In the second and final part of a two parter, Steve Litchfield again looks outside the Symbian world to ask if the current Android flagship could replace a Symbian-powered smartphone. In the process of answering the question, he analyses (in order) the next eight essential functions which devices like the Nokia N97 perform for him - how easy would it then be for a non-Symbian device like the Google Nexus One to step up to the plate? (In case you missed it, here's part 1, covering the top seven functions)
Read on in the full article.
Hi Steve,
the 'read on' Link is wrong, point to http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/images/icons/_largescreen2.jpg (a single picture).
Best regards,
PMitchell
I use my N95 loudspeakers daily, and this is a critical area for me. Which is why I can't wait for Steve to get his hand on a Milestone: I have heard the speakers, and for music they were surprisingly good.
I have an interesting requirement: I ride a motorbike, and at least music controls need to be operated in gloves, which means either a headset with decent controls, or a *resistive* touch screen.
The ball is firmly in Motorola's court, with that one.
Useful comparison of real world usage. Your usage pattern (not surprisingly) overlaps with my own in some areas, and not in others. I'm not so bothered about video, but would want an eBook reader, for instance. And I'm getting heavily addicted to Evernote (where Android scores higher than the N97 (and mini and 5800)-only beta widget).
I notice that you haven't attempted an overall SRCF, but even so, in those areas where you found Android better than Symbian, surely the scores should be over 100%? (And no, that's not a case of the dreadful habit of "giving 110%", but a true reflection of the relative scores.)
Two main considerations are fuelling my lusting for a (QWERTY keyboarded) "With Google" handset when such a beast arrives on the scene: one is that I'm a heavy Google user (mail and calendar in particular), so the integration benefits are obvious ... and the Symbian gMail Java app is lagging WAY behind the Android app. The other reason is that, sadly, it's increasingly the case that major developers (the likes of Evernote, Dropbox, and of course, Google themselves) are concentrating their efforts on Android and iPhone apps, with Symbian as very much an afterthought or a complete non-starter.
Julie
50% of tweets need a browser to view the link in them.
Critical for many other operations too. E.g. links in emails, IM, maps.
Love the article. I'm looking for an n82 upgrade right now. X10 and nexus is on hmthe list but I don't want to lose xenon!
juwlz wrote:... or voice control 😉.
There would be a lot of background noise for the phone to contend with! ^_^
Of course, the biggest problem with using a capacitive screen with gloves is that GPS becomes set-and-cope-with.
I agree with juwlz: Also need at least one ebook reader, and:
Giving relative scores needs >%100 at times. Witness, for example, Google integration, where the Android Relative Comparison Factor for Symbian would be about %50 - it's (almost) all possible, but do you really want to, when Android is available?
interesting and of course 100% personal to you and your requirements ... mine would be:
1. email - N86 == complete fail : htc desire == hopeful
2. podcasts - N86 == passable : htc desire == looks promising
3. camera - N86 == not what it should be : htc desire == slightly nervous about this
4. ebook reader - N86 == usable at a pinch : htc desire == very promising
5. web - N86 == passable : htc desire == very promising
6. Navigation - N86 == good with ovi maps (but search sucks) : htc desire == very promising
7. media player - N86 == good enough but very fragile : htc desire == hopeful
8. twitter - N86 == great (thnx to gravity) : htc desire == looks very hopeful
9. gps tracking - N86 == good : htc desire == looks good too
10. VOIP - N86 == passable : htc desire == not sure but hopeful
as well, as has been mentioned already, android seems to have a lot more buzz from devs with a lot more innovation happening which makes me feel more comfortable with the platform
i was lucky enough to pre-order my htc from amazon.de when they had it listed for 400 euros and despite the subsequent price hike they have confirmed i will get it for that price, which means i will have paid pretty much the same for both handsets
i think it really comes down to what you want from a cellphone ... notice "phone" doesn't appear on my list as i really don't make many calls these days
Slightly off-topic, but for me indeed the secure database is essential fodder. HandySafe Pro all the way till now on my N78. As I am moving from a pc to a mac-based setup, I wonder if anyone has views which application would be best, as HS Pro doesn't seem to have a Mac solution. Are there any that a) offer a sync like HS Pro on a pc and b) can import my HS Pro database, or its XML export?
