Head to head: The Nokia N97 vs HTC Hero

Unregistered wrote:Imagine taking a bus and adapting it for off-road racing. That's android.

No, that's Scrapheap Challenge.

😉

Unregistered wrote:It was designed to do it on 1996 battery powered PORTABLE POCKET DEVICE hardware, unlike Android, which is linux at heart, and any other unix style OS which has been adapted and bodged for low resource hardware.

Imagine taking a bus and adapting it for off-road racing. That's android.

And by your defintion, Maemo.

celios wrote:And by your defintion, Maemo.

For internet tablet devices of course. Not smartphones. I thought that was covered already in this thread. Symbian is for the smartphones, the N900 is not pitched as a phone.

People are likely to be very disappointed with the N900 battery life, the N900 is already very chunky and thick, and heavy, possibly to contain the battey required to run a linux based OS. And a bigger screen resolution and everything else people want with the cake they have already eaten.

Dear Steve,

I read your site regularly. Keep up the good work.

1 It seems that folk defend their choice of mobile phone in the same manner as they used to protect their choice of a god back in medieval times. Do you sometimes feel like Joan of Arc?

2 We had a country house party at the bank holiday. Bad rural signal and no 3 G. Load of different people with very disparate phones.

3 The handsets that worked without compromise were made by Nokia and RIM.

4 ALL the rest of the phones failed in the real world; very fancy expensive toys but not much use outside the city. Not one of them could even hold a signal - surely the first requirement for a "phone". There were also bluetooth exchange and wireless network logon problems.

Are these glittering objects of desire just modern tribal symbols or votive offerings sold to gullible pilgrims? Perhaps someone could write a thesis "Attitudes to Mobile Life: A Modern Inquisition" quoting the vitriol demonstrated by fan boy postings.

Best wishes

Simon Spooner.

I remember reading an interview a month or two ago where someone senior in Nokia said "we have time to beat Apple". I think they are looking at the wrong threat, as Android seems to be gaining critical mass with handset makers, and to a lesser extent, developers at a very rapid pace. Hardly a day goes by without a new handset announcement, and many of the most recent aren't high-end, $700 phones, they are aimed at PAYG or low spending contract users.

Once the first-tier handset makers like Samsung and Sony Ericsson have a few Android devices out there, many of the complaints about lack of cutting-edge camera and audio hardware will be resolved.

As for battery life, the N97 has a 1500mhA battery and still only gives me a couple of days of use, which from all the reports and reviews I've read about the Hero, doesn't seem miles away from what it manages with a lesser battery.

If the future of mobile phones rests on the services/cloud side of things and not purely the handsets, who would you trust based on their current track record - Google or Nokia?

If I was a betting man, my money would be on Android to dominate the smartphone market within 3 years.

Unregistered wrote:For internet tablet devices of course. Not smartphones. I thought that was covered already in this thread. Symbian is for the smartphones, the N900 is not pitched as a phone.

People are likely to be very disappointed with the N900 battery life, the N900 is already very chunky and thick, and heavy, possibly to contain the battey required to run a linux based OS. And a bigger screen resolution and everything else people want with the cake they have already eaten.

The N900 battery is 1320mAh, which is smaller than the N97, and I agree, it is inevitably going to have problems with battery life.

i figured its time for someone from a different location to chime in.

in australia, despite most people saying that we lag behind most other countries, our telecommunications infrastructure has been ahead of a fair few countries for a great many years. in this regard, nokia's foothold in australia has been fairly strong.

see, from what ive read, in the US, theyve only begun rolling out the 3g infrastructure. in australia, we've had 3g going on since 2005. and we've since gone far beyond 3g limits.

and this is where nokia begins to shine. whereas my friends are constantly complaining about call qualities on their iphone 2g and 3g phones, i've no such complaints with nokia. with both my nokia 5800 and nokia n97, ive spent 80% of my time within a 3.5g network, with superior call quality. 10% was spent in a 3g area when i drop out of 3.5g range, and the other 10% i spend within telstra's nextG/edge. whereas my friends always complain about their iphones staying in 2g about 80% of the time. in this regard, nokia shines.

