While Samsung's Galaxy series has always been a heavy-hitter in the mobile category, Nokia has experienced trouble gaining traction in the ever-evolving smartphone industry and has often been overshadowed by juggernauts Apple and Samsung in the past. However, with the introduction of their latest flagship phone, Nokia Lumia 525, the mobile veteran could give Samsung Galaxy Note 3 a run for its money this year. So if you're looking to buy the latest smartphone that fits your standards and you've got Nokia's smart phone and Samsung's phablet on top of your list, you've come to the right place. We've compiled a comparison review to help you decide which device better suits your needs.
Check out how Lumia 525 and Galaxy Note 3 fare against each other in each category.
First up is the design category. Now while the appearance itself is subject to personal taste, the size and weight of the two handsets have a gap wide enough for consumers to create a distinction. With Nokia Lumia 525's dimensions (4.72 x 2.52 x 0.39 inches) and weight (4.37 ounces), it's a standard, lightweight phone that's easy to carry, pocket and use for texting. In contrast, Samsung's dimensions (5.95 x 3.12 x 0.33) and weight (5.93 ounces) give it a little more display space for reading notes and watching videos but at the expense of a heavier device.
One of the most notable differences between the two is the operating system, with Android 4.3 for Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and Windows 8 for Nokia Lumia 525. And while both operating systems rely on touchscreen interactions, Android Jellybean boasts an interface with multiple home-screens that can be fully customized with widgets and shortcuts while Windows Phone 8 only has a single home-screen containing Live Tiles. App-junkies also prefer using Android over Windows 8, as the former has hundreds of thousands of downloadable applications while Windows Phone 8 has considerably less. But Nokia Lumia 525 also has a distinct advantage over Note 3 in this area, the easy and convenient use of Microsoft programs such as Word and Excel. If the goal is to the handset for work, then Windows Phone 8 OS can help you view, edit and save documents with a few clicks of a button.
In terms of display, Note 3 and Lumia 525 both feature multi-touch screens, light sensors, proximity sensors and scratch-resistant glass. Their physical sizes however vary to a great extent, with Nokia Lumia 525's 4.0 inches much smaller if placed next to Samsung Galaxy Note 3's 5.7 inches. Consequently, there would be a notable gap between the resolution and pixel density as well, with Lumia 525's 480 x 800 pixels and 235 ppi a little behind Note 3's 1080 x 1920 pixels and 336 ppi. Lumia 525 features a display with three full subpixels per pixel, resulting in a sharp image that has better quality than most AMOLED phones. Pixels in Samsung's Super AMOLED phones only share one subpixel to preserve space, thus sacrificing the quality and resulting to a less crisp, blurred image.
So far, there is little question about Samsung Galaxy Note 3's advantage over Nokia Lumia 525 when it comes to camera features. Note 3 boasts a 13-mp camera with a LED flash and features such as face detection, back-illuminated sensor, smile detection and more. Galaxy Note 3's 31mm focal length and 1080p camcorder also results to better quality videos, especially when partnered with features such as digital image stabilization and continuous autofocus which Lumia 525 doesn't have.
In the hardware category, Samsung Galaxy Note 3's 3072 MB RAM and 32 GB built-in storage makes for a more impressive smart phone in contrast to Lumia 525's 1024 MB RAM and 8 GB internal storage. Galaxy Note 3 also features the more advanced processor of the two with Quad core, 2300 MHz, Krait 400, leaving Nokia Lumia 525's Dual core, 1000 MHz, Krait in the dust. Samsung also uses Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 for its Galaxy Note 3, bowing Nokia Lumia's Snapdragon S4 out of the water in terms of raw speed.
Battery life is another aspect to consider and with Galaxy Note 3's 3200 mAh capacity, it has the advantage of a longer talk time and stand-by time.
It's been a bloody battle between Nokia's latest flagship phone and Samsung's most powerful phablet and both phones have showed tenacity in their respective specialty areas. When pitting Nokia Lumia 525 and Samsung Galaxy Note 3 against each other, it's not just about comparing two devices but it's a clash between the Windows Phone and Android platforms.
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 joined the battle with several distinct advatanges courtesy of Android and Google. Android has evolved and matured considerably, arming Note 3 with all the apps, better browsing experience, better video and music playing software and better messaging. The Google platform boasts versatility which is perfect for versatile devices such as phablets.
One of Windows Phone's biggest weaknesses is the inability to customized skins but Nokia 525 added a little character to its otherwise limited abilities with premium apps such as Here and Drive.
To conclude the battle and answer the main question of which phone to invest your money in, all we can say is that it's a matter of personal preferences really. If you prefer a lighter, more easy-to-use phone that features Microsoft Office, then go for Nokia Lumia 525. But if Samsung Galaxy Note 3's versatility is much more suited to your tastes then invest your money in a phablet.
