The i8910 (and more) join the Grid

Text entry speed
5800 XM: 6
i8910 HD: 3
Care to explain?

Also, how on earth does the 5800 XM gets a 10 in GPS and Maps, when:
1) Nokia Maps doesn't work in landscape mode; and, even worse, doesn't offer the full qwerty keyboard, so that entering addresses is quite a PITA
2) it doesn't have a compass, making walk navigation also a PITA
I thought 10 (in a scale of 10) means perfection, and the 5800 XM is far from perfect in this category.

>>Text entry speed, 5800 XM: 6, i8910 HD: 3, Care to explain?

Have you TRIED typing on the i8910's virtual keyboard? I have. With no multi-touch, it's VERY tricky on a capacitive touchscreen.

>>Also, how on earth does the 5800 XM gets a 10 in GPS and Maps, when:
1) Nokia Maps doesn't work in landscape mode; and, even worse, doesn't offer the full qwerty keyboard, so that entering addresses is quite a PITA, 2) it doesn't have a compass, making walk navigation also a PITA

I've never tried using it in landscape mode, honestly. And half the score's for the hardware - the GPS is very sensitive, in my experience, and well positioned. Never had a problem with walking either. Sorry. Only the postcode bug irks me at present, other than that I'm a big Nokia Maps fan.

1st e71 which iv got.2nd 5800 not got.3rd the omnia and surprisingly 4th the touch pro.now when i last did the grid the tytn 2 was on it and that came a resounding last for me.very strange how thats happened as im sure my usage hasnt changed since last on the grid and the pro is only an upgrade to the tytn2.my next 3 top results inc the iphone e90 and the touch hd.
2 windows mobiles in the top 7 and yet before never got a look in.amazing!

Not amazing - the Touch Pro 2 and Touch Diamond 2 are *significantly* better than their predecessors. Bigger, higher res screen, better camera, more storage flexibility and more....

certainly nothing to do with the camera anyway.the screen might have something to do with it as im getting rather fond of big screens.how come the n97 wasnt included?the omnia has only just appeared on orange you could ve put that 1 in.

answered my own question there haha.will you change the grid when the n97 comes out?

Hi Steve,
Also with me the E71 comes as the best device. And that's the one I have now. I was thinking about an upgrade... but you gave me second thought. One question: When the E71 comes out as the best phone for you, why haven't we seen this in any of you top10 top5 of the year/months ect.?

My score was E-71 then N-95. I actually have an E-71 and an N-85. Any chance updating the N-Series range to reflect the newer models, maybe retire the N-96?

That grid of yours sure is a lot of fun Steve, nice one !

@wiltjer: Eh? It's no. 3 in my most recent countdown - http://3lib.ukonline.co.uk/sshow/ss78.html

slitchfield wrote:Have you TRIED typing on the i8910's virtual keyboard?

We activated the QWERTY keyboard to type in several test messages and we are quite pleased with it. You can actually choose the response time depending on your own typing speed.

slitchfield wrote:I've never tried using it in landscape mode, honestly.

I have to agree with Steve. I played with Omnia HD yesterday on Samsung Live event. Writing on a capacitive screen without multitouch using full qwerty is very tricky. Harder than on 5800.

Multitasking/ speed
N95 8gb (332mhz, 128mb RAM): 10 (perfect)
i8910 (600mhz, 256mb RAM): 9

Sensing a bit of favoritism for the N95 8gb, seeing as how it's been at the top of your top-10 smartphone list for several seasons now. 😉 Wouldn't want you to factor in USB transfer speeds in for this particular category between these two phones.

This grid is really intelligent. I am going to post about this tomorrow on HDomnia Thanks! It says I should have the phone I own, ha...

rvirga wrote:Since the i8910 isn't on sale yet where I live, I haven't. But it has been extensively reviewed on many sites, and you're the only one who had anything negative to say about the on-screen keyboard. Just as a sample, here's what PhoneArena.com had to say:

They're wrong. I tried it extensively and the capacitive single-touch gets in the way of fast typing. Rafe agrees, he tried it too, it's not just me.

Do you know of a single car GPS unit which works in portrait mode? I don't. They all work in landscape mode, because landscape gives you a better picture of your surroundings. Heck, Nokia itself makes standalone GPSs, and even those all work in landscape mode only! I guess this is another instance in which your opinion is complete opposite to that of the rest of the world.

But the 5800 is a portrait device! It's designed to be held vertically and used vertically. And mounted in my phone holder vertically. What on earth has this got to do with a different class of gadget which works the other way around???? I agree that working in landscape would be cool, but it's hardly a showstopper.

jonnybruha wrote:Multitasking/ speed
N95 8gb (332mhz, 128mb RAM): 10 (perfect)
i8910 (600mhz, 256mb RAM): 9

Sensing a bit of favoritism for the N95 8gb, seeing as how it's been at the top of your top-10 smartphone list for several seasons now. 😉 Wouldn't want you to factor in USB transfer speeds in for this particular category between these two phones.

Nope, my scores are HANDS-ON scores. The Samsung devices lose a little here because they're all still a bit buggy. When their firmware matures, their scores will rise.

PS. USB transfer speeds is a good idea for adding an extra category/attribute to the table....

I assume you have scored the Omnia HD from a pre-production model?

Therefore is it really fair to compare a pre-production unit to production devices which many of the other models on the grid are?

