[Winterfang]

Hands-on with the Rogers Samsung ATIV S, HTC 8X and Nokia Lumia 920 | MobileSyrup.com

Folks at Mobile syrup (A Canadian site, shocker), expend some quality time with the roger version of our future devices.



The advantage of 720p resolution is quite clear, you can fit a four row of small tiles on the main screen. Samsung Blacks are still unbeatable. Is nice to see the devices next to each other.

Edit: Things of interest (for the ones that don't have time to read the site)

Samsung ATIV: significantly taller than the 8X but smaller than the 920.
Screen is vivid and bold but it doesn't look as crisp as the 8X.
Phone feels great in the hand, looks and feels better than the GS3.
Lots of Samsung apps (Like Chaton and Live Wallpaper?)

Windows Phone 8X: Exclusive 8GB version for Rogers (also 16gb available, don't worry)
Blue color, looks more purple in real life. Nothing like Nokia's blue.
Noticeable lighter, thinner and more pockeatable than the 920.
Reds on the display looks deeper and richer than on the 920.

Lumia 920: 9.7mm Camera has the edge on the 8X.
Lumia feels great in the hand, very robust.
Double the memory as the 8X
Black only so far.

[AngryNil]

Kinda funny that the Ativ is some weird grey so you don't get that illusion of the screen blending in with the surrounding glass. A waste of the darker blacks in my opinion.

[Winterfang]

Kinda funny that the Ativ is some weird grey so you don't get that illusion of the screen blending in with the surrounding glass. A waste of the darker blacks in my opinion.

Eh not really, look how many people enjoy completely White phones. Also I meant to say Hands on not Hands out on the topic tile. Sorry guys, they are not giving phones away =(.

[AngryNil]

I don't see the super dark blacks to be that vital for a white phone. Maybe it's just me, but I see the main advantage of those blacks is to have the screen seemingly blend with the front face of the device. There's no doubt that in the past, AMOLED has blown the socks off LCD in blacks and was perhaps reason alone to opt for it. While the difference above is definitely noticeable, I don't see it to be deal-breaker noticeable.

I guess I was overly negative, but I take the time sometimes to just look at my Omnia 7. There are certain angles where looking at it, I can totally imagine it being the Surface phone. I just don't get how the company that produced this widely-praised piece of hardware in 2010 has become so fixated on using faux materials and what looks like totally random composition of the visual design of its devices.

The physical button on that Ativ is just incomprehensible. My Omnia 7 has a physical button and it is immensely useful, but it's also not ****-ugly. (I'm sure there's a dig to be had here about Samsung copying Apple for the Omnia start button though.)

[shingi_70]

So from what I gather

920>8x>ativ s

Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using Tapatalk 2

[Winterfang]

I don't see the super dark blacks to be that vital for a white phone. Maybe it's just me, but I see the main advantage of those blacks is to have the screen seemingly blend with the front face of the device. There's no doubt that in the past, AMOLED has blown the socks off LCD in blacks and was perhaps reason alone to opt for it. While the difference above is definitely noticeable, I don't see it to be deal-breaker noticeable.

I guess I was overly negative, but I take the time sometimes to just look at my Omnia 7. There are certain angles where looking at it, I can totally imagine it being the Surface phone. I just don't get how the company that produced this widely-praised piece of hardware in 2010 has become so fixated on using faux materials and what looks like totally random composition of the visual design of its devices.

The physical button on that Ativ is just incomprehensible. My Omnia 7 has a physical button and it is immensely useful, but it's also not ****-ugly. (I'm sure there's a dig to be had here about Samsung copying Apple for the Omnia start button though.)

I don't want to get rude but you have the wrong idea here. The point of Amoled is to have vibrant colors and deep blacks, not to "merge" with the phone. The screen still looks fantastic on a white or gray phone and the point of a phone is to look it's best.

The Galaxy S3 doesn't come in black and the screen still works fantastically. The Physical button might be ugly to your standards but I don't see how that makes it any less useful that they Omnia 7.

