the devices are powered by MediaTek MT6572 1.3 GHz dual core processor. However, RocStar’s OS Android 4.4 KitKat is an upgraded version over Huawei’s OS Android 4.2 Jellybean. Though Huawei has tweaked the OS and made their own skin Huawei Emotion UI 2.0 Lite which gives display a distinctive look but still it just can’t match up to the performance of an upgraded Android OS.

RAM & Storage 
Both Lenovo’s RocStar and Huawei’s Y330 has a 512 MB RAM. If one is looking forward to have many Apps, lesser RAM may be a limiting factor as it helps apps run smoother with reduced time lags. In addition, both the devices have internal storage space of 4GB that can be expanded up to 32GB using a MicroSD card.


Battery & Camera
Both the devices have same battery capacity. With 1500 mAh battery size both the devices give around 3 hours of talk time and 180 hours of standby time. However, the major difference lies in the cameras. RocStar has a 5 megapixel rear (primary) camera with flash and a 2 megapixel front (secondary) camera with a fixed focus. Huawei, on the other hand, with a 3MP rear camera without flash and no front camera looses out to RocStar on the camera front.

Connectivity 
As far as connectivity is concerned both the devices have a Wi-Fi with 802.11 b/g/n standards supported, Bluetooth, GPS, 3.5 mm audio jack and FM receiver.


Price in Kenya
Considering that most of the specifications are comparable, the price difference between the two devices is rather small. In Kenya, while Huawei Y330 is priced at around KSh 6500, Lenovo’s RocStar A319 is at around KSh 7500. Slightly higher price in case of RocStar seems justified on account of three major advantages over Huawei Y330, which include a more advanced version of OS, a superior front camera and a rear camera, which Huawei does not provide.


Concluding Remark 
The two models are pretty much comparable on most of the indicators. On the whole, Huawei Y330 offers relatively more colour options to choose from, whereas Lenovo’s RocStar A319 provides a definite camera advantage. Not having a front camera these days means loosing out on the all time selfie-advantage, which has become a necessity these days, particularly among the youth.

Thursday, 11 June 2015

Galaxy Note 4 vs Moto Turbo: Brand value vs specifications

Samsung and Motorola are two global players in the smartphone market. If Motorola has made a great comeback after facing near defeat, Samsung has pioneered the big screen smartphone movement. It would be interesting how the recovered Motorola is living up to the challenges put up by Samsung. Therefore, in this comparative review we decided to pick up a model from each of these two companies for a spec to spec match. The two smartphone models are Samsung Galaxy Note 4 which is a consistent refinement over its predecessors and Motorola Moto Turbo which claims stellar set of specifications. 
Let us begin with the look and feel of the two devices. In general, both the smartphones are a bit chunky and can be evidently felt in the pocket. While there is significant difference in the overall dimensions of the two devices, i.e. Galaxy Note 4 (153.5x78.6x8.5mm) and Moto Turbo (143.5x73.3x11.2mm), both the devices weigh exactly the same, 176gm. The overall dimensions reflect in the display screen size, which is 5.7” in case of Galaxy Note 4 and 5.2” in case of Moto Turbo. Since both the devices have Quad HD (1440x2560 pixels) touch screens, the quality of visuals is the same. However, the larger display screen of Note 4 may slightly enhance the overall viewing experience, where as Moto Turbo may be easier to hold and to use by one hand only. 

Furthermore, the most notable design element in Galaxy Note 4 is the metal rim, which gives it a dignified and solid look, where as Moto Turbo has introduced a new material ballistic nylon which is essentially a thicker, tougher variant of synthetic nylon. The Moto Turbo is available only in a black colour, whereas the Galaxy Note 4 is available in black, white and copper.
On the performance front, both the devices are powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 2.7 GHz Quad-core processor which is among the fastest processors in the market and has 3GB RAM that allows for faster switching between various applications. However, the difference appears in the operating system (OS) and at the memory front. While Galaxy comes with Android v4.4.4 Kitkat OS which is upgradable to v5.0.1 Lollipop, Moto turbo runs on more advanced Android 5.0.2 Lollipop OS, which gives Moto a leg up over Galaxy. Also, Note 4 has an internal storage of 32 GB which is expandable to 128 GB via MicroSD, whereas Moto Turbo has a 64 GB internal storage, but without any MicroSD slot. 

