Why the Lumia 520 is still my primary device, even with a galaxy s4
Disclaimer:
This is not a Lumia 520 vs galaxy s4 debate, Its simply a list of reasons why I tend to use the Lumia more than the galaxy s4. Its by no way intended to act as a comparison of the capabilities of either device. It is simply intended to provide insight on the individual strengths and weaknesses of the different platforms in use. This is based purely on my opinion and I respect all other divergent viewpoints. Now that we have got that out of the way, lets dive into the article.
Reason number 1. Battery life.
The number one reason I can't leave the house without my Lumia 520 is its incredible battery life. The 520 has such amazing battery life that I sometimes go for 2 days without a recharge under normal, constant use. On the other hand, with the galaxy s4, I get about 6 hours of non stop use. To say the battery life on the s4 is bad is an understatement. Having shipped with android 4.3, I was was wrong to think that the 4.4.2 kit Kat update would solve my problems. Battery life still sucks on the galaxy s4 even after the update. As I mentioned before, at best I get about 6 hours but to be fair, under really heavy use. Basically, any time I want to play a game, watch a movie or browse the internet I reach for the s4. I tend to utilize the processing power of the device to an extent that the battery seems inadequate. Moreover, I have read somewhere about a 3000mAH battery for the s4. This may extend the battery life by at least 2 hours.
Reason number 2. Office and One Note.
Microsoft did a very good job integrating office with windows phone 8.1. You get near desktop experience on your mobile phone and with one drive, everything syncs perfectly. I love using office and one note so much that the first draft of this blog post was written in one note.
Reason number 3.The Wordflow keyboard.
Inarguably, this is the best keyboard on a mobile device. I have used many android keyboards and one of my favorites is the Google keyboard. However, the keyboard on windows 8.1 is my number one choice. Its not a matter of android vs windows phone 8 but just a quick comparison. The keyboard is very responsive and at the same time provides a very intuitive formatting experience. Selecting a block of letters is comparatively easier on the WordFlow keyboard as compared to any other keyboard. The Google keyboard comes at a close number 2 and my third favorite virtual keyboard is the swiftkey.
Reason number 4. Overheating issues.
I am not sure if this is a software issue or a hardware issue. The Exynos octa core processor is definitely a beast and as thus its normal to expect some heat. However. The galaxy s5 uses a higher clocked snapdragon 801 (2.5ghz) and is definitely more powerful than the s4. To date, I have not heard of any major complaints about overheating on the s5 or other devices using the same processor as the s5 (HTC one m8 for example). However, some people reported less heat generation after updating to kit Kat while others complained of even more heat. Whether this can be solved by the update to 4.4.3 or 4.4.4 remains to be seen. I have not yet installed a custom rom on the device and thus I can't say for sure if things will get better with an update.
Reason number 5: Call quality
At this point most of you may be cursing me and calling me all sorts of names but honestly, I find the call quality on the Lumia 520 really good. If I had to rate the call quality on both devices, the Lumia would get a solid 9 out of 10 while the s4 would get a respectable 7.5. However, this can easily be solved by installing different modems on the s4 to get the best reception. On the other hand, not everyone who owns the s4 knows how to or even bothers knowing how to flash different modems on their device. Even those with the know how mostly only flash the rom and sometimes install different kernels to suit their needs. Therefore, the average user will be stuck with poor call quality till an over the air update arrives to fix their issue with am updated rom. This can take anything between 3 to 6 months which makes it a major disadvantage to a normal Sammy user.
Reason number 6: Internet explorer ( windows phone 8 version)
Internet explorer (the desktop version) is one of the most hated browsers out there. This is a surprise since Microsoft was one of the early players in the browser game them somehow, they lost it. To say the truth, I also dont use internet explorer (the pc version)
However, the mobile version of internet explorer is one of the most responsive and seamless browsing experience you will get on a mobile device. I know most of you are asking "What about chrome?" Well Chrome is good, but many a times I have found it a little too demanding on my ram and processor. Traditionally, Chrome is allowed a maximum of about 350mb of Ram to run. However, in order to get a smooth experience,you need to allocate it about 512mb of ram. Now for most of us with anything below 1gb of ram, that's a lot of memory to allow for a single app. However, most high end devices are able to compensate for in speed where they may lack in ram and thus those of you with the more powerful phones never notice a performance issue.
