Hello all,
Having owned an N80 for a short while now I am seeing some shortfalls in its functionality vs Windows based smartphones.
Can anyone restore my optimism about the N80 being a good business phone?
Are there any good apps that I need to know about?
Cheers
Andy
ascoandy wrote:Hello all,Having owned an N80 for a short while now I am seeing some shortfalls in its functionality vs Windows based smartphones.
Can anyone restore my optimism about the N80 being a good business phone?
Are there any good apps that I need to know about?
Cheers
Andy
See Your needs, compare, then You know, if is a Symbian (N80 or other) You need or a Windows Mobile device. Both are good, and booth are pour devices... it depends of user needs.
I'm still in love with my N80, so let me try. It may not be the best business phone, but it is the ultimate geek's gadget phone. There's nothing it can't do. The WiFi is probably the killer feature, and the high res screen makes apps like sat nav and web browsing so much more usable on such a small device than they otherwise would be.
A few things I use my phone for:
* A remote control (via WiFi and the web browser) for my fanless Linux box that runs mpc and plays my music collection;
* Surfing the web on the move (it's the only mobile device short of a laptop that I've ever found this any good on);
* Surfing the web at home when I can't be bothered to turn on my PC (it even saved the day when my girlfriend wanted to buy plane tickets and her aging Mac wouldn't load the Ryanair web site properly);
* Listening to Internet radio at home (look up the Nokia Shoutcast Internet Radio app)
* Telling me the weather in obscure locations (I do business travel a lot) thanks to Handy Weather
* Storing all my passwords (Handy Safe)
* Tracking business expenses (Handy Expense)
* Knowing when to take my pizza out of the oven (Handy Clock)
* Looking up words in the Oxford Concise dictionary and thesaurus (MSDict)
* Navigating while driving and on foot (Navicore)
* Keeping track of birthdays, meetings and social engagements
* Taking the odd photo of something funny I've seen
* Listening to Chris Moyles on my way to work in the morning
* Checking train times (Services -> wap.nationalrail.co.uk)
* Oh, and, er, making calls and sending texts.
What else do you want to do?
ascoandy wrote:Hello all,Having owned an N80 for a short while now I am seeing some shortfalls in its functionality vs Windows based smartphones.
Can anyone restore my optimism about the N80 being a good business phone?
Are there any good apps that I need to know about?
Cheers
Andy
Can I answer you question from a different angle....
One single bad thing about the N80 is battery life.
Everything else is cool (with v4 FW). It's the best Nokia Smartphone I have owned, and I have had quite a few models since I the 7650 5 years ago.
P.S. My workmate has a Windows smartphone and the battery life is twice as bad as the N80.
I have used GPS apps for 3 hours on a single charge (Same as N70 and 6680) but he can only get 1 hour GPS use from his Windows smartphone.
ascoandy wrote:Hello all,Having owned an N80 for a short while now I am seeing some shortfalls in its functionality vs Windows based smartphones.
Can anyone restore my optimism about the N80 being a good business phone?
Are there any good apps that I need to know about?
Cheers
Andy
What functionality are you missing?
There is software for pretty much anything you need. You get different freebies depending on the E or N route. E series get a free Office editing program for example.
Check www.nokiaforbusiness.com for Stuff like Push email software. Just select E70(it will work on N80, same OS, UI).
dez_borders wrote:Can I answer you question from a different angle....One single bad thing about the N80 is battery life.
Everything else is cool (with v4 FW). It's the best Nokia Smartphone I have owned, and I have had quite a few models since I the 7650 5 years ago.
P.S. My workmate has a Windows smartphone and the battery life is twice as bad as the N80.
I have used GPS apps for 3 hours on a single charge (Same as N70 and 6680) but he can only get 1 hour GPS use from his Windows smartphone.
I can cope with the battery life. A night time charge has been my policy since my 7650 anyway. The real issue I have with the N80 is the build quality. The N80 is a lot like the 7650 in that it is a concept phone, a branch of technologies away from the standard. Thing is I want something that feels more like the 6310 or the venerable 8210 or even the old but sturdy 6110. The N80 feels more like a Motorola of old... and that's not a direction I want to see Nokia going in.
elaverick wrote:I can cope with the battery life. A night time charge has been my policy since my 7650 anyway. The real issue I have with the N80 is the build quality. The N80 is a lot like the 7650 in that it is a concept phone, a branch of technologies away from the standard. Thing is I want something that feels more like the 6310 or the venerable 8210 or even the old but sturdy 6110. The N80 feels more like a Motorola of old... and that's not a direction I want to see Nokia going in.
Hi,
Actually I have no issues with build quality on my Pearl Black N80.
My N80 has fallen from my shirt pocket many times in the last 3 months and everything still works fine and not even a scratch detectable on the case or screen.
Perhaps you were just unlucky?
Dez
Well its possible. But things like creaking sides a slightly loose slide and a memory card door made of a flimsy bit of plastic smack of bad design choices rather than just a poor batch.
Till someone else makes a model equivalent to the N80 in size and features i cant be critical to the design. There is no equivalent spec smartphone out there by another company.
Spec means nothing if it works crappy.
Sebhelyesfarku wrote:Spec means nothing if it works crappy.
But my N80 does not work crappy, does not have bad build quality.
It simply has poor battery life.
Those of you who have a bad-build N80 should have sent it back for repair/exchange within the 14 day period when you bought it...
Dez
Sebhelyesfarku wrote:Spec means nothing if it works crappy.So sell it already.
Pheonix SZ wrote:So sell it already.
Good idea, a-hole.
dez_borders wrote:But my N80 does not work crappy, does not have bad build quality.
