Nokia Lumia Icon vs Samsung Galaxy Note 4 vs Iphone 6/6+

[Kazekage1981]

Hello everyone, I currently have Samsung Stratosphere 2 with Android Jellybeen OS and im ready to throw this phone in the garbage. It has too much bloatware, barely functional (it literally slows down and almost freezes when i am typing a simple text message). It has a 16GB MicroSD card, but somehow all the pictures and music are saved to the onboard storage instead of the MicroSD card. It cant even pull pictures from the picture gallery because there is not enough freespace or memory for the phone to display it. The S Voice thing is useless, it can barely understand me. The apps take forever to load. I have Verizon as my carrier and im ready for an upgrade. So I am now deciding between 3 phones: Nokia Lumia Icon, Samsung Galaxy Note 4, and Iphone 6/6+

Nokia Lumia Icon: Looking at Verizons plan, the $99 upgrade for me is pretty affordable versus 199/299 For Iphone 6/6+ and Samsung Galaxy Note 4. It has 1080p full HD display with OLED, and i know the picture quality is going to be superb. I used MS word, Note, and Powerpoint along with outlook so i know its going to be easy to use on the OS. The OS is also very fluid and buttery smooth versus the current phone i have stutters a lot and feels rigid and slow. The Camera is also amazing to me and its able to save RAW files, which is unheard of. I love photography, and this is a definite plus for me. I also like panoramic shots so the camera is very powerful. The new updates from Nokia also allows you to record 4K video which I did not expect at all. I am not really big on apps or games. Main ones I use is: Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, PicsArt for photoediting, generic music download app, web browsing, gmail (since i use android), skype. The windows phone has all of that and more so i am not too worried. The Cortona Voice also seems to be more intuitive, smarter and responsive then S voice and Siri so thats a great plus too. With the windows phone i know its going to be seemless with my windows 8.1 pro tablet, and windows 7 desktop (im going to get windows 10 upgrade when it comes out next year for both my tablet and desktop) The only downside to the phone is that I wish it had a stylus pen like microsoft surface pro and galaxy note. I am an artist, and i would love to use a pen to draw on the phone or play games, or even write on onenote. If there is a stylus pen i can use, then this is a solid 100% purchase for me. Also i am wondering if Nokia is going to release a more powerful windows phone next year with a stylus pen included with UHD display, beefed up specs and windows 10 OS.

Samsung Galaxy Note 4: Despite the Jelly Been clunky OS on my current phone, this phone supports UHD with AMOLED display, and reading the previews/reviews its the best most beautiful screen quality on a phone. I would love to watch movies, see pictures, and web browsing on the phone. The stylus pen is a huge plus for me because i would love to doodle, play games (i dont play games but using the pen to play games would be awesome), and write notes on the phone. All of MS office stuff can be purchased for android. It currently has Kit Kat Android OS, but the new 5.0 Lollipop OS is going to be the biggest overhaul and i hope its going to make the OS buttery or silky smooth like windows phone OS and iOS8. It just depends on how long Samsung is going to take to release the new OS to the system, and knowing Samsung i dont want to wait that long. The downside is 299.99 is a lot to spend on the phone, and the camera despite imporovements from the predecessor is still not as good as Nokia Lumia and is not able to save RAW files. I dont know how the S voice is on kit kat and i dont know how S voice is going to improve on Lollipop. The phone has very nice beefy specs. Will Android phones use Octacore ARM based processors next year with 4 Gigs of RAM?

Iphone 6/6+: I have never owned an iphone or a windows phone, but despite its low specs (it finally has 1080p display) with only 1 GIG of RAM, it has a solid camera (better than Galaxy Note 4), lots of apps, buttery smooth OS, all of MS office stuff. Im not a fan of itunes, 199/299 is a lot to ask for an upgrade, no stylus pen. Solid quality phone, solid OS, just never found Iphone/Ipad products that appealing to me.

So which phone should i buy? Should i wait longer for a better phone? Will Nokia or another windows phone manufacturer come out with a better Windows phone with better specs soon? Thanks for your input in advance.

 

[Laura Knotek]

Hi and welcome to WPCentral.

I've moved your thread to the Phone Wars forum, since that is the place to compare/contrast various devices.

I hope you find something new that you like. :smile:

 

[Nicholas Maguire]

I would say wait a little while longer and see if the Lumia Icon is going to get the WP 8.1 update or not. If so, definitely get the Icon, it's a gorgeous device with an amazing camera. Wait til' the end of the year, that's my suggestion. Or maybe they will surprise us and have a new WP flagship by then, but we'll see. Windows Phone is very smooth, and has awesome exclusives such as the Halo games. Halo Spartan Strike is coming to WP soon. The Windows 10 upgrade will be amazing. The Galaxy Note 4 I'm not a fan of, and I have used it. The iPhone 6 just didn't live up to the hype, and it's a rip off that you have to get the 6+ to get a full HD screen.