-Better UI
Of course Symbian^3 is on the way with the revamped UI, but for now, N1 is far more superior. Moreover, N1 has multitouch (via firmware update)
-AMOLED Capacitive touchscreen
N1's screen is better. It's more sensitive and more vivid. However, resistive screen also has its edge. You can use glove, fingernail, stylus, etc.
-Full flash support
Adobe has released a video demo showing N1 with the flash support which is very friendly with the battery
-Live walpaper
It's not so important, yet it's so beautiful
-Better hardware
N1 has 1Ghz snapdragon processor and 512 Mb RAM while N97 has 434 Mhz processor and 128 Mb RAM
-Higher Resolution
N1's higher resolution display (480x800) ensures less scrolling in browsing though Nokia's nHD (360x640) is not bad either
You all forgot one most important feature, which is PRICE ? ordinary middle class person or a student like me can afford Symbian for around $150 (5530,5230) which almost can do same things which Nexus one does. Most parts of world are not rich and in Asia we hate to buy a phone on contract cuz prepaid calling and text rates and packages are cheaper than even postpaid packages.
i dont think an andriod can come down to such a low price in near future. Hopefully symbian^3 with at least 600 Mhz and 256 ram can maintain such a low price too.
Unregistered wrote:-Better UI
Of course Symbian^3 is on the way with the revamped UI, but for now, N1 is far more superior. Moreover, N1 has multitouch (via firmware update)
-AMOLED Capacitive touchscreen
N1's screen is better. It's more sensitive and more vivid. However, resistive screen also has its edge. You can use glove, fingernail, stylus, etc.
-Full flash support
Adobe has released a video demo showing N1 with the flash support which is very friendly with the battery
-Live walpaper
It's not so important, yet it's so beautiful
-Better hardware
N1 has 1Ghz snapdragon processor and 512 Mb RAM while N97 has 434 Mhz processor and 128 Mb RAM
-Higher Resolution
N1's higher resolution display (480x800) ensures less scrolling in browsing though Nokia's nHD (360x640) is not bad either
Match all these things but replace n97 with 5530/5800/5230 and reduce price four times less than N1? what do you think then, and if Symbian^3 with 600Mhz and 256Ram with similar cheaper price is good deal too.
Unregistered wrote:-Better UI
Of course Symbian^3 is on the way with the revamped UI, but for now, N1 is far more superior. Moreover, N1 has multitouch (via firmware update)
-AMOLED Capacitive touchscreen
N1's screen is better. It's more sensitive and more vivid. However, resistive screen also has its edge. You can use glove, fingernail, stylus, etc.
-Full flash support
Adobe has released a video demo showing N1 with the flash support which is very friendly with the battery
-Live walpaper
It's not so important, yet it's so beautiful
-Better hardware
N1 has 1Ghz snapdragon processor and 512 Mb RAM while N97 has 434 Mhz processor and 128 Mb RAM
-Higher Resolution
N1's higher resolution display (480x800) ensures less scrolling in browsing though Nokia's nHD (360x640) is not bad either
- multi touch is nice, but its far from being essential
- amoled is only superior indoors. Outdoors, or anywhere with strong sunlight its actually worse.
- better hardware. I laugh at this. So what if its got a faster processor/more memory - the operating system actually NEEDS the faster processor and the extra memory
giggig wrote:Match all these things but replace n97 with 5530/5800/5230 and reduce price four times less than N1? what do you think then, and if Symbian^3 with 600Mhz and 256Ram with similar cheaper price is good deal too.
The 5800 is a good deal.
The 5530 offers slightly better value for money.
