Mobile Grudge Match: Nokia Lumia 620 vs HTC Windows Phone 8S

High-end smartphones are fun to play with, but that luxury cannot be afforded by everyone. This is why mid-range smartphones continue to be the best solution as they offer most of the high-end features, but at a very affordable price. The latest handset to enter the game is the Nokia Lumia 620. According to Nokia, we can expect the Lumia 620 to hit stores some time around mid-February. Currently, there’s only one handset that competes with the Lumia 620 and that’s the HTC Windows Phone 8S. Let’s take a closer look at both the handsets.

Nokia Lumia 620 – (Approx.) Rs. 20,000
We managed to get a quick hands-on with the Lumia 620 during the launch event of the Lumia 920, which you can read about here. The 620 is going to be a much more wallet-friendly handset and much easier to carry around as well. With a screen size of 3.8-inches and a WVGA resolution, we are looking at sharp pictures and text. It also uses Nokia’s ClearBlack display, so sunlight legibility should be good too.

A worthy contender

The handset is powered by a dual-core Snapdragon S4 SoC, so expect snappy performance. Apart from the 8GB of onboard storage to keep most users happy, there’s room for expansion via memory card. Connectivity-wise, we have 3G, Wi-Fi dual-band, Bluetooth and NFC. Nokia has also managed to cram a 5MP snapper with an aperture value of f/2.4, which means it should fare well when it comes to low-light photography. While we don’t have a confirmed price from Nokia, looking at its current positioning of the Lumia 820 and the Lumia 920, we can take an educated guess that it would be around the Rs 20,000 mark.

HTC Windows Phone 8S – Rs. 20,000
The 8S is the smaller sibling of the 8X and compared to the Lumia 620, features a slightly larger 4.0-inch screen, with the same WVGA resolution. You also get Corning’s Gorilla glass to help keep scratches away. The handset is powered by the same piece of silicon as the 620 and also shares the same amount of 512MB RAM. A couple of things we found missing here are NFC, dual-band Wi-Fi and a front facing camera, as compared to the Lumia 620. Due to the slightly larger screen, HTC has managed to cram in a bigger 1700mAh battery in there, so we can expect a better battery life here.

The cheapest WP8 device

It’s time to put them in the ring and see which one comes out as the winner.

The 620 takes the lead

The bottom line
The Nokia Lumia 620 has all the makings of a successful WP8 device around the Rs 20,000 price bracket (our estimate of the launch price). While it’s very similar to the HTC 8S in terms of specifications, it manages to stand out by offering more onboard storage, dual-band Wi-Fi, a larger aperture value for the rear camera, a front facing camera, NFC and active noise cancellation. If Nokia manages to match the pricing of the HTC 8S or is even a bit more, it still looks like a much better option. The only thing that might hurt the 620 is the smaller battery.