Nokia N73 or E65?

wet-paint

Hey folks,
I'm going bill pay with meteor, and can't decide between the two high end Nokias on offer. I'd use most of the capabilities of both phones, and indeed would love one with all of them. The price isn't an issue, but has anyone any first hand experience of one, or indeed both, and can offer an opinion?
Cheers, WP.

coldfire1x

Exactly what I am looking for

Any opinions please?

coldfire1x

How much is E65 on meteor?

Sam Vimes

unless you absolutely need a radio get the e65

lodgepole

I went through that very choice and went with the E65. As my housemate, who is a phone nerd, said, it's not as fun a phone as the N73 but it's got everything you need. The clincher for me was having wireless access.

What do you want out of your phone?

Saint_Mel

Lodgepole wrote: »

it's not as fun a phone as the N73

Does this mean that the N73 doesnt break down as much?

I have the E65 almost 5 months now and despite the coolness
of WiFi, it's the worst phone I've ever had. Had to go back twice
for repair since getting it!

Sam Vimes

you got a faulty handset. The fact that your handset was faulty means nothing more than you got a faulty handset. It does not, for example, mean that all E65s are faulty. This post was made from an E65 that hasn't crashed once since i bought it and there are thousands of people in the same situation as me

if you bought a car and it broke down, would you say that there was something wrong with your car or would you say that there's something wrong with every model of that car ever sold?

srdb20

I was an early adopter of the E65 and received a handset from a bad batch (GF also recieved a dodgey one, bought at the same time), after a no hassle replacement from 3, i haven't had a single problem, with the handset. Although i have had several problems with 3 on the other hand.

I think its a great phone and has everything i need, plus it looks 10 times better than the N73 IMO.

Slightly off topic but what are Meteor's customer care like?
(Also on the rumor mill, 3 may be set to buy meteor, cringe at what will happen to them then......)

Doctor DooM

N95 FTW

Go with the E65, wifi is dead handy.

yom 1

Im in the same situation myself. Couldnt decide which one to get. I'm buying off a friend who has a mobile phone shop. He told me that he hasnt had any complaints about the N73 but that the E65 can cause some problems. Not all the time but enough to make it a minor issue. All in all I pushed for the N73 and I'll hopefully get mine in the post today

dudara

The E65 camera isn't great at times, but having WiFi more than makes it up for me. Was on hols recently and was able to browse quickly using the hotel's network.

It's a nice little phone by weight and feel.

h57xiucj2z946q

having wi-fi would make up the option for me, i have a n73 with no wi-fi

Sam Vimes

srdb20 wrote: »

Slightly off topic but what are Meteor's customer care like?
(Also on the rumor mill, 3 may be set to buy meteor, cringe at what will happen to them then......)

they're far better than 3's but they have their problems. that said, its pretty much impossible not to be better than 3 unless they replace their staff with monkeys

at least the monkeys wouldn't pretend they know how to solve your problem

yom 1 wrote: »

Im in the same situation myself. Couldnt decide which one to get. I'm buying off a friend who has a mobile phone shop. He told me that he hasnt had any complaints about the N73 but that the E65 can cause some problems. Not all the time but enough to make it a minor issue. All in all I pushed for the N73 and I'll hopefully get mine in the post today

the n73 has its problems too. all phones do

dudara wrote: »

The E65 camera isn't great at times, but having WiFi more than makes it up for me. Was on hols recently and was able to browse quickly using the hotel's network.

It's a nice little phone by weight and feel.

this is true. the camera a bit crap and useless in low light because of the lack of a flash

yom 1

Sam Vimes wrote: »

the n73 has its problems too. all phones do

I'm not naive enough to think it wont have any problems but i'd rather go for the one that is known for having less


WOot just arrived \o/:p

coldfire1x

Looks like the E65 is getting more votes here.

I am not worried about the FM radio or the camera (which someone said its crap in e65) but e65 has a definite edge if the wifi works well.

Hmmm.... I am tilting towards E65

It looks like there are some faulty e65 around. Is there anyone who has recently bought an e65 and had a problem?

srdb20

How often are you going to be using the camera on the phone, I for one rarely use it unless out on the Pi$$....

If your looking to take great snaps, bring a digital camera with you, if not i think the E65 is fine for general pics when out an about, again the above is a personal opinion and im sure everyone is different.

Also i would advise going into one of the shops and having a play a round with both models too see which feels and suits you best.

@coldfire1x
I know three people who have bought them in the last month, spanning across Vodafone, O2 and 3, and so far no complaints...

oh and there is a recent firmware upgrade, this has fixed quite a few of the niggly issues that some people were having.

