PDA Essentials magazine issue 71 is out today (in the UK) and is notable for a five page 'Real World Test' between the iPhone, the Nokia N95 8GB and a smattering of HTC and Palm models. Tests included 'Outdoors' (contrast in sunlight), 'Pub' (ease of use when err.... inebriated) and 'Bus' (ease of use on shaking transport, possibly one-handed). The N95 8GB came out a comfortable winner. Also in issue 71 is a double page spread of top S60 3rd Edition Tips and a glowing review of the Nokia E51.
Read on in the full article.
And no, I didn't write it, btw, in case anyone accuses me! Editor Andy Betts was probably the guy behind this one.
Whose real world? 21 year old tech-journalists living in London showing each other the latest "Hillarious" video clips they downloaded from the internet 😊
Certainly not my real world.
No, mid-thirties users in Bournemouth, out and about, testing activities like messaging, browsing, music and calls. I think they got it spot on, too.
Nice to see the E51 getting the good reviews it deserves, after using it for a month+ now i can definitely agree. Its a wonder they managed all this with its diminutive size!
I regard the nokia e51 as a 6120classic with wifi, both are awesome phones from nokia
I like Nokia phones and PDA Essential mags and they have been giving alot of positive products and comments throughout many years.
I do not think N95 8GB is suitable for everyone so the real world usuage is hard to determine. However, I agree with majority that it is the most phone like for most of their consumers. E51 is a brillant piece of kit and superb. I am very tempted to upgrade my beloved Palm Treo 750v WM6 for it plus a very cheap barigain Nokia N800. (Probably will be perfect with a folding bluetooth keyboard.)
And yeah. I really do understand kids sharing video in public and laugh out loud. However, its a way to express themselves than exchanging drugs or guns.
Messanging better than a Blackberry? Browsing and Music better than the IPHONE?
is this a joke?
Oh BOY! its official now. S60 fans have gone nutts!
and I blame the iPHONE.
Whilst I do regard the N95 as a great piece of kit, I can't help but think that the magazine didn't do that great a job, choosing to put the HTC Advantage in there is a huge mistake. Yes, it's the most powerful thing that HTC make in phone terms, and readers of the mag would be extremely interested in how it is to live with on a daily basis.
But no one is going to sit at a salesperson's desk trying to choose between the Advantage and the N95 8Gb - the HTC choice delivers a review that they might not otherwise entertain doing, but the readers (whether they know it or not) would have been better served if the mag had chosen to put the Touch Cruise up against the N95.
uncle sammy wrote:Messanging better than a Blackberry? Browsing and Music better than the IPHONE?is this a joke?
Oh BOY! its official now. S60 fans have gone nutts!
and I blame the iPHONE.
You completely missed the POINT of their review. They were looking at using these devices in *real world* situations (bright light, shakey bus, tipsy, etc), as opposed to a cosy office. In such situations, it's not surprising that the high contrast screen, one handed UI and physical buttons of the N95 8GB won out.
I recently migrated from a Palm Treo to an E51 and have been very impressed. There are definitely some flaws in S60 but overall it is a far better user experience than anything anyone else has out there, and yes, I will include the iPhone in that lineup.
The thing that annoys me the most about the E51 isn't S60's fault, it's Nokia's bizarre product segmentation strategy where some things only work on Nxx devices and some things only work on Exx devices and some things only work on one particular Nxx device, and ... it's maddening. All the phones are running the same OS, give us the same programs! I shouldn't be penalized for choosing an E-series device with "no Share Online, no Geotagger, no $other_cool_nokia_app".
The phones are running the same OS, stop trying to create a market segment where none exists and give everyone the version that has everything. S60 seems to have taken a lot of design cues from Mac OS, but this is one that they took from Vista or something.
What do you expect from a company where a standard 3.5mm jack socket that's been around for 30 odd years is considered a premium feature?
Why are connection groups missing on the E51, and why can't N series phones customise the plugins on active standby?
Still not as bad as Sony Erricson's Cybershot vs Walkman segmentation.
People do seem to forget that S60 has an open API and you can get an app to do just about anything you want. Nothing is missing as such, you have a platform to customise as you wish.
As for 3.5mm jack plugs, thank goodness Nokia went back to those, some designs just work and that is one of them.
Unregistered wrote:What do you expect from a company where a standard 3.5mm jack socket that's been around for 30 odd years is considered a premium feature?
Of course, Apple would never stoop that low.