Nokia Lumia 710 vs. Samsung I8350 Omnia W: Battle of the affordable Windows Phones

This sure looks like a non-starter. Comparing Windows Phone handsets is about as constructive as deciding which is right and which is left in a pair of socks. HTC and, to a lesser extent, Samsung have been making sure though there's no shortage of phones to choose from. And now with Nokia pulling their socks up to stay in the smartphone game, the choice is even greater.
Today our focus is on the Samsung I8350 Omnia W and the Nokia Lumia 710. For a change, they step out of the shadow of their bigger, more capable siblings. In fact, the entire Windows Phone range finds itself struggling to catch up with the general trend towards higher screen resolution and multiple-core processing. The first WP7generation was thrown in the deep end while the fresh Mango-running crowd has a seemingly easier task of staying afloat in the midrange.

Phones like the Omnia W and Lumia 710 are likely to be considered even by first-time smartphone users and that's one of the reasons why we think this comparison may be helpful. The two handsets are almost on par pricewise and the same goes for most of the specs too. We have a 3.7" display each and it's tie in imaging too: 5 MP still cameras with 720p video. Both have the same processors and run the most recent version of Windows Phone 7.5 - Mango.
But here's where it gets interesting.

Samsung Omnia W over Nokia Lumia 710:

• Super AMOLED display over TFT
• Slimmer profile and metal on the battery cover
• Front-facing VGA camera
• Bigger battery: 1500 mAh over 1300 mAh
• Standard SIM card support over MicroSIM

Nokia Lumia 710 over Samsung Omnia W:

• Free lifetime Nokia Drive navigation
• Nokia Music and Nokia Maps
• Better video recording quality
• Customizable covers
• A wee bit cheaper

Much of it will come down to personal taste, but there's enough to tip the scales either way. The Super AMOLED screen is a massive point in Omnia W's favor, but the Lumia is keen to raise the bid with Nokia Drive - the company's free voice-guided navigation system.

Nokia Asha 200 review: Dual SIMpatico

Introduction

Nokia's Asha is back for another round of bargain basement action and we find ourselves wondering how much cheaper it can get. Most of the time it makes sense to be skeptical of the lowest bidder but we've found the Finns' budget lineup to be efficient and dependable.
So, cheap it is. And although there're lots of bad ways to be cheap, the Nokia Asha 200 seems to get it right. It's a QWERTY messenger with dual-SIM support. There isn't a whole lot more to it than that - but Nokia are getting ready to sell big. You don't offer eight - repeat, eight - paintjobs unless you anticipate huge demand.

The Nokia Asha 200 is two phones in one and we don't mean the dual SIM support only. The Asha 200 is literally made out of a couple of fairly recent Nokia handsets. And it's pretty obvious which two ended up in the blender. The Nokia X2-01 provided the S40 interface and QWERTY keyboard, while the dual SIM support and colorful bodywork is courtesy of the x1-01.

Key features

• Dual-SIM, dual-standby phone, hot swap
• Dual-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
• QWERTY keyboard
• 2.4" 256K-color QVGA TFT display
• 2MP camera
• Series 40 UI
• Stereo FM radio with RDS, recording
• Bluetooth 2.1 (with EDR)
• Standard microUSB port
• Hot-swappable microSD card slot (32GB supported)
• 3.5mm audio jack
• Good audio quality

Main disadvantages

• No Wi-Fi
• No 3G
• Basic camera
• No multitasking
• No smart dial
• No USB charging

As usual, we'll have to do without one or two things that are otherwise taken for granted in contemporary phones. But the omissions shouldn't be hard to forgive in a phone that costs next to nothing. 3G and Wi-Fi are available elsewhere in the Asha lineup, and so is touchscreen. The Asha 200 focuses on the basics instead - with value-for-money features like dual SIM and a QWERTY keyboard.

Nokia Asha 200 live pictures
A dual SIM QWERTY messenger pretty much sums the Nokia Asha 200. But it comes in plenty of colors and is not entirely clueless when it comes to music, social networks and even some basic photography. Of course, shoppers on a budget have priorities and build quality and durability are usually high on their list. They should look no further than the next page where we explore the hardware of the Asha 200.

Samsung Galaxy R vs. LG Optimus 2X: Affordable dual-cores

Introduction

Yep, you read that right. Affordable and dual core wouldn't normally belong in the same sentence. In 2011. And you don't need to press fast forward. Just sit back and enjoy. There's a lot stewing in the industry's pot and we think the place smells of quad core already.
So, two affordable dual-core Android smartphones it is. The Samsung Galaxy R and the LG Optimus 2X have been duly and thoroughly reviewed but we thought a head-to-head comparison wouldn't hurt - we've certainly been asked plenty of times which one is better.

The LG Optimus 2X prides itself in being the first dual-core smartphone. The Samsung Galaxy R follows at quite some distance but runs on the same chipset - the NVIDIA Tegra 2. Both have comparable screens too: 4" of WVGA IPS LCD on the Optimus and a 4.2" WVGA SC-LCD on the Galaxy R.
What sets them apart is imaging - the Optimus 2X is in line with the current flagships with an 8MP still camera and 1080p video, while the Galaxy R stops at 5MP/720p.
Here's a quick summary of the ups and downs of the two phones in direct comparison.

Samsung I9103 Galaxy R over LG Optimus 2X:

• A bigger screen: 4.2" vs. 4"
• Thinner: 9.5mm vs. 10.9mm
• Double the RAM: 1GB vs. 512MB
• Faster HSDPA: 21Mbps vs. 7.2Mbps
• Slightly better battery life
• USB On-The-Go support
• Bluetooth 3.0 vs. 2.1

LG Optimus 2X over Samsung I9103 Galaxy R:

• Better still camera: 8MP vs. 5MP
• Better video camera: 1080p vs. 720p
• HDMI TV-Out (with cable in the box) over no TV-Out at all

The Optimus 2X has fewer wins in its column, but they're all major victories. At least on paper - we'll see if the difference holds up in our tests or if the Samsung camera can make up for the lower resolution with better detail.
There are, of course, other differences too. It's between Samsung's TouchWiz and LG's custom skin on top of Android Gingerbread. And there's the design and build quality too: both have metal inlays on the back but the Galaxy R is more than a millimeter thinner.