Lumia 520 vs Huawei Y300

rizzee

Just looking for a cheap phone under the €100 mark, will be picking one up in the morning.

Both are roughly the same price and spec, albeit a different O.S

I use my phone for calls,texts and a bit of internet - just wifi at the moment but i'll be moving from 48 to Meteor or Vodafone in the morning to opt in for their 30 euro plans unlimited everything and 1GB internet 30 day rolling contract...

My mate got a 520 and i messed around with it today, was pleasant in the hand and suprisingly easy to get used to I really liked it. Any views on the Y300?

My main questions would be which would be better for battery life? Any flaws to look out for? I don't mind some apps unavailable for Windows OS, all I use are Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat (although the 520 is missing a front camera, I can't justify going for the Y300 over it as the front camera on it is only VGA). I'll be keeping the phone til the Summer anyway, so want something that I can get good use out of.

Any opinions welcome!

Ken.

I got a y300 and the wife got the 520. Straight off the bat my battery will last 3-4 days, hers lasts barely 24 hours. Start doing anything with the 520 and the battery dies quicker than mayflies. Had to turn off practically everything on the 520 to eke out the battery life.

Also with the 520 windows operating system music that has already been brought and paid for cannot be used as ring tones/alarms because you get the message "you do not own the licence to preform this task" or something similar.
With the Y300 you can use the app store and 3rd party app's with no problems. With the 520 your stuck with whatever windows throw at you.

Personally I wouldn't give up my Y300 for 2 520's

rizzee

Thanks.

Maybe your wife got a faulty phone? Was talking to my friend about his and he highly recommends it, he also went from an Android to Windows with no trouble.

I don't really mind about music or ringtones, I already have an MP3 player. Once it does the basics and the camera is alright then i'd be happy enough. I'll have a play around in store tomorrow and keep looking at some reviews to see which one will sway me.

Ken.

If you google Lumia 520 battery problems you'll see its the norm rather than the exception. The camera on both are fairly even as far as I can see. The Y300 would have a slightly bigger screen but that's about all the difference their is. One thing I'd say against the Y300 is that its hard to get covers for them.

rizzee

Yeah I understand. Will definitely look into it and ask in the shop have any been returned with battery problems.

If you're a member on ebay I see a good selection of them there -

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/S-LINE-WAVE-GEL-CASE-COVER-HUAWEI-ASCEND-Y300-SCREEN-PROTECTOR-/141029081717?pt=UK_MobilePhones_MobilePhonesCasesPouches&var=&hash=item20d5fd0275


etc.

beauf

Battery would be better on the Y300 1730 mAh vs 1430 mAh. I rarely get more than a day and a half from the 520. That said I find it does better with battery life leaving wifi on than off. Whatever way its optimised. I don't use 3G data that much. Battery is a weak point of the 520. But most smart phones don't last more than a day if they are used much. With the odd exception. The Y300 has better battery no question.

Next update GDR3 will give custom tones hopefully on Lumia 520. Hopefully seperate volume for alarms, calls and music.

More apps on android. a billion versions of angry birds. If you are a big gamer android would be the way to do. If theres an app you need then go android. I find even some of the apps that are on Windows phones aren't as good as the best on android.

Sat Nav on the 520 doesn't need a data connection. On android and apple it does.
Nokia music (streaming music) is Free on Nokia
Super sensitive screen (great for those who struggle with poor responsiveness on touch screens)
Music/radio controls on lock screen. (you need android 4.4 to get this on android).

As a phone and for speed I prefer the 520 over my old android phones. Its just faster and lag free. Interface take far less clicks to do stuff. Its a budget phone though, so corners have been cut. Small battery, no flash, very reflective screen, fingerprint magnet. Only 512mb of ram so the latest things take a while before they get released for it.

If your a techie and love changing everything, then go android.

TBi

I'd always recommend a Windows phone over android, but it might be worth looking at the Nokia Lumia 620 rather than the 520. Only slightly more expensive and better.

EDIT: Just saw the 625 is for sale now and much pricier than the 520.

beauf

The 620 is actually better than the 625 in a number of areas.

The 625 has a much bigger screen but is missing the clear black layer. (legibility in sunlight and seeing through fingerprints) which the 620 has. The 620 also has worldwide drive +, the 620 has no FM radio and a small battery though, smaller even than the 520. The 625 has a much better battery but needs it for the screen.

