The Sony Xperia Compact and the Nokia Lumia 720 are both impressive when it comes to included features. Although the Sony Xperia costs a little more, it has several advantages over the Nokia Lumia 720, particularly with respect to its operating system, battery life, and camera quality.
We’ll begin with the physical design of the two devices. The two smartphones are comparable in weight and size, with the Nokia Lumia being only slightly heavier at 4.52 ounces and slightly larger at 5.04 x 2.66 x 0.35 inches. Both feature the same square design favored by tablet devices. both phones boast a vivid 4.3 inch touchscreen display. The Sony Xperia Z1 Compact is water and dust resistant, a feature that may make it more attractive to some buyers. The Nokia Lumia is not water resistant, but offers wireless charging, something the Xperia Z1 Compact does not.
Inside is where the two phones begin to differ. The Xperia Z1 runs on Android OS versions 4.4.4, 4.2, or 4.3, while the Lumia runs on Windows Phone 8 OS. Either operating system has its advantages and disadvantages, but many prefer the wide variety of apps and personalization options offered by Android. As for the cameras, the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact is the clear winner here, boasting a 20.7 megapixel camera with autofocus, smile detection and panoramic mode among many other features. The Nokia Lumia 720 shares many of the same features such as autofocus, smile/face detection, and panoramic picture taking mode, but its resolution disappoints at only 6.7 megapixels. Both phones allow the ability to shoot video in 1080p HD, and feature a front-facing camera.
The Sony Xperia Z1 provides up to 10 hours of talk time on a single charge, whereas the Nokia Lumia 720 promises to provide up to 23.4 hours. What’s surprising is that despite this difference in talk time capability, both phones are able to keep a charge in standby for long periods of time: 27 days for the Sony Xperia Z1 and 21 days for the Nokia Lumia 720.
The lowest price found for the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact at the time of this writing was $419.95. The Nokia Lumia 720 can be purchased off-contract for $299.99. Despite its higher price, the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact appears to be the better choice based on the key features mentioned above. Its camera quality, battery life, and popular Android OS gives it the edge over the Nokia Lumia 720.
