1020 vs 1520: The Dilemma

[lovenokia]

For those who says dont look for the specs and CPU power because WP doesn't need much, this is wrong, try to run games on any WP and you will notice some lag and much much heat with high battery drain more than it should be, also future WP 8.1 with real multitasking, all these are reasons why you will need the quad core CPU

How would you know the multitasking will be changed in wp 8.1? I preordered a yellow 1520 but I hope ms will make the multitasking better, just not sure how much better it will get. There is some lag in games, and latency lag from touch input. Try dragging your finger across the touchscreen, and you will see a delay.

 

[buxz777]

I would take the camera out of your decision making. No phone camera will give you a stand alone camera quality. That being said the difference between the 1520 and the 1020 won't be that great, in my opinion, if at all. The real question you should have is about the size which will be a big factor for everyone. If you can handle that then the increase in the other specs should make the 1520 an easy choice.

the 1520 will never compare for me ...... it has no xenon flash for starters :-/ that for me puts the 1020 leaps and bounds ahead as I love the option of freezing the shot if need be in dim lighting instead of getting motion blur from the slightest movements , this is particularly true in pub type shots of friends etc

 

[Marlon Bu]

No phone camera will give you a stand alone camera quality.

My 1020 has a better Camera-Quality than all my stand alone Cameras. 1020 has also a bigger sensor.

 

[husam2277]

How would you know the multitasking will be changed in wp 8.1? I preordered a yellow 1520 but I hope ms will make the multitasking better, just not sure how much better it will get. There is some lag in games, and latency lag from touch input. Try dragging your finger across the touchscreen, and you will see a delay.

I read before that many sources talking about real multitasking in WP 8.1 and thats why Nokia added 2GB RAM to the 1020 and 1520, things should be better in the future, 8.1 may run many processes in the background instead of suspending it to improve the experience... History proofs that systems become more complicated and so needing more CPU and RAM...
I think microsoft needs to reduce the switching time between apps and between apps and the start screen, transition graphics are smooth but taking long time to hide the lag..

 

[phasar]

If you carry a purse or handbag, will be using it at home a lot, or have a Bluetooth earpiece, I think you'll enjoy the device. But if you talk on this phone in public without a earpiece, you'll look ridiculous. I personally love the size if used as a second device

 

[Moiz Mian]

Its a general misconception that more mpix = bettery image quality.

The most important aspect in imaging is the size of the sensor, the part that collects light, the bigger that is, the more light it collects, which leads to less noise and more detail. Of course there are other components in play, but considering that most of them are pretty standard in phones these days, the sensor remains the most important of them all.

Now, how many pixels you decide to cut that sensor into is.. well.. up to the OEM. There is ongoing debate on pixel sizes vs. pixel density. Good examples of pixel dense camera are the Nokia 808, Nokia 1020, Nikon D800.. etc.

http://i.imgur.com/gxSzWSz.jpg

The 1520 has the same size sensor as the Z1.

Here is the appr. light gathering ability of each of those sensors.. BSI is taken under account but I think its rather generous.

http://i.imgur.com/6VyX9it.jpg

That being said, the 1020 has a much bigger sensor so.. in terms of image quality its better than the 1520 in every single aspect.

Now.. its all relevant.. the 1520 seems to have a very good camera package overall, except the flash.. in my opinion no xenon = no flash

Its perfectly fine for 99% of users out there..

This website is very informative, I recommend reading it to anyone who wants to know a bit more about all of this

http://6mpixel.org/en/

Are you sure about this? This doesn't take into account pixel size or BSI. If you compensate for BSI which the industry average shows to be a 20% increase in light capture, then the 808 and 1020 should have identical light gathering values.

Also, the HTC One has gigantic pixels that can absorb a bunch of light, (admittedly, it still takes horrible pictures) but it doesn't make sense that it has the same light gathering capability as the 920/925.

