The Fairest Fight (Update): Samsung i8910 HD vs Google Nexus One vs Nokia N97

I have heard that Android phone (may be 1.6 version) has to install many application before you can really use the phone like the app to turn off the screen when calling. Does this still apply on Nexus One?

As a Hacking Loving i8910 Freak, I want to argue. I really do.

I could raise the point that Custom roms give nearly 80mb of space instead of the measly 17mb of the OEM.
That Ovi Maps 3.03 works just fine on the i8910, as do most of the Nokia/Ovi products and Ovi store..... If you just know how :wink:.
That spare batteries can be obtained for free by calling Samsung support and claiming that your battery only lasts 1/2 a day. :another wink:

But i can't. Samsung has shown us an icy cold shoulder. Arguably the best piece of hardware to run 5th edition has been shanked by the manufacturer and left to die. Life support is being administered by Hyper-x and the other unsung heroes, but essentially "if it wasn't nailed to the perch"...

Not that The N97/Mini and the Nexus haven't been without their own issues, but their manufacturers are behind both the hardware and the OS. There's some tangible level of support for their product Stop sniggering at the back, its true!

XXJB1 was probably the final kick in the teeth for the i8910 owners. Samsung's not going to try to fix the i8910. So i'm not standing in its corner either.

Now where's my Gmail login....?

I have a N97 Mini & a SE Satio. The Satio has been upgraded but is still not perfect. As for the N97 Mini I have not upgraded to the v.11 as of now & it will be done next week. I am disappointed with both phones to say the least. As such I am digging out my trusted N86-8mp to use.

After having used both phones with Symbian touchscreen OS & I must say is still not perfect & lots of rough edges need to be polished.

I am seriously looking at the Nexus one phone to replace these two phones until Nokia comes out with an improved version of the S60 touchscreen OS later this year.

Hyperx's firmwares suck. I don't know why you praise them so much.

What I don't like about Steve's phone 'fights' are that they're a bit unrealistic and don't really do justice to real life. It's like you assume that once I buy the phone, that's how I'm going to use it - in the same state as when it came out of the box. Meh.

Also, your comment about the i8910 being unknown outside of Italy is just... silly. I'm sorry, but it really is.

"Most users resort to Google maps"? I wonder how you know this despite you not knowing that the i8910 is available officially in many countries around the world.

>>Hyperx's firmwares suck. I don't know why you praise them so much.

Have never praised him/them. But in the face of unusable firmware from Samsung, it seems that the custom firmware route is the only viable one for owners.

>>What I don't like about Steve's phone 'fights' are that they're a bit unrealistic and don't really do justice to real life. It's like you assume that once I buy the phone, that's how I'm going to use it

I like to think that I put a LOT of my real world experience into my text though. And there's no point in looking at *fully* tricked out/pimped devices, since most users won't even get closer to that state. I just include any obvious upgrades/downloads that a new user would be aware of.

>>Also, your comment about the i8910 being unknown outside of Italy is just... silly. I'm sorry, but it really is.

I exagerated a little. I've clarified the text above.

>>"Most users resort to Google maps"? I wonder how you know this

Well, as Route 66 was taken down ages ago, what else is available to fill the gap that's freely available?

Something worth pointing out is that those of us in the US do get free navigation with Google Maps on the Nexus One. I like Ovi Maps' more efficient use of data, but overall Google Maps Navigation works pretty well on Android, and it integrates extremely well with other included applications like the Calendar or Contacts. I can click on an address in a Calendar entry or Contact and can navigate to it. It's also pretty easy to create shortcuts on the home screens of the device to any location. IIRC, Ovi Maps had a "navigate home" feature but I don't think it was possible to put the shortcut on the home screen. Perhaps that changed with 3.3?

Nice pics!:icon14:

KPOM wrote:Something worth pointing out is that those of us in the US do get free navigation with Google Maps on the Nexus One. I like Ovi Maps' more efficient use of data, but overall Google Maps Navigation works pretty well on Android, and it integrates extremely well with other included applications like the Calendar or Contacts. I can click on an address in a Calendar entry or Contact and can navigate to it. It's also pretty easy to create shortcuts on the home screens of the device to any location. IIRC, Ovi Maps had a "navigate home" feature but I don't think it was possible to put the shortcut on the home screen. Perhaps that changed with 3.3?

I tried to use Google maps today and it was quite literally unusable. Until maps can be pre-loaded it is the loser. Even with the strongest 3.5G connection, it couldn't load the maps quick enough and the blank greyness I was navigating through did not match my true surroundings.

The n97 has crappy codec support. As does all symbian devices except the i8910, iphone and android. None of them can play divx or xvid which means that whatever you download is gonna have to be converted so you may as well convert to whatever codec your phone does well. Does anyone use wmv? On 3rd edition you can install coreplayer. But none of them has the power to play back vids smoothly.

Tenkom wrote:The n97 has crappy codec support. As does all symbian devices except the i8910, iphone and android. None of them can play divx or xvid which means that whatever you download is gonna have to be converted so you may as well convert to whatever codec your phone does well. Does anyone use wmv? On 3rd edition you can install coreplayer. But none of them has the power to play back vids smoothly.