LibraMan

Just to be awkward, can I throw the N95 into the mix? A colleague of mine was showing me his yesterday and he reckons it's the dog's proverbials. The comparison tool on O2's website says the N95 doesn't have an MP3 player or mobile Internet but it's got that wrong 'cos it does have them. Anyone in a position to compare the N95 with the E65? For what it's worth, I've got a two-and-a-half-year-old daughter so having a half decent camera to capture those fleeting, precious moments is kinda important <gag!>.

Doctor DooM

LibraMan wrote: »

Just to be awkward, can I throw the N95 into the mix? A colleague of mine was showing me his yesterday and he reckons it's the dog's proverbials. The comparison tool on O2's website says the N95 doesn't have an MP3 player or mobile Internet but it's got that wrong 'cos it does have them. Anyone in a position to compare the N95 with the E65? For what it's worth, I've got a two-and-a-half-year-old daughter so having a half decent camera to capture those fleeting, precious moments is kinda important <gag!>.

I own a N95 and I love it, but you need to consider the nerd level of the owner. Its a bit overblown for someone who oesn't use all the PDA-esque functionality of it.

srdb20

SDooM wrote: »

I own a N95 and I love it, but you need to consider the nerd level of the owner. Its a bit overblown for someone who oesn't use all the PDA-esque functionality of it.

And the Price difference.....

Sam Vimes

the differences with the n95 are:

the size
the price
HSDPA (faster internet)
5MP camera with flash instead of 2MP without
built in GPS (the E65 can do GPS but a bluetooth GPS adapter is needed)
radio
standard headphone jack instead of proprietary nokia pop port
tv out (cable supplied)


if you think all that is worth the extra money and size then go for it

Saint_Mel

Sam Vimes wrote: »

if you bought a car and it broke down, would you say that there was something wrong with your car or would you say that there's something wrong with every model of that car ever sold?

Well if I was having problems with that model and heard a lot of other people
complaining and having problems with that model I wouldn't be recommending it.
Even if everybody in the whole wide world didnt have the same problems. :rolleyes:

Sam Vimes

Saint_Mel wrote: »

Well if I was having problems with that model and heard a lot of other people
complaining and having problems with that model I wouldn't be recommending it.
Even if everybody in the whole wide world didnt have the same problems. :rolleyes:

having worked in the industry for several years i can tell you that you will find people who have had problems with every single model of phone ever made.

unless every handset ever made has been faulty, then saying "don't buy an e65, i got a faulty one and so did some other people" makes no sense. if people were to avoid a phone based on that advice, they'd be left with a choice of exactly zero phones.

now on the other hand if you were to ask a few shop assistants what phones come back faulty most of the time, then you'd get a more accurate gauge of how reliable it is. the first ones that pop into my mind are pretty much anything by motorola and the nokia 6111

lodgepole

coldfire1x wrote: »

It looks like there are some faulty e65 around. Is there anyone who has recently bought an e65 and had a problem?

I've had mine for about four or five weeks and no problems yet.

As soon as you buy it, hook it up to your PC and update it. Don't play with any setting first because they'll all be removed with the update.

Wifi is dead handy... Particularly when coupled with a messenger or skype client. I've used it in Ireland, the US and Poland so far. Incredibly handy for airports.

I don't know if the E65 is any better at running S60 than the N73, but the E65 is good, only the occasional slow down. I run Opera, Youtube Mobile, Google Maps (it picks up your location pretty well without GPS), ScummVM and Gizmo fairly regularly.

The camera is rubbish. It's really only good for when you HAVE to take a picture. I moved from a Sony W810i which had a relatively good camera with flash, so that took some getting used to.

Doctor DooM

Sam Vimes wrote: »

having worked in the industry for several years i can tell you that you will find people who have had problems with every single model of phone ever made.

unless every handset ever made has been faulty, then saying "don't buy an e65, i got a faulty one and so did some other people" makes no sense. if people were to avoid a phone based on that advice, they'd be left with a choice of exactly zero phones.

now on the other hand if you were to ask a few shop assistants what phones come back faulty most of the time, then you'd get a more accurate gauge of how reliable it is. the first ones that pop into my mind are pretty much anything by motorola and the nokia 6111

Apparently 3 have been having 6111- like problems with the 6280, which is weird because I never did!

coldfire1x

srdb20 wrote: »

@coldfire1x
I know three people who have bought them in the last month, spanning across Vodafone, O2 and 3, and so far no complaints...

oh and there is a recent firmware upgrade, this has fixed quite a few of the niggly issues that some people were having.