 

[zipro]

I know many of you won't want to hear this and are going to bash me for saying it, but the 1020 runs on a very old processor and is fairly slow. The UI is fluid, but many apps aren't. I often get micro-stutters when scrolling websites etc. I never noticed until I got my Nexus 5 last week. So in this respect, I would definitely get the 1520. Much faster, faster camera performance, generally much more future-proof. I doubt the camera is going to be significantly worse, either. What you lose is half of the zooming capability, but you'll gain a drastically faster shot-to-shot speed.

I'll be selling my 1020 as soon as the 1520 arrives.

 

[Bahamen]

Also, the HTC One has gigantic pixels that can absorb a bunch of light, (admittedly, it still takes horrible pictures) but it doesn't make sense that it has the same light gathering capability as the 920/925.

It's not just the size of the bucket that matters, the number of buckets matter as well. The HTC One is using the same 1/3" sensor as the 920/925. Arguably there may be some slight benefits in lowlight but when it comes to good lighting it falls very far short in capturing details hence its mediocre camera.

 

[Cactoes Gel]

After reading two pages, I'm leaning towards the 1520. It's not my daily driver so I don't mind the size, plus it's replacing my Note. I'm getting mine tomorrow. Now the question is which color.

 

[Bahamen]

I know many of you won't want to hear this and are going to bash me for saying it, but the 1020 runs on a very old processor and is fairly slow. The UI is fluid, but many apps aren't. I often get micro-stutters when scrolling websites etc. I never noticed until I got my Nexus 5 last week. So in this respect, I would definitely get the 1520. Much faster, faster camera performance, generally much more future-proof. I doubt the camera is going to be significantly worse, either. What you lose is half of the zooming capability, but you'll gain a drastically faster shot-to-shot speed.

I'll be selling my 1020 as soon as the 1520 arrives.

I hardly notice much lag on the 1020 anyway, so I'm guessing the quad core processors will only bring incremental speed improvement (except for camera performance which could benefit lot). Just look like that 8 core Galaxy S4, I'm so unimpressed by its performance. At some point there will be diminishing returns to processing speed.

 

[zipro]

I hardly notice much lag on the 1020 anyway, so I'm guessing the quad core processors will only bring incremental speed improvement (except for camera performance which could benefit lot). Just look like that 8 core Galaxy S4, I'm so unimpressed by its performance. At some point there will be diminishing returns to processing speed.

The S4 is a bad example - that phone is way slower than it should be. I had the S4 and was never happy with its performance - it's a laggy, stuttering mess. Compared to that, the new Qualcomm 800 phones (Sony Z1, LG G2, Nexus 5 etc.) are blazingly fast. I'd say the 1520 will be very noticeably faster than the 1020

 

[ypi]

I know most people disagree with the "dinosaur" reply, but I was thinking about 1020 vs. 1520, and I feel pretty much the same about it.
I always keep my phones for a long time, so I have to choose carefully, as it'll be with me for a long time.
I have a N8 right now. I love it, but since I bought it I miss a bigger screen and battery (I know Symbian isn't resource hungry, but I think the battery could be better since day one). The camera is awesome, and I specially like the xenon flash. The fact that the phone is always with me was the reason to buy the best cameraphone at the time.
I'm gonna miss those frozen dinner and party pictures thanks to xenon, but they are like 10 percent of what I shoot, so the 1520 will be good enough. At least, Nokia's dual led flash is pretty fast. The battery is also a good 1400 mAh bigger. I'd really like the best camera possible on a bigger screen and battery, but I understand it's impossible to put everything in a phone. For me, the 1520 feels like a better choice, and yes, the 1020 may be a bit of a dinosaur for me.

 

[phasar]

The S4 is a bad example - that phone is way slower than it should be. I had the S4 and was never happy with its performance - it's a laggy, stuttering mess. Compared to that, the new Qualcomm 800 phones (Sony Z1, LG G2, Nexus 5 etc.) are blazingly fast. I'd say the 1520 will be very noticeably faster than the 1020

I Played with the 1520 at at&t. My first response was wtf, I couldn't believe it was that much faster than my 1020. It is definitely a super fast device.