Both Galaxy Note 4 and Moto Turbo boast of exceptionally powerful primary (rear) cameras. Samsung Galaxy comes with 16 MP primary (rear) camera that can record UHD 4K videos @ 30fps, where as Motorola Turbo can capture 21 MP in 4:3 screen modes and 15.5 MP in 16:9 screen modes and record UHD 4K videos @24fps with an additional feature of 720p slow motion video. However, Galaxy takes a clear lead with its secondary (front) camera of 3.7 MP which is only 2 MP in case of Moto, which means a clearer selfie with Galaxy.  

Moreover, both the devices have Wi-Fi capabilities (802.11 a/g/b/n/ac) and Bluetooth v4.0. Additionally, Note 4 comes with a single micro and Turbo with nano SIM slots. In terms of connectivity, both smartphones are available in 2G, 3G and 4G, depending on the market. However, one of the major differences between Samsung Galaxy and Motorola Turbo is in terms of battery capacity. While Galaxy Note 4 has an impressive 3220mAh battery, Moto Turbo simply outshines Note 4 with a 3900mAh battery capacity.

In conclusion, we note that both the smartphone models come with impressive specifications and have their design strengths. Besides having similar display technology, resolution and RAM, there are differences too. Galaxy Note 4 has a larger display screen, the option of expanding memory and superior secondary camera. On the other hand, Moto Turbo comes with more advanced OS, twice as large internal memory, superior primary camera and a higher battery capacity. 

Furthermore, we looked at the prices in the Indian market for the two devices, where Galaxy Note 4 is priced at around INR 58,000, whereas Moto Turbo is exclusively available on Flipkart at around INR 42,000. Moto Turbo does offer an impressive specification and price combo, unless one is willing to pay significantly more for a larger display screen and better selfie experience, besides the design and brand consideration, which are a matter of individual preference. 

Friday, 5 June 2015

Sony Xperia Z2 simply outshines LG Nexus 5

In the global smartphone industry, Sony and LG, are two leading players that have been consistently launching better-designed and technologically superior smartphones over the years. Therefore, we decided to do a spec-to-spec analysis of Sony Xperia Z2 and LG Nexus 5 to provide our readers some precise insights about the two devices and help them make a better-informed choice. 

Design and Viewing Experience
LG Nexus 5 comes in dimensions of 137.9x 69.2x 8.6mm and weighs 130g where as Sony Xperia Z2 comes in dimensions of 146.8x 73.3x 8.2mm and weighs 163g, which makes Xperia Z2 a bigger looking and relatively heavier device, though it is slightly thinner than Nexus 5. However, the display screen size, which is 5” for Nexus 5 and 5.2” for Xperia Z2, is about the same. Both devices have similar resolution of 1080x1920 pixels, but the difference lies in display technology; while Nexus 5 has a Full HD IPS display, Xperia Z2 comes with an advanced FULL HD Triluminos screen. This means that Sony Xperia Z2 offers slightly better quality imagery but for an extra weight of 33gm in your hands. Both the smartphones are available in black variant. In addition, Nexus 5 is also available in white and Xperia Z2 in purple.
Device Performance
In terms of processor, Sony Xperia Z2 powered by Qualcomm MSM8974AB 2.3GHz Quad-Core is more of less comparable with LG Nexus 5 that is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 2.26GHz Quad-Core. However, Xperia Z2 with 3GB RAM has a leg up over Nexus 5 which comes with 2GB RAM, which enables users to have a faster interface experience and less chances of the device slowing down. both the devices run on Android KITKAT, though Nexus 5 features Android 4.4.2 where as Sony Z2 lags behind with Android 4.4 version. Another similarity between both the devices is the internal storage of 16GB, but while Nexus 5 has no expandable memory, Xperia Z2 comes with the option of expandable memory up to 128GB through microSD. At the performance front, the key differentiators are the extra 1GB RAM that works in the favor of Xperia Z2 and OS upgradability option that works in the favor of Nexus 5.
Battery & Cameras
After RAM, the next big difference is in the battery capacity of the two devices, where Sony Xperia Z2 once again acquires a leg up with its battery capacity of 3200mAh over LG Nexus 5 that comes with the battery capacity 2300mAh. However, the biggest differentiator is the primary (rear) camera. While Nexus 5 comes with a decent primary camera of 8 MP, Xperia Z2 simply outshines Nexus with its 20.7 MP primary camera. The rear cameras in both the devices are pretty much the same, though Xperia with 2.2 MP is slightly better than Nexus 5 with 1.3 MP. 

