With the Nokia C6 starting to hit the shops around the world, we kick off our C6 coverage with the usual comprehensive picture gallery. It is a hybrid device, with both a touchscreen and a QWERTY keyboard, in a horizontal slider form factor. It is the third device in Nokia's new Cseries range, following on from the C5 and C3. With a price point of around £250 is sits firmly in the mid tier, effectively offering a cheaper version of the Nokia N97 mini. David will be sharing his first impressions on the C6 next week and an in depth review will follow in due course.
Read on in the full article.
The keyboard looks excellent. This is a little off-topic, but I often miss Symbian, having switched to Maemo a few months ago. As for Android: Don't believe the hype, I say. I have the HTC Desire and I find it a bit underwhelming.
I guess it's still a little difficult to recommend this device with Symbian3/4 on the way, but I can see a market for it.
@Marxian, I dont believe you. Even low end android is better user experience that Symbian 1. I know I got an LG540 for �99 and its sublime and better usability than my 5800. Nokias hardware is leaps and bounds above its peers though. Solid hardware plus Symbian 3 will keep nokia on top. I am typing this on an N900, brill hardware but clunky and cranky UI. Typical 😉
Well, I am a programmer, so probably not a typical smartphone user. I use my device as a pocket computer, so I prefer a real computing OS. Android to me feels like 'My First Phone'. I do like the hardware of the Desire, aside from the poor loudspeaker and lack of hardware qwerty.
@marxian
I have been a Nokia user since the 2110 and have used ALL the communicators until the N97 which I have dumped for an Android phone and will not look back.
Android is powerful and extremely customisable for us techies and not a "my first phone" as you so claim. That award falls on the iphone.
I will only reconsider another Nokia phone if and when they get Symbian up to par with Android.
marxian wrote:Well, I am a programmer, so probably not a typical smartphone user. I use my device as a pocket computer, so I prefer a real computing OS. Android to me feels like 'My First Phone'. I do like the hardware of the Desire, aside from the poor loudspeaker and lack of hardware qwerty.
Well.... I'm a developer myself, and have owned piles of Nokia Symbian as well as some Android devices. I prefer Android for nearly everything -- except for satnav -- because they're more developer-friendly; SDK is multi-platform, better and cleaner API, etc.
And Symbian's certificate requirements seriously undermine non-commercial devs (like hobbyists).
This is a very nice device to hold, seen it in carphone warehouse the other day. Maybe a little overpriced, but Nokia have advanced the Symbian^1 a fair bit and if you add SPB Mobile Shell on top it is a very powerful system but with the odd oddity.
I am sick of coming to a site about Symbian and seeing all the Android and Iphone fans bashing it, if you's don't like it, why bother discussing it?
Yes it would have been better with Symbian^3, and combine this with Mobile Shell and there's one hell of an OS, no matter what way you look at it.
Everyone knows what the problems with Symbian^1 are and they are being addressed. Get over it and move on!
Imagine a 5800xm with the Widgets, Camera etc from the N97 mini and a qwerty keyboard. The C6 is effectively a N97 mini in a cheaper housing. I would expect a price point of �199 or below for this - an I'm sure this is where it will settle after release.
As for the Android discussions above, I have a desire and I too am left wondering what all the fuss is about. Android is just ordinary, and even with the SenseUI enhancements there is no huge advance over even Symbian touch. I expect that ^3 and ^4 versions of Symbian should be able to leapfrog Android quite easily, because it wouldn't take much. If that doesn't happen then somebody at Symbian is still asleep.
Although it has to be said, I may have been so disappointed with Android because the high expectations set by BSers on forums like this, and because I also own an iPhone, the iPhone has absolutely nothing to fear from Android in the UI department.
What EXACTLY is good about Android? Somebody please explain? I appreciate why phone makers might like it, it suits them very well. No great shakes for consumers.
Anyway, back to the topic C6, I can't see a reason to buy an N97 anything if they remain priced above the C6.
Unregistered wrote:
And Symbian's certificate requirements seriously undermine non-commercial devs (like hobbyists).
No it doesn't. Because as a "hobbyist" myself I know that these requirements are very easily bypassed on hardware, and there are no certificate requirements for tinkering on the emuator. You should also know that if you are a developer.
What EXACTLY is good about Android? Somebody please explain? I appreciate why phone makers might like it, it suits them very well. No great shakes for consumers.
I asked the exact same question some months ago after playing with a mates htc legend for about a week and watching countless youtube videos. I am sorry but the shear level of functionality in Symbian is going to be hard to beat and it is forever improving. Cant say for certain but isn't Symbian pushing for major new releases every 6-12 months?
And as for Meego, it just looks so damn cool on both tablets and phones (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INVlmjJKXjk), Nokia are in a very good position moving forward and roll on the 1st Meego handset and tablet.
Hmm... I take it none of the 'developers' here have used Qt then? Not sure how that's more difficult to use than a VM layer.
Anyway, moving on...
The C6 feels like a backward step for Nokia. It's effectively a rebadged N97 mini or a 5800 with a keyboard and a such is an anachronism.
