First smartphone: 620 vs 800 (vs 610)

[Blackened Justice]

Hey everyone,

I'm looking into buying my first smartphone, after fiddling for years with friends' iPhones and Android phones, and most recently one of them got an HTC Radar, and I really enjoyed the OS. I figured it was the sort of smartphone I'd like to have, with a nice OS, and a price that won't leave me bankrupt. I'd prefer a Nokia, since it's a company I like, and whose products I've been using for a quite long time.

Now, I'm not really fond of the larger screens, nor paying a lot of money for the phone, so here the options I'm considering, along with their local prices:

Lumia 620 - €249.90
Lumia 800 - €209.90
Lumia 610 - €121.50

For these prices, what would be your pick? Can the 800 and 610 be updated to WP7.8? What significant advantages does WP8 have over WP7? Do they share a common app store?
I intend to use it for some light web browsing, a couple of apps, regular phone usage, as well as some media playing every now and then. I just want it to be smooth, I don't need a lot of processing power. Which one should I go for?
I have to be honest here, I'm quite attracted to the 620, having the latest thing and an up to date OS is quite tempting, However, I'm thinking that the 800, from the specsheet, may be the best deal here, with a superior screen, camera and with double the internal storage of the 620, at a lower price, it seems to be outdated only in its OS, and perhaps its CPU. The 610 seems a bit underpowered, but for that price, if it runs smooth enough, may just be enough to satisfy me.

Cheers

EDIT: BTW, I should mention that I use a Macbook Air as my main laptop. How well do both WP7 and WP8 interact with OS X?

 

[abhibh]

If camera and screen is more important to you then Lumia 800 otherwise Lumia 620 is a great buy. 620 has a decent camera and screen too just 800 is tad better. WP8 has a lot of advantages over WP7.8 and both 610 and 800 can be upgraded to WP7.8.

You can always add 32GB card in the Lumia 620 and increase the storage. 620 has a better browser too and battery life on both 620 and 800 will be somewhat similar.

 

[1101x10]

I currently own the 800 and 620 and would recommend the 620. The camera, although less MP is not much different, but is better in low light. The 620 screen is very good and is easier to read outdoors in bright light. 8MB is enough for a lot of apps and you can add extra storage for media files. The biggest difference though is the 620 is more future proof having WP8.

 

[anon(5354967)]

The Lumia 620 is easily better than both of the other handsets you mentioned in both real life performance and benchmarks. And although both of the other phones are getting 7.8, there appears to be serious problems with the live tiles, making WP8 a much more stable choice.