The Top 5 Phones that aren't actually IN the Top 5

markilou wrote:so, to those iPhone owners or testers, before I wast my money on the 3GS: what would happen if I choose to perform simultaneously the 3 following tasks:
1) I download my daily podcasts on WLAN with Podcaster/RSS player or whatever application that avoids to do this with iTunes while at the same time, I
2) listen to music with Ipod app, while at the same time
3) receive an text or an email and let's say I need to reply to it right away

can I do that ?

or alternatively can I also substitute 2) with receiving a call; and 3 with taking notes (while I keep downloding my podcasts)

not that many instances where I'd REALLY need multitasking but that's definitely one and if that's not possible with iPhone it's a sad limitation...

the first thing you listed WILL work, because apple allowed the music player to to always play in the background. but other things will NOT work.

for example, lets say you are listening to your satellite radio streaming app. then you get a new text message. the music will STOP if you try to read the new text message. this is pretty bad in my opinion.

apple DID allow a few core apps to still function in the background, but its not like you would think. for example safari does NOT run in the background. if you try to load a web page, then switch to something else, the page will not load until you go back to safari. with nokia, you just load the page, switch to another app, and the page continues to load in the background.

Unregistered wrote:I am standing at a cross-road of intense significance...
For the last two years, i've been using the n95 8gb, which is, in my mind, the best device made by nokia...EVER. With its newest firmware, its web browser is a breeze to use - and the flash work great WITHOUT leaving my battery dead...
Now that I have to upgrade, i'm just totally perplexed. I mean, come on, nokia, I HAVE got the 5mpx camera, I HAVE got the qVGA display, I HAVE got the great sound, I HAVE got sufficient storage. What is new and exciting ? We are basically upgrading to s60 3rd ed FP2. Thats all we're getting from an upgrade...
The n86, is of course a natural choice, with the better display and amazing camera. At least it offers something better and kinda new. About its firmware, its following the exact same path as the n95 8gb, and its getting more mature by the day...

And I don't think the form factor is dated. Its useful, and still relatively new... I dont see anyone complaining about age-old candy bars? And its screen, although qVGA, works perfectly with that form factor ! ! I wouldnt want a bigger screen, the device proportions are perfect as they are !

i actually think that my 5800 is much better than my n95 8GB. the 5800 browser is much better and improved upon over the n95 8GB. and the music sound quality of the 5800 is much superior than the n95 8GB, same with the physical speakers. and lastly the 5800 screen resolution is 640 x 360 pixels, which just rocks for web browsing. but yes the n95 8GB was definitely one of the classic nokia phones ever made. but i think the 5800 has an advantage over it, yet its still a classic candy bar nokia as well.

sapporobaby, I don't usually agree with your aggressive argumentative stance, but I have to fully agree with you regarding the N86, it's a good phone which while a little old school, does it's job well. I'm sortof reminded of my first 6210 which did everything well for what I desired, amd I'm thinking of getting an iphone for a second device based soley on it's fun factor and an introduction to touchscreen. I just wouldnt take it with me on a trip or a night out.

I'm very glad I didnt buy the N97, due to the horror stories I have heard, the N86 screen is bright and colourful and the camera is simply excellent.

Nokia 5730, you know you want it to be the #1 in your Top 5 Steve. Admit it.

I would still put the 5800 on top of the rest of the phones. Very reliable, haven't found anything wrong with it. Rivals with phones twice its price.

Nevertheless, here's my list:

5800 XM
Iphone 3GS (would top the list if the battery was replaceable without having to send the phone to apple, and if you could buy it unlocked -as opposed to jailbroken- and use it with your network of choice).
HTC Hero
E75
Samsung i8910

I don't have a bottom 5 but the N85 and N97 would probably be there.

Once the n900's price gets below the 450 mark and it has been thoroughly tested and updated, I will buy it, looks like a winner!

Cheers!

N86 is still great does everything i want in a phone, great photo's (have it now as my compact replacement, especially with the 24mm lens with 8mp), gps (alway have to explain to people that it costs nothing to use as it is straight to satilite, and great to have the whole world in maps), games are cool, has heaps of storage, wifi is great, etc etc etc not bothered about a touch screen, all i see is iphones with broken screens (have dropped mine a lot and nothing!), and as explained above who would want to pay for gps, when you can get it for free! 😊

Larry

"the first thing you listed WILL work, because apple allowed the music player to to always play in the background. but other things will NOT work."

