Diaries of a Nokia Fan Boy

So I’ve been meaning to write about this for a while. I’ve used my Android-based HTC Magic for about a month’s time, and I’ve posted up what I felt about it in comparison to my Symbian-based Nokia N95 8GB. But now I went back to my N95 8GB and have for about a month’s time.

My first impression going back to the Symbian phone was really more of a “It’s good to be home” feeling. But after using it for a while I realised just how much more thought out the OS really is. Not only does it allow for some customization not available on the Android, but it runs better. Its much more stable, running for days, if not weeks, without crashing or having to reboot. There are no major memory leaks, and multi-tasking on it is a joy!

Besides that OS, the hardware is much more impressive. I rarely used my Magic’s camera, but the camera on my N95 8GB has such impressive quality that I never have to think whether I will need a camera wherever I am going. Text messaging on this phone is much more pleasant due to the addition of a hardware keyboard.

I must say, however, that Android does have its pluses, and so does the Magic. For one, the Android market is easier to use than the Ovi Store, even considering that the Android market has a terrible search. Also the applications available on the market are better – I downloaded some music players and, while they didn’t improve audio quality/support, they did add some interesting functionality such as immediate lyrics or song suggestions. At the same time, I really liked how HTC allows you to upgrade the OS via a ROM file. Different OS versions out there come with their ups and their quirks. While I didn’t like the fact that the quirks seemed to be quite large and annoying, I did enjoy being able to install a new firmware when it came out because I know someone had ported it (I am referring to my v20 N95-4 when N95-2 is on v30+).

Since I’ve been using my N95 8GB, Mike has been using my Magic and has found some even more fascinating programs. For example, he found a spectrometer that kept us amused for an hour, playing different songs into it and seeing the visual representation – it was quite interesting to see how much richer a voice is compared to an instrument.

Anyway, I’ve been thinking a lot about the direction that Symbian is going in, and whether Nokia should consider other OS’s. To be honest, I think that there is a lot of potential in Symbian, and I hope that Nokia draws that potential out. But operating systems such as Android have already built on that potential and are already available, which will make things much more difficult for Nokia. I think that Nokia is doing well to stand by its operating system, especially considering how stable and efficient it really is, but it won’t be easy to win against the new hot shots on the block.

Also, things I would like to see on Nokia devices:

• Easily and safely exchangeable OS versions (a la HTC phones)
• Much higher support for applicatoins, more so those centered around entertainment
• Smaller, lighter, sexier touch screens (X6 is definitely an improvement)

Well these are my thoughts for a Saturday afternoon,

-Nokia FanBoy

Well it hasn’t even been half a day since its announcement and a couple, rather interesting, reviews and opinions are already out on the blogosphere.

Mirror.co.uk
seems to be comparing the Booklet 3G to your everyday cheap-o netbook. And they’re right, since this is likely to be their direct competitor. What is interesting in this comparison, however, is that we don’t even know if the two devices will be in the same price range. The only reasons this comparison has come up, in my opinion, is mostly due to the Atom processor, and has been confirmed by the 10.1 inch screen. But really, that doesn’t mean anything. Regardless, the comparison is rather interesting, and I must admit that I too think the Booklet 3G will be a fancy, slightly more expensive, netbook.

10 9 ways the Nokia Booklet 3G beats a netbook

1. The Nokia Booklet 3G is an HD netbook
2. Epic battery life
3. Hot swappable SIM slot
4. GPS on the go
5. It’s made by a mobile player
6. Small but sturdy
7. MacBook looks
8. It syncs with your mobile
9. It’s a home media player

The comparison is quite valid and draws a number of good points, so do go take a look through it if you’re considering this device. And especially if you’re like me and thinking whether to get this or the Always Innovating Touch Book.

Symbian-Freak
has some pretty strong feelings about the Nokia Booklet 3G, but his opinions are more closely related to the company. SF believes, and I agree, that Nokia’s entrance into the netbook market is their attempt at diversification and derisking the company. This is especially obvious when considering that their mobile phone market share has been decreasing slowly. Don’t get me wrong, they’re still the major player here, but the fact that they’re falling behind isn’t exactly comforting. The Booklet also strengthens Nokia’s stance as an “Internet Company” versus just a cell phone manufacturer as the device really is better suited for browsing the web compared to their Internet Tablets (of course we don’t know how good the N900 is yet, so we’ll have to wait and see). Finally, the Windows operating system shows just how deep the Nokia-Microsoft alliance is going, I just hope that WinMo doesn’t make it to Nokia devices, although it would be interesting to see UI variations such as HTC’s TouchFlo and Sense or Samsungs TouchWiz.

Take a look at SF’s review for more details.

-Nokia FanBoy

via: Mirror.co.uk (read)
and: Symbian-Freak (read)