Additional Features
Both the smartphones have Wi-Fi capabilities (802.11 a/g/b/n/ac), Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth v4.0 and single SIM slot and support only Micro-SIM. In terms of connectivity, both smartphones are available in 2G, 3G and 4G depending on market.

The Bottom-Line
On the whole, Sony Xperia Z2 comes with bigger RAM, superior primary camera, larger battery capacity, expandable memory, slightly faster processor and larger display, where as LG Nexus 5 acquires a leg up over Xperia only due to the advantage of upgrading the device to a more advanced OS. Finally, just to have a comparative indication, we looked at the prices of the two devices in the Indian market. As expected, in India, both Sony Xperia Z2 and LG Nexus 5 is priced at around INR 30,000.

Given several aforementioned advantages, Sony Xperia Z2 simply outshines LG Nexus 5, especially considering the fact that the two devices are in somewhat similar price range.  

Thursday, 4 June 2015

Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML vs Lenovo K80: How much extra for the feel good factor?

Asus moved many eyelids world over when in January 2015 it announced world’s first smartphone with 4GB RAM, but the outright advantage was short-lived as Lenovo too announced a 4GB RAM smartphone. But, there is more to a smartphone than just the random access memory. Therefore, we decided to do a comparative analysis of the two first 4GB RAM devices i.e. Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML and Lenovo K80.
We begin with the overall dimensions. Asus Zenfone size is 152.5x77.2x10.9mm and it weighs around 170gm, where as Lenovo K80 is 150.0x77.2x8.50mm and weighs 158gm. However, there is no difference in the display screen size as both the devices come with 5.5” screen size. Also, both the devices are available in Full HD (1080p) IPS LCD capacitive touch screens and have 1920x1080 pixels resolution, which provides similar viewing experience. Furthermore, both the devices come in multiple colours: Asus Zenfone is available in red, silver and gold where as Lenovo K80 is available in red, silver and black. The major difference in look and feel is on two accounts: firstly, while Asus Zenfone comes in a metallic hairline finish, Lenovo K80 has a plastic body. Secondly, Zenfone lays its claim to be the smartphone with the thinnest edges, 3.8mm, ever. Both the metallic finish and thin edges make Zenfone stand out.

Both the devices run on Android 5.0 Lollipop operating system (OS) that provides for exceptional user interface and user experience UI/UX and boast of 4GB RAM that allows for faster switching between various applications. Both of them also have an internal storage of 32 GB which is expandable to 64GB via microSD. However, Asus Zenfone acquires a slight edge in processing capacity as it powered by Intel Atom 2.3 GHz Quad-Core processor that offers a slightly better clock speed than Lenovo K80 which is powered by Intel Atom 1.8 GHz Quad-Core processor. Therefore, the only distinguishing factor influencing the performance of the two devices is the slight difference in the processor power.
Looking at the cameras, both the devices once again have similarly powerful primary (rear) cameras of 13MP with auto focus LED flash for high quality images and secondary (front) cameras of 5MP for good quality selfies. Furthermore, both the devices have Wi-Fi capabilities (802.11 a/g/b/n/ac), Bluetooth v4.0 and dual SIM slot. In terms of connectivity, both devices are available in 2G, 3G and 4G, depending on the market. In the sea of similarity, the first major difference between Asus Zenfone and Lenovo K80 comes in the form of battery capacity. While Zenfone has an impressive 3000mAh battery, Lenovo K80 simply outshines Zenfone with a 4000mAh battery capacity.

Considering that both the devices have more or less similar specifications, we looked at the price tag too. In the Indian market, Asus Zenfone is priced at around INR23,000, where as Lenovo K80 is around INR17,000. With its overall superior specifications, Lenovo K80 seems to be worth its price. However, the relatively higher price of Asus Zenfone seems less on account of slightly better processor but more for its metallic hairline finish meant to make the device stand out. The key question is how much extra the customers would be willing to pay for the feel good factor, if at all?

