How much better is a 920 than an 810?

[mjaiteh]

I'm desperate to upgrade from my windows 7.8 phone, and I've been searching for an unlocked 920, but I'm a broke college student and its kind of expensive.

920's range from 250-400 and 810 ranging from 140-250
The 810 i'm eyeing is $150

Is the 920 $100 much better than the 810, or should I keep my $100 for accessories and my phone bill?

 

[pantsaregood]

The 810, 820, and 822 are all very much the same phone. They perform identically to the 920, but they're not quite as nice. The 920 has 32 GB of internal storage (for app use), while the 810 and 820 are limited to 8 GB. The 920's screen is definitely better, as is the camera. The OS, as previously stated, performs identically - the RAM and SoC are identical.

If you can, look for an 820 instead of an 810. Updates and accessories will be much easier to come by, as it isn't a carrier-exclusive variant of the device like the other two.

 

[metalchick719]

I have both the 810 and 920. I kind of gave up on the 810 because of T-Mobile EOL'ing it after 5 months and got an unlocked Rogers 920, which works perfectly on the network. Honestly, I don't think you should bother spending $150 on the 810. I got it for that much on contract in November, and while it was a good price at the time, I don't think it's worth it now. Both phones are great, but unless you flash the 810 to GDR2/Amber, you'll be stuck with the dreaded "Other" storage issue. I actually loved my 810 and it was a great phone. There's honestly not a whole lot of difference between it and the 920 other than one having more internal storage, the other having a microSD card slot, the screen pixel density and the AMOLED vs IPS screen. Also, of course, the 920 is slightly bigger and heavier.

I would probably recommend the 920 over the 810, but both are great phones. If you're set on the 810, see if you can negotiate the seller down a bit.

 

[b3rni3703]

WAYYYYYY BETTER. I currently own both 920 (ATT unlocked) and 810 (from TMo)... i'd follow his/her ^ advice... don't get the 810 as it's carrier exclusive and EOL'd by TMo - instead opt for the 820 when you see the opportunity to snag one online.. but if you wanna shell out 50-100 bucks more you may be able to get yourself a used 920. I got my 920 last week off of Ebay for roughly 270 (mint condition along w/ protective thin casing) and lovin' it.. sometimes you'll just have to keep your eye out. Deals like that are hard to come by but they're out there. Good luck!

 

[mjaiteh]

Thanks, I think the issue at hand now is money and availability. I have only $200 to spend and my old htc radar which i plan to sell after purchasing for $100(I already have a buyer). The 920 is obviously better, but it costs more. I've been looking for used one's but I only like the white and black colors which are kind of limiting. Also, the 810 would work with my simple mobile sim card without the need for unlocking which seems to be another issue. I flashed my radar to 7.8 so I wouldn't have a problem flashing the 810 to Amber.

 

[metalchick719]

@ Bernie - I'm a 'her.' Thought everyone knew that given the 'chick' in my username. lol

@ mjaiteh - Have you considered picking up a Lumia 521? It's the cheapest WP8 phone you can find and has been as cheap as $99 up to $150. It should probably work with Simple Mobile as well. HSN.com had them at $99 a few weeks back, but I think they're around $120 right now.

 

[mjaiteh]

I'd rather get the 810 than the 521. The 521 would be a hardware downgrade from my radar(losing flash and front camera).

 

[b3rni3703]

@ Bernie - I'm a 'her.' Thought everyone knew that given the 'chick' in my username. lol.

oh.. whoops lmao... that was meant for pantsaregood = P ... i didn't have to second guess your SN lol

 

[metalchick719]

oh.. whoops lmao... that was meant for pantsaregood = P ... i didn't have to second guess your SN lol

LMAO, my bad! I did see pantsaregood's post appear immediately after I posted mine, which was funny because I thought mine would be the second comment in this thread. :winktongue:

 

[metalchick719]

I'd rather get the 810 than the 521. The 521 would be a hardware downgrade from my radar(losing flash and front camera).

Understandable. Another option would be to look into getting an unlocked 620. I got one for my mother for $235 back in May, but I've seen them selling for $200 in places now. It has a front facing camera, great screen (3.8 inches, though) and of course the SD slot.

 

[b3rni3703]

810 would be your best bet if you want the flexibility of expandable storage, removable battery, an acceptable internal memory (1gb), duo core, and above average camera... just the software support from carrier is the biggest problem.

 

[mjaiteh]

@metalchickLol, I'm sorry if it sounds like im beating down your suggestions, but I would like an 8MP camera.

I'm looking into the unlocked 820 like pantsaregood suggested, will the 820 continue to get support?

 

[metalchick719]

Lol, I'm sorry if it sounds like im beating down your suggestions, but I would like an 8MP camera. I'm looking into the unlocked 820 like pantsaregood suggested, but is the 820 EOL like the 810?

The 820 isn't EOL, but I've read many people saying the battery life is really bad. Between that phone and the 810, I'd recommend the 810 just for the superior battery. When I was using mine, I could get at least close to two full days of usage out of it.

 

[mjaiteh]

Alright cool. If I can find a little more money i'll get the 920 but if not I can settle for the 810. And I can flash amber to it right?

 

[pantsaregood]

It isn't as simple to flash updates to WP8 as it was on WP7. You likely didn't actually flash your HTC Radar, you probably just used a CAB sender to force the updates onto the phone. WP8 updates aren't packaged like that, and if not pushed by carriers, they require you to flash the phone completely.

The issue is that there aren't "generic" ROMs to flash. Every WP7.x device could have the same OS CAB files sent to it. You can't use any ROMs with the Lumia 810 other than 810 ROMs, and if they are no longer produced, you're out of luck.

The Lumia 820 will likely continue to receive support for a substantial amount of time, since it saw a worldwide release.

 

[mjaiteh]

Things just got a little more difficult....

 

[a5cent]

I would support all of metalchick's recommendations. I think she is right in trying to nudge you away from an 820.

From the low end the L820 is surpassed by the L720, which for almost all purposes is the better device (except for gaming), while it doesn't compete with the higher end models. The L720's camera is also much better than the L820's, despite its slightly lower resolution.

A new L720 will cost $300.

 

[jonathanbailie]

I chose the 920 over the lower numbered models for the screen, basically. PPI is 332, which is actually a little higher than the newer iPhones, so everything is very crisp and clear. The 920 also has an IPS LCD, so colors are more accurate and the viewing angles are really good.

If you're looking for a little more saturation, while keeping the pixel count high, check out the 925 or 928; they use an AMOLED screen.

Sent from my Nokia Lumia 920 using Tapatalk for Windows Phone 8

 

[jonathanbailie]

Also, if you're concerned about money, the newer, lower-end Lumias, like the 521, are great phones for the money. You pretty much get all the features of the higher end models, but at a cheap price. You're going to sacrifice a few things, like screen quality, CPU speed, RAM, etc., as well as certain software aspects, like some camera software, and I think some of the Nokia/Here mapping and navigation apps may be different or absent.

Sent from my Nokia Lumia 920 using Tapatalk for Windows Phone 8

 

[Corepc]

52x - no front facing camera, no camera flash, no compass, no NFC, no wireless charging.

If you need this stuff then get 620,720,

If you need 1 gig of ram then 8xx,9xx,1020