On one side of the ring, we have the LG G Flex, a marvel of a device that showcases some new and innovative design qualities we haven’t seen commercialized on a large scale. Meanwhile there’s the Nokia Lumia 1520, the biggest and most high spec’d Windows Phone to come to market – made more profound with its hard-to-beat on-contract price from the onset. Several valid reasons exist right now as to why consumers should pick either of them up, but there can only be one that can give us the practical and meaningful answers.
Design
Overall, it’s safe to say that both handsets borrow from past devices, so we wouldn’t say that they’re dramatically different. Despite that, we’ll give the stylish look to the Lumia 1520, mainly due to its chic tapered design in conjunction with the various bright colored paint jobs it’s offered in. Then again, the G Flex is unique in itself for its unconventional curved design, giving it the ability to go back into shape after being flattened, and its self-healing rear casing. When it comes to the in-the-hand feel, we’re going to give it to the LG G Flex because of its ergonomic and more comfortable feel. Honestly, it’s tough which design we prefer more, seeing that they a handful of characteristics we like.
What we have here are two 6-inch displays, one employing IPS-LCD technology, the other being OLED. Looking at strictly at their qualities, there’s no arguing we get a higher level of it with the 6-inch 1080p (368 ppi) IPS-LCD display of the Lumia 1520. Not only is it more detailed than the 6-inch 720p (245 ppi) P-OLED panel of the G Flex, but it also proves to be more visible in outdoor conditions. Although it’s being outclassed in the specs department, the G Flex’s flexible plastic OLED display is undeniably rare, one that’s able to flex accordingly without any worries in regards to it breaking or shattering. Yes, it’s cool, impressive, and innovative, but we’ve come across some distracting elements, like some odd color banding and spottiness, that appear when the brightness is set at 50% or below.
Interface and Functionality
Armed with the GDR3 update, the Windows Phone 8 experience of the Lumia 1520 is slightly ahead of the curve of other Windows Phones, but despite all of its advances and enhancements, it still doesn’t match the kind of depth that LG’s customized Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean experience brings to the table. Visually, there’s a lot of appeal to the animated look of Windows Phone’s start screen. However, LG’s UX UI interface boasts more personalization and secondary features that adheres to the needs of power users in general. We’ll admit that it continues to have a somewhat cartoony look, in comparison to the smooth and modern design language of Windows Phone, but heck, its scope of work is hard to overlook.
For starters, there’s the matter regarding their respective multi-tasking experiences. It’s your usual operation with the Lumia 1520, which is merely nothing more than task switching at best. Whereas with the G Flex, it shows its variety and true multi-tasking experience with its QSlide, Slide Aside, and Dual Window features.
Furthermore, we continue to see more depth with LG’s phablet in the notifications department, seeing that they’re all populated in a unified place that’s accessible at any time – plus, it lays claim to giving us access to other connectivity features as well. Conversely, it can sometimes be a messy process trying to track down all the notifications in the start screen of Nokia’s phablet.
Productivity centric individuals will be pleased by what they offer, as the Lumia 1520 gives is the full mobile Microsoft Office experience – while the G Flex has a decent alternative with its preloaded Polaris Office 5 app. However, Android’s Google Now digital personal assistant service is drastically superior to that of the Bing experience of Windows Phone 8.
Processor and Memory
Fortunately for these two, they’re packing serious heat under the hood courtesy of Qualcomm. Powered by the quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 SoC coupled with the Adreno 330 GPU and 2GB of RAM, the only thing separating them are their CPU’s clocked speeds – 2.26GHz for the G Flex, and 2.2GHz for the Lumia 1520. Not surprisingly, they’re both responsive and handle intensive gaming effortlessly, but there’s just a more pronounced snappy feel with the LG G Flex. Who knows, but it can just be related to software optimizations with its experience.
When it comes to storage, they’re stuffed with an ample 32GB of internal memory – albeit, the AT&T version only has 16GB. Regardless of that, the Lumia 1520 carries along a microSD slot to supplement its tally.
AnTuTuHigher is better
LG G Flex36180
Nokia Lumia 152025799
GFXBench Egypt HD 2.5 onscreen(fps)Higher is better
Riding high with their responsive performances, it’s not shocking to find both devices equipped at handling our needs pertaining to surfing the web. Featuring 4G LTE connectivity, lickity split page rendering, and buttery navigational controls, they have all of the quality elements to make them beloved for the occasion. Yet, the higher resolution of the Lumia 1520’s display has its benefits when trying to decipher miniscule text.
