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The Blu Win HD and the Lumia 830 are both mid-range Windows Phone devices available right now in the mobile market. Both devices are touted as fantastic mid-range devices that pack a punch but won’t hurt your wallet. In fact, Microsoft says the Lumia 830 is an ‘affordable flagship’ Windows Phone device.
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For those of you who are in the market looking for a new mid-range Windows Phone device, let’s show you these two fantastic choices. At the end of this article, we will answer the question, “Which mid-range Windows Phone 8.1 device should I buy – Win HD or Lumia 830?”
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Let’s compare the specs
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The Win HD from Blu Products, a small company located in the United States, features a 5-inch 720p display (294ppi), comparable to the Lumia 830’s 5-inch 720p display (296 ppi). Both screens are vivid and crisp. The Win HD features a fast Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 1.2GHz Quad-Core processor and a gorgeous 8MP rear camera (2MP front), while the Lumia 830 features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz Quad-Core processor and a gorgeous 10MP PureView rear camera (HD 0.9 MP wide angle front camera).
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The Win HD also features 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage space (MicroSD up to 32GB), while the Lumia 830 features 1GB of RAM and 16GB of storage space (MicroSD up to 128GB). Plenty of RAM and storage space to run your apps. The Win HD weighs 139g, while the Lumia 830 weighs 150g. Both devices feature a removable 2200 mAh battery.
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So as you can see, the specs are somewhat similar. Both the Win HD and Lumia 830 have amazing specs, but the price is not comparable — $179 and $449.99 respectively.
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Quality
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The Win HD comes in a variety of colors, including yellow, neon orange, pink, or matte white. The device has an HTC feel to it and is light weight, making it easy to hold in your hand. The device does not come with a dedicated camera button, so you are left using the on-screen camera button to take shots.
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The Lumia 830, however, feels bulkier and stronger. It feels like I am holding something built with quality in mind. Everything just seems faster and better — the touch responsiveness, the performance of apps, the quality of photos, and more. The Lumia 830 also comes with a dedicated camera button on the side of the device, making it easy to snap photos with one hand.
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However, in my personal opinion, I preferred the Win HD over the Lumia 830 for the simple fact that the Win HD feels lighter and just feels better in my hand. The Lumia 830, even though it has a stronger build quality, just feels too bulky.
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Camera
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So who has the better camera? The Win HD or the Lumia 830? The Lumia 830 features optical image stabilization, flash, auto-focus with two-stage capture key, 4x zoom, ZEISS optics, backside-illuminated image sensor, and PureView. The Win HD, on the other hand, features flash and an auto-focus camera without the ability to zoom.
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Clearly the camera specs on the Lumia 830 trump the Win HD. It is also clear that the Lumia 830 is indeed a ‘mid-range flagship’ Windows Phone device, having camera specs that are typically seen on higher-end Windows Phone devices. The Win HD clearly features mid to low end specs when it comes to the camera, but this is reflected in the price of the device too.
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Let’s take a look at some comparative pictures of the two device, with default camera settings and the exact same shot taken roughly at the same time. The device on the right is the Lumia 830, while the device on the left is the Win HD (pictured below).
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As you will see, the Lumia 830 takes better photos as it allows for a wider camera shot and a more natural color tone to photos. By the way, the default resolution for photos is 3840 x 2160 (Lumia 830) and 3264 x 2448 (Win HD).
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Above photo taken by Win HD
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Above photo taken by Lumia 830
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Above photo taken by Win HD
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Above photo taken by Lumia 830
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Above photo taken by Win HD
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Above photo taken by Lumia 830
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Performance
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We conducted a few benchmarks of both devices using Basemark OS II to get an idea of where the device ranks compared to rival Windows Phone devices. Basemark OS II is a system-level all-in-one benchmarking tool designed for measuring overall performance of smartphones and tablets from all platforms, including Android, iOS, and Windows Phone 8.
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The Win HD achieved an overall score of 395. Memory topped out with a high score of 626, while System gave us a score of 590 and Web gave us a 374. The lowest score was Graphics, with a score of 177. What does this mean? It means the Memory is the strong point of the device, while Graphics is the weak point.
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The Lumia 830 achieved an overall score of 486. Memory topped out with a high score of 887, while System gave us a score of 598. Web gave us a score of 409 while Graphics was the lowest at 257. Memory is the strong point of the device, while Graphics is the weakest.
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Comparatively, the Lumia 820 has an overall score of 475, while the Lumia 720 has an overall score of 281. The Lumia 620 has an overall score of 284, while the Lumia 625 has an overall score of 359. The Lumia 520 and 521 have an overall score of 319 and 264, respectively.
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We also ran the Camera performance test in Basemark OS II for both devices and achieved a score of 295 points for the Win HD, and 365 points for the Lumia 830. The Win HD achieved a score of 278 points in the flash test, while the Lumia 830 achieved a score of 325 points in the flash test
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Final thoughts
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As you can see, both the Win HD and Lumia 830 feature amazing hardware specs. However, it is clear that the Lumia 830 is faster and better when it comes to overall performance and camera quality.
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However, let’s go back to our original question we posed at the start of this feature, “Which mid-range Windows Phone 8.1 device should I buy?” Both devices are amazing in their own right but it all depends on what you are looking for and how much you are willing to spend.
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If you want a fantastic Windows Phone 8.1 device with excellent build quality and top-notch performance, get the Lumia 830 but be prepared to dish out some money. If price is a concern, then you can easily settle for the Win HD, which is a fast-performing Windows Phone 8.1 device in its own right, but doesn’t quite live up to the Lumia 830 in terms of performance and camera quality.
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You can also check out our in-depth review of both the Win HD from Blu and the Lumia 830 (coming soon). Which of these two devices do you like? Do you own any of these two devices? Let us know in the comments below.
\n\nFurther reading: Blu, BLU Win HD, Lumia 830, Microsoft, Windows Phone