I think people had being swagged by pretty colors too much and are giving a hard time to samsung for not looking like the Lumias. The reviewer itself had nothing negative to say about the ATIV, He said it was impressed but at the end he called it "Just another phone".

[Coreldan]

I love how the black 920 is matte, but like all black phones, just so boring :/ I wish the red would be matte, but I'm having a huge dilemma of getting the nice matte, but boring black or the unique red but glossy..

Gotta hope that the flagshipstore gets both around soon for me to see for myself

[CoolBeit]

I'm lusting after a 920 right now, but I can't help but notice what he says about the 8x's color quality vs. the 920. HTC is putting out some really nice displays these days!

[Winterfang]

I love how the black 920 is matte, but like all black phones, just so boring :/ I wish the red would be matte, but I'm having a huge dilemma of getting the nice matte, but boring black or the unique red but glossy..

Gotta hope that the flagshipstore gets both around soon for me to see for myself

If you are in Canada your only option is Black for the time being.

I'm lusting after a 920 right now, but I can't help but notice what he says about the 8x's color quality vs. the 920. HTC is putting out some really nice displays these days!

Super LCD2 is currently the best screen in the market to a vast margin of people. I don't know what Puremotion+ HD meant but I was sure it was just fancy words like "Retina display", it probably just refer to the resolution.

[crystal_planet]

The more I see it, the more I'm diggin' on the 8X. The form factor works for me, and it seems like a natural progression from my L800.

[metalchick719]

I'll admit, I got a little excited by the "hands out" in the subject title of this thread. :D

I want to see the 8X in person. It definitely looks more purple to me when I see it in pictures.

The Ativ is one ugly phone... How can it be considered "innovative" at all when all Samsung did was take their Galaxy S III design, splash metallic paint on it and put in the WP8 OS?? Eh...

The 920 is just perfect! I'm so sad that it's probably never coming to T-Mobile. :( :'(

[wp8nyc]

This is one of the best "short" reviews of the 3 devices I've seen. Thanks for posting.

Sent from my SGH-i937 using Board Express

[Winterfang]

The Ativ is one ugly phone... How can it be considered "innovative" at all when all Samsung did was take their Galaxy S III design, splash metallic paint on it and put in the WP8 OS?? Eh...

The 920 is just perfect!

ATIV/GS3



920/900

[Gaichuke]

Super LCD2 is currently the best screen in the market to a vast margin of people. I don't know what Puremotion+ HD meant but I was sure it was just fancy words like "Retina display", it probably just refer to the resolution.

It's a fancy word in the same way Super LCD 2 is. 'Super' in Super LCD 2 refers to the way the screen is put directly beneath the glass so that there's no gap in between those. Yep, the very same way it's done in Nokia's ClearBlack displays.

I'd say the performance between the displays is very close to each other as both display techs are the same LED back-lit IPS LCD's with no gap between the display and the glass.

PureMotion HD+ does have the polarizing layers there and of course the increased refresh rate, but how much those count will require some personal hands-on (Nokia did claim that the display is 25% brighter than the next best competitor in outdoors).

[metalchick719]

Okay, my bad about the Ativ being the same exact design of the GSIII. It's very close, but squared off a bit at the edges.

I actually quite love the Lumia 900 and 920's design. I'm petite and have small hands, so I normally would opt for a smaller phone, but the 920 is just such a total package that I would get it, regardless of it being big for me. :)

[independentvolume]

Mmmmmm, Ativ S. Do want. I want to caress that phone all night and day. Glorious huge screen, monster battery, and sd card capabilities all in one lightweight, beautiful package. Fulfill my dreams Verizon.

[stmav]

I wish the 8x looked better. That phone does nothing for me. Spec wise it would be a toss up between it and the 920. But I love the look of the 920.

[freestaterocker]

Puremotion refers to it having 60 fps instead of the industry standard 30 fps, for less blur when scrolling and watching movies/playing games. The HD + part refers to the 1280x768 resolution, with more pixels than 720p.