In addition, they’re outfitted with the same expected connectivity features that are now common in all high-end gear – like aGPS, Bluetooth 4.0, dual-band 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, NFC. However, there’s a handy IR blaster built into the G Flex, which transforms the smartphone into a backup universal remote.
Camera
These aren’t afraid to tell people that they’re serious at taking photos, since they’re outfitted with some number crushing cameras. Specifically, it’s a 13-megapixel auto-focus camera in the G Flex, and an even higher count 20-megapixel PureView camera in the Lumia 1520.
We’ve talked in great detail about their camera apps before, but we’ll simply say that we like how the Lumia 1520 presents us with a very camera-like interface with its manual controls – allowing us to even adjust focus, which is a rarity in itself. On the flip side, the G Flex dishes out nearly the same amount of manual controls, save for its more menu driven interface, but it astounds us for its wealth of shooting modes. Not only that, but we appreciate how we can easily take selfies using the rear camera, thanks to the aid of its facial recognition feature. Essentially, the biggest draw here is just how the Lumia 1520’s higher resolution 19-megapixel samples uncover just a smidgen more details than its rival. Under lower lighting conditions, the G Flex manages to compose images that are a little brighter, due to its longer exposure, but the compromise is made in having hazier looking photos. Taking all of that into consideration, Nokia’s new toy gets the checkered flag in this category.
However, when it comes to shooting 1080p videos, we absolutely prefer the G Flex – more so when it has that flowy 60 FPS capture rate. Best of all, it just has a sharper look than its rival. Underwhelming is what best describes the quality of the Lumia 1520, which can shoot at 24, 25, or 30 FPS, but the subdued look of its results don’t do justice in capturing our attention.
Multimedia
Going with a more modern style with its music player, we prefer the presentation value that accompanies the Lumia 1520 – whereas it looks and feels rather ordinary with the G Flex’s music player. Holding them in our hands, there’s more of a commanding presence with the Lumia 1520’s internal speaker. Place them flat on their backs on a level surface, though, the G Flex’s output is amplified to the point that it matches the powerful and robust tones of its highly esteemed competitor.
Flaunting big screens and all, they provide anyone with an ideal video watching experience, especially when they can play a variety of codecs out of the box. Visually, there’s a lot to like from the experience – like their smooth playbacks and iridescent glows. Still, it’s worth pointing out that there’s a nifty multi-tasking aspect that allows us to continue watching a video while doing something else with the G Flex.
Call Quality
We’re going to have to go with the LG G Flex when it comes to call quality, even more when it hits high marks in all relevant categories – such as volume output, clarity, and speakerphone quality. With the Lumia 1520, it’s nothing more than average, though, its earpiece is rather tepid with its quality.
Battery
Under our real world experience, they offer outstanding battery life that’ll provide even those demanding power users with an all-day battery life – with no worries about having to replenish throughout the day.
Conclusion
Innovative is something that’s profound with the LG G Flex, obviously, seeing that it’s showcasing many new technological feats we haven’t seen before in a commercialized way. People will absolutely be intrigued by its curved design, which is uncanny at first, but it truly shows the direction the industry will be moving towards in the very near future. At its core, it’s a fantastic offering that will blow away friends and colleague – but there’s a price to pay for something so special.
Ultimately, the G Flex’s import cost of $940 will make people think long and hard about the investment, which is a hefty one to say the least. Well, that’s not a problem for the Nokia Lumia 1520, since it’s sporting a lower $585 off-contract price through AT&T at the moment. Better yet, its on-contract price of $100 right from the get-go makes it very difficult to pass up on. Whatever the choice, Nokia’s current pride and joy definitely proves the point that it has a whole lot of bang for the buck.
Throw in the fact that it’s a high-spec’d in every category, combined with an impressive camera in the rear, the only thing that’s really holding the Lumia 1520 back is arguably Windows Phone 8, which we might add, is continually being enhanced and improved with each iteration. Yeah, the customized Android experience of the G Flex adheres to the needs of serious power users, but the decision to side with it is made most difficult by its expensive cost. Then again, it’s stuffed with some next-gen features, which justifies things a bit.
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