As an experiment, I lent my Nokia N97 mini to All About iPhone's Matt Radford, to see what he thought of the device and its interface, coming from a staunch iPhone background. Embedded below is my ten minute catch-up interview with him, for your interest. A fuller textual report from Matt is in the works over Christmas, pudding and festivities permitting!
Read on in the full article.
Yes, move over "The Gadget Show", and prepared to be enthralled by the man in the grey jumper�
I'm not sure if it comes across in the video, but I really enjoyed playing with the N97 Mini. I thought that it was an impressive device, but perhaps too complicated for the average user to tailor to their requirements. Coming back to Symbian from the Dark Side, it still strikes me as an incredibly capable platform - but in need of a facelift and rethink in terms of usability.
Any chance we will get a show about how many move from Symbian/Nokia to the iPhone and never return?
The Smartphone Experts network (a group of sites, each focusing on a different platform) is currently doing its annual Smartphone Round Robin, where each site tries for one week two of the best smartphones of each competing platform and writes a review. Last week the staff of iPhoneBlog.com reviewed the Nokia N97 mini and the N900. It's an interesting read. And so are the other reviews of the Round Robin; for example, also last week Nokia Experts had a look at the Blackberry 9700 and Storm 2 from a Nokia user perspective.
(hoping that this message won't be moderated into oblivion because I mentioned competitor websites)
@unregistered very funny but true. They cherry pick stuff to positively highlight anything Nokia. I'm surprised they can actually find these articles... Probably the only site to constantly harp on about Nokia.
To put this into context you'll probably find far more people trying an iPhone and never come back.
BTW I actually detest iPhones but I have a far more open view. All mobile OSes have their + and -
My wife just chose to return to Symbian (Nokia 5800 in this case) after 6 months on an iPhone 3G.
I have personally never been able to retire my N95 (posting from it now) despite having had a 3GS for the same 6 months.
I went to the HTC Hero (Euro w/ chin) and never looked back. I absolutely love the phone.
I've owned the 6230's, the E51 and E65, the 5800XM, the 5730XM (which I liked best out of them all), E75 (which my wife currently enjoys, but is still envious of the HTC Hero). I also use the 3rd gen iPod Touch. I love my iPod Touch, but just can't picture myself using it as a phone, especially after watching everyone Else's grievances with the iPhone. The iPhone's inability to multi-task or customize drives me nuts too.
I was a real die hard symbian freak, but after getting so many phones that ALWAYS NEEDED updates to do the things that it was originally created to do, well, I just got tired of it and tried something else. And I did.
If you are looking for an alternative to Symbian (which I still use my 5730xm as a backup), but do not want to jump on the iPhone band wagon; give android a shot! Especially HTC with its Sense UI. You will be shocked at how good it really is. Even its Marketplace.
I don't understand the talk of Multi-tasking and Customisation holding someone who uses a Nokia Device back from getting an iPhone? You can jailbreak now in the press of a button and with it comes the customisation and the much wanted (yet overrated, for 99% of apps IMO) multi-tasking?
Just a thought....
Another Nokia infomercial.
Why are we even mentioning this underpowered, short of memory, buggy phone in the same sentence with the iPhone?
"My wife just chose to return to Symbian (Nokia 5800 in this case) after 6 months on an iPhone 3G."
Why?
Biggest lie of the year.
ipod user, then went to nokia , then iphone (love it), but went back to Nokia S60 again. It just works for the things i need to do with a phone. (with more battery life and portability too). Never going back to the iphone unless i get one for free.
Unregistered wrote:"My wife just chose to return to Symbian (Nokia 5800 in this case) after 6 months on an iPhone 3G."Why?
Biggest lie of the year.
Why is it a lie? People are not allowed to choose? They all like what "YOU" like and it's the best for everyone?