recently tho, to sample other markets, ive bought a samsung i8910. sure, its still a symbian os, but its a fairly good phone as well as a worthy competitor for the iphone in terms of multimedia functionality.

imo, the n97 has advantages over the iphone in terms of camera, keyboard, and media capabilities (despite being limited to mp4). the samsung takes these a bit of a step further with an 8mp camera, and an even better media player, which is generally what i use my phones for. however, both do lag behind the iphone in terms of apps. more specifically, the nokia lags behind in graphical hardware and thus game apps, and whilst the samsung is more graphically advanced, there arent many game apps for it.

right now, im relatively happy with my n97. altho it doesnt feel like a significant upgrade after the latest v30 firmware update for the nokia 5800 (overclocks the processor to 434mhz, and with its existing 128meg ram and same software... its generally same spec as the n97), however, this is something that will probably be improved upon over time. hopefully, my n97 will last me 2 years, after which i will evaluate whether it will be worth it to buy a n900 (app wise), or buy whatever incarnation of the iphone would exist at the time.

I won't comment on Steve, Bias etc. it is a symbian site... Though I hope the phone show videos are more balanced and totally loose any symbian spin (very necessary to gain a greater audiance)... I really do enjoy those.

Been through a couple of S60 phones over the years, convinced the wife to get a Nokia 5800 (due to budget constraints) following her iPhone going for a swim in a fish tank. Currently have a Nokia N82.

Spent quite some time playing with te wife's 5800 and I quite liked it (had it for a few months now). Was thinking of getting an N97 or a WinMo phone if 6.5 came good for myself. Convinced myself I can live the slightly clunky UI. It gets the job done... But having had the Hero for a few weeks, I'm now a total Android fan. Particularly with the HTC Sence UI.

In Summary, if HTC had sorted the Camera/Video (and Video Playback in some instances, but I'm guessing that can be fixed) I can't think of any reason at all to consider the N97. The keyboard isn't good enough for large amounts of input anyway. Main advantage would be not covering the screen area, rather than easier text input.

For me, I need to carry a work phone and a Personal one. So I get away with it in that I will now use the N82 as the work phone, so camera/video recording is taken care of. Hero camera is not tooo bad, but why couldn't they just stick a good LED on it. No excuse for the video res...

Anyway, general comments on my experience below. Everyone just get what they like...

The whole UI experiance on the Hero takes it to a different level (IMHO). Love the notifications mechanism. Multiple screens full of Widgets. Lovely Kinetic Scrolling. I should say that I have a patched version with some performance tweaks for the lag. Love xda-developers...

The N97 need to be able to handle more Widgets. A singel screenful is a bit limited. Perhaps they could offer several screen profiles or something so you can quicly switch between what Widgets are diplayed (is this already there and I missed it?).

Capacitive touch screen is great. I am wondering if I will run into a can't operate with gloves on moment in winter, but I suspect the same will be true (given big chunky thermal gloves) of the N97 for all but the most basic operations.

Android Marketplace is absolutely fantastic. OVI can't touch it. So much free stuff...

As for putting any emphasis on the included Maps software with the N97, I don't get it.

It's 30 days for all but a simple maps app, that's trialware (google maps is better without the routing). You can now get CoPilot 8 for the Hero �25 for UK �50 for Europe (Flat fee, no subscription). Just bought it... Not even worth bothering to try and compare with Ovi Maps (which I paid for a 90 subsription on the N82). It's genuinly at TomTom level. Some Pros, some Cons. My experiance, actual routing not quite as good as TomTom, but way better than Ovi. If you are on S60, you might want to check out Garmin before going with Ovi Maps. Credit to Apple (I really dislike them to be honest) for sorting out the pricing model for software.

Also, with Android you can be confident of getting some substantial updates to the software particulatly for HTC devices (due to unofficial options being available. Also true for WonMo devices from HTC).

