Android vs Windows Phone - A Day in the Life
For work I recently had to choose a corporately owned phone. I was given two choices either a Nokia Lumia 820 or a Samsung Galaxy 5. I chose the Samsung.
The reasons were two fold. First the Nokia device was approaching 3 years old and second I wanted a chance to live with Android for a while and see what life would be like with the leader in the Android space.
Previous to Samsung I had been using either a Lumia 635 or 735. Which while nice phones for their price points, were very much hamstrung by the BYOD policies of my firm. I was forced to use Good Networks email client which is probably the worst Windows Phone app out there.
I'll focus the comparison in three areas - Hardware, Apps and Overall Usability.
On the hardware side, when compared to my 735 for example, the Samsung has a more powerful processor - a Snapdragon 801 vs a Snapdragon 400, double both the RAM - 2GB vs 1G and internal storage 16GB vs 8GB and both support SD Storage. The S5 has a 5.1 inch Super AMOLED 1080 x 1920 screen - 432 ppi while the Nokia has a 4.7 has a 720 x 1280 OLED screen - 321 ppi.
The S5 has a 16Mp primary camera while the Nokia has a 6.7Mp - but the Nokia does have a 5Mp front facing camera versus the Samsungs 2Mp.
All in all the Samsung is a superior piece of hardware - it boot and runs fast and is snappier than the 735.
But there are a few areas where the Nokia is superior - first is Bluetooth. The stack that MS uses is excellent. The Samsung tends to drop connections easily - and you end up having to add an app to help maintain BT connections. Also Nokia BT is superior when keeping the phone in your pocket. - with Samsung I always end up having to remove the phone from my pocket to ensure a clear conversation.
Second is battery life - while the Samsung does have a larger 2800mAh battery than the 2200mAh the Nokia can easily go through a a busy work day and still have plenty of reserve. That is unless you use GPS. I can't say whether it is the electronics or the app - but if you use Nokia's Here+ Drive app for any extended length - so let's say a 90 minute drive - you'll drain the battery much quicker then using the Samsung's Google Maps app.
Both phones work on AT&T and so support all of the proper LTE bands. When I first reviewed my 735 I was on T-Mobile and noticed lower reception strength when compared to by much cheaper 635. With AT&T both phones perform well for voice in terms of accepting and making calls and I have very few drops
For WiFi the Samsung is dual banded while the Nokia is only 2.4.
One final note on the hardware and that's about the case. The Nokia uses a Polycarbonate shell which is actually extremely tough. it used a micro usb connection and does NOT have a dedicated camera button. The S5 case while still a plastic and a little more flashy with chrome trim has a leather like back and both are easy to hold. The Samsung is water resistant though - but you have to cover and uncover the charging port. Both support Qi charging
On to Apps....
So when it comes to native apps - meaning apps that come with the base OS it an interesting comparison. Both devices have email, calendar and contact apps as well as phone, camera, photo, music and video playing capabilities and a browser.
For the email calendar, contacts stuff - honestly while they both have some slight nuances in operation - both do the job well.
The Phones apps are also similar - although I will say Android does do a better job sometimes in recognizing phone numbers inside of messages and easily allows you to dial and also can manage sending conference tones. But the windows phone app integrates Visual Voice mail much better. I don't have to launch a separate app
For navigation the Galaxy is hands down better - Windows relies on the Nokia Here+ apps which I have found to be not very accurate and not very clear in directions. Google maps for me so far has been dead on every time.
Where the huge difference is - is in 3rd party apps. With Windows Phone - you just don't have many of what I consider to basic apps supported directly by the company. Starbucks, Airlines, Hotels, Banks, just to name a few.
Any app I can think of is available on Android with the exception of iTunes. I was shocked the first day I sat down with the GooglePlay store and just started searching for every company, thing, whatever I could think of and bang there it was. And while MS has ported a great many apps to Android, Google has not done the same with Windows Phone - there is no Gmail app for Windows Phone - there is no Google Maps, there is not even a Google supported YouTube app. MS tried to write one - but it was horrible.
Additionally even when an app is supported on both platforms - LinkedIn for example, Android understands context and launches the app. For example you see a LinkedIn invite come in on email - when you click on the link in Windows Phone it launches the browser and so then you need to login in etc and try to navigate via browser - whereas in Android is launches the LinkedIn app and pass the appropriate info to it so that you then see the invite(s) you've received and can immediate action on them.
Which is now starting us down the final comparison Overall Usability...
My lifestyle is one on the road - I travel weekly - so simple things like boarding passes, hotel checkins, rental cars, etc are much better covered by Android than Windows Phone. As I mentioned Navigation is superior with GoogleMaps.
But then all the other things you have to do while on the road like banking, restaurants, conferencing, etc again are all much better on the Galaxy
Where Windows Phone is superior is in their voice support. For example the messaging app in Windows Phone will automatically call out a text message and I can verbally reply which is converted back in to text and sent. This is tremendous while driving. I can drive with an earpiece in and if a text arrives I hear it and can respond and my hands never leave the wheel and my eyes never leave the road.
I've tried a number of 3rd party apps on Android and nothing even comes close. Same with voice command - I can hold my prompt key on my headset and call out a command like call Bob mobile and its done.
Also I like MS live Tiles better then the widgets on Android. Yes widgets are larger - but many don't update automatically, also due to the nature of the icon layouts - you can't take a quick glance and see things - you need to flip. Even the MSN based widgets aren't as good as live tiles.
