Mobile Review has a review on Symbian ^3 here.
While Mobile Review has pointed out the shortcomings and remaining problems from Symbian S60 brought on to Symbian ^3, which will make its debut in the Q4 this year with the Nokia N8 phone, they have neglected a few N8 functions which make it stands out above all other phones including the iPhone 4 with the latest iOS4. Namely USB which can be used with an external storage device for file transfer, and BT3.0 which supports not only BT keyboard but also BT mouse through out its entire system.
Some may argue that the USB and BT ports are N8 hardware specific, not a part of Symbian ^3, they did however mentioned the HDMI on the N8 on their report which is even more of a hardware specific port then the earlier two.
Also, while mentioning other either not Nokia new or market new functions, they say so in a way that they are of no thrills and seemly down right ho hum boring. Yet when reporting on Apple’s iPhone, to this date even with the latest iPhone 4, no one would say that their new found ability to open new folders and or Wi-Fi video calling are nothing but 1st gen 3G phone should have functions that should have been on the 1st gen iPhone to begin with.
Neither the Nokia N8 nor the iPhone 4 are perfect. I simply think that reviewers need to be fair on each devices during their reports especially when they are directly comparing 2 or more of them.
A person got stranded in a desert with nothing but a few cans of beer and his latest WhyPhone.
He has in growing fingernails on all of his fingers and could not open the beer cans. Luckily he has the latest WhyPhone with him that doubles as a Swiss Army knife. Wow! Swiss Army knife in a smartphone, how smart is that?! A game changing phone that no one else has ever dreamt of in the 150 year history of portable phones! That is something that every portable phone user just got to have!
He was so thirsty he quickly opened the knife and jabbed the WhyPhone through the can and “URGH”…… he cut himself in the hand and was bleeding!
Instead of having the knife side to the can of beer he was too busy and eager to finish this video game on the WhyPhone and forgot that he had the screen side out and the knife side in his hand while smashing the WhyPhone into pieces on the can of beer!
2G. Bluetooth Stereo, MMS, video, front cam, multitasking, video calls, Flash, flash
3G. video, front cam, multitasking, video calls, Flash, flash
3Gs. front cam, multitasking, video calls, Flash, flash
4G. 3G video calls, Flash, flash
Now that the iPhone 4G and Froyo (Android 2.2) specs are out, I think my next phone will probably be the Nokia N8 if not the E73. As a phone in general, I would prefer the E73. The E71/E72/E73, along with its tactile qwerty keyboard, treats the phone function as the main feature. When you unlock the keypad, you make the call or type to search for the contact info immediately. It doesn’t treat the phone as just another application where you would have to find it in the app folder or press any other button before you can start dialing or yet another app to find your contact.
Just as I had my N82 with me for a while along with my E71, the N8 would be a nice compromise for having a great camera and more importantly a xenon flash, and adding a nice big screen. It does video calling as it should with anyone who has a regular 3G phone on a 3G line as oppose to the iPhone 4G on WiFi only. What good is a perfect video quality call without anyone to call with? The virtual qwerty keyboard would be an added bonus to the aging N82.
Some ask why need a good camera on a phone when there are many nice cameras available. I have had many P&S cameras and unfortunately, none can standup to the N82 image quality when combine used with the Xenon flash as a fill-in flash. Not many people knows how to use a flash properly and less as fill-in. So far only Sony TX1/5/7 and perhaps their W1 as well are the only ones that can take good photos in dark areas without a flash; however, they too lack the fill-in flash adjustments needed for a proper balance of ambient light with a touch of flash. The N82 does this perfectly. Hopefully, the N8 does so as well with its 28mm equivalent lens. And the great thing would be, you don’t need to carry another P&S camera.
Did I mention no drop calls or phantom SMS messages since we are not bounded by the pathetic 3HK network? Oh, perhaps one could switch over to WiFi and make video calls instead to avoid drop call if one can find the contact having a 4G as well just happens to be near a preset WiFi network.
There is one good thing about the 4G though – a nice HKD$6000 3.5″ digital photo display frame. Yet after 3 years and 4 gens, no matter how cool it was, it looks so geeky now, really. Makes you realize just what wonders a marketing well done can make, eh?
WhaUSay?!