Dude, what the hell was that? You re talking about this cheap 5800 with lousy GPS support comparing to a huge screen and brillinat GPS support of Omnia HD.
You somehow forgot about a camera of Omnia HD which can be a match to one of the i8510 Innovator! It also beats the camera of SE C905. It is not bad at all, eh? For a phone 13 mm thin. Why didnt you mention OLED screen of Omnia? What the hell where you talking about comparing N 95 8Gb with Omnia in multitasking? N 95 8 Gb is an FP1 device it is overally slower even compared with 5800, you re a joke man. Stop that lousy bashing of yours.

>>you re a joke man. Stop that lousy bashing of yours.

Sigh. 'Unregistered' again. [FX: again looks imploringly at Rafe to stop drive-by trolls from posting]

How about a "regular firmware updates" row? I've already been able to update my 5800 three times. How well do the other vendors fare?

That's another good idea for a category. And an area where Nokia, for one, shines, it has to be said. For some models, at least [he says, anticipating the flood of N93 and NAM N95 owner complaints]

Hey, Steve! I'm just curious; how exactly did you measure the battery-life of all the models in the grid? Any form of scientifical approach or was it largely based on short time subjective impression? I'm just asking because I've owned, and used daily for a long period of time, many of the devices in the grid and my experiences differ quite a bit... 😊

@Raven. 80% based on hands-on. But grateful for additional data points. Some of the devices here are too new for exact scores here and I've gone based on mAh ratings.

@ slitchfield... you're right about E71 boing no. 3 in you last update... I need to recheck my memory 😉 Keep up the good work with this grid. It's very usefull!

Hi Guys,

I have to agree that when trying various permutations, the N95 keeps turning up eithere top or second far more than 'I think' it should.

I keep entering different scenarios where I think the Omnia HD would be the device to go for but up pops the N95... Do love the 5800 by the way. Well done Nokia.

I'm not even sure the Omnia HD can ever 'win' the N95.

Trying to analyse the why in my earlier comments :

Local Connectivity - Think you are being hard on the Omnia HD in Particular. What's it missing/inferior on Omnia HD compared to the N95 ?

Video Recording Omnia HD lower than N95? Surely not. I thought sound issues were only at top HD Res ? And even then, just poor sample rate ?

Indoor screen clarity. OLED v N95 both 10? Everything else should be downrated taking account of the new OLED Gold Standard. Say 10 v 8. Outdoors, you could argue N95 is better...

Text entry speed. I can see what you are saying about no multitouch. But I think 3 is pushing it. What happens if you try a 2 thumbs only approach. I suspect, you will minimise likelyhood of both thumbs touching at same time. In fact most keys could be done with a single thumb and the other thumb just used when it's a bit of a stretch.

Battery Life/Options again, 4 v 8 ? Sounds very harsh. Both removable. HD has 1500 capacity so should acount for bigger screen. Perhaps 6 v8 at worst.

GPS, I'd edge HD to 9 taking account of Compass. Very useful. N95 down to 7. Plenty of 3rd party options that are way better than Nokia Maps. All but viewing of maps is pay for extra. (I've used it in anger having paid for 30 days. Garmin or Co Pilot look much better).

Enough typing.

By the way, Omnia HD is actually currently my second choice on the next purchase radar behind the Toshiba TG01. Poor camera (no flash more than pixels) and no compass keep making me rethink about the HD.

Hope that criticism is constructive enough for you Steve 😊

Zuber

>>Local Connectivity - Think you are being hard on the Omnia HD in Particular. What's it missing/inferior on Omnia HD compared to the N95 ?

No infrared. Of course, if you don't need that, just turn this row off etc.

>>Video Recording Omnia HD lower than N95? Surely not. I thought sound issues were only at top HD Res ? And even then, just poor sample rate ?

Sound quality poorer, and, yes, sync issues at top rates. AND no camera glass protection. Scores may change for production units, of course. I update the table regularly. Next update will have the N97 in 8-)

>>Indoor screen clarity. OLED v N95 both 10? Everything else should be downrated taking account of the new OLED Gold Standard. Say 10 v 8. Outdoors, you could argue N95 is better...

Yes, good point, I'll downrate everything else for OLED. [Now done]

>>is pushing it. What happens if you try a 2 thumbs only approach. I suspect, you will minimise likelyhood of both thumbs touching at same time. In fact most keys could be done with a single thumb and the other thumb just used when it's a bit of a stretch.

No, you have to try it with 2 thumbs to appreciate the problem. See my video on this in Phones Show 78.

>>Battery Life/Options again, 4 v 8 ? Sounds very harsh. Both removable. HD has 1500 capacity so should acount for bigger screen. Perhaps 6 v8 at worst.

Agreed. Adjusted to 6.

>>GPS, I'd edge HD to 9 taking account of Compass. Very useful. N95 down to 7. Plenty of 3rd party options that are way better than Nokia Maps. All but viewing of maps is pay for extra. (I've used it in anger having paid for 30 days. Garmin or Co Pilot look much better).

Yes, but I'm not taking into account buying extra software. Though pedants could argue that buying a nav license in Nokia Maps is 'buying extra software' 8-) The Samsung's nav software situation is very uncertain and I hate the way you have to manually download Assisted GPS data.

Thanks for the feedback!

BTW, I've now added a 'Regular firmware updates' row. Though I had to work on gut impression for some devices 8-)

Hey Steve, I really think it's about time you added a local storage category. I for one cannot get enough Gb for media...or have you taken it into account in other categories?

I could sort of understand if you said that they all take mem cards, but some don't (or don't support the bigger capacities) and some have oodles of on-board memory while others dont so there's quite a difference in the maximum amount available.

ILG

The grid suggested the Nokia N95 for me. I've considered getting the N97 when it comes out. Gotta take this test another time if/when that handset joins the grid 😊