With Nokia, you can expect some tweaks, but for major improvement, it's buy the next model...

Also, worth mentioning. The wife decided she wanted the Hero as well after having played with mine. 5800 is going on ebay. She has had it for around a week and now reckons she prefers it over the iPhone she used to keep telling me she missed so much.

The number of (good quality) free apps easily available through the marketplace helps heeps.

By the way, it not the official one, but iPlay is available for the hero and it works fine. I suspect it's only a matter of time before the Beeb get an official version for Android out.

Will still be visiting the site from time to time. But for now, it's HTC Hero all the way for me (and an N82 for the Camera/Video).

Just a seperate note for anyone like me that kept thinking WinMo because they like high res. (wanted 800 x 480 like the HTC HD etc.)

I'm rather surprised that the usability difference isn't as great as I thought it would be. Particularly for Web browsing. QVGA would be hughely noticable. But at this screen res. level and with quick zoom in/out, higher pixel density would be nice, but not a major benefit. Unless going for a much larger screen that is.

Hope someone finds this interesting. Wasn't planning on writing so much...

Zuber

Symbian is now tired and a poor industry player compared to Apple's iPhone OS and Android. After being a Nokia Fanboy for many years I gave up. Buggy phones, poorly designed hardware and now just light years behind everyone else in terms of app integration and software.

Nokia it's time to realise that Symbian needs a massive overhaul. Think what Apple will be doing this time next year not to mention Android.

N97 users have been infuriated with their buggy devices...a disaster.

Unregistered wrote:Symbian is now tired and a poor industry player compared to Apple's iPhone OS and Android. After being a Nokia Fanboy for many years I gave up. Buggy phones, poorly designed hardware and now just light years behind everyone else in terms of app integration and software.

Nokia it's time to realise that Symbian needs a massive overhaul. Think what Apple will be doing this time next year not to mention Android.

N97 users have been infuriated with their buggy devices...a disaster.

And yet another one can't tell the difference, the second one in this thread - do people not read the other responses? It would appear that the problem for Nokia is not Symbian, but people who are ignorant of what they are actually talking about. Perception of Symbian is suffering for S60 failings

Unregistered wrote:And yet another one can't tell the difference, the second one in this thread - do people not read the other responses? It would appear that the problem for Nokia is not Symbian, but people who are ignorant of what they are actually talking about. Perception of Symbian is suffering for S60 failings

Since there is presently only one UI you can get on Symbian devices, I don't find this particularly surprising.

Symbian is now tired and a poor industry player compared to Apple's iPhone OS and Android. After being a Nokia Fanboy for many years I gave up. Buggy phones, poorly designed hardware and now just light years behind everyone else in terms of app integration and software.

Nokia it's time to realise that Symbian needs a massive overhaul. Think what Apple will be doing this time next year not to mention Android.

N97 users have been infuriated with their buggy devices...a disaster

And as to Android taking over the world; so far, Android has been around for a bit over a year, and only 3 phones have appeared, all made by the same manufacturer. While I agree that Android has got potential, it's a bit early to be saying that Symbian is doomed and Android is the next great thing; I think we need to see a few more devices from a few more manufacturers before any judgement about Android can really be made.

And the same goes for Apple. Apple will never dominate the market the way Nokia has done for one simple reason; they only ever have one handset on the market at any one time. Nokia have reached the market share they have by having a whole raft of devices (admittedly not all running Symbian) aimed at a whole range of different target markets/budgets. Furthermore, the lack of true multitasking on the iPhone is going to severly limit its potential...

