Another Google I/O with no exciting launches. Just as was leaked, 2013's I/O has developers at its heart, so there was no Nexus 5, no Nexus 4 LTE and no Android 4.3.
However, there's no need to be down, we've compared our Nexus 4 LTE wishlist with the Lumia 925 to put that smile back on your face. Now, if only Google will go shead and launch a 4G-enabled Nexus 4 handset and everyone will be happy.
We want Google to has revive its flagship from 2012 with superfast mobile data capability, a better touchscreen display and a faster processor. More than that, we hope it's the debut platform for Google’s latest Android version, 4.3 Jelly Bean.
The Lumia 925 is Nokia’s latest Windows Phone 8 handset and it is essentially a refined Lumia 920 with an improved PureView camera, a new photo editing suite and a sleek aluminium bodyshell.
Nokia Lumia 925: Key specs and features
The biggest and most important change for the Lumia 925 from its predecessor is the way in which Nokia has slimmed down and re-styled the body shell. The Lumia 920 was too chunky and heavy, but with the Lumia 925 we have a combined aluminium and polycarbonate shell which is only 8.5mm thick and weighs in at 139g.
The aluminium edging looks smart and features some neat detailing near the corners while the polycarbonate back panel retains the rewarding matte finish from earlier Lumias.
Nokia has managed to achieve this exterior streamlining without sacrificing any of the Lumia 920’s wonderful PureView 8.7-megapixel camera’s capabilities. In fact, it’s now better than it was thanks to the addition of a sixth glass lens and the maximum ISO setting being bumped up to 1,200.
Pictures captured are beautifully crisp and detailed with no noise whatsoever, excellent contrast, colour saturation, exposure and dynamic range. If you’re looking for the best camera phone on the planet (running a current and supported operating system, that is) then this is most assuredly it.
The operating system is Windows Phone 8 and it runs just as well here on the 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual-core chip as it does on many other similarly-equipped Windows Phone models. Nokia includes its suite of apps pre-loaded with Nokia Here Maps, Nokia Music and a few others.
However, going back to the camera some of the Lumia 925’s most prominent functionality centres around the new Nokia Smart Camera app. In conjunction with Nokia’s existing Creative Studio and Cinemagraph apps, Nokia Smart Camera expands your ability to edit photos you capture on the fly – all your editing takes place from within the gallery view and it’s very easy to get to grips with.
The result of this is that even if you factor in technically more powerful camera phones such as Nokia’s 41-megapixel 808 Pureview (on the now defunct Symbian operating system) with the Lumia 925 you’ve still got the best camera phone from your average user’s perspective, in terms of how easy it is to use while still producing excellent results.
While it hasn’t been improved from the Lumia 920, the Lumia 925’s display is still an impressive specimen. It’s a 4.5-inch AMOLED with a 1280x768 pixel resolution at 332 pixels-per-inch (ppi). S
harpness and brightness are already well above average, but the addition of Nokia’s PureMotion HD+ and ClearBlack layers ensures you get some intensely rich colour and punchy contrast for an overall very satisfying image onscreen.
Nexus 4 LTE: Key specs and features
The Nexus 4 LTE will be a re-booted Nexus 4 with 4G LTE capability, meaning it can take advantage of superfast mobile data networks. However, the changes do go a bit deeper than this as Google has opted for a new Qualcomm quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor to replace the old S4 quad unit from the original Nexus 4. In our dreams, it's clocked at 1.9GHz and features 2GB of RAM plus an Adreno 320 GPU.
More power is certainly a good thing and it will help run Android at a very slick pace. We hope the software is Google’s latest version – either Jelly Bean with build number 4.3 or Android Key Lime Pie 5.0, with a handful of new features to keep things fresh. Primarily though, the optimisation and stability are as good as ever and the interface remains sharp and snappy.
We want Google to keep the display at a manageable 4.6-inch size with IPS+ LCD tech, however, but we're hoping the resolution will be boosted somewhat so things are sharper overall.
Conclusion
The revamped Nexus 4 would bring Google's low-cost, high-spec flagship right up-to-date, making it the de facto choice for Android enthusiasts and those who want plenty of power at a cheap price point. Nokia's Lumia 925 is probably the most compelling Nokia Lumia ever and has a lot of pull here, but the limitations of Windows Phone 8 are still going to be an issue for many.
by pbriden via Featured Articles
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