Unregistered wrote:Another Nokia infomercial.Why are we even mentioning this underpowered, short of memory, buggy phone in the same sentence with the iPhone?
exactly, why do we have to put a phone that has to be "jailbreak" and download at least 20 apps to have a functionality of a Nokia out of the box. But it's a great music player 😉
Ignorance wrote:I don't understand the talk of Multi-tasking and Customisation holding someone who uses a Nokia Device back from getting an iPhone? You can jailbreak now in the press of a button and with it comes the customisation and the much wanted (yet overrated, for 99% of apps IMO) multi-tasking?Just a thought....
i'm sorry, I have a jailbreak iphone but it is more than just "pushing one button". Perhaps some gadget geeks can do this blindfolded but the rest won't even bother. Plus in some places if not all, you void the warranty and some people are actually afraid of that. Sure you can re-flash it, but yet again, it's for us more technically inclined. The majority will have someone else do it for them.
But I agree, once jailbroken, they are quite nice. Non-multitasking was never an issue to me yet too.
I think what's holding some back is not the lack of multitasking but other feature like full bluetooth, (out of the box), even size (believe it or not), camera (iphone's camera is still not up to N95), changeable battery (use full in some countries).
Different needs.
What the guy is saying is what I've been posting on Nokia conversation for months maybe years now.
Symbian does not suck, it's too just complicate for a Joe Doe.
It needs to be dumb down so that even a monkey is capable of using it and should even make the monkey look smart using it.
Like my friend; I convinced him to buy a E71. When he got it he don't know crap about S60 and can't figure out how to use it properly. I help him install apps and etc to better suit his needs, so he likes it better. He used it for about a year and never figure out how to do anythig on it beside what I've helped him install. Now recently, he got the iphone and he can install apps on it easily and show them off to me proudly.
Iphone user feel so good and so proud of their iphones because they think they are so so smart because they can actually use the device properly and install apps on it. That exactly the way how I ( a smart smartphone user or aka geek) used to feel when I got my S60 phones and the world was still on their old T9 dumb phones.
If there's anything Nokia should learn it is "Not being able to use a device makes a person feel stupid and fustrate, not the kind of emotions you want anybody to link to your product."
Wake up Nokia!
Unregistered wrote:Like my friend; I convinced him to buy a E71. When he got it he don't know crap about S60 and can't figure out how to use it properly. I help him install apps and etc to better suit his needs, so he likes it better. He used it for about a year and never figure out how to do anythig on it beside what I've helped him install.
Apple has a brilliant strategy and a very lethal weapon with iPOD Touch. Nowadays many young people are first lured to iPOD Touch as a trendy music player and game console. These young people create their iTunes account to buy songs and games. Slowly but surely they accumulate all their favourite songs and games. When they become adults, it is only and very natural for them to migrate to iPhone since they already have their iTunes accounts. They become the next generation of loyal iPhone users...
A lot of people here are still not aware that Apple is playing a very smart game. Apple is not just competing on having multi-tasking or 5 mega pixel camera on the phone. Apple is doing much more than all their competitors are doing by invading young children's desire to own an iPod for music and games. In the long run, Apple will gain more market share. It is really not as simple as one phone to rule them all...
Unregistered wrote:"My wife just chose to return to Symbian (Nokia 5800 in this case) after 6 months on an iPhone 3G."Why?
Biggest lie of the year.
What the hell do you think gives you the right to call me a liar?
If anyone is interested in a reasonable conversation I would be happy to explain why my wife chose to switch back to Symbian.