Unfortunately, you are wrong. Someone did try to release an iPhone/iPod Touch podcasting application, a la Nokia Podcasting, and Apple would not allow it onto the App Store because "that is the job of iTunes". And Apple have been very clear in the past that no browser-type apps, no alternative music apps and no apps which duplicate the work of iTunes will be allowed on the App Store.

Does the N86 have a digital compass at all? I think if I were to get a phone with GPS, I'd also want that feature. Not a massive deal-breaker but it's handy to have!

edit
Just done some research of my own and I've managed to confirm that the N86 does have a digital compass. I do believe I've finally found my next mobile phone!

Unregistered wrote:"the first thing you listed WILL work, because apple allowed the music player to to always play in the background. but other things will NOT work."

Unfortunately, you are wrong. Someone did try to release an iPhone/iPod Touch podcasting application, a la Nokia Podcasting, and Apple would not allow it onto the App Store because "that is the job of iTunes". And Apple have been very clear in the past that no browser-type apps, no alternative music apps and no apps which duplicate the work of iTunes will be allowed on the App Store.

i thought his question was about the build in music player. i'm not talking about any 3rd party music players. of course they will not run in the background. i thought he asked if he is listening to music and he opens another app, if the music will continue to play. which yes it will if using the regular music player. anything else and it will stop playing.

@unreg-blinking-istered: no RIM-bias, per se. I just never see Blackberrys. And RIM's PR are useless.

So you're out of touch (Blackberrys are everywhere now: even teachers and bus drivers have them) and you're saying you can't be bothered to do anything about it? It's too much trouble.

And most BB owners inherit their phone from their company, at least in the UK, it's not as if BB is a common choice for the High Street buyer.

That hasn't been true for years. 70 per cent of new Blackberry sales are to consumers. You missed the wave. If you don't know the devces on market, why should we trust your opinion?

I like your reviews and commonsense approach Steve but the smartphone world has passed you by.

Sorry.

Unregistered wrote:So you're out of touch (Blackberrys are everywhere now: even teachers and bus drivers have them) and you're saying you can't be bothered to do anything about it? It's too much trouble.

That hasn't been true for years. 70 per cent of new Blackberry sales are to consumers. You missed the wave. If you don't know the devces on market, why should we trust your opinion?

I like your reviews and commonsense approach Steve but the smartphone world has passed you by.

Sorry.

Oh don't talk rot, Steve Litchfield can't be expected to buy and own every smartphone known to man.

Having said that I do get a little irritated when I hear comments in podcasts about phones and their functionality that the reviewer hasn't owned or tried for at least a few days. You simply can't play with an iPod touch 1st gen and then say it is the same as an iPhone 3GS.

I asked Steve back in June if he was spending �500 of his own money on a phone what would he choose, the N97 or the iPhone 3GS.
He said he would get the iPhone 3GS, (mainly for the focusing video), I actually went against his advice and bought the n97, but after a few weeks of disappointment went out and bought a iPhone 3GS as well.

I've had my iPhone 3GS for three months now and have enjoyed every moment with it, it has actually replaced my desktop computer for all my personal and business email and personal web browsing, would never have even considered that on a Symbian device. In my seven years of being a symbian fanboy the email client never got any better, and even the latest client has more issues than positives.

I still have an E52 which I rarely use, I think that will be my last Symbian device for a long while, and I expect that will go to make way for an N900 if the reviews are positive, I have resisted pre-ordering one after the N97 nightmare.

My Top Five would be (at the moment)

1- iPhone 3GS - It doesn't multitask (unless you jailbreak it) but for everything else it is spot on.

2- The Nokia E71, had it for 10 months, the longest I have ever kept a phone, great device.

3- The Nokia 5800, nothing comes close value-wise

4- The Nokia N95 8GB, still not outdated or fully eclipsed after two years

5- The HTC Magic, the full google experience (unlike the hero) Android isn't quite there yet, but another 12 months or so and they are going to be.

"""
Nokia has a clearly defined 'line' of 'upgrade' for *most* models and they seem to be Release/+1(+1.1)/+2(+2.1)/+3(+3.1) before they stop supporting them and move on in around a 2yr cycle or so. You could argue that development of features is *so* significant that they just *have* to move on because the hardware of 2yrs ago can't keep up. Isn't this also true of Apple? 3G iPhone users can't get hold of the goodness in the 3GS - so Apple expect people to buy the next model - *and* into the mix, O2 in the UK won't let loyal customers 'upgrade' to the 3GS unless they're within **one month** of the end of their contract (unless they pay their contract up in full) *and* then expect customers to sign up for another c.�900 deal!
"""

Nokia's firmware upgrade path is far too restrictive. Why did the E71 never receive the feature pack 3 that came in the E71x, which is essentially the same hardware? Why the 5800XM is left without the new goodies that come with the 5230 and 5530, which are but cut-down version of the 5800XM? And let's only dream about features in the N97, which in its guts is almost the same. At least they could fragment the software PC-style, and let individual apps be upgraded -- dialler, browser, etc.