Dez
All N80s have crap video, smarty.
Pheonix SZ wrote:So sell it already.
Sebhelyesfarku wrote:Good idea, a-hole.
Well why not do something about it, instead of always complaining about the n80 ?
If you sell it, we won't have to listen to your non-stop moaning.
😉
Sebhelyesfarku wrote:All N80s have crap video, smarty.
Hi Pal,
No need to get shiRty!
The N80 video quality is no better or worse than the N70 or any other N Series handset.
What everyone seems to forget is that the N Series are Smart Phones.
i.e. They are Mobile Phones that also run smart applications.
If ya want a top quality stills camera buy a 7MP Sony CyberCam (cost £200+)
If ya want a top quality Video Camera, buy a DVD or HD CamCorder (cost £400+)
If ya want a Pentium class PC / XVGA games console, buy a PC or Sony PS2 (cost £150-£750+)
If you multiply the prices above, you are 2 to 3 times the cost of an N80 on eBay or the network handset charge + 12 month contract
Exactly how do you guys (and gals) expect Nokia to provide all of the above functionality for 25% the cost of all the individual products?
The N80 is the best Smartphone I have owned so far (and I have owned quite a few over the last 5 years).
By the way, to address the build quality question:-
I used to run a sideline buying and selling Nokia Smartphones on eBay - making a small profit on each sale. I bought (& tested before re-sale) about 8-10 N80's since it's 2006 release. I never had a single problem with build quality, dead pixels or any other technical problems. Maybe I was just VERY lucky or maybe the following advice should be followed... I have to say the following to those who are complaining of build quality, dead pixels or any other hardware problems:-
SEND IT BACK FOR EXCHANGE OR REFUND WITHIN 14 DAYS OF PURCHASE
(or if you bought it on eBay, ask the buyer for a refund or complain to PayPal to force the seller to refund you if it's faulty...).
There's no excuse for keeping a faulty unit then moaning about it here - you have or had your chance to get your money back...
... Riddle me this Batman...
If you bought a pair of jeans and they had a hole in the bum would you take them back to the shop or simply complain to all your mates about feeling a cold draft?
dez_borders wrote:
The N80 video quality is no better or worse than the N70 or any other N Series handset.
Wrong. It's worse than N70's or other expensive camera phones', much more noise in low-light. But I guess you thought it's a built-in effect like a Photoshop filter, don't ya, Mr. Smartphone Expert?
Btw WTF talked about bad build quality? The loose slider is just the usual from Nokia, nothing particularly bad.
Sebhelyesfarku wrote:Wrong. It's worse than N70's or other expensive camera phones', much more noise in low-light. But I guess you thought it's a built-in effect like a Photoshop filter, don't ya, Mr. Smartphone Expert?Btw WTF talked about bad build quality? The loose slider is just the usual from Nokia, nothing particularly bad.
Every nokia cameraphone I have ever used has had poor quality in low lighting, I don't see the N80 as any better or worse.
As previously stated i bought and sold 10 N80's from random sellers on eBAY and never received a single faulty unit or bad build/loose slider etc. Whilst I am not saying there are NO N80's with loose sliders, I personally have never seen one and would not accept one in that condition - I would send it back for refund/exchange.
I also cannot understand why disaffected N80 owners chose to keep a product they are so unhappy with despite having full rights to get their money back under mail order distance selling regulations or eBAY and PayPAL buyer protection policies? If youre not satisfied with your N80 Sell it or send it back to the supplier.
Alternatively, if you just want to complain about build quality and camera performance but have nothing constructive to offer AAS forum users, why not register for Nokia's own forum groups or email Nokia support directly with your complaints?
My problem is I am fed up seeing this forum for symbian phone owners (which is meant to support and educate owners) is being taken over by people who just want to complain their mobile isnt as good as a commercial digital camera or camcorder - which is an unreasonable expectation considering how small & indexpensive smartphones are compared to seperate video products. AAS forums are most useful when they contain threads discussing how to do useful or interesting things with our smartphones, or discussing how to fix a problem users are experiencing with their mobile or equipment connected to it.
AAS webservers are very busy and quite overloaded at times, and a thread that contains nothing constructive is just wasting precious resources on an already overloaded web service. I find it frustrating to read constantly negative postings from people who don't appear interested or willing to contribute anything constructive to AAS.
Finally I offer a genuine apology to any AAS users I may have upset with recent comments in this thread.
(I will make this my final posting into this particular thread but feel free to contact me privately if you wish)
Dez
Telumehtar wrote:...There's nothing it can't do. The WiFi is probably the killer feature, and the high res screen makes apps like sat nav and web browsing so much more usable on such a small device than they otherwise would be....
* Oh, and, er, making calls and sending texts.
What else do you want to do?
Well put...couldn't agree more! Love the Wifi. It IS the ultimate geeks phone.
And thanks for the info about shoutcast and the app for same...listening to WDDT as I type. Makes my N80 even more desirable. Pretty nifty for a device that is designed to be used primarially as a phone!
dez_borders wrote:Every nokia cameraphone I have ever used has had poor quality in low lighting, I don't see the N80 as any better or worse.
Actually, N80's low-light/medium-light video quality IS worse. I have compared a N70 and a N80 side-by-side in the same environment. Even in a quite well lit indoor environment, N80 clearly has a lot more noise in the video. In bright daylight there are no noticeable differences.
Unfortunately I cannot provide you with the video samples.
My N70 is as bad as the N80. I have had N70, N80 and N90... N90 was better if I had to pick anything but none of them have been what Id call good. N80 & N70 were the same. Lucky I didnt buy a phone for the video camera.. (not sure why anyone would ??)