[Nexus 4 General] tameracingdriver:
I've had the Nexus 4 for a couple of weeks now, coming from a Note 2 which developed a fault (caused by water, apparently, despite never being near any). I did get the Note 2 back although they had managed to wipe out the IMEI in the process, so its going back, but I did do a bit of side by side comparisons. I also had a Lumia 920 for a couple of weeks.

Form factor

No getting away with it, the Note is huge. However, it is portable, and it is usable, but for me, a tad on the big side to be truly portable. The Nexus feels the nicest in the hand, the Lumia 920 feels the "toughest", like it would withstand far more than the other two, but its also quite heavy (it would make a great brick with which to smash a window with, albeit quite expensive!)/

Screen

The Note 2 has a more initially impressive screen. Its bigger, and its more colourful. However, before I got the N4 I was under the imperession I wouldn't like the screen, but its accurate, very sharp and IS very nice. I personally think its as good as the Note in its own way, just not as initially impressive. Once your eyes get used to it, I find it excellent. It certainly is sharper. Though I have to say, if you intend to watch video or look at photos, I'd rather have the Note 2 there. Compared to the Lumia 920 the Nexus is very similar but the 920 seems a touch warmer.

Camera

I am one of the people who thinks pretty much all phone cameras are overrated. The Note 2 is better, but its hardly anything to get excited about, as neither the Note 2 or Nexus 4 take anything approaching compact camera standards, and that is a FACT. But then I've also had the Lumia 920 and found that somewhat overrated too, although it is better than either of these two, but don't go expecting anything to replace a half decent compact (my ancient Sony DSC-W50 is miles better than any of them, never mind the Panasonic Lumix TZ7).

Audio Quality

I'll be clear when I say I'm talking about listening to music, using headphones (Sennheiser IE6). People bang on about how much better the Note is than the Nexus, but I couldn't hear much difference, at best, it was a marginal victory for the Note, but you wouldn't exactly be too disappointed with the Nexus. I didn't try the Lumia 920.

Battery Life

Landslide victory for the Note 2 here, lasts about double the time of the Nexus. Impressive considering the battery is not 2x as large but the screen is significantly larger. The Lumia 920 also does better than the Nexus, fitting in somewhere between the two phones.

OS / Usability

The Nexus 4 demolishes the others IMO. Although the Note has the greatest functionality, the OS looks very ugly in many places, and does not feel as smooth / snappy as the Nexus 4, which offers the most consistent, polished Android experience yet. The Lumia runs extremely smooth and looks very nice indeed, but it just lacks functionality and apps compared to Android.

Final Thoughts

I don't think you could go wrong with either, although Samsung's poor build quality, reliability and ugly UI turn me off, and their customer service is appalling. The best Android experience goes to the Nexus 4 which is just really nice to use, intermittent stuttering aside (seems WiFi related). The Lumia 920 is also nice, but has a limited featureset and poor apps selection and quality.