Nokia Lumia 1520 vs Lumia 1320-which one is Better

Nokia World 2013 may be over, but since I've just found this (totally forgotten about) shot from the event in Abu Dhabi, I figured it's worth showing. Sat side by side, and tethered to a wall, is the new Nokia Lumia 1320 and the Lumia 1520. And, from the front, it's tough to believe that one of these costs around $400 less than the other one. Both have 6-inch displays, and even with the lower resolution on the 1320, it isn't disappointing to look at.

It also shows off the relative differences in shape between the two new supersized phones. The Lumia 1520 has a more squared off appearance, akin to the Lumia 1020, while the 1320 shares the rounded form factor of the much smaller Lumia 620. On feel alone I prefer holding the 1320, with the rounded corners proving more comfortable to hold than the more angular form of the 1520. But feel of course, is far from everything.
I think it's fantastic that Nokia has released a large device at two price points, and buyers of either aren't going to be disappointed. For more be sure to check out our hands-on looks at both new devices. Which one takes your fancy?

• Form

Lumia 1520: 162.8 x 85.4 x 8.7mm, 209g

Lumia 1320: 164.2 x 85.9 x 9.8mm, 220g

Nokia has always offered good build quality on its handsets and its newbies are no exceptions to its rule. With their signature bright coloured casings and polycarbonate builds, the two phones stand out from their competition with their unique personalities. Even though the handsets are large, their straight lines and slight curves give them a modern feel and make them comfortable to grip and use.

We really like the orange, black, white and yellow removable covers of the Lumia 1320 and the softer look that its more accentuated curves gives it but we prefer the slimmer, sleeker and lighter build of the Lumia 1520.

The Lumia 1520 wins this round with its premium feel and its sleeker build.

Winner: Lumia 1520

• Display

Both of Nokia's latest offerings come with a 6-inch IPS LCD screen that is ideal for communication, media and entertainment on the go. The tech giant has built the Lumia 1520 with a Full HD resolution of 1080 X 1920 pixels and a pixel density of 368ppi. The handset offers rich, detailed imagery with plenty of depth to match.

Moreover, it can be enjoyed in all types of lighting conditions thanks to its ClearBlack display technology, High Brightness Mode and the assertive display technology by Apical. Gorilla Glass 2 protects the device.
The Lumia 1320 packs in a HD resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels and a pixel density of 245ppi. Though not as vivid as the screen on its sibling, the phone's display has some pretty clear and crisp imagery of itself to offer. It is protected by Gorilla Glass 3.

The Lumia 1520 wins this round with its bright colours and vivid contrasts.

Winner: Lumia 1520

• Processor

Qualcomm's quad-core 2.2 GHz Snapdragon 800 chipset with its Krait 400 processor, its Adreno 330 GPU and a 2 GB RAM power the Lumia 1520, lending it more than enough power to run all its tasks seamlessly and without lags.

The Lumia 1320 runs on Qualcomm's dual-core 1.7 GHz Snapdragon S4 chipset, its Krait 300 processor, its Adreno 305 GPU and a 1 GB RAM. The handset has no trouble dealing with any of its tasks and apps smoothly and efficiently.

Both phones run the Windows Phone operating system with ease but the Lumia 1520 wins this round with its additional power.

Winner: Lumia 1520

• Storage

The Lumia 1520 carries 32 GB of built-in storage while the Lumia 1320 packs in 8 GB of internal memory. Storage can be expanded externally on both handsets by up to 64 GB and the phones additionally come with 7GB of free SkyDrive cloud-based memory.

Its additional internal memory wins the Lumia 1520 this round.

Winner: Lumia 1520

• Operating System

Both phones runs on Microsoft's much improved Windows Phone 8 Black operating system. The platform is growing slowly but steadily and offers users an intuitive and functional smartphone experience, specially with Microsoft Office. We specially appreciate the additional column of Live Tiles on big phones, they just make life so much easier than before. Nokia has spruced things up with improved apps of its own too, including Beamer and Storyteller which make compiling and sharing content ever so easy.

With the same operating system powering both handsets, this round ends in a draw, some of the Lumia 1520's premium functionalities notwithstanding.

Winner: Draw

• Camera

The Lumia 1520's pride and joy is its camera - and with good reason. The handset houses a 20-megapixel sensor with a Carl Zeiss lens, OIS, auto focus, dual LED flash, geo-tagging, panorama, face detection, dual capture, stereo sound, 1080p video capture at 30fps, Nokia Camera app, Nokia Rich recording, zoom and of course PureView technology. Nokia has given it a 1.2-megapixel front snapper as well, with the ability to capture 720p video at 30fps.

The Lumia 1320 ships with a 5-megapixel primary camera that packs in features like a Carl Zeiss lens, auto focus, geo-tagging, touch focus, LED flash, 1080p video capture at 30fps, Nokia Camera app etc. The sensor is accompanied by a secondary front facing VGA snapper.

The Lumia 1520 clicks its way to the winning spot of this round with its sophisticated camera set-up.

Winner: Lumia 1520

• Conclusion

If you are in the market for a premium Windows Phone device and you desire a handset with a gorgeous display and an uber sophisticated camera, the powerful, fully loaded Lumia 1520 is for you. With ample storage, a large battery, wireless charging capabilities, support for nano-Sim cards and NFC and an ever evolving operating system, it certainly seems to be the Windows Phone smartphone of the future.

On the other hand, if you are looking for something more affordable that's still big on features, you can go in for the Lumia 1320. Its large display, able camera, powerful inners and improved operating system pack in much more than a little bang for your buck.