BBC iPlayer videos work very smoothly.

YMMV, but I've had good luck with Google Maps. I would definitely prefer downloadable maps, but in NY/NJ the maps have loaded just fine. I like how it switches to a street view when you arrive at the destination. In any case, even if a map doesn't fully load, the directions do. Don't get me wrong, there is definitely an advantage to Ovi Maps, but Google Maps Navigation is usable.

This is silly. Being a N97 owner and early adoptor, and having owned a N82 for 1,5 years before that - ie as a Nokia fanby - I have to say the only compelling reason to prefer the N97 over the Nexus One is the keyboard. And that is that. In every other aspect Google's phone is superior. I have several colleagues who have N1s and have toyed quite a bit with their phones.

My N97 needs nightly charging, it is not stable, and I have even managed to crack the screen on it somehow - without putting it under a lot of strain. Cost me 130 USD to fix.

In terms of build quality and user experience is not in the same league as the Nexus One, with keyboard input being the sole exception. Sad - but true.

"Video capture is high quality at VGA with good audio"

I want to know if you are sure about this Steve because with my N97 Nam version, my audio quality is low even with the new v21 firmware, still low, I've even had my phone hacked with PNHT hack & the audio quality is still low so I want to know if it is just the Nam version or I need my ears checked... By the way, I do love this comparison & yes, Samsung i8910 really is the best s60 5th but without backing from Samsung, the device is quite useless...

KPOM wrote:YMMV, but I've had good luck with Google Maps. I would definitely prefer downloadable maps, but in NY/NJ the maps have loaded just fine. I like how it switches to a street view when you arrive at the destination. In any case, even if a map doesn't fully load, the directions do. Don't get me wrong, there is definitely an advantage to Ovi Maps, but Google Maps Navigation is usable.

Nope. In remote areas where there is no signal (which usually are the areas where nav is most useful) there are no maps. Waste of time. Great for NY/NJ. Crap in most of the world.

Unusable.

Steve your absolutely right...... The Omnia HD could have easily beat the competiton if it had the support of Nokia behind it. Samsungs newest mega phone, the Samsung Halo looks AMAZING. And I honestly think it looks better than any phone on the market. But due to my experience with Samsungs 'support' for the Omnia HD, im not going anywhere near a Samsung phone again.

Satnav can be useful in big cities, too. Actually, it can be more useful in unfamiliar big cities since there are more roads to deal with. It isn't completely useless. Less useful than Ovi Maps which is usable anywhere, but not useless and certainly better than the Samsung. I would like Google to make the maps downloadable, though. It would save on downloads and also make it usable in the sticks where coverage is lacking. Hopefully Google adds this when they drop the "Beta" tag.

Unregistered wrote:Nope. In remote areas where there is no signal (which usually are the areas where nav is most useful) there are no maps. Waste of time. Great for NY/NJ. Crap in most of the world.

Unusable.

Where they think that if it's good enough for them, it should be good enough for the rest of the world 😊 And the land of ppl who only use their GPS at home 😃

which is basically a nexus one without the daft trackball thingy

i love my N86 for some things but it just isn't good enough for other things and nokia support and customer service these days is so shockingly bad that it makes me nervous to depend on them for anything really

as for the maps debate ... there is an app for android that does allow google maps (or open street maps or bing maps) to be downloaded and cached on the device ... i think this would alleviate most of the valid concerns about that ... i do love ovi maps 3.3 for the downloadable maps tho

i think i realized that i use my phone more as a connected data device than a phone ... i so rarely make or receive calls these days that the "phone" part of things is almost a nice to have for me ... almost ... more important is a usable pocket computer with always on connection available ... that would be the htc desire (or nexus one or iphone etc) ... i guess it totally depends on what you use your phone for really

HTC HD2 is the best phone ever... It just takes a little time for Symbian noobs to adapt (I was one also). Only the brainwashed thinks the n97 can come on top.

I'll give you one fine example...

Nokia go on about it's their 4th or whatever generation they are on their Dual LED's flash yet the HD2 on it's very first generation is about twice as bright. lol Nokia marketing...

I even gave n900 a shot and again a massive disappointment . Terrible battery life, buggy software, useless phone functionality, no turn by turn sat nav.

Until people actually experience and learn to use a different OS people want see how dated, buggy and rubbish s60 really is. I use to be a big fan until I realised there are other companies doing a much better job.

Tenkom wrote:The n97 has crappy codec support. As does all symbian devices except the i8910, iphone and android. None of them can play divx or xvid which means that whatever you download is gonna have to be converted so you may as well convert to whatever codec your phone does well. Does anyone use wmv? On 3rd edition you can install coreplayer. But none of them has the power to play back vids smoothly.

That last point is wrong.

Sure, on the N85 it can't play a "full" divx file properly, but the supposedly slower N95 had absolutely no problems whatsoever with divx playback.

The iPhone has crappy codec support, possibly the worst of the lot - only plays back one video format, and only supports AAC/MP3. At least symbian supports WMA. Not that I ever use it ....

