Battle of the titans: Nokia E90 vs HTC Advantage

If someone would speak with that HTC near ear, people would say that he stole a telephone booth. Now really, how the hell do they expect to speak at that brick?

Anyway, as an organizer it seem to make a good impression; too bad that it haves WM. I would go on Nokia.

Excellent piece, Steve, but...
what about an entry about PIM compatibility with OS X iCal and Addresses?
I believe the E90 should be a winner, especially now that Nokia releases free plug-ins for all its E-series, whereas the MS-powered HTC should resort to third-party software for synching with Macs?
Kind regards.
PS: despite the icon, no (big) rant meant!

i believe the advantage is supposed to be used with a bt headset?
ill take e90 anyway please!

I like the massive screen on the Advantage but it's running windows. Uggg :frown:
The E90 is looking very smart in red!

Its sad this will degrade into another windows vs some other OS fan rant comment section. Both systems are powerful in their own right, it should be about the hardware and its usability. Please fan boy and off topic soapbox rants need not apply or i ban your commenting privileges for a week (if i had the power).

- I don't think the Advantage is meant to be used against the ear for phone calls. There are Bluetooth headsets and Wired headsets for that. It will mostly reside in a pouch or small bag.
- Also, i don't see how the screen will be vulnerable when the keyboard acts as an effective shield when its not in use.
- Since the E90 has a similar hinge system to the 9300, can anyone confirm if the latter's hinge has degraded over prolonged use.
- How is the battery life of both?
- 8GB is definitely an Advantage (hehe, i made a funny!)

Orophin Anwarunya wrote:>Orophin Anwarunya: 'it should be about the hardware and its usability'.

You've decided that have you? Some people would consider the 'Usability' of an OS to be somewhat important in a device like this.

> 'Please fan boy and off topic soapbox rants need not apply or i ban your commenting privileges for a week (if i had the power)'.

Fortuantely you don't.

> '8GB is definitely an Advantage (hehe, i made a funny!)'

Yeah good one.

>>I don't think the Advantage is meant to be used against the ear for phone calls. There are Bluetooth headsets and Wired headsets for that. It will mostly reside in a pouch or small bag.

So when someone calls you.....?

>>- Also, i don't see how the screen will be vulnerable when the keyboard acts as an effective shield when its not in use.

In use, I was worried that any kind of drop or bash would damage the huge screen.

>> Since the E90 has a similar hinge system to the 9300, can anyone confirm if the latter's hinge has degraded over prolonged use.

Eh? It's totally different.

>>- How is the battery life of both?

Both quite good, thanks to largish batteries.

Steve

As a pocket computer, maybe, but it's impossible to imagine someone using the HTC Advantage as a phone.

"Since the E90 has a similar hinge system to the 9300, can anyone confirm if the latter's hinge has degraded over prolonged use."

That could be difficult to assess as the E90 has only just appeared on the market. Models used in early previews (including AAS's one) would have been prototypes, so their durability might be different to the final model.

Hi Steve, Thanks for the comparison - I wonder if you might compare it to one of the smaller windows devices with a keyboard? I'm very interested in the E90 as a pocketable diary device on which I can type reasonably quickly on (and I need something with a built in keyboard, as I intend to use the keyboard to typing in appointments on the go etc..) - basically I just want a modern psion 3a! How is the firmware shaping up, and is the calendar application going to be useable for all my needs? Thanks!, Duncan

Your best bet is to plump your preferences into my Grid http://3lib.ukonline.co.uk/grid.htm and see what comes out top.

Personally, I'm torn between Nokia E70, E61i and E90 - I really want to move back to a qwerty device, but it's tough choosing 8-)

Steve

I have to wonder about the scoring in this article. I think perhaps this is the correct outcome for a mobile that can be used in a pinch for a lap top repacement. Most of the difference between the two was the form factor. However if it is truly which phone is purely a better lap top replacement then I would say the article suffered from a pro-Symbian bias. (or maybe Steve's hate for touch screens!)

Although I dislike Windows Mobile and have pre-ordered an E90; I really think that the Advantage is a superior "lap-top replacement". It has better storage, larger screen, a large keyboard and is more pocket-able than a laptop. I think the E90 is a better mobile phone/lap-top replacement compromise. Which is why I am looking to get one.

Anyway I guess in the AAS forum it would be kind of silly for us to be shouting the praises of a device with the scum operating system.

No, you do me an injustice, I approached the scoring objectively. Re:touchscreens - laptops don't generally have touchscreens, so not sure what you're getting at here.

Re:the Advantage generally outspecs the E90, to be sure, but the fixed keyboard angle is horrible, the keyboard itself is horrible, the weight (360g) is hard to ignore and yes, the touchscreen does rather mean you can't use it outdoors etc.

