Galaxy S3 Mini Vs. Nokia Lumia 820: Specs Shootout

By Anu Passary | Oct 18, 2012 10:06 AM EDT

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Samsung's smaller version of its flagship Galaxy S3 smartphone, Galaxy S3 Mini, is already making waves and looks set to throw the gauntlet to rivals like Nokia's Lumia 820.

Here is a round-up of the features and specifications of the two impending smartphones, how the Galaxy S3 Mini and Lumia 820 measure up against each other.

Processor
The Galaxy S3 Mini features a dual-core processor that is clocked at 1GHz, whereas the Lumia 820 has a faster 1.5GHz dual-core Krait processor.

Display
The Galaxy S3 Mini sports a 4-inch Super AMOLED WVGA display vis-à-vis the Lumia 820's slightly bigger 4.3-inch AMOLED ClearBack display. Both the smartphones offer the same pixel resolution of 800 x 480; however, the Galaxy S3 Mini betters the Lumia 820 with 223 ppi versus 217 ppi.

Weight, Thickness, and Body
The Lumia 820 measures 4.9 x 2.7 x 0.39 inches, compared to Galaxy S3 Mini's 4.8 x 2.48 x 0.39 inches. The Lumia 820 is fractionally taller and wider than the Galaxy S3 Mini, and both smartphones have the same thickness. Weight wise, at 4.23 ounces, the Galaxy S3 Mini is much lighter than the Lumia 820 which weighs 5.64 ounces.

Storage and Memory
Memory-wise, the Galaxy S3 Mini has an advantage over the Lumia 820. The Galaxy S3 Mini offers both 8GB and 16GB of internal memory, compared to Lumia 820's only 8GB option. Both smartphones have the option to expand the memory (up to 32GB) using a microSD card.

Both smartphones also offer 1GB of RAM.

Camera
The Galaxy S3 Mini features a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera (2592 x 1944 pixels) with autofocus and LED flash. The Lumia 820, on the other hand, features an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera (3264 x 2448 pixels) with LED flash and autofocus.

Both smartphones have a front-facing VGA camera.

Software
The Galaxy S3 Mini will come with the latest Android 4.1 Jelly Bean out of the box and the Lumia 820 will run on Microsoft's latest Windows Phone 8 operating system.

Battery
A 1500mAh battery fuels the Galaxy S3 Mini versus a slightly more powerful 1650mAh battery of the Lumia 820. Both the batteries are removable. The Lumia 820's battery supports 14 hours and 8 hours of talk time on 2G and 3G, respectively. The Lumia 820 will support 330 hours of standby time. Details of the Galaxy S3 Mini's standby and talk times are not currently known.

Connectivity
Both smartphones are NFC and Wi-Fi enabled. The Galaxy S3 Mini offers Bluetooth 4.0 unlike Lumia 820, which offers Bluetooth 3.0. However, the Lumia 820 packs in 4G LTE capabilities, which is notably absent in the Galaxy S3 Mini.

Availability, Pricing, and Colors
The Galaxy S3 Mini will initially be available only in white with a possibility for other color options to roll out in the future. The Lumia 820 is available in an array of colors like red, yellow, purple, and cyan.

The Galaxy S3 Mini is speculated to cost $350 for a non-contract version, whereas Nokia said that the unsubsidized Lumia 820 will cost $650.

The Lumia 820 will be available in November. The Galaxy S3 Mini is anticipated to be launched in November; however, Samsung is yet to disclose any details.