Difference Between LG Nitro HD and HTC Vivid

4G LTE connectivity has been at the center of attention for some time now. This effectively means the mobile phone manufacturers will adopt their handsets to fit the market created by the 4G-LTE hype. LG and HTC seems to get the best out of the hype from their new releases to AT&T. While HTC Vivid was released one month back, LG Nitro HD is yet to be released. AT&T introduced LG Nitro HD yesterday (28th of November) and indicated that it would be available by the start of December for a price of $249.99 with a 2 year subscription. HTC Vivid was available at the stores from 6th of October onwards with a price tag of $199.99 with a 2 year subscription.

While the price range differs, these two hand sets are undoubtedly two of the best handsets offered in the market bundled with Android. While HTC Vivid comes with the much acclaimed rich user experience of HTC Sense, AT&T seems to have taken a leap of faith with the True HD screen of LG Nitro HD. Let us look into the micro details of the two handsets and observe whether the leap of faith was indeed a worthy choice.

LG Nitro HD

AT&T goes with the tagline ‘the first True HD LTE-Smartphone’ and it seems only fair with the specifications It is provided. LG has come up with a gigantic 4.5 inches AH-IPS LCD Capacitive Touchscreen featuring a True HD resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels. It has a pixel density of 329ppi sliding exceeding that of Apple iPhone 4S (326ppi). What this means in layman’s terms is that, crisp razor sharp images with unmatched resolution and amazing text readability. LG Nitro HD would be one of the few handsets that feature such high pixel density and screen resolution. Thus, it is really fair that AT&T has come up with the tagline for their promotions.

It’s not just the screen or True HD capability that raises LG Nitro HD to the Top. There is a beast inside trying to break out like never before. Nitro HD comes with a 1.5GHz Scorpion dual-core processor that is the best processor offered on the block. The 1GB RAM gives it the rightful boost and makes it more like a mobile computer, rather than a mobile phone. The 4GB internal storage that can be expanded up to 32GB using a microSD card adds to that. These resources are efficiently and brilliantly managed by the stock OS Android v2.3 Gingerbread. LG is said to provide an upgrade to v4.0 IceCreamSandwich, which is only the right choice. It has the usual LG build quality with smooth curved edges and a pitch black design. It may feel somewhat bulky due to its screen size, but the dimension of 133.9 x 67.8 mm is only fair. LG has managed to make Nitro HD thinner to a mere 10.4mm, as well. LG has made sure to include the accelerometer, proximity sensor, multi touch inputs, as well as, a Gyro sensor to Nitro HD. They make this handset a feature rich phone.

LG Nitro HD is capable of utilizing the high speed LTE 700 network connectivity of AT&T, to deliver high speed internet connectivity, and optimized Android browser enables PC like web browsing seamlessly, which is totally brilliant. The specialty is that, with the beast of a processor inside, the user can simultaneously use both voice and data, or in simple terms, you can browse, email and stream a youtube video while talking with your friend on the phone. You think that is impossible, welcome to LG Nitro HD, you’re going to experience just that. Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n enables the handset to keep connected continuously and to act as a Wi-Fi hotspot, to host up to 8 other devices, which is just awesome.

LG hasn’t forgotten to address the camera lovers either. Nitro HD comes with an 8MP camera with autofocus and LED flash along with face and smile detection. Geo-tagging is also enabled with the support of A-GPS. The camera can record 1080p HD videos @ 30 frames per second, and it also features a front camera for the delight of video chatters. LG has also optimized the use of Bluetooth for connectivity with the inclusion of v3.0 with A2DP and HS. It provides an optional headset to listen to songs while you’re on a call and even access a Bluetooth printer, all untethered. The microUSB v2.0 connection enables fast data transfer between the handset and the PC. LG promises a battery of 1820mAh, which falls to the high capacity range, and the talk time information is still not available. But with the available battery information, we can assume that the talk time would be somewhere around 6-7 hours, which would be pretty decent.

HTC Vivid

HTC is widely acclaimed for its Sense UI, and AT&T has decided to make that their tagline in promoting HTC Vivid. It comes in two colors, Black and White, rather has an expensive look with the inclusion of removable gun metal plate on the back of the phone. Vivid is more to be on the hefty side of the spectrum with a thickness of 11.3mm and a weight of 176.9g. HTC has come up with a 4.5 inches S-LCD Capacitive touchscreen, featuring a resolution of 540 x 960 pixels and a pixel density of 245ppi, which kind of falls behind the line compared to LG Nitro HD. It takes the optimum use of AT&T’s LTE network connectivity to provide super-fast browsing speeds and the built in browser optimizes the usability. Instead of using the blazing fast 4G LTE networks, the user can always choose to surf on a Wi-Fi channel via Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, and Vivid can also act as a Wi-Fi hotspot, which comes really handy in certain circumstances.

HTC Vivid has its own beast inside too. It features a 1.2GHz dual-core processor on top of Qualcomm APQ8060 Snapdragon chipset, which is the same as Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket with a lower clock speed. You may think that it doesn’t fit into the blokes of the 1.5GHz spectrum, however, performance wise, having the processor boosted with the 1GB RAM and decent HTC Sense UI, the user experience to be all marvelous without even the slightest lag. Vivid comes with 16GB / 32GB of internal storage and can be expanded using a microSD card, as well. The binding thread of these hardware counterparts is the Android OS v2.3.5 Gingerbread. It can be safely expected that HTC would provide an upgrade to v4.0 IceCreamSandwich. What this means in layman’s terms is that, if you indeed invest in this phone, you will not regret it because you will have a top high end phone in the market with the latest features and additions.

The generic 8MP camera, which comes with high-end HTC handsets, is also available in HTC Vivid. It has autofocus, dual LED flash; face detection as well as Geo tagging with the support of assisted GPS. The camera can also capture 1080p HD videos at 60 frames per second, which is quite impressive. HTC has also included the generic accelerometer, proximity sensor and multi touch inputs while Gyro meter sensor is lacking. Compensating that, HTC has included a HDMI out, and the wireless DLNA capability to stream videos on your big screen. HTC has rather downsized the battery to 1650mAh, which promises a talk time of 7 hours 40 mins. We think this could have been improved because the initial impression of the weight would give you a false hope of having a more powerful battery.

Conclusion

Even at the start of this comparison, there was actually no doubt about the best handset between these two. But let us summarize the facts in terms of performance and user experience. LG Nitro HD definitely nails the performance ranking with a high end processor and convenient RAM with the newest Android OS running on top of the hardware. LG has shown that they have created a beast of hardware and optimally reined it with the aid of Android OS. The fact that LG Nitro HD has a rather pleasing looks adds to that. However, in our POV, LG Nitro HD would be an awesome investment for your money given that it would give the promised battery life, which is one of the critical data that is still not available about it. On the other hand, HTC Vivid is not a bad handset. The 1.2GHz processor certainly outranks most of the available handsets, but it’s just not the best out there. When it comes to the price tag, AT&T has only put a barrier of $50 between them and if that does indeed count, investing for a Vivid would be justifiable.