However, I agree that Nokia should avoid being complacent, and they certainly need to look at their whole quality control setup, as too many devices are being launched with serious problems, both hardware and software.

this comparison shows the problem with nokia over the last 12-18months. instead of constantly innovating they release the same old thing, slightly repackaged, yet just as buggy. yes the n97 looks great on paper, and the hardware is truly is great, but the user experience sucks. i have owned one and it was the final straw for me in pushing me away from nokia. yes the hero is not a multi media computer, but what it is is a very easy, smooth and stable phone. the os just makes it so much more useable and enjoyable to use that i cannot see myself buying a nokia touchscreen again (s60, anyways 😊) even with more features and better hardware i feel that the nokia has brought out a poor excuse for an os and that makes the n97 a device i will not use. hero is still in its infancy and it works much better than symbian touch os.

i have to disagree about the email and messaging app being better in the n97. the n97s email is better than before, but it is not better than the andoid version. i use gmail only occaisionally and it works well and the exchange support has been very stable for me, not something i can for mailforexchange (i spent way too much time in nokias own forum trying to find help for the many issues i had) the messaging app that s60 still uses is horrible and very plain while android gives you threaded sms right out of the box and is very easy and intuitive to use.

i understand that the hero suffers from some lag from time to time, but every review that i watched on the net showed a meathead running 7 homescreens with self updating widgets running. i have never used a smartphone that could run perfectly when pushed to the max. i have a htc magic and i have used the hacked hero roms and while i am not saying that the hacked roms are the same as the actual rom, i am saying that there is a difference in performance when i used less homescreens and widgets. one of the first apps most s60 users load is handy taskman, and i was no different. it was very usefull to be able to see what was running in the background and to shut off what was not needed. why is it wrong to do the same on android 2 or 3 times per day?

Unregistered wrote:Symbian is now tired and a poor industry player compared to Apple's iPhone OS and Android. After being a Nokia Fanboy for many years I gave up. Buggy phones, poorly designed hardware and now just light years behind everyone else in terms of app integration and software.

Nokia it's time to realise that Symbian needs a massive overhaul. Think what Apple will be doing this time next year not to mention Android.

N97 users have been infuriated with their buggy devices...a disaster.

Symbian isn't tired.

The problem is that damn near every Nokia N series of the past few years has been released in a state not suitable for the public - effectively late betas.

N73, N95, N85 that I've got had bugs on release firmware. A few updates later (N73-v4, N95-v20, N85v30), and they were stunningly capable handsets.

Can't even begin to agree with badly designed hardware. Heck, my N85 has now totally replaced the iPod for audio playback and podcasting support.

So overall, Symbian doesn't need an overhaul - its the best selling smartphone platform by a fair margin. What it needs is considerably more testing, and less rushing into production.

Not that I actually know anything of significance about the inards of operating systems, but...

I think Symbian seems a sound OS at the core level. The problems is more around the UI. The latest encarnations feel 'dated' compared to the competition.

The Touch UI in particular feels 'clunky' and ther are reasons for that (It's a stepping stone from non touch). That's fair enough.

All of this is of course being addressed with the way Symbian is being spun off and what is on the radar on future releases etc.

Right now though, Nokia do have a problem with what they are offering, as do Samsung in terms of the 'experiance' that S60 Touch offers. Samsung don't need to worry about it too much, since they can offer you plenty of viable alternatives...

For Nokia though, a fresh update for the S60 Touch platform cannot come soon enough (IMHO).

One thing that has always annoyed me with Symbian and I don't think there is anything that can be done about it, is that the software is always locked down very tightly to the phone and you get what you buy along with a few tweaks, bug fixes optimisation and if you are lucky, the odd freeby app adition.

With WinMo (particularly through unoffictial channels) and Android (probably even through official channels due to expectations being set) and the iPhone for that matter, you can generally expect to get a much longer 'software refresh' life as I am going to call it.

i.e. If you go Symbian (like my N82 for example), I'm going to be stuck with the same OS version end of conversation. Some refresh through firmware, but nothing fundamental. The same is most likely true for the N97.

With most WinMo Devices and Android devices and the iPhone, there is a good chance that 2 years after purchase (even when the price of the phone has dropped because it's no longer the latest thing) you will see something new and exciting. Even if it is by the User Community doing a bit of hacking to make it happen.

With Symbian devices, you will get something new and excitig but it will have to be on the next phone you get...