[Coreldan]

Well in Europe the 8X is going for like 100-150€ less than the 920 (500€ vs. 600-650€), I think thats a good price for the 8X seeing that it doesnt even trade all that much away.

[independentvolume]

Puremotion refers to it having 60 fps instead of the industry standard 30 fps, for less blur when scrolling and watching movies/playing games. The HD + part refers to the 1280x768 resolution, with more pixels than 720p.

meh, I would rather have the bigger screen, battery, an expandable storage. Whoever has used the gs3 knows that the screen is very nice.

[independentvolume]

Well in Europe the 8X is going for like 100-150€ less than the 920 (500€ vs. 600-650€), I think thats a good price for the 8X seeing that it doesnt even trade all that much away.

Wow, that's a huge difference for such a little difference in specs.

[squire777]

The wild card here happens to be the ATIV S. While the HTC 8X and Lumia 920 bring separate value propositions — size, build quality, screen for the former; camera, software extras for the latter — Samsung’s Windows Phone 8 offering seems to be just another smartphone. Yes, it’s beautiful, and the 4.8-inch screen is vivid, but ultimately it’s going to be overshadowed in Rogers’ fall lineup.

That's the way I see it. The Ativ really doesn't have any buzz around it.

[Winning Guy]

Well in Europe the 8X is going for like 100-150€ less than the 920 (500€ vs. 600-650€), I think thats a good price for the 8X seeing that it doesnt even trade all that much away.

I think with the 920 you're mainly paying for PureMotion HD+, super sensitive/responsive touch, and the PureView floating camera. All three are major hardware innovations that you can't get elsewhere.

I hope that HTC and Samsung step it up in their custom apps department. If not, there's a huge discrepancy there too.

[Winterfang]

I think with the 920 you're mainly paying for PureMotion HD+, super sensitive/responsive touch, and the PureView floating camera. All three are major hardware innovations that you can't get elsewhere.

I hope that HTC and Samsung step it up in their custom apps department. If not, there's a huge discrepancy there too.

The other phones also have their pros over the 920. Both are lighter and thinner so are more pockeatable, 720 means extra row of icons, extra messages in portrait mode, more real state on the browser

HTC has beat audio, a better front facing camera and arguably the better screen.

ATIV has SD card, Bigger screen, Bigger battery, removable battery and the screen has the best blacks.

I would't call Nokia screen a major innovation when the one that saw them side by saw, though the 8X one looked better, the camera is the biggest deal I say.

I do agree on the support part, HTC in particular is abysmal supporting their phones.

I actually quite love the Lumia 900 and 920's design. I'm petite and have small hands, so I normally would opt for a smaller phone, but the 920 is just such a total package that I would get it, regardless of it being big for me. :)

Camera looks different
Speaker grill is bellow instead of next to the camera
Volume button is placed differently
Sleep button is placed differently
ATIV has a camera button
Aluminum and plastic vs Plastic only.

I understand Nokia (and the media) made fun of the ATIV for being just another boring slab. But there's not reason for lying.

ATIV looks great and is a welcome addition.

[Gaichuke]

I would't call Nokia screen a major innovation when the one that saw them side by saw, though the 8X one looked better, the camera is the biggest deal I say.

There is something seriously wrong with your brain. In your comments, you praise HTC as an innovator even when they bring an old feature that just hasn't yet been in WP like Beats Audio, but when we are talking about Nokia you dismiss features they bring to the table like they are not worth even mentioning.

For the last time, that screen has PureMotion, super sensitive touch input and the next generation of adaptive Clear Black technology. That's THREE (3) new technologies not yet seen in ANY other displays out there.

And guess what, one hands-on review ≠ irrevocable truth. Color reproduction is notoriously hard to evaluate outside laboratory settings and is very prone to subjectivity. If you want an another view about the Lumia 920 screen you might consider what Engadget crew had to say about it as they unanimously praised it's quality (particularly the PureMotion feature) and one of those guys uses a HTC One X.

EDIT. Anandtech has reported that HTC One X display has color temperature is on the red side at just under 6000K. Mystery solved.