The 5230 is the smartphone bargain of the moment - nothing comes even close for the price. Sub �100 for most of the useful features of the N97. The N97 camera isn't that amazing (its just an N95 camera), the keyboard is too compromised (should be a 4 row keyboard, not 3).
giggig wrote:You all forgot one most important feature, which is PRICE ? ordinary middle class person or a student like me can afford Symbian for around $150 (5530,5230) which almost can do same things which Nexus one does. Most parts of world are not rich and in Asia we hate to buy a phone on contract cuz prepaid calling and text rates and packages are cheaper than even postpaid packages.
i dont think an andriod can come down to such a low price in near future. Hopefully symbian^3 with at least 600 Mhz and 256 ram can maintain such a low price too.
I could have afforded a Nexus, N97, Mini or N900. Decided against all of them.
Reason being that, as you have said, a 5230 or 5530 can do the majority of the same things, but at a considerably lower price point. So I went for the 5230.
The perceived negatives of the 5230 are minor :
- camera. Only 2mp. Wake up people, as much as the N95, Nexus, etc. can only take reasonable pics outdoors. indoors they're basically useless.
- no wifi. Got a decent data plan. If I want something downloaded at home, I can just download on a PC and send it over via cable/card reader.
- no compass. I can generally work out which way is north. Location based services using a compass aren't quite there yet anyway.
The 5230 shows just how massively overpriced the other models in the Nokia range are.
as much as i respect the effort put into doing this comparison, i think your scoring system is very flawed. for example, the youtube client on s60 is horrible. i have used it on all of my s60 phones and it makes me not want to view youtube videos at all. the youtube player, experience, quality of video is so much better than the s60 client that giving it 100% is not fair unless you add a second column to your scoring and mark the n97 as 50%. just because you use s60 devices to do certain things doesnt mean that they do it well enough to deserve a 100% mark. i would like to see you mark the n97 under the same categories and compare final marks.
there are so many quality free apps now for android that finding the right app might take some trial and error but i am sure they are there. another example, i like using a phone with a smart-dialer, like the htc hero, any wm phone, the e71, etc, but the moto milestone i just got doesnt have that feature, so i have been using the voice dial app all the time. i just found an app called nubdial that is free and does exactly what i want.
I also am a Nokia fan and have a Google Nexus One. I see you thought the same as I did when trying play movies and used the Astro file manager. However, this issue has been fixed in the Android devices with the Nexus One, thanks to HTC. You see, the new Gallery application included in the ROM supports movies as well as photos. Simply start the Gallery up and you should see thumbnails for your movies. I have had good luck with the movies I ripped using Handbrake for my Nokia N900, but don't have such a varied collection as you do.
Also, I think you should mention the dual microphone noise cancellation technology in the Phone section for the Nexus One. It is fantastic and I can actually have a conversation with my wife next to a busy highway and she can hear me with very little background noise being picked up. Also, the on-screen call management functions and auto display off (the N900 thankfully has this too) are also excellent phone features on the Nexus One.
clonmult wrote:- multi touch is nice, but its far from being essential
- amoled is only superior indoors. Outdoors, or anywhere with strong sunlight its actually worse.
- better hardware. I laugh at this. So what if its got a faster processor/more memory - the operating system actually NEEDS the faster processor and the extra memory
N1 indeed has better hardware. Don't you remember how buggy N97 was? N97's free ram is about 40-50 Mb. Even Nokia has acknowledge that its flagship device needs better hardware. That's why there is romour about nokia's snapdragon phone going around.
Multitouch is nice to use because its intuitive and a lot of people ask for it. That's why it is included in Symbian^3.