This might change with the spin off of Symbian, but looking at the way the relationship between the various parties involved would work, I doubt it.

Shame really, since it tends to mean that people like me that like to use the phone they get for 'a good while' are put off. No excitement or buzz about the next release of S60 etc. (firmware updates are not the same) unless I'n about to make another purchase. Either it more or less does everything you want the day you buy it (along with a few bugs that get ironed out) or you look elsewhere...

Zuber

As most reviews point out the N97 is no more than avarage. Maybe the HTC Hero is also only average but the N97 is Nokia's flagship device.

Is the N97 is a serious attempt at a 'multimedia computer' or just a device that is trying to be everything to everyone. Who wants a full qwerty keypad and a touch screen anyway?

Nokia are way behind and are running hard to try and catch up in the touch screen market. I don't want to carry around 150 grams in my pocket, (if I wanted a 'multimedia computer' I would have bought a small laptop) so I thought I would try a touch screen multimedia phone and so, staying loyal to Nokia, but for how much longer I'm not sure, I bought the 5530.

Maybe not up to what the N97 standards should be, but it got, on average, better reviews................... not from All About Symbian though; as they have not bothered to review it.

If Symbian were doomed, why is Nokia releasing new phones almost every 3rd week with the Symbian OS on it?

One phone gets Maemo and every non Nokia phone holder thinks Symbian is dead in the water...

So for all those HTC and iPhone nutters out there, until your phone makers start releasing more than 1 phone a year with Android or Apple on it, there really isn't any point in making comments about Symbian.

Unregistered wrote:I bought the N97 and used it for a couple of weeks. To start with. It was OK but apps crashed or scrambled my input. The novelty of the keyboard wore off when it became obvious it was more awkward to use than the old numeric pad. I gave up with it completely after a few days. The screen touch was unresponsive, often requiring repeated taps to work. It is still, in spite of their hype, a collection of disjointed apps I listed 3 pages of problems when I sent the phone back for a refund.
I got the HTC Hero on a free upgrade just to play with. In a few hours it won me over completely. The UI is well t thought out and a delight to use. Apps are linked together so emails, texts and Facebook details are linked ti the contact they relate to. The battery life is equal to the N97 (people getting poor battery life are running notorious background apps such as Locale). The touch screen is so much nicer that the resistive of the N97, responding to very light touch. The N97 wins on camera and sound output but that is all. However A2DP Bluetooth support is so much smarter on the Hero that cordless, portable speakers work intelligently and give way better sound than either anyway. Synchronisation with Google of calendar and contacts just happens. It's brilliant.

I agree with your comments above, although in the end I decided to not go for either phone. I did a lot of reading on the HTC Hero and was determined to like it, but I am looking for a phone to replace my original N95 (even though I got the Nokia 5800XM in the meantime), which I use daily, it doesn't give me the same buzz as the N95 did. It's a pity the HTC hero didn't add a flash to the back or some kind of slide out qwerty keyboard. It's the little things that it didn't have that turned me against it!

As for the N97, my wife has it and it's a boring phone! I thought I would like it, but it's got nothing special that I have not already seen in the N95 and 5800.

I would like a fast, multitasker, flashy UI, widget, QWERTY keyboard, multimedia, major wow factor phone next... What could that be? Is there anything out there?

moonshot wrote:it got, on average, better reviews................... not from All About Symbian though; as they have not bothered to review it.

There are good reasons why the N97 has never had anything beyond its initial review (from me) - Rafe and I both know what's coming in v20 firmware and there is little point in laying into the device for problems which will be history in a few weeks time.

If you want my thoughts on the N97 read my 1st impressions piece and my missives ever since.

When v20 arrives, I'm going to be doing a full multi-part N97 review, summarising where the device has got up to and whether it's still relevant, and all the other hard questions.

Ditto the i8910 HD, we were waiting for the II1 firmware. Now that this is out, I'm (ahem) supposed to be giving this the full treatment as well. But Rafe's away this week so we're a little short staffed 8-)

lookatbowen wrote:If Symbian were doomed, why is Nokia releasing new phones almost every 3rd week with the Symbian OS on it?