Thanks for the info

coldfire1x

Lodgepole wrote: »

I've had mine for about four or five weeks and no problems yet.

As soon as you buy it, hook it up to your PC and update it. Don't play with any setting first because they'll all be removed with the update.

Wifi is dead handy... Particularly when coupled with a messenger or skype client. I've used it in Ireland, the US and Poland so far. Incredibly handy for airports.

I don't know if the E65 is any better at running S60 than the N73, but the E65 is good, only the occasional slow down. I run Opera, Youtube Mobile, Google Maps (it picks up your location pretty well without GPS), ScummVM and Gizmo fairly regularly.

The camera is rubbish. It's really only good for when you HAVE to take a picture. I moved from a Sony W810i which had a relatively good camera with flash, so that took some getting used to.

How do you update the mobile? Will it pick up the updates automatically or do you have to get the update from Nokia site?

What messengers can you run on it? Do you need to download skype client from their site? Also can you please give me some more info on how to use google maps.

My knowledge is very limited on the mobile application. Any links or help will be much appreciated.

Thanks

Sam Vimes

SDooM wrote: »

Apparently 3 have been having 6111- like problems with the 6280, which is weird because I never did!

yeah i heard that but mine was fine too

coldfire1x wrote: »

How do you update the mobile? Will it pick up the updates automatically or do you have to get the update from Nokia site?

install the nokia pc suite and use the software updater option

coldfire1x wrote: »

What messengers can you run on it? Do you need to download skype client from their site? Also can you please give me some more info on how to use google maps.

My knowledge is very limited on the mobile application. Any links or help will be much appreciated.

Thanks

i don't know much about messengers. i use fring for skype and it can be used for google talk and msn and a few others. the google maps application is very straightforward. just play around with it once you install it

coldfire1x

^^ Thanks a lot for all the help mate, much appreciated. I will have a detailed look once I am back home.

Bluefrog

Actually I have an N80 which is pretty similar in function to the e65 including wifi but I find I use my n73 more. Main pluses for me of the N73 are the great camera (3.2MP with flash and autofucus (no autofocus on the N80)) and the bigger screen - great for movies and Sling. While I initially thought I would get great use out of the wifi being with 3 means I have 3g almost everywhere. I have a 2gb card in the N73 and it has no problems with delays though it's crammed with music, movies and apps. I unbranded mine from 3 and upgraded the firmware to the latest version which has improvements in the camera software (better handling of lowlight) and the full blown music edition music player with visualisations and album art display.

eamon234

I had an E65 but got rid of it after a few weeks - ok the WiFi is handy but I had a lot of problems with it (mic went,freezing,kept restarting when signal dropped) had to be replaced I just sold the replacement. The camera is useless (in any light!) and I found it very easy to scuff and scratch the casing careful and all as I was with it. It is a nice looking phone and quite compact compared to the N73 though but to be honest I've had enough of Nokias after the last few I've had. I'm sticking to SE from now on build quality is much better.

lodgepole

coldfire1x wrote: »

How do you update the mobile? Will it pick up the updates automatically or do you have to get the update from Nokia site?

What messengers can you run on it? Do you need to download skype client from their site? Also can you please give me some more info on how to use google maps.

My knowledge is very limited on the mobile application. Any links or help will be much appreciated.

Thanks

There's a supplied disc with Nokia Suite on it (the latest version is available from Nokia's website too) and once you have it installed you just plug in the phone with the supplied USB and update away. You can also do things like install downloaded applications, edit your phone book, send text messages or use the phone as a modem from this application.

There's a program called Fring which is a client for several messengers, although I only use it for skype. It's pretty good, makes a very solid connection over wifi (haven't used it over mobile broadband yet).

Google maps is an application that you can download and it works virtually the same as the standard website. On the E65 you can have it find your location using mysterious voodoo methods (IP address or Cell location I suppose, I don't know much about these things) but it's also fully compatable with GPS should your handset have it. You can get bluetooth GPS add ons for the E65 if you really want to. It's super heavy on bandwidth so use it sparingly, even with a generous data plan.

The phone runs an operating system called Symbian, and there's a whole lot of applications that are made for it. Do a google search for "essential s60 apps" or something along those lines and you'll find plenty of links. There's also several excellent E65 and s60 specific blogs out there.

If you remember them, I have Monkey Island 1 and 2, Day of the Tentacle and Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis running on it too...

coldfire1x

^^ @Lodgepole, Thanks a lot for all the help.

I am going to try few things as suggested by you and few others today / tomorrow