And of course, whats the main use of divx - its pirated films and tv shows. Its not a consumer codec as such. It was pleasantly suprising that the i8910 and PS3 support it.

Dear, dear Steve!
As a geek and Omnia lover i have to add some facts:
1. Input mechanisms: there are at least 2 software keyboards, one can install on Omnia HD, which work nicely in both landscape and portrait mods - more then sufficient.
2. Interface on Omnia HD is much more then basic. You have TouchWiz, you have homescreens of Orange, Satio etc. And i don't mention 3rd party progs.
3. C disk size is more then 80 on custom firmware, so n97 owners can only envy that. Moreover - with some tweaks, one moves, for instance, browser cashes to E disk, etc.
4. GPS on Omnia HD is incomparable with anything i've seen, including standalone gps devices. Lock in less 2-5 sec after cold start, even indoors. And Ovi maps are useless in my country (no coverage). There are superb Ndrive, sygic, waze and others in the market.
5. Never used application's store whichever. There are good sites with plenty soft, including yours.
6. Battery working time absolutely depends on usage. So only if person performs the same task on both devices in time, one can argue differencies.
With best regard, Mike

FWIW, it appears Google is considering adding offline maps to Google Maps Navigation

http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Google+Mobile/thread?tid=3634773013544912&hl=en

We might need to have more follow up comparisons. It's good that AAS looks back every once in a while. Most sites review a phone once, before all the significant firmware updates, cast their judgment, and then turn to the next thing.

and this is n97 has some juices left =D

but i dont think 64mb will be on the go go..only few apps will be installed on that..=D

As an N95 8GB user on the hunt for my next phone, I was very interested to see this article.

Something I�d like to see, though, is for particularly bad areas to also be highlighted, i.e. scoring negative points. I think that bad points are more important when judging a phone than good ones. I expect a phone to do a certain set of things well � i.e. making/receiving phone calls, sending and receiving texts, etc. When a phone does something well or gives me something extra, I�m very happy � but I�ll quickly get used to that and think it�s �normal�. It�s when a device does something particularly badly that I notice it � it�s something that I�m loathed to normalise. It might be the world best phone with the best software, but if it weighs 2 kilos and needs to be constantly plugged in then I simply won�t buy it.

I met someone with an i8910. OMG it's a bit of a brick - reminded me of the satio with its weight. Nice screen, but made me think of my old Dell PDA. S60v5 fell woefully short of the immediate appeal someone gets from picking up an iphone or a �droid. That's not to say that the long-term, day-to-day use won't be better - just that it didn't sell itself to me and wasn't easy to use.

I have to say that I think the N97 mini's design is pretty much perfect. Yes, it needs a better screen and a better laid out keyboard, but it feels like a phone and still has a keyboard and a touch screen. In that regard, I love it and would get it straight away. But against, that is still S60v5. It's still lumpy and feels like lots of separate apps that are fighting to run at the same time, rather than a concerted, combined experience. So I like it, but don�t think I can get over that S60v5 hurdle.

I�ve had a go on a friend�s N1. Like most HTC devices, it feels great in the hand and has a great screen. I still would like a proper keyboard, but the touch screen is good. And Android feels good as well � things are typically where you�d expect them. Is it great? No, though it could claim to be great-ish. More importantly, my couple of hours trying it out tell me it doesn�t do anything particularly badly (and, just as importantly, firmware fixes are quick).

So I�d end up with the same conclusion as the article � the Nexus 1 wins � but more because it doesn�t do anything particularly badly, whereas the other devices do.

I think I�d be more tempted by the HTC desire though.

And, after that, I hoping Symbian^4 proves it�s a good as it should be.

This is not a fairest fight !! How could it be without the iPhone 3GS ?! This is just an inexorable comparison . Sorry Steve .

why use n97 for comparison. use n900 instead.

Unregistered wrote:This is not a fairest fight !! How could it be without the iPhone 3GS ?! This is just an inexorable comparison . Sorry Steve .

Anyway, as all you iPhone fans say it is so good there is no point in comparing any other phone to it is there 😉

iPhone user, please come back when it does all these... 😊

- removable battery!!

- have a camera of 5MPix or more...

- can transfer files using bluetooth!!

- has a card slot!

"It's at this point that the hack-loving i8910 HD freaks (and I use the term 'lovingly'😉 will be crying foul, but the fact remains that a modern smartphone is so much more than collection of silicon chips and bits of plastic. The Nexus One and the N97 both leap ahead of the Samsung by virtue of far better support from their manufacturer in terms of updates and software."

--- It's really a foul here for most i8910 users. But with the JB1 and HX updates, it's really a big improvement for this phone, even others say "it sucks". Remember that not only updates and software makes up a phone, don't forget the hardware as well. N97 has many flaws in the hardware part, even though the scratched camera lens can be replaced to your nearest Nokia Care center, it's no excuse of a phone this expensive, even its GPS is dodgy. Its overall build quality is nowhere near i8910. Nexus one is promising, and we'll never know someday, it's OS might be the best.

And yes, let's not forget iPhone 3GS here, should be included as well.