As a life long S60 user, I finally left for bigger and better things. And guess what to? The iPhone. I was an avid hater like everyone else yet after trying it I realised that it's a good phone and does so much. After years of spending thousands and thousands as a beta tester of Nokia phones (let me see, N78, N85, N97, E72 to name recent phones), I will never look back. Goodbye Nokia, if people weren't brainwashed monkeys (I know, how ironic that people say this about Apple products yet Apple makes products and their users actually purchase it because they are good to use), they wouldn't keep buying Nokias. Oh well, good luck 😊
Unregistered wrote:As a life long S60 user, I finally left for bigger and better things. And guess what to? The iPhone. I was an avid hater like everyone else yet after trying it I realised that it's a good phone and does so much. After years of spending thousands and thousands as a beta tester of Nokia phones (let me see, N78, N85, N97, E72 to name recent phones), I will never look back. Goodbye Nokia, if people weren't brainwashed monkeys (I know, how ironic that people say this about Apple products yet Apple makes products and their users actually purchase it because they are good to use), they wouldn't keep buying Nokias. Oh well, good luck 😊
again, different needs, different people, different culture, different uses, different budgets. Just because you like it, does not mean other users of other phone brands are "brainwashed". Apple product are really good that is why they came this far. But isn't it also ironic that people like you say Nokias are no good and all that but yet still millions buy them. Some people just prefer other brands,OS, form factor, features over another.
malerocks wrote:I can agree with you that S60 (not symbian) can get a bit complicated at times. But dont tell me that your friend used the phone for a year and STILL could not figure out how to handle the phone. Come on, its not that complicated. I dont think the phone is the problem here.
You're right, the phone is not the problem. The problem is dumb consumers and Nokia not educating dumb consumers. The average consumer just takes out a phone and start using and have no idea on how to take full advantage of the s60 features.
So it's either to educate dumb consumers or make thing so easy that even a monkey will not have any problems.
Guys, actual talks here! My five cents. I'm very PRO computer/PDA user. Since Psion time I used to PIM applications much and can't live w/o it. All of you know that current level of PIM functionality inacceptable at S60 phones. Moreover, communicator series is closed (N97/N900 out of question, let me skip prolonged explanation).
I'm so un-loyal to current Nokia trends that I'm going to buy iPhone, jailbreak it, install everything what I need, enable all advanced features (bluetooth file transfer, f.e.), download GMaps cache etc, etc. Due to "blind typing" I don't expect much problems without keyboard. Moreover: for now I NEVER can see current typing language (I'm non-English user) even on big enough E90 screen (why, Nokia?), so often start typing with wrong language. Problem will be eliminated due to painted keyboard. I suffer only due to small screen of iPhone (no, I don't want netbook).
This is experiment, of course. Later maybe Road (http://road.de) will release it's device, maybe Nokia will implement Booklet Mini (5" screen max), or another SmartBook for _business_ users appears on empty ex-PDA market... Will see!
rvirga wrote:The Smartphone Experts network (a group of sites, each focusing on a different platform) is currently doing its annual Smartphone Round Robin, where each site tries for one week two of the best smartphones of each competing platform and writes a review.
Can you, please, provide URLs of these review/sites? Very interesting to read!
Unfortunately, these kinds of articles always bring out the worst in the "iPhone evangelists" (otherwise known as bigots), who seem incapable of giving any non-iPhone users credit for having made an informed choice to not buy an iPhone.
Every platform has its pros and cons, which is something that the most vociferous of bigots are incapable of comprehending; you take a very negative line on this, and assume that only bigotted d*ckheads buy iPhones, because they're the only people we ever hear spouting off about how great the iPhone is and how stupid the rest of us are....
Allright, Apple is nice but since the iPhone can�t compete with battery life, camera etc it�s not useful for me. So I use a symbian phone in combination with a MacBook, I do all sync over bluetooth and it works very nice I must say.
I just went from N82 to e72 and the e72 is an impressive little machine, very sleek, battery life fantastic, the screen is a bit small but I get used to it and the camera is actually quite good 😉.
I love the iPhone, the quality of the UI and the available apps. I would love to own one if only it wasn't so big. Unfortunately, 95% of the time it would be in my pocket, and it's just too bulky and large. Nokia make very cheap phones that do everything I need in the right physical package, and I've tried out most available phones. Everyone has different requirements.
One saving grace for Nokia, is that whilst they have made a few mistakes recently, I can guarantee that there are other big phone makers that are producing far worse products. I've come up against many of them but they still sell well.
