1.0 Introduction
The telecommunication industry has its roots in 1832 after the invention of the telegraph by Samuel Morse. What has led to the development of 21st-century telecommunication however is the innovation of the telephone by Alexander Graham (Leader, 2004).
The sector however has a limited number of established companies which could be easily attributed to huge capital investment required. Top firms manufacturing telecommunication equipment are Huawei, Cisco, Ericsson, Alcatel-Lucent, Nokia Networks and ZTE (APEC Policy Support Unit estimates, 2014).
Telecommunication products range from mobile phones, modems, routers and telephones to base transceiver stations (Zhu & Pasadilla, 2015). In this paper, the focus will be on mobile phones from four different brands namely Nokia (Nokia 5.3), Samsung (Galaxy M31), LG (G6) and Apple (iPhone SE 2)
1.2 Specs
Under this section, the key specs for each device are looked into which are the processor, battery, ram and display.
Table 1: key specs
| Mobile phone | Nokia 5.3 | Galaxy M31 | LG G6 | iPhone SE 2 |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 | Samsung Exynos 9611 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 | Apple A13 Bionic |
| Ram | 3 GB | 6 GB | 4 GB | 3 GB |
| Battery | 4000 mAh | 6000 mAh | 3300 mAh | 1821 mAh |
| Display | 6.55 inches | 6.4 Inches | 5.7 inches | 4.7 inches |
In terms of processors, Samsung Galaxy M31 has a battery of 6000mAh, Nokia 5.3 has 4000mAh, LG G6 has 3300mAh and iPhone SE 2 battery is 1821mAh. Samsung Galaxy M31 runs on Exynos 9611, LG G6 Snapdragon 835, Nokia 5.3 is Snapdragon 665 while iPhone SE 2 has A13 Bionic. Overall, Galaxy M31 has the edge over the other devices.
1.3 Device Performance
In this section, the device performance will be analyzed by comparing the chipset, architecture and Graphics.
Table 2
| Device | Nokia 5.3 | Galaxy M31 | LG G6 | iPhone SE 2 |
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 | Samsung Exynos 9 Octa 9611 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 | Apple A13 Bionic |
| Architecture | 64bit | 64bit | 64bit | 64bit |
| Graphics | Adreno 610 | Mali-G72 MP3 | Adreno 530 | Apple GPU |
As shown in table 2, Nokia 5.3 uses Snapdragon 6654 chipset, Galaxy M31 uses Exynos 9611 Octa while LG G6 uses Snapdragon 835. iPhone SE 2 uses A13 Bionic. On architecture, all devices operate on 64 bits. On graphics, Nokia 5.3 and LG G6 use Adreno 610, Galaxy M31 uses Mali-G72 MP3 while iPhone SE 2 uses Apple GPU. In this category, Galaxy M31 has a competitive advantage over other devices.
1.4 Device Design
The device design comprises the width, height, build material, thickness, height and colours.
Table 3: Device design
| Device | Nokia 5.3 | Galaxy M31 | LG G6 | iPhone SE 2 |
| Build material | Back: Plastic | Back: Plastic | Aluminum and glass | Back: Mineral Glass |
| Weight | 185 grams | 191 grams | 163 grams | 148 grams |
| Width | 76.6 mm | 75.1 mm | 71.9 mm | 67.3 mm |
| Thickness | 8.5 mm | 8.9 mm | 7.9 mm | 7.3 mm |
| Height | 164.3 mm | 159.2 mm | 148.9 mm | 138.4 mm |
| Colours | Cyan, Sand, Charcoal | Black, Blue | Platinum, Black, White | Black, Red, White |
As demonstrated in table 3, iPhone SE 2 has a weight of 148 grams, LG G6 163 grams, Galaxy M31 191 grams and Nokia 5.3 185 grams. Regarding thickness, Nokia 5.3 is 8.5 mm, Galaxy M31 is 8.9 mm while LG G6 and iPhone SE 2 is 7.9 mm and 7.3 mm respectively. Nokia 5.3 has a height of 164.3 mm, Galaxy M31 is 159.2 mm while LG G6 is 148.9 mm. iPhone SE 2 has a height of 138.4 mm. on design, iPhone SE 2 has the edge over others.