 

[spazzmeister]

Windows phone takes getting used to. My advise is always to buy a 520 (it's cheap). Then play around with it and explore the apps available and whether or not they suit your needs. I'm using the 930 and it's a great phone. I will be updating to the note 4 though. I simply miss customizing my phone and the plethora of work related apps available there. Also being outside of the USA Bing really doesn't outperform Google imo. Good luck!

 

[Kazekage1981]

Wait I saw a thread called "Windows will never get an official Youtube app" Are you serious??!!!!!!! I subscribe to so many channels on youtube and I listen to my music there too! I also download youtube videos. I saw an official youtube app for windows phone on youtube! WTF??!!!

 

[Kazekage1981]

I need a good quality phone with decent specs, that's what I did with the stratosphere was to get a budget phone because I didn't care too much about specs, apps, picture quality, camera at that time. Now I do. Im really itching to get a new phone and tired of waiting. I have a bad feeling that the note 4 is going to have to wait a long time to get the Lollipop 5.0 upgrade because of the bloatware and hardware specific customized OS

 

[spazzmeister]

Well if you are really invested in Youtube then you have to go for an android then. The Note series doesn't get updates as quickly as the Nexus or Moto series but it will have the best hardware for the next 6 months and js perfect for a two year duration. Concerning Touchwiz well...you'll just have to use a launcher that's what I would do.

 

[BatteryLife]

The official YouTube on any platform pales in comparison to MyTube or MetroTube on Windows Phone. Personally, my pick is MyTube, as I can just stream audio (saving data) and save the videos to be viewed offline.

Personally, I would suggest you buy a Lumia 520 or a 525 to test WP out first. Its very unique and special, though some may not like it.

Androids are okay to me. But Samsung however gave me a very bad experience with them. I have seen friends and family members suffer from lag after 2 years of using the phone. Mind you, they are using flagship devices from previous years (S Advance (okay, not really a flagship), S2, S3 and S4). S4 doesn't lag, yet, but its hard to tell whether it will stay that way or not.

Its like the Acer of mobile phones.

 

[gapost]

The 500 series won't work on Verizon. You could get an inexpensive 822 to try for a while. It's actually a decent phone. Personally, if you are going to get a Windows phone, you could probably get one used off-contract and then save your upgrade for later. I've had most of the Verizon windows phones and really liked the Icon but it's being retired and still doesn't have official 8.1 software and cyan firmware and may or may not get it. The M8 Windows is very nice, but not for serious photography.

 

[Kazekage1981]

Why is it that nokia is making budget phones? the 830 and 735 are newer phones with lower specs. I was hoping they would make a phone similar to galaxy note with a stylus pen. Imagine using a stylus pen on one note. With MS Surface pro it works beautifully. When it comes to software updates, the icon seems to be a solid phone. Good specs, camera, screen resolution, I am sure it would be able to handle the windows 10 update. Does anyone have the latest update software: windows 8.1 update 1? cyan update?

 

[Steve Adams]

I think the comparison should be the Lumia 1520, note 4 and 6+. Toss the apple out because of shoddy build quality and sub par hardware. We come to the note 4 and 1520. The note is an awesome device hampered with android. That is probably the only minus for it. My note was jumpy and not fluid. The 1520 is running top notch hardware, best camera system available in a phone, and great screen. the only minus for "some" people would be lack of available apps. However, I have yet to not find an app for everything I want to do.

I would like to see Samsung make a Note ATIV w10. Full blown note running win10, with the pen available to use like the surface pen. Winner for sure there. Or, MS do the same with the 1520 chassis. make a stowable pen from the surface pro system.

I would be down for one of those machines.

 

[CapoFantasma97]

There are tons of pens for touch screens made by various companies , for example Wacom did one.
I think the best use for a pen is on the Lumia 1520, which has 6" screen.

Also I think it's better to buy online (at least here the lumias come really cheap and in great or new condition on sites like Ebay/Amazon etc) than get struck with a carrier.

 

[Steve Adams]

I will only buy phones off ebay now. NOT tied to carriers plus way cheaper. I got our two 1020s off ebay at over 1/2 off compared to buying two left overs from our carrier.