The C6 feels like a backward step for Nokia. It's effectively a rebadged N97 mini or a 5800 with a keyboard and a such is an anachronism.
isn't that what the C Series is all about? Nokia moving their previous high end homescreen etc to the mid range in anticipation of moving highend devices to Meego.
when I get a new email/sms etc on the Vivaz a blue light flashes too so it's not limited to Android.
Tsepz_011 wrote:The C6 actualy looks realy good,especialy in Black,looks very sleek and professional,a shame it runs Symbian^1 as i felt it realy limited my 5800, it just felt so incomplete.
As for Android, its not everyones cup of tea. What makes it better? Well the openess and the quality of apps and games which destroy symbian. Even little things like 3rd party apps being able to access hardware, e.g. the MailDroid app,ive set it to make the LED flash Blue when i get new Emails, little things like that just make it much better to use, IMO.
Openness and quality of apps and games, eh?
Well, Symbian is now fully open source and the Qt SDK makes it very easy to develop software for the platform.
But those are recent developments. There is a long line of quality software for Symbian platforms. I'm thinking of software like Ovi Maps, Handy Safe Pro, Gravity, Joiku Spot*, Quick Office, etc. etc.
You'll notice that I haven't listed any 'apps' that are merely bookmarks to websites. Go to any 'app' store; Apple, Ovi, Android Market and you'll find that the percentage of quality software is actually quite low.
* if JS isn't a 3rd party application that controls hardware, I don't know what is.
Perhaps what you really mean is that Android looks more polished as an interface? It certainly does, especially with HTC Sense on top.
Symbians ^1 and S60 3rd do look dated. But as far as I'm concerned, so what? It does exactly what I need it to and tons more. Symbian^3 will bring the slick front end, Symbian^4 even moreso. As for Meego - that looks pretty good already.
Back on topic: I like the look of the C6. Especially the inclusion of a D-pad and the keyboard layout. The camera looks a little disappointing, but still a sweet phone for �250.
Tsepz_011 wrote:Th
As for Android, its not everyones cup of tea. What makes it better? Well the openess and the quality of apps and games which destroy symbian. Even little things like 3rd party apps being able to access hardware, e.g. the MailDroid app,ive set it to make the LED flash Blue when i get new Emails, little things like that just make it much better to use, IMO.
Well that's not really much of a case for Android, and it that's the best to offer then you have proven my point. There is nothing special about Android. Hardly destroys Symbian at all.
5800 did the LED flashing notification thing in the centre of the middle button years ago in its V11 firmware. That's Symbian doing that, not a third party app. Symbian has quality apps for everything that I need. I acknowledge that the lack of graphics acceleration on a lot of Nokia devices has hindered game development, but that's a hardware problem, not Symbian.
Have people not realised that having thousands of crap apps available does not make things better. I've lost count of the number of shite things I've downloaded from Apple App store and Android market and then immediately deleted. I've given up bothering these days.
I regret buying a Desire, Android really is a poor effort.
Tsepz_011 wrote:Ovi Maps certainly is decent,il give you that,although having my X10 and 5800 side by side it seems the Android is more accurate,more aware of my surroundings, and locks to GPS a lot faster.
LOL having a 5800 and Google navigation platform like the Desire side by side I frequently can't see the maps on the Google. There is no contest there, I wouldn't trust Android nav.
Yes I concur I have an app for everything I need as well, even testing a nice native foursquare client that has quite a few features missing currently however.
The quality of alot of the symbian apps is fantastic and things will only get better.
QT is cross platform and the developers I have spoke to love it and say it makes developing for Symbian alot easier and they expect a big developer craze around it over the next year.
X10 getting a quicker gps lock, maybe it has a bigger gps aerial? would that not account for it? My Vivaz gets a gps lock in about 20 secs and it's a tiny phone so the aerial must be small too.
The adoption of Qt has been a big pull factor in my decision to concentrate my future development efforts on Maemo/Meego/Symbian. Fingers crossed that the 'write once, deploy everywhere' promise matches the reality. Having used Qt to write desktop applications, I am quite impressed with it. I was originally intending to focus more on the Android platform, but my experience with the Desire has dulled my enthusiasm, and I am in this for love, not money. Using Android reminds me of KDE: a widget for everything, when it makes more sense to acess the function from an easily accessible menu. The need to download 'apps' to get functions that are standard on Maemo and Symbian is also annoying. Lastly, how do you close an application in Android? Answer: you can't. Enjoy your shiny toy phones, gentlemen.
Android great YouTube and gmail clients, but the attraction ends there for me.
As for the GPS-thing: The 5800 (and maybe all of Nokias phones coming from this platform) has a very very very very poor GPS-chip. I can only hope that we do not need to see such a *****-gps-chip again.
But thats Nokias poor hardwarechoice (which made a lot of cool apps unusable on my 5800), not Symbian.
The new phones with QT enabled should have widgets in home screen, according to my testing with N8. More widgets are coming available as well.
Tsepz_011,
On n8, you can also monitor cpu , mem usage and a lot of more stuff for techy people...