1.5 Display
Device display comprises display type, aspect ratio, pixel density, screen resolution and screen size.
Table 4: Device display
| Device | Nokia 5.3 | Galaxy M31 | LG G6 | iPhone SE 2 |
| Display type | IPS LCD | Super AMOLED | IPS LCD | IPS LCD |
| Aspect ratio | 20:9 | 19.5:9 | 18:9 | 16:9 |
| Pixel density | 268ppi | 403ppi | 564ppi | 327ppi |
| Screen resolution | 720 x 1600 pixel | 1080 x 2340 pixel | 1440 x 2560 pixel | 750 x 1344 pixel |
According to table 4, the Galaxy M31 screen is super AMOLED while Nokia 5.3, LG G6 and iPhone SE 2 all opt for IPS LCD display. On aspect ratio, Nokia 5.3 has 20.9, Galaxy M31 is 19:5:9 while for LG G6 and iPhone SE 2 is 18:9 and 16:9 respectively. The on-screen resolution, Nokia 5.3 has 720 x 16020, Galaxy M31 has 1080 x 2340, LG G6 has 1440 x 2560 and iPhone SE 2 has 750 x 1344. On pixel Density, Nokia 5.3 has 268ppi, Galaxy M31 has 403ppi, LG G6 has 564ppi and finally, iPhone SE 2 has 327ppi. LG G6 has the edge over other devices in terms of display.
1.6 Camera
In this section, the following aspects of the device camera will be analyzed in detail; camera set up, camera features, image resolution, shooting modes and the resolution.
Table 5: Device camera
| Device | Nokia 5.3 | Galaxy M31 | LG G6 | iPhone SE 2 |
| Camera features | Digital Zoom, Auto Flash, Face recognition, | 8 x Digital Zoom, Auto Flash, Face recognition, | Autofocus, face recognition, digital zoom | 5 x Digital Zoom, Auto Flash, Face recognition, |
| Image resolution | 4128 x 3096 Pixels | 9000 x 7000 Pixels | 1440 x 2880 pixels | 4000 x 3000 Pixels |
| Shooting modes | High Dynamic Range mode (HDR) | High Dynamic Range mode (HDR) | High Dynamic Range mode (HDR) | High Dynamic Range mode (HDR), Burst mode |
| Resolution | 8 MP f/2.0 | 32 MP f/2.0 | 5MP f/2.4 | 7 MP f/2.2 |
As illustrated on table 5, Nokia 5.3 has an image resolution of 4128 x 3096, Galaxy M31 9000 x 7000, LG G6 1440 x 2880 while iPhone SE 2 has an image resolution of 4000 x 3000. On resolution, Nokia 5.3 has 8MP, Galaxy M31 has 32MP, LG G6 has 5MP and iPhone SE 2 has 7MP. Galaxy M31 has the edge over other devices in this category.
1.7 Conclusion
Competition among smartphone manufacturing companies has increased in the recent past with each company launching new improved products to gain a competitive advantage over the rivals. Going forward, consumers will have a range of devices to choose from depending on their specifications. For instance, for consumers who want a device with a good camera and a long-lasting battery, then Samsung Galaxy M31 will be the ideal smartphone. Further, users who prefer a device that is convenient to carry would most certainly go with iPhone SE 2.
The report recommends that telecommunication companies should manufacture devices with a fast processor and a long battery life.
1.8 References
https://www.gadgetsnow.com/compare-mobile-phones/Nokia-53-vs-Samsung-Galaxy-M31-vs-LG-G6-vs-Apple-iPhone-SE-2020-iPhone-SE-2
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