Lumia 520 vs. Iris 458Q: Will Budget Lava Quad-Core smartphone Dent Nokia Lumia Phone Sales?

Just a couple of days ago, rising Indian smartphone maker Lava Mobiles launched the affordable quad-core Iris 458Q handset into the sub-continent, further intensifying the price war among local and MNC manufacturers.

Among the top brand sellers, Windows Phone 8 powered Lumia 520 smartphone has gained lot of popularity for Nokia thanks to its pocket-friendly price and peppy colourful back-panels. But with launch of Iris 458Q, the equation is set to change as the Lava smartphone runs on the on the latest Android mobile OS v4.2 Jelly Bean and packs a quad-core processor, all for a sub-₹8,500 price-tag.

Here is brief comparison of main specs between Nokia Lumia 520 and Lava Iris 458Q:

Display:

Lumia 520 sports a 4.0-inch screen with 480x800p display and boasts pixel density of 235 pixels per inch with Nokia's exclusive ClearBlack display technology, provides content in a rich colour format even under direct sun-light.

On the other hand, Lava's Iris 458Q sports a bigger 4.5-inch FWGA display with 480x854p resolution.

Processor:

In terms of power, Indian smartphone Lava Iris 458Q scores more points with its powerful and efficient 1.2GHz quad-core processor. The Nokia phone, on the other hand, houses a 1GHz dual-core CPU.

Camera:

In this aspect, Lava Iris 458Q has a far more impressive 8.0-megapxiel camera with LED flash support and it also features a VGA camera on the front.

Nokia Lumia 520 sports a 5.0-megapixel main camera and it does not even house LED flash support, let alone a secondary front-side camera.

Mobile Operating System:

Lava Iris 458Q again fares better than the Windows Phone OS powered smartphone Lumia 520 in this regard. With more than 700,000 apps to choose, Android smartphone buyers have the advantage of getting hold of any new apps or games in the market as many software developers across the world prefer Android's open ecosystem, compared to newly launched Windows Phone 8 OS which is only six months old.

Windows Phone ecosystem houses a tiny collection of close to 150,000 apps and games and even the popular photo app 'Instagram' and the "Temple Run 2" game are yet to debut in the Windows Phone store.

Memory and Battery capacity:

Lumia 520 packs 512MB RAM, 8GB internal memory with options of expanding up to 64GB, whereas Lava Iris 458Q houses 512MB RAM, 4GB in-built storage which can be further expanded up to 32GB via microSD card.

In terms of battery capacity, Lava smartphone packs 2000 mAh battery, whereas Nokia Lumia 520 features a comparatively low capacity of 1430 mAh battery.

Price:

As per recent data available, Lumia 520 is available for less than ₹9,999 in retail stores, whereas Lava Iris 458Q is priced ₹8,499, almost ₹1500 less than its competitor. It now remains to be seen if thrift middle class buyers would sway towards the affordable feature-rich Iris 458Q or still spend a few bucks more for the time-tested Nokia brand.

Here is a break-down of key Specifications of Nokia Lumia 520 and Lava Iris 458Q:

*Prices may vary depending on the market