Huawei Ascend W1 vs HTC 8S vs Nokia Lumia 820: Who Will Survive the Windows Phone 8 War?

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With the outset of Windows Phone 8 operating system in June 2012, major tech vendor associated with Microsoft including Samsung, Nokia and HTC have taken up the fight in the WP8 arena with the launch of their new range of handsets in the respective segment.

 

While the South Korean giant unveiled its Samsung Ativ smartphone and tablet PC range, the Finnish handset vendor came up with Nokia Lumia 920, 820, 620, 510 and more on the other hand, the Taiwanese tech firm splashed the market with HTC 8X and HTC 8S.

 
Huawei Ascend W1 vs HTC 8S vs Nokia Lumia 820: Windows Phone 8 War

Moving ahead this CES 2013, Chinese tech firm Huawei has come out as one of the four main manufacturers of Windows Phone 8 handsets maker. After launching the mammoth Ascend Mate - 6.1 inch device and Ascend D2 based on Android operating system, Huawei also launched its first brilliant Windows Phone 8 smartphone - Ascend W1.

Analyzing the specifications, Ascend W1 falls in the mid-range category as the existing smartphones challenging the likes of Nokia Lumia 820 and HTC 8S. Hence, for the consumers who are looking forward to have their hands on mid-range Windows Phone 8 handsets, below is a comparison between Ascend W1, 8S and Lumia 820 to observe, which one is worthy out of the trio. Take a look!

Dimension & Weight: Ascend W1 boasts a dimension and weight of 124.5 x 63.7 x 10.5 mm and weighs around 130 grams, while, HTC 8S carries a dimension of 120.5 x 63 x 10.28 mm, weighing lighter at 113 grams and the heavier Lumia 820 boasts a dimension of 123.8 x 68.5 x 9.9 mm with a weight of around 160 grams.

Display: In this segment, Ascend W1 packs a 4 inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen display with OGS technology and 480 x 800 pixel resolution. At the same time, HTC 8S houses the same 4 inch display, however with Super LCD 2 capacitive touchscreen and a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels. On the other end, Lumia 820 stands strong sporting a larger 4.3 inch AMOLED ClearBlack capacitive touchscreen display with the same 800 x 480 pixel resolution.

Operating System: All the three handsets of interest are based on the latest incarnation of Microsoft's mobile platform - Windows Phone 8.

In terms of software features, Windows Phone 8 has improved features like dynamic Live Tile Information, social network integration in the People hub, Skydrive and Office 365 documents synchronization, Facebook-events integrated calendar, visual voicemail, threaded email conversations support and many more.

Processor: When it comes to processor, Ascend W1 is powered by a 1.2GHz dual core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor and 8S is equipped with a 1GHz dual core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor while Lumia 820 has a faster dual core 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor.

Camera: On the camera optics front, Ascend W1 and 8S sport a 5MP rear camera, whereas, Lumia 820 packs an 8MP rear camera with the capabilities and features of Pureview technology. Further, all the three smartphones come with the same configuration VGA front camera for video calling.

Storage: Both Ascend W1 and 8S have 4GB internal memory and 512MB RAM while Lumia 820 has 8GB internal storage and 1GB RAM. Besides this, all the three smartphones have an external micro SD card slot additional memory support up to 32GB.

Connectivity: On the connectivity front, Ascend W1 comes with NFC, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth as Lumia 820 with features like NFC, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi. When it comes to 8S, the handset lacks NFC and comes only with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Further, Lumia 820 scores more with Qi Wireless Charging feature.

Battery: Ascend W1 comes loaded with a better 1,950 mAh Li-Po battery delivering 10.5 hours talk time and 470 hours standby while 8S is loaded with 1,700 mAh Li-Po battery of undisclosed backup and Lumia 820 is equipped with a 1,650 mAh BP-ST battery with 300 hours standby and 14 hours talk time.

Price: When it comes to pricing, HTC 8S is available online at RS 19,359 and Nokia Lumia 820 is launched in India at Rs 27,559. However, Ascend W1, which is yet to receive its official price tag in India is estimated to be priced between Rs 11,000 to Rs 17,000 approximately.

Verdict

All the three smartphones - Huawei Ascend W1, HTC 8S and Nokia Lumia 820 are based on Windows Phone 8 operating system and hence, they will offer similar user experience.

However, being offerings from different companies, they will come loaded with unique features.

If the concern is on a relatively lesser price tag, the Huawei offering could be a better option.

On the other hand, if the concern is not on connectivity features including NFC and on outstanding audio quality at a lesser price tag, 8S with integrated Beats Audio feature could be the right choice.

However, for those who are not concerned on the extra price tag and like to experience wireless charging, NFC, a larger display, faster processor, better camera performance, increased storage options and a solid battery backup, Nokia Lumia 820 should be the right smartphone.

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