Next phone - hard decision?

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NZtechfreak

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#30487 10-Feb-2009 13:20

Hi all,

Just wondering if people are having a hard time deciding what their next phone should be?

The dilemma for me is that Nokia's offerings for the foreseeable future are quite average hardware-wise, for example check out the specs for the Samsung i8910 (the specs that are known at this point in time anyways):
720p video recording with HDMI out and 8mp camera, AMOLED screen, DivX certification. There are rumours that this phone will also have a capacitative touch screen, and I presume it'll have the regular Samsung camera features like Face/Smile detection&touch focus, screen resolution has yet to be announced but I expect it'll be N-HD (640x360) since its a S60 5th ed phone.

That said, Nokia's software environment is great and I really miss things like Ovi and the Sportstracker - which will be killer once it comes out with heart rate monitor compatibility (quite soon, according to Engadgetmobile).

The third element of the decision is that WVGA resolution is the ideal screen resolution for mobiles (browsing/document display is awesome), and hardware keypads are important for me - my Xperia currently has these things to offer and they add considerable value to the user experience (browsing is super important for me).

So I'm kinda stuck at the present time deciding between which experiences I want to sacrifice, I think I'll just wait for further announcement and see if anything more ideal comes along. Amongst the current options I'm still kinda leaning towards the N97, since overall its perhaps the most ideal - I take a hit on screen resolution and imaging specs, but get oodles of storage and the advantages of Nokia's software environment.

What are other people looking to get from their next mobile phone experience this year?

Twitter: @nztechfreak
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BrentR

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#195103 10-Feb-2009 13:39

The new version of SportsTracker is heart rate monitor compatible. Just waiting for my Polar unit to turn up :D

rossmnz

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#195116 10-Feb-2009 14:26

the upcoming nokia app store might change your mind a bit too

its really going to get to the point soon where our mobile is a true camera, camcorder, phone, laptop, media player all in one.
IMO not quite there yet......but maybe in the next year or so

Personally im happy with the iphone....i dont need a camera thats great on a daily basis.

Hope you make a good choice :)

The force is strong with this one!

coffeebaron

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#195117 10-Feb-2009 14:27

+1 for N97, unless they have announced something better by then. I've had & played with many variety of phones over many years, and I doubt I'd ever now move from using a Nokia.

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CYaBro

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#195124 10-Feb-2009 15:17

I am going the other way and when I get a new phone, this year somteime, it most likely won't be a Nokia.
I currently have a N73 and while it is a good phone it is soooo slow!
Browsing the menus, pressing a button etc can sometimes take 5 or more seconds for anything to happen on screen.
I know others with different Nokia model phones who say the same thing.
Even when someone rings me it can take 3-4 rings (for the person calling) before my phone even starts ringing.
If I watch the phone the screen lights up then a few seconds later it says 'Incoming Call' then a few seconds later it starts ringing and the caller ID shows up. I have tried different ring tones and it's the same for all.

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BrentR

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#195131 10-Feb-2009 15:39

I can asure you that pretty much every phone since the N73 is a vast improvement on the user experience!!

I agree that the N73 was SO slow!!!! It frustrated me to hell and back!

NZtechfreak

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#195132 10-Feb-2009 15:47

I'm not particularly tied to any manufacturer, although I have the slightest preference for Nokia (hey, they all-expenses paid my trip to their world conference and send me phones to test, whats not to like?).

My Xperia has been excellent, and WinMo has been fine also despite all the bad press it gets (I say that with the caveat that you do need to invest in the learning curve and perform a number of tweaks etc, which is the real weakness of the OS IMO).

All of which is to say that I won't pick a phone simply for it being a Nokia, although their software environment is a big consideration. The app store is neither here nor there though, thats only needed for people who can't navigate the net and find what they need. A simple visit to Symbian-Freak can provide all the software you need, heck, most of it is even freeware. The app store doesn't represent any particular advantage for Nokia either, Samsung will have an S60 app store first, and Blackberry/iPhone also have that in their software environs. Even WinMo will have it soon.

Thanks for the heads up on the compatibility with the heart rate monitor already - thats freakin awesome!

To the N73 user - thats a really old phone and those problems don't really exist now in the current crop of Nokia smartphones. By the way - are you on the latest firmware for that phone? They added on-demand-paging a while back in a firmware upgrade, which signficantly improves its performance. Check Symbian-Freak for details if you're not familiar.

Twitter: @nztechfreak
Blogs: HeadphoNZ.org

8d52797c436

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#195135 10-Feb-2009 15:58

Personally I am really hoping to try and get an Android phone for my next phone. Biggest problem is trying to get one in NZ without having to pay huge amounts of cash. I'm hoping something gets announced at the big mobile phone conference thats coming up soon. I currently have a Nokia phone and it's been nothing but problems for me. Apparently all Nokias have a problem where they will restart for no reason and this seems to be happening more and more with my phone, but I have no idea if this includes the more expensive smart phones.

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NZtechfreak

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#195141 10-Feb-2009 16:05

I don't believe thats a problem with all Nokias at all... Sounds like some fob-off BS given out by an ignorant customer service rep who didn't want to admit they had no clue to me...

At any rate its not a problem for the Smartphones, my N95 used to do it on the V10 firmware (think early 2007), but since V20 on that firmware (and for all of their more recent smartphones) they've been very stable.

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CYaBro

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#195149 10-Feb-2009 16:47

NZtechfreak:
To the N73 user - thats a really old phone and those problems don't really exist now in the current crop of Nokia smartphones. By the way - are you on the latest firmware for that phone? They added on-demand-paging a while back in a firmware upgrade, which signficantly improves its performance. Check Symbian-Freak for details if you're not familiar.

According to Nokia's site I have the latest firmware available on my N73 :(
Hasn't been updated since Sep 2007.

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jjnz1

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#197888 25-Feb-2009 00:57

I brought myself an N82 and my partner an N81. Both phones are great!
I havent updated or played around with her n81 but i have loaded my n82 up with everything.
It also includes the new v31 firmware -fast. The camera on my phone is outstanding, i dont even use my old 5MP digital camera anymore.

The only thing i find with these nokia smartphones is the battery life. The n81 gets 2-3 days of general use(txting and calling) and my n82 gets about 1 days use(txting, calling, emails, surfing net, gps tracking/maps and voice guidance, and shozu automaticly uploading photos to my facebook when im around wifi)

When im drunk and my gps starts for some reason (my fault), my phone can be dead from a full charge in less than 4 hours!

I hope this new proposed N97 has a better gps unit and lasts much longer!!!