OK, the G1 is in tight spot for firmware upgrades, literally, because the flash firmware partition is too small. Still, Donut will come to it for every user, and subsequent upgrades will also be available to those that are willing to wipe the flash and repartition: yeah, this will not be the general public -- but then the general public usually does not care about feature packs. And they might even devise a way to do it for the general public, too, saving data to memory card or whatever.

Ratkat wrote:Oh don't talk rot, Steve Litchfield can't be expected to buy and own every smartphone known to man.

Whether Steve wants to own every device he sees is up to Steve - and totally beside the point.

The title of the piece should be The Top 5 Phones except Blackberrys which I don't know about because I can't be bothered to find out about them.

SapporoTwat wrote: a silly pseudonym so you are equally as anonymous as 'unregistered', but you are 10 times more sanctimonious. You have zero credibility

Sapporobaby is an ex-Nokia fanboy, he would defend anything Nokia did.

Now he has grown up, he shows much more sense.

Unregistered wrote:Sapporobaby is an ex-Nokia fanboy, he would defend anything Nokia did.

Now he has grown up, he shows much more sense.

Actually I am not nor never was a fanboy of anything other that more bang for my buck. Previously Nokia delivered that, but as of late their latest offerings are marginal at best. The N97 is simply a joke, with the N97 Mini not much better. While I like the N900, I feel that it is more fodder for the geek world (I am getting one anyway) without much more on the immediate horizon. The N86 is probably one of the most underrated Nokia phones right now. It does what it says and more. I consider it one of my best buys.

@Ratkat: Nice name for a thread. Pretty accurate as well.

I've been using some type of smartphone ever since the Handspring Visor and its Phone Springboard, anyone remember that? Now, my smartphone of choice is the 5800XM, the N97 and the HTC Universal.

As far as Bang for Buck is concerned, nothing beats the 5800XM. Fantastic sound quality, speakers that are BOTH loud and relatively high quality, Comes With Music (I'm from Malaysia, the service is via a local website that frankly, is lacking, but still had a good time downloading stuff), Video Out, GPS, 3.5G, well, you get the picture. It may not be the flashiest smartphone out there, but it does most things competently, and I'm actually quite a happy camper. I still get kicks watching my friends and family let their jaws drop whenever I play a video from the phone.

The thing is, I bought the 5800XM after a long hiatus from using a Nokia. The last Nokia model I had owned was the classic 9300i, which I still think has the best UI on Symbian, and is probably the best Commie ever. It got a little long in the tooth, and touch was becoming a big thing with the IPHONE and all, sold off the 9300i and got myself an Iphone 2G. What a mistake that WAS! Within 2 weeks, got myself an HTC TouchII, which I kept for a couple of months, before starting to really miss the QWERTY, and went and bought a used HTC Universal, which is still with me to this day. Off all the QWERTY devices in the market since, and present, I really think that bar the 9300i, nothing beats the Universals keypad.

That the Universal is still being used by me on a daily basis really owes to the folks over at XDADevelopers. ROMs kept getting patched with newer versions of the core OS and dlls etc, my Universal progressed from the rather lackluster WM5 to many different iterations of WM6.1 and, as soon as I recieved her from California (she was sent for a RAM upgrade), even WM6.5.

She's had the HTC Home screen installed, a go using Touchflo, upgraded to A2DP BT, support for SDHC added, the Office Suite upgraded, WMP upgraded.. the list goes on and on.

My point? For some reason, it appears that its that much easier to hack and cook ROMs for the WM devices. This enables a community approach to developing ROMs for devices that, technically, is obsolete, giving them a fresh lease of life and enabling users to enjoy features far in excess of what was available at the time of launch. This is sadly lacking with the Symbian community, come to think of it, apart from WM, no-one else has this, which is a shame. I'd pay top dollar to get an E90 with the S60 optimised, or better still, have the old S80 interface tacked on.