 

[Kazekage1981]

Can someone give me specific pens to buy? I like the fine tip stylus not the eraser at end tip. If I were to buy windows phones off from ebay or amazon, how can I make it work using my Verizon carrier?

 

[Kazekage1981]

I went to a Verizon store, and they stated the best thing to do is purchase a used phone off contract. They said they had nokia lumia 928 for $250 and the icon would be similar in price. I checked out the HTC one M8, and that phone is really great, it had cortona and 8.1 update 1

 

[chezm]

Just to give you a heads up (not trying to Steer you in android direction) Microsoft Office is 100? free on android, at least it is on my Nexus 5.

As for your inquiry I would say toy around with Windows phone os before making a final decision just to make sure everything you're depending on using is available.

If you decide to go with Android I'd recommend nexus 6 mainly due to stock Android as Samsung android I've never been a fan of, as you mentioned bloat ware is brutal.

As for Windows phone, I would suggest a 1520 as from what I hear it's the best WP available. My 1020 was OK but running cyan was experiencing issues with the dated processor.

Posted via Nexus 5 WPC App

 

[RobGG]

Wait I saw a thread called "Windows will never get an official Youtube app" Are you serious??!!!!!!! I subscribe to so many channels on youtube and I listen to my music there too! I also download youtube videos. I saw an official youtube app for windows phone on youtube! WTF??!!!

I'm a youtube power user as well so if you really really wanna watch a lot of youtube on a WP be aware that even though mytube and metrotube are ''good'' alternatives and have certain features they also lack some important ones and sometimes dont let you play all videos you would normally play youtube for IOS or Android... one of the features i missed the most was being able to airplay to my tv... i could only do this on the youtube website using internet explorer but it wasnt as easy as it is with IOS and Android.

As a user of IOS, Android and WP i would say that all of them are great platforms and the 3 of them can be a great user experience depending on your needs and wants.

For me it would go like this...

Battery Life: Note 4 is better than the other ones, Iphone 6 and 6 plus have also gotten better but not as good as the Note 4, Battery life on the Icon is meh, phone gets really hot sometimes and starts using a lot of battery.

Screen: I have an Iphone 6 not the plus so i cant know how good it is on that one, but on the 6 its still 720ish and i miss the screen on my Icon or my HTC M8... I assume out of your 3 options it's either Note 4, Iphone 6plus, Icon, Iphone 6... in that order.

Apps: IOS is the king here, Android is good but still a step behind, WP is far and i would not recommend it to a person that wants good quality apps, fast updates, good support, many options

Camera: The Icon is by far the best one here, i love cameras on Nokia devices, they're not bad on the iphone or the Note 4 but the camera on the Nokia Lumia is THAT GOOD.

 

[fatclue_98]

Another thread where the OP clearly states he's on Verizon and he's inundated with GSM Lumia options. Guys, it's either an Icon, M8 or Ativ SE for this chap as far as current, or in stock.

 

[Kazekage1981]

Sorry for the long response time, I went to swappa.com to purchase an off contract phone. I found the HTC One M8 for $380 from a first seller, but that a-hole did not communicate or ship the product after paying him. I got so pissed off, so I had to create a dispute for him to give me a refund (this took a week). I found another HTC One M8 for $400 with case and screen protectant so not a bad deal. I just got it today. It will take me 1 week or 2 weeks to tinker around with it. I need to get use to OS. One thing that stands out for this phone is the sound/speakers. It is f*ckin AWESOMEEE!!! I went to my Verizon store to compare Lumia Icon screen vs HTC One 8. No comparison that Lumia wins. However, it is 1080p, and its still not bad, it is very good quality screen. I don't care too much about the Camera considering I use my DSLR to take good quality photos. I need to play with the camera more. Another reason why I chose this phone: microsd card. I haven't purchased it, but I will be getting the 128GB one from best buy tomorrow. I plan on going all out with storing and downloading tons of music, photos, movies etc. The OS is fluid/silky smooth/buttery. I need to give this phone time to make the transition from Scamdroid (especially crappy Samsung brands) to Windows. I figured this will hold me over for a while until they come out with windows 10 phones with hopefully a stylus pen like galaxy note. I will keep you guys posted. I feel actually glad that I made this transition. Btw, Icon is between 100-250 on swappa. I was very tempted to buy it because its a very affordable price, however: microsd card, sound, and Windows 8.1 Update 1 with Cortona (not waiting for Cyan and Denim update) is what made me buy it. They are going to come out with a new Nokia phone anyways. Thanks for your guys advice.

 

[bmetelsky]

Hope you enjoy your new phone. Welcome to the forum!!
Sent from my Lumia Icon using Tapatalk.