You'd better try N8 out yourself after it is released. Never underestimate Nokia as it is the world leader for mobile phone industry!
@Tsepz_011
So to close an app, you must install an app. Hilarious. You couldn't make it up. Any operating system should have that facility as standard.
I am not using Symbian atm, since my main device is the N900, but what I miss when using the Desire is, for example, the ability to easily change settings, such as wifi, via the top panel. I don't want to use widgets to access basic functions, since these are only acessible when the homescreen is visible. On N900, I can change the wifi connection, profile etc without minimizing any open application.
It's clear that my usage differs from yours. I want mobile computing. Android does not give me that.
Tsepz_011 wrote:I would like to just congradulate you for completely missing the point and not reading my post after that,well done,next time read over and over again until you understand.
Reading through here its clear many of you dont understand or have used Android. We have BOTH a widget for everything and a great menu. The point of a widget is to get quick access to your Music player or simply browse news or statuses without having to launch the whole app. I have both a FB and Tweetcaster widget in my right side homescreen,if im waiting to board a plane, waiting at a docs room i can quickly just scroll through some statuses or quickly post one,without booting the entire app. I also have a weather widget,it updates 8times a day,and has an image as well as info of the weather,so i can give it a quick glimpse without launching an app and waiting for a web page to load etc... this is what widgets are for,not a replacement or fix for anything,just a nice additional option to improve the user experience,exactly why even Symbians got them as well,just not as well implemented.
I suggest you read my post over and over again until you understand the part where I point out that I own a Desire.
And owning that Desire I am well aware of the widgets, and I am underwhelmed. Hardly a wow factor.
Tsepz_011 wrote:
Unregistered user with a Desire
I did,but it still seems like you missed my point about the LEDs. Strange i havent found any useless crap in the Market,but the again i usualy go in knowing what im looking for,and i always find it an tons of alternatives to all which similar symbian apps to shreads. Found it laughable that someone here brought up Gravity as a good app, TweetCaster makes mince meat out of it.
I think the LED point was dismissed because it's hardly saving the world having a different colour.
I'm still waiting for someone to show a genuine big step forwards in Android. I can see it plain enough in iPhone OS but Android just a *dull* let down.
user47alpha wrote:As for the GPS-thing: The 5800 (and maybe all of Nokias phones coming from this platform) has a very very very very poor GPS-chip. I can only hope that we do not need to see such a *****-gps-chip again.
But thats Nokias poor hardwarechoice (which made a lot of cool apps unusable on my 5800), not Symbian.
That's not true. 5800 GPS is quite good according to me.
I don't have data plan and i don't use AGPS, still my 5800's GPS acquires a lock in about 2-5 minutes depending on when and where i turned on the GPS first.
I think's that's acceptable and quite good for a phone GPS without data plan.
I haven't ever tried acquiring GPS fix using data plan so can't comment on that, but i m sure it will be much faster.
Tsepz_011 wrote:Exactly why i said LITTLE things like that.
LOL,if Android is dull im scared to know what Symbian is,especialy S60v5, which has been an absolute embarrassment,roll-on S^3.
That's an easy question to answer. S60V5 is also dull, even duller than Android but only just.
Not an absolute embarrassment though, but themost used in the world.
Those LITTLE things that are supposed to make the difference really don't. It's like someone trying to prive they have a better car because it has more xup holders. Ridiculous.
Many have been set the challenge of proving the worth of Android. All have failed.
All, that is, except Google and the phone makers, who benefit the most long term. It would appear that there are plenty of suckers out there prepared to lap up all the BS.
Unregistered wrote:TThose LITTLE things that are supposed to make the difference really don't. It's like someone trying to prive they have a better car because it has more xup holders. Ridiculous.
.
That should read "prove" and "cup". Crappy Android keyboard, sorry.
It seems you are in loops of s60. All the story you are talking about was the yesterday. Now we are looking forwarding to s3, s4 and Meego. Get it?
Unregistered wrote:It seems you are in loops of s60. All the story you are talking about was the yesterday. Now we are looking forwarding to s3, s4 and Meego. Get it?
Well, apparently not since Nokia is still releasing new S^1 devices.
Engadget had a great interview with a Nokia VP on Friday. He said that the N8 was a mid/high range device, as opposed to a high-end device (which is what MeeGo is aiming for). He also said the main reason they were skeptical of Android is that they didn't want to turn control over their OS to Google.
The interview is actually a pretty good read. He points out that the US has gone from one of the smallest smartphone markets in the world to the largest in 2 years (care to guess which operating systems are at the forefront of that?), and that Nokia (and anyone else, for that matter) needs to be strong in the US in order to be strong in the smartphone market. IOW, the entire interview undermines a lot of the apologist arguments often put forth in this forum (e.g. the US is irrelevant, Symbian^1 is "just fine," the N8 is the immediate answer to iPhone 4). Hopefully, the fact that more Nokia execs appear to "get it" means that better things really are on the way. The question is whether these developments will come soon enough. Regarding MeeGo, the only thing promised was an "announcement" prior to year-end.