Sony Xperia SP vs Nokia Lumia 720: Battle of Android Army and Windows Warriors Heats in India

Windows Phone 8 platform seems to be attracting many consumers as the prominent manufacturer, Nokia has come up with reasonably priced smartphones lately. However, when it comes to the budget price points, the Android OS is a major dominator, as several companies constantly shoot the market with low priced smartphones based on the Google's OS.

Click here for Sony Xperia SP images...

Click here for Nokia Lumia 720 images...

Speaking of the Indian market, this week has marked the release of two mid-range smartphones - Sony Xperia SP and Nokia Lumia 720 - claiming Android army and Windows Warrior war. Both are great value for money.

Hence, for those who like to have smartphones from the international vendors and also do not want to spend whopping amount of Rs 30,000 and above, newly released Lumia 720 and Xperia SP could be apt offerings.

Hence, GizBot has chosen the two new entrants in the market for a spec comparison today. Read it below.

Form Factor: Xperia SP boasts a dimension of 130.6 x 67.1 x 9.98 mm and weighs around 155 grams, being thicker and heavier than Lumia 720 carrying a dimension of 127.9 x 67.5 x 9 mm and weighing in at 128 grams,

When it comes to display, Xperia SP packs a 4.6 inch multi-touch capacitive touchscreen Reality display with Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2 packing 1280 x 720 pixel resolution and 319 ppi pixel density.

In comparison, Lumia 720 houses a slightly 4.3 inch multi-touch ClearBlack capacitive touchscreen display with a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels, 217 ppi pixel density and Corning Gorilla Glass 2 protection.

While the mobile BRAVIA Engine 2 display in Xperia SP offers excellent viewing experience alongside superior clarity and brightness. the ClearBlack display technology of Lumia 720 reduces reflections and provides better sunlight legibility.

Processor: Xperia SP is equipped with a faster 1.7GHz dual core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor. In comparison, Lumia 720 comes with a dual core 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor.

Clearly, a faster processor in Xperia SP will result in great multi-tasking, faster rendering and more, but on the whole, the Snapdragon S4 chipset using Krait processor is efficient and reduces the heat, thereby enhancing the battery life by reducing the power wastage.

Operating System: While, Xperia SP comes with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean OS, Lumia 720 is based on Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 platform.

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean OS has Project Butter, which offers faster, smoother and responsive performance, expandable and contractible Android notifications, resizable App Widgets functionality, high resolution contact photos, live wallpapers, Android Beam app and more.

And, 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.

Camera: Xperia SP has an 8MP rear camera with autofocus, 1080p video recording, BSI sensor, HDR and Exmor Rs technology and a VGA front camera for video calling.

On the other hand, Lumia 720, the handset has a 6.7MP PureView camera with Carl Zeiss optics with optical image stabilization, autofocus, dual-LED flash and a 1.3MP front camera for video calling.

Moreover, Lumia 720's PureView camera has features including Smart Shoot feature, which is similar to Burst shot and Cinematograph, which creates animated GIF images. At the same time, the Exmor RS and HDR technology in Xperia SP offers digital camera capability to the handset.

Storage: When it comes to storage, both Xperia SP and Lumia 720 have 8GB internal storage. But, Xperia SP has 1GB RAM and a micro SD card slot supporting up to 32GB additional storage and Lumia 720 has a 512MB RAM and a micro SD card slot supporting up to 64GB. Further, being a Windows Phone 8 handset, Lumia 720 comes with 7GB free SkyDrive storage.

Connectivity: Both Xperia SP and Lumia 720 have connectivity features including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 4G, GPS, NFC and micro USB 2.0 port with average download speeds. Also, the Lumia 720 supports Wireless Charging, but it requires a separate back cover accessory.

Battery: Xperia SP is loaded with a 2,370 mAh battery of unknown backup and Lumia 720 is powered by a smaller 2,000 mAh battery delivering up to 520 hours backup.

Other Features: Xperia SP being a mid-range alternative to Xperia Z comes with features including Battery Stamina Mode for enhanced battery life, Media applications including Walkman, Album and Movies and more. On the other hand, Lumia 720 comes with exclusive Nokia apps that are present only in Lumia handsets including HERE, Nokia Drive, Nokia CityLens, Nokia Maps and MixRadio.

Price: Xperia SP is priced at Rs 25,999 and is available online for pre-order and Lumia 720 has been officially released at a price of Rs 18,999.

Verdict

Lumia 720 and Xperia SP are advanced smartphones that have high-end features in terms of software and hardware. Apart from this, they also have exciting software features as they are based on different platforms.

For those willing to have a lightweight smartphone with good camera experience, Lumia 720 could be a better option. At the same time, those who like to avail improved battery backup and a larger display, Xperia SP might have to choose Xperia SP.