Btw, Google Earth has just been released for Android. Besides, Android Os is upgradable. Ex, Droid is going to be updated from Android 2.0 to Android 2.1. I believe if there is a new version of Android, N1 will get updated too. Could Nokia do that? Updated N97 to Symbian^3 when it is out? Of course it can't. You have to buy a new handset because of its resistive touchscreen and meager hardware.
giggig wrote:You all forgot one most important feature, which is PRICE ? ordinary middle class person or a student like me can afford Symbian for around $150 (5530,5230) which almost can do same things which Nexus one does. Most parts of world are not rich and in Asia we hate to buy a phone on contract cuz prepaid calling and text rates and packages are cheaper than even postpaid packages.
i dont think an andriod can come down to such a low price in near future. Hopefully symbian^3 with at least 600 Mhz and 256 ram can maintain such a low price too.
Don't forget the 434 Mhz processor and 128 Mb RAM plus resistive touchscreen the 5230,5530 presents. Add capacitive touchscreen and 16 Gb internal memory to the game and Nokia costs you $455 (X6). So, I am wondering how much 600 Mhz, 256 RAM and capacitive touchscreen will cost you? Since an unlocked N1 is around $539. Besides, a lot of manufactures are attracted to Android as their choice of OS (tablet and smartphone). Don't you think the competition will lower the price?
5230 is �78.95 (~$120) filthy cheap and a staggering bargain at entry level and a strategy by Nokia to get new users over from dumb phones and schoolkids in at the basement and work them up to the new higher level Nokias that will arrive. I went and got one just as a spare.
I prefer resitive screens, as I own both types the difference between them and capacitive isn't that great. Plus resistive is more robust and works in more circumstances and allows stylus input for writing. Multi-touch is OK ONLY if a one handed alternative gesture is available (unlike the idiotic iPhone multi-touch, can zoom in but on out with one hand).
It's not the processor speed that makes all the difference, it's the addition of display accelerator hardware. Look at iPhone 3G, 414MHz processor against 434MHz on Nokias.
Unregistered wrote:. Besides, Android Os is upgradable. Ex, Droid is going to be updated from Android 2.0 to Android 2.1. I believe if there is a new version of Android, N1 will get updated too. Could Nokia do that? Updated N97 to Symbian^3 when it is out? Of course it can't. You have to buy a new handset because of its resistive touchscreen and meager hardware.
Being updateable is no great advantage. For an upgradeable OS you end up with a new OS but old knackered phone. I'd rather have lower cost phone and get a new one with new hardware.
Take iPhone 3G, with latest OS. Still no video capability. Still old processor compared to 3G S. iPhone 2G has no GPS and no 3G connection.... lastest OS is of no help there.
AMOLED screen is not perfect either, compromse a pretty vivd display with low power consumption but only to be crap outdoors in sunlight.
gdigenis wrote: for example, the youtube client on s60 is horrible. i have used it on all of my s60 phones and it makes me not want to view youtube videos at all.
That's interesting because it works fine for me with good quality.
Unregistered wrote:Being updateable is no great advantage. For an upgradeable OS you end up with a new OS but old knackered phone. I'd rather have lower cost phone and get a new one with new hardware. Take iPhone 3G, with latest OS. Still no video capability. Still old processor compared to 3G S. iPhone 2G has no GPS and no 3G connection.... lastest OS is of no help there.
AMOLED screen is not perfect either, compromse a pretty vivd display with low power consumption but only to be crap outdoors in sunlight.
Well, I don't see N1 Snapdragon processor going to be obsolete soon. Remember, HD2; HTC Desire; X10 use snapdragon. Samsung new bada phone (wave) uses snapdragon. And it's just an added value to be able to upgrade your OS.
AMOLED is indeed not perfect but a lot of manufactures start to use it. What's about the SUPER AMOLED by samsung. Even the romoured Nokia N8 uses AMOLED. It's just great for multimedia purpose.
Unregistered wrote:Well, I don't see N1 Snapdragon processor going to be obsolete soon. Remember, HD2; HTC Desire; X10 use snapdragon. Samsung new bada phone (wave) uses snapdragon. And it's just an added value to be able to upgrade your OS.
The iPhone 2G is not obsolete, I wasn't suggesting obsolescence, just not updateable.
