Is the Lumia 900 worth waiting for?

Is the Lumia 900 worth waiting for?

The Nokia Lumia 900 was announced at CES 2012 just few weeks ago. This announcement came just one month after The Nokia Lumia 800 was launched and when Lumia 800 was gaining traction in the market. Many consumers are waiting for the supposed newer and better Nokia flagship, the Lumia 900, but a lot of Windows Phone and Nokia fan boys jumped right in for Lumia 800. So are you one of those people still waiting for Lumia 900 launch before making decisions on which Lumia proves to be the better phone?

Granted that Microsoft has tight control over how WP should look like, I doubt Nokia have much room to customize the look and feel of Lumia 900. So what the main improvements and differences between the two are since physically, at least through photos, they looked similar?

The Screen Real Estate

First of all, the 900 has a bigger screen real estate. All 4.3” of it to be exact, as compared to 3.7” screen on the 800. When the smart phone plays an increasingly important and functional role in our daily lives like replacing our media player and surfing the internet, anything smaller than 4” screen is kind of small in today’s standards. But both screens has got same amount of pixels at 480 by 800, which means the 800 has a higher pixel density at 252 ppi and 900 at 217 ppi. Not so much of a difference to the human eye if you asked me. The difference of 35ppi as compared to screen estate of 4.3”, I’d go with the bigger screen size.

Size Matters

Physical dimensions (obviously) differ too. At 127.8 x 68.5 x 11.5 mm, the 900 is 160 grams, 18 grams heavier than the 800 at 116.5 x 61.2 x 12.1 mm, 142 grams. Both are very pocket-able, easily fits into most jeans’ pockets. The additional of 12 grams weight shouldn’t be a problem too. Hey for bigger screen it’s all worth it right? Furthermore, the 900 is thinner at 11.5 mm, than 800’s 12.1 mm.

Front Camera

The Lumia 900 also has a front facing camera which the Lumia 800 lacks. So for people who need a mirror function on their smart phone, rejoice! Not just that, front facing camera opens up capabilities for video calling and a barrage of other apps and functions.

Under the Hood

The Lumia 900 will be LTE enabled meaning Lumia 900 will be able to connect to 4G networks. It basically means faster data transfers, file downloading and net browsing on their Lumia 900. The 900 will have Qualcomm APQ8055 Snapdragon onboard as opposed to the 800’s Qualcomm MSM8255 Snapdragon. Both have same CPU of 1.4 GHz Scorpion, which probably means same snappy responses which Lumia 800 is capable of. There is also the rumor of Wifi internet sharing on Lumia 900, but I guess it’s not that difficult for Nokia and implement it onto Lumia 800 as well, just a matter of when.

Near Field Communication

The Lumia 900 also has NFC which is also present in Nokia N9 and Symbian Belle phones. It’s basically an antenna which allows the smart phones to interact with other devices by tapping onto each other in a fuss-free way. Nokia had demonstrated NFC functions for various uses, including the 360 speakers. The future of NFC seems to be endless with real possibilities of cashless payments and information transfer.   

More Juice!

This would be pleasing to know, the 900 spots an 1830 mAh Li-Ion, higher capacity than 1450 mAh on Lumia 800. Some of you might have heard that, the battery on Lumia 800 don’t really last long enough. 1450 mAh by many standards is just puny. But don’t be too happy yet, 1830 mAh does not guarantee long lasting usage. One of the biggest consumers of battery juice is the screen, with a bigger screen size, the Lumia 900 may neutralize the bigger battery, we’ll have to wait and see.

That’s it! Based on the specs we know so far, these are the differences worth considering when choosing between 800 or 900. So far, what interests me is the bigger screen size of 4.3”, it’s as big as it gets on a smart phone. Any bigger will be venturing into realm of tablet. The other improvements are negligible and furthermore, by the time Lumia 900 launch officially, the price of Lumia 800 will be at a sweet spot (low enough) preventing consumers from leaping forward.

So, which one is your ideal Lumia?