On the other hand, internet explorer, and generally windows phone 8.1 runs smoothly on just 512mb of RAM. This means that internet explorer uses as little as 100mb of Ram but still manages to play back videos and run scripts in browsers without any problem. The only limitation comes in the number of open and active tabs. I found out I couldn't open more than 5 tabs of internet explorer on the Lumia 520. I understand for Microsoft to ensure an overall good user experience,they had to make some restrictions (which is completely understandable-if you ask me :))
Reason 7: Charging
If you have ever used a smartphone then you will agree with me that battery life is one of the biggest problems that is still largely unsolved. For normal usage, our smartphones are barely able to last to the end of the day. Most of us rush home just to charge our phones. The reason why I love the Lumia 520 is that in under an hour, say 45 minutes, the battery will go from near zero to about 65%. On the other hand, the galaxy s4 will still be in its 20s which basically means you can't use it for more than 20 minutes without having to plug it back in. On the other hand, in less than an hour of charging,I can use the Lumia for about 2 hours before I have to charge it again. I know the comparison is unfair considering the very different hardware specs at play.
Reason number 8: It attracts less attention.
Living and working in a crowded city like Nairobi, one is always in constant danger from thieves and pickpockets. The moment you hold a galaxy s5 or s4 in your hand, you make yourself a target. I don't know why thieves in Nairobi love Samsung devices so much, I mean every other thug I meet wants to sell me an s4 or an s5, I have never been approached by any of them who wanted to sell me an iPhone or even a blackberry for that matter. Maybe it takes less effort to say s5 or s4 than it takes to say iPhone, or maybe its just something else altogether. However, with my Lumia 520, I attract less attention from the thieves.
This is not to say that given the chance they wouldn't want to steal my phone. As a matter of fact, as I was writing this blog post, one of them tried to snatch my precious Lumia from the window. You see, I was sitting next to a partially open window. Suddenly, seemingly out of thin air, some guy just runs over, quickly opens the window and tries to snatch my phone from my hands. Luckily for me, my senses were on high alert and the moment he opened the window, I held onto my phone tighter as I leaned further back into the vehicle. The poor bloke probably bruised his hand and his ego as he ran away into the streets just as fast as he had appeared.
Conclusion.
I would like to conclude by pointing out that the galaxy s4 is a very solid device. I have been able to find solutions to all of the above-mentioned issues (thanks to the great customization that android allows). The only major thing still bothering me is the battery life.
In sammys defense, the galaxy s4 is a beast of a phone I mean with a full HD 5 inch screen, an octa core processor, dual band wifi and a 42 mbps capable radio for GSM, the s4 no doubt requires a lot of power to run. Gone are the days when every little problem was credited to the bugs in android. Google has managed to refine the android experience to an almost equal experience as that of iOS and windows phone 8. I blame all the issues above on poor balance between hardware and software by sammy. Samsung tends to stack all manner of mostly useless features in their flagship devices that end up taking away from the user experience. On the other hand, there are those who love the little features that are bundled with touchwiz. In my opinion, if Samsung reduced on the bloatware that comes preinstalled on their devices, they will make their existing customers very happy and may just manage to steal some more from Apple. Currently I would say people are shifting to windows phone (mostly from Android, something that should greatly worry sammy).
Microsoft is releasing increasingly sophisticated and lovable phones coupled with a more mature software experience. If the current trend continues, Samsung may get a little of their market share taken up by Microsoft. So, between Windows phone 8 and android, which device would you go for if the hardware were similar? Consider the one m8 example ( same hardware specs, different platforms). I would still go for android since I am a root and rom install freak. On the other hand, Microsoft is not open source thus you can't expect the same from them.
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