Smartphone Recommendation

Squeaksoutloud

Hi all,

I have had a look at the sticky on asking what phone to choose so will provide plenty of info! My N95 8GB has kinda packed it in (it doesnt seem to pick up the signal well since I dropped it a few weeks ago) so I think I need a change even though it is/was a great phone for its day! I am currently on Meteor pay as you go but have no preference for any operators.

I have narrowed my choice of phone to the following and need to decide between these few:

Samsung Galaxy S
HTC Desire HD
Nokia N8
Sony Ericsson X10

Features which are most important are as follows:

• wifi enabled (I assume they all are!)
• gps receiver built in. Ovi Maps is great on the N95 as it was free and once the maps were downloaded it was free abroad also. Is there similar software on the Androis OS or at least a good cheap yearly navigation service?
• ability to watch downloaded movies/shows on the phone. I have a feeling I will be away a bit on work this year so would love to bring a tv series along with me and just watch it on the phone on a good quality screen.
• excellent quality camera/video recording
• external memory capabilies (sd preferably)
• FM radio preferred to save on data usage but not essential.
• obviously internet browsing, email and running apps (skype, internet radio, something similar to nokia sportstracker) will be a requirement but all these phones do this anyway.

Looking at the above the Nokia N8 ticks all my boxes due to the free mapping and excellent camera but everywhere I look in here most people seem to recommend steering clear of the symbia OS. I also have plenty of chargers for nokia and an in car charger so something to possibly consider also!

Any advice well received. Thanks in advance.

KrisW

gps receiver built in. Ovi Maps is great on the N95 as it was free and once the maps were downloaded it was free abroad also. Is there similar software on the Androis OS or at least a good cheap yearly navigation service?

Not for free. The Android mapping can be done for free, but you need to plan ahead before you travel. A paid application (TomTom or Navigon) will give you the same as the Ovi Maps. Btw, Ovi Maps on N8 is really really good.

ability to watch downloaded movies/shows on the phone. I have a feeling I will be away a bit on work this year so would love to bring a tv series along with me and just watch it on the phone on a good quality screen.

All of them do this. The Galaxy and N8 have the nicest screens; Galaxy's resolution is slightly higher, but N8's is 16:9 ratio, ideal for movie watching.

excellent quality camera/video recording

N8, hands down. The other cameras are good, but still have that "phone camera" look. N8's video is also very good, but the real bonus is the sound quality.

external memory capabilies (sd preferably)

All of them

FM radio preferred to save on data usage but not essential.

Again, N8

obviously internet browsing, email and running apps (skype, internet radio, something similar to nokia sportstracker) will be a requirement but all these phones do this anyway.

Yes. N8 has worst browser of the lot of them, but will be updated in February with a pretty decent one. Android really scores if you use Google services

A lot of people don't like Symbian, but a lot of people don't like Android or iOS. It's a matter of what you're used to, and where you put your priorities. You already have a Symbian phone in the N95... the N8 is much slicker version of this; Android is far slicker again, but isn't really any more functional for all of that shininess.

Go to the shops, and play with the handsets, but from what you've said you want, I'd say the N8 is your best bet.

BengaLover

I have the nokia E63.. Its GREAT
Wifi, apps, qwerty keyboard, i love it!

Squeaksoutloud

Cheers KrisW...interesting Nokia have the maps thing sorted. I find it very uselful as dont intend having a separate sat nav and compact camera also..I'll check them out in the shops tomorrow.

Italia

2 other aspects that could be a deciding factor .... Telephony and battery life (for me this aspect was the clincher).
All smartphones chew up batteries like there is no tomorrow, but it is well known that Symbian is the best on battery management.
I get a full 2 days out of my N8 - with Bluetooth & 3G permanently on; Email polls constantly during the day. A lot of the bells & whistles are enabled. Phone usage light to moderate.
I had the HTC Desire on trial, and, on average, couldn't get much more than a day out of it - definitely nowhere near what I get on the N8.

Telephony (making / receiving calls) - IMHO, Nokia is unrivalled in this field and the N8 is no exception.

Downside of the N8: Not that many apps compared to Apple or Android. Personally, this is a non issue. If I wanted laptop /PC functionality, I would have bought a laptop/PC and not a smartphone. IMHO, the main function of a cellphone (smart or otherwise) is to make/receive calls. Everything else is candy

KrisW

Yes, if you're looking for a phone first and foremost, then the N8 has no competition from the others. The voice quality is excellent (at both ends of the call), even on its speakerphone, and it can work at very low signal levels.

Battery life is best in class, which doesn't say much, but I get 2-3 days or so. I haven't really tested how long I could stretch it, because I usually just charge it every other night, and it still runs okay even if I forget to charge it.

Squeaksoutloud

Cheers for all the advice folks. N8 looks from a hardware point of view and with the free maps exactly what I am looking for. Apps are great but how many do you really need in the end!!

Now to see if the Carphone Warehouse will take my N95 off me and check out those phones!

kkelly77

KrisW wrote: »

Yes. N8 has worst browser of the lot of them, but will be updated in February with a pretty decent one.

What's the new browser it's switching to? Has February ben confirmed? I'm interested in the N8 too. Thanks.

K

KrisW

The current browser uses WebKit, just like Android and Apple, so page rendering was never an issue. The main problem was that the browser application itself is not very responsive, and has a UI that is still stuck in the Series60 days.

There is a major firmware update scheduled for middle of the "first half of 2011", but those with inside information are saying the current target date is February 2011, to coincide with the launch of the X7 and E7 and the next release (to phones) of the Qt toolkit that developers will use for app development from now on. This release will also be available to N8, C7 and C6-01 users. From my understanding, and looking at other releases around this time, February does look to be the likeliest date, but it could be as late as June, I suppose.

There was a leaked video of a very early build of this new firmware, which showed the browser to be much more like the iPhone or Android browser in the way it works. Those who have seen it say that it's as fast or faster than the competition, except where heavy Flash is involved, in which case the N8's slower CPU shows itself. (unlike regular webpage display, display of Flash content cannot be offloaded onto the N8's faster graphics hardware)

Also included is Swype (which you can get now for free, and I'd recommend it), and a portrait qwerty keyboard.

Before this, a minor update for stability and bug-fixes is rumoured in the next couple of weeks. This is unlikely to include any new UI bits, though. EDIT: looks like this will be skipped now, in favour of the bigger update in February.

Further into the future, there is what was going to be called "Symbian^4", which is the release that will completely update the look and feel of the Symbian handsets to bring it in line with the MeeGo products that will start to appear in second half of 2011.

dr ro

Any idea if there are plans to upgrade the music player. It's very poor. I'm really surprised by Nokia by how bad it is. N95 was way better. Still, love the n8 though.