One phone gets Maemo and every non Nokia phone holder thinks Symbian is dead in the water...

So for all those HTC and iPhone nutters out there, until your phone makers start releasing more than 1 phone a year with Android or Apple on it, there really isn't any point in making comments about Symbian.

Well, I think that argument is blown out of the water as far as Android is concerned...

LG GW620

Motorola Dext

Motorola Sholes

INQ

HTC Tattoo

Samsung/O2

Samsung InstincQ

Samsung Galaxy Lite

T-mobile Pulse

SonyEricsson X3

And that's just what is confirmed for 2009 or early 2010! I'm sure there will be plenty more coming later in 2010 or unconfirmed at this stage.

Hi Steve,

I keep on thinking about going for an Android phone to replace my iPhone, which mistakenly replaced my 5800, which rightfully replaced a WinMo device (didn't pay anything for the 5800 or iPhone...were presents for helping friends find jobs).

There are things which are new to this review. But there are also areas that are too biased.

1. I'm pretty sure everyone who has used a capacitive screen phone will know that it is so much better than resistive. However...

2. I think anyone who has used a WinMo phone for more than a day and then moved to a Nokia (ie. me) knows how much it sucks to not get good readability outside. None of the other review sites I read said HTC Hero had a problem with sunlight readability though...so I'm a little surprised and confused.

3. One of the key little feature that makes SenseUI / Hero good is smartdialing. This is important as it make touch devices much more usable as a phone.

4. YOu did'nt talk about usability of Android touch phones versus S60 touch phones. Android seems easier to use than the 5800.

5. I think you were a little off-the-mark with the Ovi versus Google thing. Google is far more popular. Ovi maybe has a lot of integration on the phone. But Google has a lot of integration across multiple devices and services which I use every day. Also, it seems Android apps are cheaper.

6. All this said though, you leave out some of the key things you can do with a Symbian phone:
a. Use as a notebook replacement with wireless keyboard (can't do that with Android AFAIK without a serious hack). BTW, does the Samsung HD thing allow wireless keyboard?
b. Display calendar appointments on the homescreen...invaluable for people like me who have lots of appointments all day long.

slitchfield wrote:There are good reasons why the N97 has never had anything beyond its initial review

The review I was referring to was for the 5530. No updates pending on that one and it's been in the shops for 6 weeks.

ogami_ito wrote:

1. I'm pretty sure everyone who has used a capacitive screen phone will know that it is so much better than resistive. However...

Not me. I NEED to be able to operate the phone gloved. I also extensively use the handwriting input and recognition, so for me the limitations of capacitive make it a dead loss.

ogami_ito wrote:1. I'm pretty sure everyone who has used a capacitive screen phone will know that it is so much better than resistive.

Indeed. Though resistive is better for some things, to be fair to Nokia, and it is probably cheaper to make.

None of the other review sites I read said HTC Hero had a problem with sunlight readability though...so I'm a little surprised and confused.

The difference was surprisingly noticeable. Even more so comparing an iPhone to the Hero - Chalk and cheese in the sunlight. With the cheese err.... melting. 8-)

YOu did'nt talk about usability of Android touch phones versus S60 touch phones. Android seems easier to use than the 5800.

Very much what you're used to, I think. I find S60 easier to use 8-)

Use as a notebook replacement with wireless keyboard (can't do that with Android AFAIK without a serious hack). BTW, does the Samsung HD thing allow wireless keyboard?

Not as far as I know. Only Nokia have written a keyboard driver. Anyone know a way?

moonshot wrote:The review I was referring to was for the 5530. No updates pending on that one and it's been in the shops for 6 weeks.

Ah. Well, it seems we haven't been able to get one yet. And I can't expect Rafe to buy every model with his own money! 8-)

We do our best you know...

slitchfield wrote:Ah. Well, it seems we haven't been able to get one yet. And I can't expect Rafe to buy every model with his own money! 8-)

We do our best you know...

