Nokia Lumia 520 vs. LG Optimus L3-2: Battle Between Low-cost Smartphones Intensifies

Aware of the subcontinent's price-conscious market, Indian manufacturers are doling out low-cost smartphones giving a stiff challenge to their overseas counterparts, but MNCs such as Nokia and LG have struck back with the launch of Lumia 520 and Optimus L3-2 respectively with affordable price-tag.

Burgeoning Indian smartphone market currently houses more than 130 local and international firms vying for a formidable market share.

Both Lumia 520 and Optimus L3-2 have descent features considering their prices. 

Nokia Lumia 520 is touted as the cheapest Windows Phone 8 based smartphone in the global market and it packs a 1GHz dual-core processor and a 5.0-megapixel camera all with in price of ₹10,500. On the other hand, LG's Optimus L3-2 runs on the popular and ubiquitous Android mobile OS and packs 1GHz single core processor and 3.2-megapixel camera.

But, will the Nokia Lumia 520's Windows Phone 8 platform, which houses only a tiny collection 150,000 apps compared to Android OS's 700,000 plus applications, be a stumbling block to its rival LG Optimus L3-2? It remains to be seen. 

Here is brief comparison of main specs between Nokia Lumia 520 and LG Optimus L3-2:

Display:

Lumia 520 sports a 4.0-inch screen with 480x800p display and boasts of a pixel density of 235 ppi (pixels per inch) with Nokia's exclusive ClearBlack display technology which assists in viewing contents on smartphone's rich colour display even under direct sunlight on the device.

LG Optimus L3-2 features a bit low clarity display with 320x240p resolution close to 125 ppi pixel density.

Processor:

In terms of power, Lumia 520 is superior to its rival Optimus L3-2 as it packs dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with 1GHz CPU speed. LG smartphone houses a single-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with 1GHz CPU speed.

Camera:

Lumia 520 sports a pretty decent 5.0-megapixel main camera whereas Optimus L3-2 once again falls short in comparison to its rival with a 3.2-megapixel main camera.

Since both the smartphones fall in low-cost price bracket, they will not have secondary camera and flash support for the main camera.

Mobile Operating System:

In this department, LG Optimus L3-2 like any other Android smartphone holds the upper hand against Windows Phone OS based smartphone Lumia 520. With more than 700,000 apps to choose, Android smartphones have the advantage of getting any new apps or games in the market as many developers around the world prefer Android's open ecosystem compared to newly launched Windows Phone 8 OS.

Windows smartphone OS houses a tiny collection of 150,000 apps and games in its ecosystem and even the popular photo app 'Instagram' is yet to debut in the Windows ecosystem.

There is negligible difference in the phones in terms of RAM, memory, battery capacity and other add-on features such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and network connectivity.

Price:

Lumia 520 is priced ₹10,499 whereas Optimus L3-2 holds a price-tag of ₹7,899, almost ₹2600 lesser than its competitor, but Lumia 520 justifies its price with crisp display quality,5.0-megapixel camera and a dual-core processor.

Here is a break-down of key Specifications of Nokia Lumia 520 and LG Optimus L3-2:

*Price as listed in the Flipkart