Key Difference: Nokia has recently announced a new phone to its line-up; the Lumia 928. The phone comes with a 4.5-inch AMOLED capacitive screen with broad back bezel. The phone is quite bulky and heavy, compared to other newer smartphones that are focusing on getting thinner and lighter. Samsung Galaxy S4 is the successor to the very popular Samsung Galaxy S3. The company boasts new features into a slightly smaller and sleeker design. The phone’s screen has been increased to a stunning almost 5 inches with only slight decrease in size of the phone. The screen is a full HD Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen that provides a greater resolution of 1080 pixels, almost 441ppi density.

Nokia has recently announced a new phone to its line-up; the Lumia 928. This phone is considered as the flagship phone for Verizon (a US telecommunications company) but it is also available in an unlocked version. In terms of hardware, the phone is very similar to Nokia’s flagship 920 but has added on extra features and tweaks that can go either way. Although, the phone has been modified, there are no revisions to the Windows Phone 8.

The Nokia Lumia 928 does not share the physical characteristics of the 920. It is in a bar from that has a slight bulge on the back that makes the phone comfortable to hold. Another small curve can be found on the bottom on which speaker grille is strategically placed that keeps volume from getting muffled when placed flat on the back. The phone comes with a 4.5-inch AMOLED capacitive screen with broad back bezel. The phone is quite bulky and heavy, compared to other newer smartphones that are focusing on getting thinner and lighter.

The Nokia phones are known for the bright interactive colors, which are no longer an option in this model. The phone is available only in two options: matte black and glossy white. This is believed to be because it is a Verizon exclusive phone. The phone comes with the basic structure of the Nokia phones with the volume rocker, power button and a dedicated camera key on the right edge. The power button is very similar to volume rocker only slightly smaller, making it difficult to find it without looking. The volume rocker is also a little to access and hit during mid-call. The left side of the device is bare, while the top hosts a center-mounted Micro USB port, a pull-out SIM tray and a 3.5mm jack. The back stands out with a bigger Xenon flash and the camera with Carl Zeiss lens.

The phone comes with a 4.5-inch AMOLED capacitive touchscreen with ~334 ppi pixel density and boasts excellent sunlight readability. The AMOLED screen is better for side viewing angles and sunlight visibility. The phone does have excellent resolution and the images are sharp, crisp and clear. The screen can also be configured for ‘high touch sensitivity’ known as ‘glove mode’. The phone also has amazing speakers but almost all reviewers said that when talking on the phone, the voice on the other end sounded hollow and unrealistic. The loud speaker also lacks bass and depth. However, the noise cancellation on the phone works exceptionally.

The phone is powered by 1.5 GHz Krait Dual-core Qualcomm MSM8960 Snapdragon processor, making it fast. The phone does not lag or even slow down. As it is a windows phone obviously it is powered by the Windows Phone 8 OS. The Android vs. Windows Phone debate is always the same. Though, the OS is great, Android does have more apps to offer and is also more customizable. The phones offers 1 GB RAM and has 32 GB internal memory. For users looking to add more than 32GB of data will run out of luck, as it does not offer adding extra memory.

The device houses an 8.7 MP PureView rear camera and a 1.2 MP front camera. The rear camera comes with the Carl Zeiss optics for sharper images. It also comes with the typical autofocus, image stabilization, flash etc. However, Nokia does proud itself for its low-light image technology and rightfully so. The low-light images are quite sharp and does not blur. In addition to that, the company also offers xenon flash that is bright and powerful. The xenon flash can only be used as flash and cannot be left lit, so the company has also added a secondary flash for videos and flashlight purposes. The camera does have slow shutter speed, which requires people to hold the camera still for long periods of time to avoid motion blur.

The device houses a non-removable Li-Ion 2000 mAh battery (BV 4-NW) that boasts good power. The Verge could run the battery for approximately 27 hours, while Tech Hive got only 6.5 hours out of it. The power of the battery depends on running applications, usage and many other different factors. In all, the phone is okay but does not come close to its 920 cousin.

Samsung Galaxy S4 is the successor to the very popular Samsung Galaxy S3. The company boasts new features into a slightly smaller and sleeker design. The phone’s screen has been increased to a stunning almost 5 inches with only slight decrease in size of the phone. The screen is a full HD Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen that provides a greater resolution of 1080 pixels, almost 441ppi density. The weight of the phone has also been reduced to 130 g and the width of the phone has been reduced by 1mm. The phone has sharper and straighter lines with just curved edges. In terms of design it is quite similar to the S3. The chassis is made up of polycarbonate plastic and the display is highly sensitive that accepts touch through gloves. The phone is available with either the 1.6 GHz octa-core Samsung Exynos 5 processor or the 1.9 GHz Snapdragon Fusion Pro quad-core processor, depending on the market. It is available with 16/32/64 GB internal capacity options and if that is not enough it can be upgraded by another 64 GB using the SD slot. The S4 comes with 2 GB RAM, which has become a norm for smartphones these days.

The phone comes with a stunning 13 MP primary camera, a 2 MP secondary camera and HD video recording capability. The S4 runs Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, but it has yet to be seen if it will offer an upgrade to the new Key Lime Pie version when it is available in mid-2013. The phone is available in two colors Black Mist and White Frost, though there may be chances for other colors once the phone is available for purchasing. Now for the fun part! The phone offers brand new features that are sure to pull in some big spenders. The S4 offers hovering capabilities known as Air Wave, which allows users to swipe between screens, videos, photos without actually touching the screen. Another fun feature is the Smart Scroll and Smart Pause; Smart Scroll uses a sensor and the front camera to automatically scroll when a person is done reading a certain paragraph. The scrolling can also be controlled using tilt. Smart Pause uses the sensor to pause videos automatically when the phone senses that the person is no longer looking at the screen and then resumes when the person looks back at the screen.

Group Play is a feature that allows users to use NFC or Bluetooth to tap and transfer videos, photos, music and even engage in multiplayer games with other S4 users. There are many new camera features as well including dual camera, sound & shot, drama shot, story album, cinema photo and eraser mode. Dual camera allows users to use both the cameras at the same time including when trying to take a photo. The person taking the photo can place their face to the photo taken using the secondary camera or vice-versa. Sound & Shot feature takes 9 seconds of audio when capturing a photo. Drama Shot combines all the actions from a Burst shot into one screen. Story album enables the users to create an album using their shots and audio. Cinema photo feature allows the users to animate one portion of an image, while keeping the rest simple. Eraser Mode allows users to erase objects from the image that they do not wish to include. Other features also include S Health (users can track their diet, steps, exercises, etc.), S Translator, S Voice assistant, Galaxy S Voice Drive and Integrated Optical Reader. Samsung has yet to announce the release date and the price of the S4.

The information for the detailed table about the two phones has been taken from the Nokia website, theverge.com, Samsung Mobile website, knowyourmobile.com, expertreviews.co.uk and GSMArena.com.

Image Courtesy: nokia.com, samsung.com