OPPO vs Huawei: Two Chinese brands fighting it out in Africa

Two Chinese smartphone makers are trying to outdo each other across the continents, particularly in Africa. One of them, Huawei, is an established player in the global smartphone market, where as the other one, OPPO, is a rather new player that entered African market in March 2015 but is already proving to be a formidable rival. To get an insight into how the two Chinese companies are differentiating their products from each other, we picked up Huawei Ascend Y530 for a spec to spec comparison with OPPO Joy R1001. Given our African focus currently, we have taken prices from the Kenyan market to arrive at some indicative cost comparison.

DESIGN: We start with the overall shape and size of the two devices. OPPO Joy is 124x63x9.9mm and weighs 125g where as Huawei Ascend Y530 comes in size 132X67X9.3mm and weighs 145g, about 20gm heavier than OPPO Joy. Both, Oppo Joy R1001 and Huawei Ascend Y530 are similar looking, bar shaped devices, curved at all four ends, but with larger length and width and lesser thickness, Huawei gives a relatively sleeker look. Both the models come in black and white colour variants, however, Huawei Ascend Y530 brings in an added colour statement as its black variant comes with a tint of red at the base and the top and the white variant with a silver tint at the base and the top. Design and colour are a matter of personal preference.

DISPLAY SCREEN: OPPO Joy has 4.0” IPS TFT screen that comes with a resolution of 800X480 pixels. The multi-touch, capacitive touch screen is highly sensitive with the glove mode feature that enables access to the screen and operate the phone using gloves. It also comes with added smart function of Gesture Panel that allows users to go to a desired App by drawing a simple picture on the gesture panel. On the other hand, Huawei Ascend Y530 has a larger 4.5” screen with comparable 854x480 pixels but without any added smart features.

OPERATING SYSTEM (OS): Both the devices run on Android Jelly bean, though Huawei Ascend Y530 features Android 4.3 where as OPPO Joy lags behind with Android 4.2 version. Although Ascend has a leg up, both OS are a bit oldish considering that more latest Android versions are now available and being used by various smartphone makers.

PROCESSOR: OPPO Joy R1001 has a MediaTek MT6572 1.3 GHz Dual-Core processor with 512MB of RAM where as Huawei Ascend Y530 carries a MSM8210 1.2 GHz Dual-Core processor with 512MB of RAM, which gives OPPO Joy a slight edge in terms of clock speed. Both the devices have an internal storage of 4GB, expandable up to 32GB via a micro-SD card. On the whole, both the devices are more or less comparable on these accounts.

CAMERA & BATTERY:  Both the devices have comparable 3MP primary  cameras with soft light flash support and 0.3MP secondary cameras. Also, the battery capacity in both the devices is about the same: OPPO Joy comes with a removable 1700mAH Li-Ion battery where as Huawei Ascend has a slightly better 1750mAH Li-Ion battery but without the option of replacing the same with a higher power battery.

CONNECTIVITY & OTHER FEATURES:  On the connectivity front, Huawei Ascend Y530 has a WiFi 802.11 b/g/n support, Bluetooth 4.0 and high speed USB support. OPPO JOY too has the same WiFi but it comes with Bluetooth 2.1EDR support. Furthermore, OPPO Joy R1001 supports additional features like Distance Sensor, Light Sensor and G-Sensor where as Huawei Ascend Y530 comes with Accelerometer, Proximity Sensor and Ambient Light Sensor.

CONCLUDING REMARK: We note that Huawei Ascend Y530 has the design advantage of being sleeker with a colour statement, larger display screen, relatively more advanced OS and slightly higher battery capacity, where as OPPO Joy comes with a slightly advanced version of the processor and offers new features such as the glove mode feature and the gesture panel. Finally, we also noted the price at the Kenyan e-commerce portal, Jumia. Both the devices are priced about the same; Huawei Ascend Y530 is marked at KSh10,500 where as OPPO Joy R1001 costs around KSh11,000. On the whole, the two devices are more or less comparable, with Huawei acquiring slight edge on more fronts than OPPO.