I don't think anywhere sells the 620 anymore.

rizzee

Cheers lads.... went for the 520, charging it up as we speak. €69.99 after i traded in a bent and smashed up Xperia J. Not bad

beauf

Turn off background apps you don't need.

http://www.wpcentral.com/conserve-windows-phone-battery-life-managing-background-apps

Handy site in general

http://www.wpcentral.com/help

rizzee

Thanks!

Really loving this Windows Mobile platform, taking a real grasp to it , love the live tiles and the way you can just pin stuff to the start screen.

I don't know what the problem is with battery @ken , albeit I've only owned it 24 hrs but i had it fully charged around 11am yesterday and spent hours on it messing with apps, on the internet and downloading, i've woken up to it at 77% today (going to discharge it a few times to 0% to see how long it lasts) so so far so good.

Only annoying thing was there was no set wifi button but if you go to the store you can download a widget thing that instantly gets you to the wifi settings screen so it isnt bad. Also, there's a battery percentage widget too so it's handy. All in all i'm very impressed so far, that's coming from a former Android and iPhone user.

beauf

There isn't a proper toggle on WP8 for data, wifi and the like, they just bring you into the settings page. Hope they'll fix that at some point.

These lithium-ion batteries last longer if you don't deep discharge them or keep maxing them up. But keep topping them up when you can.

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/five-apps/five-tips-for-extending-lithium-ion-battery-life/#.
http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/charging_lithium_ion_batteries

I think the deep discharge technique was for an older type of battery.

More tips here
http://www.nokia.com/ie-en/support/product/lumia520/userguidance/?action=singleTopic&topic=GUID-DB7FD3C1-122C-43CE-8AFD-8034FC707A61

rizzee

Thanks! I understand discharging is for the older batteries, i'm just doing it for the sake of seeing how long it lasts, will take a good week of ''normal use'' for me to judge. Will probably grab another official battery soon though, be handy to have!

TBi

Wifi: Unlike Android devices you don't need to enable/disable Wifi (or for that matter bluetooth or GPS) to save battery life. WP8 automatically handles this for you.

beauf

beauf wrote: »

...I find it does better with battery life leaving wifi on than off. Whatever way its optimised. ....

That explains that. I was wondering. I just leave everything on now wifi and gps (location) seems to have no effect on battery. I turn off data and bluetooth as a rarely use them.

rizzee

TBi wrote: »

Wifi: Unlike Android devices you don't need to enable/disable Wifi (or for that matter bluetooth or GPS) to save battery life. WP8 automatically handles this for you.

How does that work? Would it not make sense leaving it on the phone would constantly be searching for a connection etc? Just wondering..ta

beauf

rizzee wrote: »

How does that work? Would it not make sense leaving it on the phone would constantly be searching for a connection etc? Just wondering..ta

It turns off Wifi when the screen times out. (and locks I assume). You can turn this setting on/off.

Theres also this...
http://erictayet.wordpress.com/2013/10/15/still-getting-poor-battery-life-from-your-windows-phone-8/

rizzee

beauf wrote: »

It turns off Wifi when the screen times out. (and locks I assume). You can turn this setting on/off.

Theres also this...
http://erictayet.wordpress.com/2013/10/15/still-getting-poor-battery-life-from-your-windows-phone-8/

Haha fair enough Can do that with Android as well though.

Had a read through that there, I did that yesterday when I was messing around with the settings anyway. Makes sense!

TBi

rizzee wrote: »

How does that work? Would it not make sense leaving it on the phone would constantly be searching for a connection etc? Just wondering..ta

It does use a little battery but no where near as much as android uses (from my experience).

rizzee

Just a quick update on this, I loved the Windows platform so much that I went and got a Lumia 625!!! Unbelievable stuff!!

beauf

Any big differences you've noticed.

I'd love if the 520 had glance, but only the high end models have it. Also if it had a screen that didn't get so dirty.

There a few other things I dislike. But on the whole I'm pretty happy with it.

rizzee

I've only had it a couple of hours, I will keep you updated.

The main thing obviously, the screen size. WOW. So much nicer and easier to use IMO, thinner too it's about 1/3 the thickness. Definitely needs a screen protector and cover soon, bit of a fingerprint magnet (much like the 520). Front camera is a bonus. Non removable battery, I don't know what to think of that just yet. It's running my 32GB card very quick! 4G also, but can't test it! For 149 euro it seems like a bargain at the moment, I was contemplating the Moto G but said I'd stick to my guns.


Got a free set of headphones too, will sel them on to get a few quid. Also, if you give Nokia the IMEI they will send you out a back cover!

Just updated itself to Lumia Black software there!!