 

[Sniper1087]

I agree used the phone at the store and at first glance I thought this was way too but after I held the phone and looked at that screen I was like wow, it didnt feel heavy at all and it was faster than my 1020, didnt bother to test the camera, because I didnt see the point in it, the camera will be better tested outdoors, or places poor lightning, the only con maybe no xenon flash.

 

[husslord]

I got to finally hold it ha! Battery was fried! Love how slim it is but as a phone its just too big for me....im sure its perfect for others but for me and I have large hands it felt weird holding near the ear....i also think the size would get old fast! At least for me, I loves my note 2 but after 4 or 5 months the size got a little annoying, I will be getting the 2520 instead I think but who knows? May change my mind in a day or week but man that's a big phone!

 

[ALpHa.Q.RoUgH]

Yes, I think everybody should run out and get the 1520. *Run*, this is the "device" until Q1 2014 and then it too will be a dinosaur.

 

[maui911]

Rumour: Nokia Lumia 1820 phone and 2020 tablet coming at MWC 2014 | WMPoweruser

Yes, I think everybody should run out and get the 1520. *Run*, this is the "device" until Q1 2014 and then it too will be a dinosaur.

 

[4look4rd]

The 1020 is a great phone, I don't think I could ever go back to any other smartphone in the planet just because of the freaking camera. The problem with the 1020 is that the processor is fine for today. It doesn't lag, its pretty quick (although there is a small time delay between pictures, but not 5 seconds like the other person said), but how will it fare in a year?

I don't think the S4 will be able to keep up with the camera tech Nokia is putting out. I also think that 2014 will be a big year for WP since MS will control Nokia and they will push for a tighter WP/W8 integration.

The 1520 will get you there, but it has nuances of its own like the massive 6-inch screen (seriously its HUGE), OK camera for Nokia standards, and its also being released during a transition period (will it get all of the goodies?).

I vote for the 1020 if you can upgrade next year, or for a 520 until early next year (Feb/march) for the 920 successor, or if you are really patience for the 1020 successor. If you can handle the 6-inch in your pocket, go for the 1520 but keep in mind that it does not have the latest and greatest tech, and for this reason you might as well just get a Note 3.

EDIT:
Let me expand on the Note vs 1520 comparison a little. I know hating on Android is inevitable in a WP forum but try think objectively. The Note is by far the better phablet. You lose a little of camera quality, a few nice nokia apps (there are probably alternatives on android, althought probably not as polished) but you get a stylus and a purpose for having such a large screen. WP does not have tablet apps, and it doesn't have any special phablet functionality like dual apps.

You might get better battery life on the 1520 since Android is a battery hog, but you can swap batteries if that is really important to you. Note 3 is actually one of the better built Samsung devices (although its build quality is very likely to be worse than the 1520).

Oh yeah on top of that you gain all of Android apps. Personally I don't know what this means since I've been on WP for too long and think I have everything, but apparently they have an app utopia going on in there and we are missing it out... whatever IT really is.

 

[wpcautobot]

I just was at at&t store to see the sample 1520. I have to say, I'm a bit disappointed. Why? The speed of the camera and perceived application load times were not noticeably faster. I expected the camera to load and take pictures, render smart shots, etc very fast. It did not. The display is gorgeous, device is huge, but not too heavy and quite thin. It's just the performance didn't seem much difference to me than a 920, which I have. I'm surprised because others here said it was much faster. Any thoughts?

 

[Moiz Mian]

I just was at at&t store to see the sample 1520. I have to say, I'm a bit disappointed. Why? The speed of the camera and perceived application load times were not noticeably faster. I expected the camera to load and take pictures, render smart shots, etc very fast. It did not. The display is gorgeous, device is huge, but not too heavy and quite thin. It's just the performance didn't seem much difference to me than a 920, which I have. I'm surprised because others here said it was much faster. Any thoughts?

I posted the exact same thing. It's not noticeably faster at all. Someone theorized that GDR3 only enabled quad core compatibility and that 8.1 will optimize it. And until there is some incentive to go for the more powerful model, I'm fine with my 920 here