Anyway, SnapDragon will be superceded by a multi-core chip. Again, you will need a new phone, an OS update won't get you that.
Unregistered wrote:
AMOLED is indeed not perfect but a lot of manufactures start to use it. What's about the SUPER AMOLED by samsung. Even the romoured Nokia N8 uses AMOLED. It's just great for multimedia purpose.
Great! So you get you nice shiney new phone with AMOLED and updateable OS, then SUPER AMOLED is available and you get your new OS but still have ordinary AMOLED.
As I keep a phone for about 10-12 months an updateable OS is not really going to be any benefit to me. New phone has a new OS and all the dual-core and SUPER AMOLED.
"Being updateable is no great advantage. For an upgradeable OS you end up with a new OS but old knackered phone. I'd rather have lower cost phone and get a new one with new hardware."
I disagree. Particularly if we have contract subsidies (most of us in the US and many of us in Europe), people tend to keep phones for two years. It's nice to at least get the updated OS. Nokia usually barely provides bug fixes. Plus, a capable phone like the Nexus One or iPhone 3G can handle a new OS.
About 6 months after I purchased my N95-3, Nokia had the N85 out with a worse camera, basically the same inner hardware (except sans a graphics chip), but a more powerful OS that finally had a decent Bluetooth stack. I'd have much preferred to upgrade the N95-3, even for a fee, than buy a brand new phone. The N95-3 was certainly capable of running S60 v3 FP2, but Nokia provided only FP1 with it.
[QUOTE=KPO'M;458858]
I disagree. Particularly if we have contract subsidies (most of us in the US and many of us in Europe), people tend to keep phones for two years. It's nice to at least get the updated OS. Nokia usually barely provides bug fixes. Plus, a capable phone like the Nexus One or iPhone 3G can handle a new OS.
About 6 months after I purchased my N95-3, Nokia had the N85 out with a worse camera, basically the same inner hardware (except sans a graphics chip), but a more powerful OS that finally had a decent Bluetooth stack. I'd have much preferred to upgrade the N95-3, even for a fee, than buy a brand new phone. The N95-3 was certainly capable of running S60 v3 FP2, but Nokia provided only FP1 with it.[/QUOTE]
I disagree. There's no way I would accept having to keep a handset for 2 years. Any decent contract should offer the handset free upgrade long before that.
Of course iPhone 3G got the OS upgrade, but it's version 3, of the iPhone OS. It added a few new features like cut and paste but you still have to get the 3G S if you want to use the camera for video. That's nothing more than a bug fix update under another name.
I'm really not bothered about updates.
One area N1 prob would be worse off compared to new Nokia's (touchscreens) is audio quality. Across the range Nokia's audio experience is top-notch and if u use default earphones some of their models (X6 32gb) shipping with higher-end buds. I guess lots of people buy phones to act as music devices and with such convergence Nokia's delivering better audio experience even with the rediculously cheap 5230
[QUOTE=Unregistered;458852]The iPhone 2G is not obsolete, I wasn't suggesting obsolescence, just not updateable.
Anyway, SnapDragon will be superceded by a multi-core chip. Again, you will need a new phone, an OS update won't get you that.
The multi-core chip you said is also a snapdragon (codename scorpion). Of course there is Cortex A9. But,since this article's comparing N97 and N1, I think you have more chance seeing this new proccessor in Android handsets rather that Nokias.
Have you ever think the difference between Android 1.5/1.6 to 2.0/2.1? A lot of people love Droid and wouldn't buy N1. A lot of people prefer Nokia E71 to E72. How many Nokia's user stick with N95? Sometimes, a perfect phone is just hard to find and when you find one and want to stick with it, it's better to have an updatable OS (not only firmware).
HTC Hero, Samsung Galaxy Spica, Motorola Droid are romoured to get Android 2.0/2,1 update. Flash support is there for 2.1.
Don't forget about the great Mobile Firefox in N900 which will be coming to Android. Pandora for music streaming and Seesmic for twitter client are both great too.