Unregistered wrote:Unfortunately, these kinds of articles always bring out the worst in the "iPhone evangelists" (otherwise known as bigots), who seem incapable of giving any non-iPhone users credit for having made an informed choice to not buy an iPhone.Every platform has its pros and cons, which is something that the most vociferous of bigots are incapable of comprehending; you take a very negative line on this, and assume that only bigotted d*ckheads buy iPhones, because they're the only people we ever hear spouting off about how great the iPhone is and how stupid the rest of us are....
iPhone and Apple products in general do seem to attract far more than its fair share of loud bigotted dickheads who want to ram their opinions down others throats. This is why the iPhone is gaining a very embarassing stigma.
malerocks wrote:I can agree with you that S60 (not symbian) can get a bit complicated at times. But dont tell me that your friend used the phone for a year and STILL could not figure out how to handle the phone. Come on, its not that complicated. I dont think the phone is the problem here.
S60 isn't that complicated at all, its just as easy to use as S40, and I've never found it harder to do anything on any of my recent Symbian devices (N73, N95, N85) as I did on the iPod Touch.
I do agree though - if someone couldn't figure out how to handle such a ridiculously simple phone, then its not the phone thats at fault!
Unregistered wrote:As a life long S60 user, I finally left for bigger and better things. And guess what to? The iPhone. I was an avid hater like everyone else yet after trying it I realised that it's a good phone and does so much. After years of spending thousands and thousands as a beta tester of Nokia phones (let me see, N78, N85, N97, E72 to name recent phones), I will never look back. Goodbye Nokia, if people weren't brainwashed monkeys (I know, how ironic that people say this about Apple products yet Apple makes products and their users actually purchase it because they are good to use), they wouldn't keep buying Nokias. Oh well, good luck 😊
I've learnt the Nokia way of working the relatively hard way - don't buy a product until at least one major firmware release is available, or at least de-brand the product as soon as you've bought it - operator customisation can lead to no end of hassles. N95 was on v20, and was fine, N85 on v11 was okay, but hugely better on later firmwares.
I've used an N95 and N85 in parallel with an iPod Touch, and can't even begin to say that it improves over either of the Nokias in any major way apart from screen size. I'd be more tempted by the iPhone if it could handle A2DP and bluetooth file transfer 😉
The UI is nice, but thats not to say that S60 is difficult to use - anyone with more than a couple of functioning brain cells can use a S60 device. They really aren't that difficult at all.
Each to their own though - you're happy with your iPhone, I know that I wouldn't be happy with one.
Unregistered wrote:Guys, actual talks here! My five cents. I'm very PRO computer/PDA user. Since Psion time I used to PIM applications much and can't live w/o it. All of you know that current level of PIM functionality inacceptable at S60 phones. Moreover, communicator series is closed (N97/N900 out of question, let me skip prolonged explanation).
I'm so un-loyal to current Nokia trends that I'm going to buy iPhone, jailbreak it, install everything what I need, enable all advanced features (bluetooth file transfer, f.e.), download GMaps cache etc, etc. Due to "blind typing" I don't expect much problems without keyboard. Moreover: for now I NEVER can see current typing language (I'm non-English user) even on big enough E90 screen (why, Nokia?), so often start typing with wrong language. Problem will be eliminated due to painted keyboard. I suffer only due to small screen of iPhone (no, I don't want netbook).
This is experiment, of course. Later maybe Road (http://road.de) will release it's device, maybe Nokia will implement Booklet Mini (5" screen max), or another SmartBook for _business_ users appears on empty ex-PDA market... Will see!Can you, please, provide URLs of these review/sites? Very interesting to read!
Google is really easy to use, go there are key in "iphone blog n900 review". Brings you to ... http://www.theiphoneblog.com/2009/12/18/nokia-s60-n97-mini-maemo-n900-review-smartphone-robin/
"iPhone and Apple products in general do seem to attract far more than its fair share of loud bigotted dickheads who want to ram their opinions down others throats. This is why the iPhone is gaining a very embarassing stigma."
Well, iPhone haters can be even worse...