Just released is The Phones Show 88 - with mini-reviews of the HTC Magic and LG KS360, plus a big feature on Touch (the in-vogue system) vs Button-driven (the old guard?) phones - is one better than the other? See also the QVGA (phone) and VGA (desktop) RSS feeds.
Read on in the full article.
I'll bite. One of the biggest advantages of the 5800 is that its so easy to use one handed. You get t9 AND qwerty options. The widescreen format makes it really perfect. I found other touch phones such as the iphone too wide. Also the 5800 is the perfect thickness which makes it easy to hold. Thin phones like the iphone or e71 were harder for me to hold up to my ear.
i have been a stong supporter of s60 since the introduction of the n95, literally buying, using, then selling almost every nseries since the n95-1 and a few eseries too. after buying the n97 i decided that it was time to try something new, as i cant stand nokia's implementation of a touch ui. i decided to try the htc magic as it was available through my carrier, rogers wireless. this version of the magic includes microsoft exchange support and quick office right out of the box! htc's onscreen dialer (allows a smart filter to search contacts like wm and eseries) along with the trackball give me exactly what i need, one handed use with a touchscreen. i find that the os, the trackball, and the hardware buttons make it very easy to use one-handed while i am working or relaxing. i love this device and as much as i would love to try a device like the e75, or e52 (e55) i just cannot see myslelf leaving android anytime soon. the os is so much more fun to use, has full multitasking, is very fluid and quick, and is very intuitive. i am so tired of buying another nokia that has the same os, the same hardware features, yet still needs 3 software updates to run the way it should! it is nice that nokia updates the firmware, but there really should not be the same bugs, version after version, device after device. this is what really pushed me away from s60.
s60 does do some things better, but not things that are deal breakers for me. sure it would be nice to have a 5 or 8 mp camera, which i do miss, but for my regular use i dont actually need it. i like hardware keypads, but the onscreen dialer, and virtual t9 and full qwerty keypads in android work well enough that i am happy. i think a treo style device with android will be incredible....cant wait.
i love the work of the allaboutsymbian crew, i only wish you would do an allaboutandroid site with the same level of reviews, podcasts, etc.
Buttons for me everytime. Having said that I use a 5800, because it just destroys every other phone out in pure value for money. What it does for the price is absolutely unmatched, and I'm happy with the touchscreen too - expecially as V30 firmware has made it so much more responsive - also the one handed operation for everything and the ability to use handwriting and the fact that the screen responds to anything touching it - not just skin. I would probably have an N86 if it was a better price, but for now 5800 is unrivalled in the market place, hence its massive sales.
I've just gone from 18 months on a button phone (the E90, probably the MOST button-y phone in recent times!), to a fortnight on a touch phone (the i8910). In fact i'm using both side by side until my pac number comes through.
I'm definitely preferring touch over buttons. Much easier to move around screens whether they are web pages, or maps. Viewranger is brilliant on a touch phone, and GarminXT functions as though it was in a Garmin GPS unit.
It hasn't taken long to get used to inputting text on a virtual keyboard instead of a physical one, and i seem to be as fast on either. I don't consider "text input to be compromised to some degree" at all. I can 'feel' the button presses (haptic) just fine. True, i have to look to type, but then i did on the E90 anyway.
I find it much easier to use the i8910 one handed, but the E90 isn't exactly a one handed phone even in the broadest definition of the term! I think i can do anything i need to do on the i8910 (except QWERTY typing) one handed. I certainly haven't had to tie the dog to a post, or put the shopping down as i did with the E90. When Samsung get round to enabling portrait QWERY, even this will be do-able one handed.
As far as the incredibly sensitive touch screen on the i8910, fortunately the lock button is easily reachable with a thumb and its easy to train yourself to press it when you want the screen locked. I do it without thinking now, and its easier than the 5800's slide lock.
"Overall form factor is larger" Erm, i'm coming from an E90 to a i8910, nuff said.😃 However, hold a i8910 up to an E71, which is larger?....
I can do everything my E90 that i can do on my i8910 including Roadsync, Satnav, etc and find it easier than i did on my button phone.
Hi Steve,
Re the little LG you mentioned in the Show, it doesn't have a touch screen as we know it, it has a matrix of a dozen or so touch cells which match the on-screen keypad map - if you look at it at an angle in bright light you can see the overlay.
On the touch/keys issue, I love my E90 but have been using a 5800 for a couple of months. I came to the conclusion that touch is very attractive initially, but that the novelty wears off and the downsides start to dominate after a while. I think this is a bit like the 'new car' effect!
For me the only thing the touchies offer is a larger screen - keypad phone screens seem to be getting smaller, I thought 2.4" was a thing of the past, now it's apparently a large screen! Eeek.