Enough WM, what about the N97? I mean I have the 5800XM, and in so many ways its similar to the N97, except... no QWERTY. So I bought the N97 on the cheap, used, all the horror stories driving prices down, and you know what, I was nicely surprised. The QWERTY is not as good as the Universal, not by a long shot, but, its still good, even for my big stubby fingers. The Space Bar on the right?? didn't faze me one bit. Yes, its not super duper smooth, but thats no biggie for me. I'm not too hangup by the lack of transitions, or rather, the lack of transitions because it would just make the device really slow, and I'm not too keen on the finger swishing and swooshing that the iphone has brought to the masses. Yes, they're very nice and cool, but a couple more taps is not going to kill me.

Over the course of using it, I fell in love with the 5MP camera, sharing stuff on Ovi, and Flickr, etc etc etc. I love the widgetised home screen, way better than most devices right now, except maybe the HTC Hero, and no, the Palm Pre has not reached Malaysian shores, and Blackberries are still only used by Corporate figures. In fact, I fell so much in love with the N97, I actually bought a second one for the missus, and she's having a blast too!

alfabob wrote:I've been using some type of smartphone ever since the Handspring Visor and its Phone Springboard, anyone remember that? Now, my smartphone of choice is the 5800XM, the N97 and the HTC Universal.

As far as Bang for Buck is concerned, nothing beats the 5800XM. Fantastic sound quality, speakers that are BOTH loud and relatively high quality, Comes With Music (I'm from Malaysia, the service is via a local website that frankly, is lacking, but still had a good time downloading stuff), Video Out, GPS, 3.5G, well, you get the picture. It may not be the flashiest smartphone out there, but it does most things competently, and I'm actually quite a happy camper. I still get kicks watching my friends and family let their jaws drop whenever I play a video from the phone.

The thing is, I bought the 5800XM after a long hiatus from using a Nokia. The last Nokia model I had owned was the classic 9300i, which I still think has the best UI on Symbian, and is probably the best Commie ever. It got a little long in the tooth, and touch was becoming a big thing with the IPHONE and all, sold off the 9300i and got myself an Iphone 2G. What a mistake that WAS! Within 2 weeks, got myself an HTC TouchII, which I kept for a couple of months, before starting to really miss the QWERTY, and went and bought a used HTC Universal, which is still with me to this day. Off all the QWERTY devices in the market since, and present, I really think that bar the 9300i, nothing beats the Universals keypad.

That the Universal is still being used by me on a daily basis really owes to the folks over at XDADevelopers. ROMs kept getting patched with newer versions of the core OS and dlls etc, my Universal progressed from the rather lackluster WM5 to many different iterations of WM6.1 and, as soon as I recieved her from California (she was sent for a RAM upgrade), even WM6.5.

She's had the HTC Home screen installed, a go using Touchflo, upgraded to A2DP BT, support for SDHC added, the Office Suite upgraded, WMP upgraded.. the list goes on and on.

My point? For some reason, it appears that its that much easier to hack and cook ROMs for the WM devices. This enables a community approach to developing ROMs for devices that, technically, is obsolete, giving them a fresh lease of life and enabling users to enjoy features far in excess of what was available at the time of launch. This is sadly lacking with the Symbian community, come to think of it, apart from WM, no-one else has this, which is a shame. I'd pay top dollar to get an E90 with the S60 optimised, or better still, have the old S80 interface tacked on.

Enough WM, what about the N97? I mean I have the 5800XM, and in so many ways its similar to the N97, except... no QWERTY. So I bought the N97 on the cheap, used, all the horror stories driving prices down, and you know what, I was nicely surprised. The QWERTY is not as good as the Universal, not by a long shot, but, its still good, even for my big stubby fingers. The Space Bar on the right?? didn't faze me one bit. Yes, its not super duper smooth, but thats no biggie for me. I'm not too hangup by the lack of transitions, or rather, the lack of transitions because it would just make the device really slow, and I'm not too keen on the finger swishing and swooshing that the iphone has brought to the masses. Yes, they're very nice and cool, but a couple more taps is not going to kill me.

Over the course of using it, I fell in love with the 5MP camera, sharing stuff on Ovi, and Flickr, etc etc etc. I love the widgetised home screen, way better than most devices right now, except maybe the HTC Hero, and no, the Palm Pre has not reached Malaysian shores, and Blackberries are still only used by Corporate figures. In fact, I fell so much in love with the N97, I actually bought a second one for the missus, and she's having a blast too!

Great post dude.

alfabob wrote:and Blackberries are still only used by Corporate figures

You were doing so well up until there.

A Nokia pay-per-post plant. Only Nokia plants buy two N97s!

Then why was he raving about the Universal if he was a Nokia Plant?

Did you read his post properly? No. You made a kneejerk reaction after flitting through and made yourself look a fool. Good job you're unregistered eh?