Bottom line - the Samsung Galaxy 5S is a superior piece of hardware with a ton of apps, the Nokia is a simpler piece of hardware with a lot less apps - but some better usability.
The reasons were two fold. First the Nokia device was approaching 3 years old and second I wanted a chance to live with Android for a while and see what life would be like with the leader in the Android space.
Previous to Samsung I had been using either a Lumia 635 or 735. Which while nice phones for their price points, were very much hamstrung by the BYOD policies of my firm. I was forced to use Good Networks email client which is probably the worst Windows Phone app out there.
I'll focus the comparison in three areas - Hardware, Apps and Overall Usability.
On the hardware side, when compared to my 735 for example, the Samsung has a more powerful processor - a Snapdragon 801 vs a Snapdragon 400, double both the RAM - 2GB vs 1G and internal storage 16GB vs 8GB and both support SD Storage. The S5 has a 5.1 inch Super AMOLED 1080 x 1920 screen - 432 ppi while the Nokia has a 4.7 has a 720 x 1280 OLED screen - 321 ppi.
The S5 has a 16Mp primary camera while the Nokia has a 6.7Mp - but the Nokia does have a 5Mp front facing camera versus the Samsungs 2Mp.
All in all the Samsung is a superior piece of hardware - it boot and runs fast and is snappier than the 735.
But there are a few areas where the Nokia is superior - first is Bluetooth. The stack that MS uses is excellent. The Samsung tends to drop connections easily - and you end up having to add an app to help maintain BT connections. Also Nokia BT is superior when keeping the phone in your pocket. - with Samsung I always end up having to remove the phone from my pocket to ensure a clear conversation.
Second is battery life - while the Samsung does have a larger 2800mAh battery than the 2200mAh the Nokia can easily go through a a busy work day and still have plenty of reserve. That is unless you use GPS. I can't say whether it is the electronics or the app - but if you use Nokia's Here+ Drive app for any extended length - so let's say a 90 minute drive - you'll drain the battery much quicker then using the Samsung's Google Maps app.
Both phones work on AT&T and so support all of the proper LTE bands. When I first reviewed my 735 I was on T-Mobile and noticed lower reception strength when compared to by much cheaper 635. With AT&T both phones perform well for voice in terms of accepting and making calls and I have very few drops
For WiFi the Samsung is dual banded while the Nokia is only 2.4.
One final note on the hardware and that's about the case. The Nokia uses a Polycarbonate shell which is actually extremely tough. it used a micro usb connection and does NOT have a dedicated camera button. The S5 case while still a plastic and a little more flashy with chrome trim has a leather like back and both are easy to hold. The Samsung is water resistant though - but you have to cover and uncover the charging port. Both support Qi charging
On to Apps....
So when it comes to native apps - meaning apps that come with the base OS it an interesting comparison. Both devices have email, calendar and contact apps as well as phone, camera, photo, music and video playing capabilities and a browser.
For the email calendar, contacts stuff - honestly while they both have some slight nuances in operation - both do the job well.
The Phones apps are also similar - although I will say Android does do a better job sometimes in recognizing phone numbers inside of messages and easily allows you to dial and also can manage sending conference tones. But the windows phone app integrates Visual Voice mail much better. I don't have to launch a separate app
For navigation the Galaxy is hands down better - Windows relies on the Nokia Here+ apps which I have found to be not very accurate and not very clear in directions. Google maps for me so far has been dead on every time.
Where the huge difference is - is in 3rd party apps. With Windows Phone - you just don't have many of what I consider to basic apps supported directly by the company. Starbucks, Airlines, Hotels, Banks, just to name a few.
Any app I can think of is available on Android with the exception of iTunes. I was shocked the first day I sat down with the GooglePlay store and just started searching for every company, thing, whatever I could think of and bang there it was. And while MS has ported a great many apps to Android, Google has not done the same with Windows Phone - there is no Gmail app for Windows Phone - there is no Google Maps, there is not even a Google supported YouTube app. MS tried to write one - but it was horrible.
Additionally even when an app is supported on both platforms - LinkedIn for example, Android understands context and launches the app. For example you see a LinkedIn invite come in on email - when you click on the link in Windows Phone it launches the browser and so then you need to login in etc and try to navigate via browser - whereas in Android is launches the LinkedIn app and pass the appropriate info to it so that you then see the invite(s) you've received and can immediate action on them.
Which is now starting us down the final comparison Overall Usability...
My lifestyle is one on the road - I travel weekly - so simple things like boarding passes, hotel checkins, rental cars, etc are much better covered by Android than Windows Phone. As I mentioned Navigation is superior with GoogleMaps.
But then all the other things you have to do while on the road like banking, restaurants, conferencing, etc again are all much better on the Galaxy
Where Windows Phone is superior is in their voice support. For example the messaging app in Windows Phone will automatically call out a text message and I can verbally reply which is converted back in to text and sent. This is tremendous while driving. I can drive with an earpiece in and if a text arrives I hear it and can respond and my hands never leave the wheel and my eyes never leave the road.
I've tried a number of 3rd party apps on Android and nothing even comes close. Same with voice command - I can hold my prompt key on my headset and call out a command like call Bob mobile and its done.
Also I like MS live Tiles better then the widgets on Android. Yes widgets are larger - but many don't update automatically, also due to the nature of the icon layouts - you can't take a quick glance and see things - you need to flip. Even the MSN based widgets aren't as good as live tiles.
Bottom line - the Samsung Galaxy 5S is a superior piece of hardware with a ton of apps, the Nokia is a simpler piece of hardware with a lot less apps - but some better usability.
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