Just because this is AAS doesn't mean that editorial is biased. I'm more familiar with Symbian OS devices, I guess, but I start each review prepared to like every single device.

Steve

Instead of the HTC Advantage, I think the OQO Model 02 makes more sense: http://tnkgrl.wordpress.com/tag/model-02/

It's about the same weight and size and it's a lot more powerful, since it's a full (x86 compatible) personal computer 😊

Between my Model 02 and my Nokia N95, I have it all... And if I want to travel light, I only take the N95!

Then again, the Nokia E90 is very tempting as the ultimate all-in-one device😊

hmmm...lets see, which one can fit in my pocket better?

Steve,

I'm sure I'm not the only one to be *VERY* suprised to hear that you are struggling to choose between the E90, E61i and E70 - as someone who has not had the benefit of hands-on with two of these devices the E90 appears on paper to knock the other two into a cocked hat.

I think you have cornered yourself into another article here; a straight comparison between the three. The combination of QWERTY and a camera is something that is long overdue, and is a landmark for the 'geek' archetype like me who wants everything in one device.

Please consider it - you have the opportunity to guide your faithful followers along the right(eous) path!

Cheers,
Neil.

The problem is that the E90's camera is sooo much better and then there's extra screen real estate and RAM. But then it's larger and heavier and I still don't like the hinge. And the keyboard's not a patch on that in the 9500.... The E70's not bad but is still slow, even on v2 firmware - and the E61i is very tempting as it's a one piece design that's very robust.

Steve

Steve,

E90 keyboard no good? You seemed to be doing well enough on it at the start of Smartphone Show 25!

Is your concern about the hinge because you think it will come loose and/or break connections?

There is another consideration - the E61i is fully loaded, but it's really ugly! I am ugly enough already without my phone being awful to look at too. The E90 looks the business, especially in red! [drool].

Looks like I am stuck with my N70 - I have been trying to upgrade it for over a year now, but nothing measures up. N70i please....3.2MP with HTC VOX keyboard!

Neil.

It would seem comical to give an advice to THE Steve Lichtfield on Symbian matters... but I just went ahead and ordered an E61i via Expansys (in France, it is the Azerty-EU version, since I am based in Belgium), after a lot of consideration to the E90, and a bit to the E70.
I could not care less for a smartphone "which does everything" (apologies to the fans of ultra-convergence) while I would expect a device which does well what is supposed to do.
On the web, the E90 just looks great. Its hardware specs are impressive. But then:
The screen is not that huge if you factor in all the space around, taken up by the Series 60 buttons
I was just scared to death by Steve's comment that "... the keyboard's not a patch on that in the 9500...." which already was a letdown on that of the Psion 5 Mx (OK, better stop that)
And - most importantly - I hardly bear the look of Series 60 on the nice large screen! Yes, it has been tweaked; yes, many said and will say "it's a shame that Series 80 was dropped, but life goes on, etc. etc.". But a shame it is, and the E90, which is not going to be cheap, does pretend more of itself than other devices.
The E61i costs much less, should be very solid and looks doing well - or even very well - what you ask from it.
Since I am a Mac user, a rare breed of people who actually "like" their bigger computers, I do not find atrocious to do more on one of my Mac laptops, synch it with the Symbian device and do not ask too much out of it.
This said, if Mother Nokia would have cared to offer a device with Series 80 on Symbian 9, with a 9500-class keyboard (or even slightly improved) and all the rest of the hardware at the level of the E90...

Best regards,

Yes the OS is paramount, but both have pluses and minuses.

I meant the hinges are similar in that they can both open flat, unlike the 9500.

When someone calls, just answer it with the bluetooth or get a headset with a display screen. :tongue:

Different people..different requirements...different weightings when making comparisons

My only point of refence is the Nokia 9500 and HTC Universal. On the whole I did not like the Universal form factor as you do need to use a BT headset with a screen to see who is calling you. So I suspect the HTC Advantage is closer to a UMPC then a phone while the Nokia E90 is closer to a phone then the Nokia 9500. So we have these new devices that are at different ends of the scale then the older communicators.....

pintofale wrote:>pintofale 'There is another consideration - the E61i is fully loaded, but it's really ugly! I am ugly enough already without my phone being awful to look at too. The E90 looks the business, especially in red! [drool]'.

pintofale - It looks like the E61i will be released in a Red version too. (saw a clip on youtube of some Nokia bod demo'ing it). It's still not pretty but that odd two tone thing at least seemed to work better with a Red border. 😉

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Over at http://blog.pembi.net/2008/07/nokia-e90-wish-list/
and open letter to Nokia about the E90's shortcomings.