Until now, both the entry-level and mid-range markets were completely haunted by Android operating system, but, Nokia has made an attempt to popularize the Windows Phone 8 platform by launching Lumia 620, the cheapest WP8 smartphone launched ever. Though the handset was subjected delay in its release, the Lumia 620 was quite successful and Nokia lined up a couple of more handsets including Lumia 520 and Lumia 720.
But the Finnish manufacturer has a tough competition with the Android smartphone vendors including market leader Samsung. The South Korean tech giant recently came up with the younger kin of Galaxy S2, the hottest smartphone of 2011 - Galaxy S2 Plus. The handset is based on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and is packed with minor spec bumps as compared to the predecessor.
When it comes to the availability in India, Lumia 720 has made its way into online retailer Flipkart at a price of Rs 18,500, which is reasonable. Also, Galaxy S2 Plus has appeared online at a price of 23,360.
Hence, Gizbot has come up with an elaborate spec comparison of Lumia 720 and Galaxy S2 Plus. Those confused between the two latest Windows Phone 8 and Android Jelly Bean smartphones, as to which one to choose can look at the comparison below.
Form Factor: Lumia 720 carries a dimension of 127.9 x 67.5 x 9 mm and weighs around 128 grams, whereas, Galaxy S2 Plus measures 125.3 x 66.1 x 8.5 mm in dimension and 121 grams in weight.
Lumia 720 houses a slightly larger 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.
In comparison, Galaxy S2 Plus boasts a larger 4.3 inch Super AMOLED Plus WVGA capacitive touchscreen display with a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels and 217 ppi pixel density.
The ClearBlack display technology in Lumia 720 reduces the reflections and improves sunlight legibility, besides being protected with Gorilla Glass. At the same time, the Super AMOLED Plus display offers improved viewing angles and is brighter and more energy efficient.
Processor: When it comes to hardware, both the handsets boast similar mileage, where Lumia 720 is powered by a 1GHz dual core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor and Galaxy S2 Plus is equipped with a 1.2GHz dual core processor.
Obviously, the Snapdragon S4 chipset uses Krait processor and enables the devices to communicate quickly, efficiently and most importantly reduces the heat, thereby allowing the handsets to have enhanced battery life by reducing processing power wastage.
Operating System: Coming to the most contradictory segment of the comparison, Lumia 720 is based on Windows Phone 8 while Galaxy S2 Plus runs on Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean operating system.
Speaking 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 more.
On the other hand, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean has new features including Project Butter, expandable and contractible notifications, resizable app widgets, live wallpaper preview, high resolution contact photos, improved Android Beam and many more.
Camera: In terms of camera optics, Galaxy S2 Plus has an 8MP rear camera and a 2MP front camera for video calling. In comparison, Lumia 720 comes with a superior 6.7MP camera equipped with Carl Zeiss optics, autofocus and LED flash and has a 1.3MP front camera capable of recording 720p videos.
The PureView camera in Lumia 720 has Smart Shoot feature, which is similar to Burst shot and Cinematograph, which creates animated GIF images.
Storage: Both the handsets come with 8GB internal storage. However, Galaxy S2 Plus has 1GB RAM and a micro SD card slot supporting up to 32GB additional storage, whereas, Lumia 720 has 512MB RAM and a micro SD card slot supporting up to 64GB additional storage. Also, being a Windows Phone 8 handset, Lumia 720 comes with 7GB free SkyDrive storage.
Connectivity: When it comes to data connectivity, Lumia 720 and Galaxy S2 Plus come with decent connectivity features including dual band Wi-Fi, average 3G download speeds, NFC (optional in Galaxy S2 Plus), Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP and micro USB 2.0. Moreover, Lumia 720 supports Wireless Charging, but it requires a separate back cover for the same.
Battery: Lumia 720 is loaded with a 2,000 mAh battery offering up to 520 hours backup and Galaxy S2 Plus is powered by a better 1,650 mAh Li-ion battery delivering 549 hours backup.
Software Features: Lumia 720 comes loaded with exclusive Nokia applications including Nokia Drive, Nokia CityLens, Nokia Maps and MixRadio. At the same time, Galaxy S2 Plus comes with exclusive software features as in Galaxy S3 including Buddy Photo Share, Group Facetag, Allshare Play, Popup Video, S Voice and Direct Call.
Price: Lumia 720 is priced at Rs 18,500 and Galaxy S2 Plus is priced at Rs 23,360.
Verdict
Both Lumia 720 and Galaxy S2 Plus are mid-range smartphones based on rival operating systems - Windows Phone 8 and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Hence, these handsets will have unique software features that are respective to their OS platforms.
For those concerned on a handset with faster processor and improved battery backup, Galaxy S2 Plus could be a better option. On the other hand, for those consumers who like to have a smartphone with improved camera performance, Lumia 720 should be the right choice. Further, the Lumia 720 comes in different attractive color options including Magenta, Yellow, Cyan, White and Black.