Rafe wrote:a bigger screen... Should have a 5530 review shortly.

?

slitchfield wrote:Some replies(!)

>>Does anyone take Steve seriously anymore?

More and more people, actually, if subscriptions to my Phones Show and traffic to AAS is to be believed....

Steve, I hope your tongue was firmly in cheek when you wrote that.

Yeah, I subscribe to The Phones Show but ask yourself, what's the ratio of Nokia to non-Nokia handset reviews recently? And of those non-Nokia handsets you have reviewed, how many have actually faired better against comparative Nokia handsets?

Next up, you are not AAS. That's a real disservice to Rafe and Ewan.

Those that want to hear that Nokia can do no wrong, that all is right in Nokialand and live in the Nokia comfort zone simply gravitate to those sites where they will hear just that.

However there may be some truth to the Phone Show's and AAS's increased popularity down to your efforts alone:

a) Yep, you're right, you have your finger on the mobile pulse. You are John Lennon for the smartphone generation. We all sit back in awe, stroking our chins and murmuring 'wow, I never thought of it like that.'

b) You have your finger stuck somewhere else and are unable to break beyond the bounds of a 'Nokia good, non-Nokia bad' mindset. I no longer 'tune in' to AAS to get informed opinion - rather, just to hear what utter, unmitigated biased crap you'll come up with next.

But hey, it worked for Howard Stern, maybe it's the way to go... 😊

There are good reasons why the N97 has never had anything beyond its initial review (from me) - Rafe and I both know what's coming in v20 firmware and there is little point in laying into the device for problems which will be history in a few weeks time.

yeah right... that's why you reviewed the hero just a few days before the firmware update 😊

I was a frequent AAS visitor many years ago but wondered why I drifted elsewhere. I recently came back to see what was happening at AAS. Now I'm constantly reminded how bias this site is. I was fed up with all the propraganda and bias shown by AAS. Just name it All About Nokia (AAN) at least you'll gain some respect and we all know it's a fan site.

I know the biggest reason why you accept anonymous messages like mine where many other sites are restricted to members only. Simply because you gain so much traffic from these crazy articles you publish, just to provoke a reaction from the nonsense published.

What makes you guys think your special from the rest of the world tech industry? Perhaps listening and being more objective may help.

I mean search the internet about the N97 and do the same for the HTC Hero. You will find the vast majority gave favorable reviews of the Hero but the N97 is quite the opposite.

I'm no Nokia hater. I definitely like many of their handsets such as the E71, E52, E55, N95, E90 etc and the upcoming N900. You'll also find favorable reviews and articles all over the internet about these handsets. Credit is given where credit is due... The same can't be said about AAS aka AAN.

Typical AAS nonsense. If you want to waste your money listen to everything AAS has to say...

I seem to be in the minority here in that;

1) I have an N97 and pretty much totally happy with it. Yes it has its quirks (read bugs!) but the initial ones were ironed out with the v11 firmware, and even with the quirks (oops, I mean bugs) it still seems to do pretty much WAY more than anything else out there.

2) I read AAS because I find it the most interesting Symbian site around. I dont visit iphone sites because I dont have one and am not that interested, I dont visit Android sites because I dont have one and am not that interested.

I seem to be in the minority because I am not a whining, moaning, cowardly (read "unregistered"😉 bore who berates this site and its content but keeps coming back..

What do you care how biased or not the site is? How well or badly Nokia and other Symbian based hardware producers will do in the against others. How does it so affect your lives that you feel duty bound to come back day after day to moan about how the VAST majority of the worlds smartphone users are wrong and you are right. Who cares!

I think Steve and the other AAS staff and contributers demonstrate and amazing amount of patience when replying to really quite personal criticism from people who dont pay a penny to be here, and dont contribute to the AAS community in any positive way at all.

Personally (and I am in no way associated with AAS) I wish all you malingering thread hoggers would just p**s off if you dont like the content here, and leave the site to those of us who do.