[Archived] Nokia 5800 Or Iphone

[Stuart]

I have a Nokia 5800 and also an iPod Touch so I've kind of got the best of both worlds.

Some comparisons:

Apps - big selling point from Apple point of view and one of the main reasons to get the iPhone. Having said this I've been able to download some apps from OVI (Nokia's app shop). At the moment this isn't very big and could do with expanding. I was reading recently though that there are plans to introduce apps for the symbian OS which is what Nokias run on.

The iPod Touch also has better games on it so if that's a big sell for you then you need to go with apple. Bear in mind though, some of these games do have a shelf life and whilst there are many which are free, these are often demos or adware versions. Basically they want to sell you more stuff to use with your phone. Not saying Nokia wouldn't do the same but apple currently have the market cornered and are milking it.

Contract - a big reason for not buying an iPhone (to date) has been the contract costs. Not only do you have to shell out for the handset but you are tied into the monopoly prices O2 can charge. This said, I am an O2 customer but I'm on a great contract. Simplicity = £15 per month including modest calls and texts and unlimited internet and it's month-to-month so I can cancel at any point. I also bought my 5800 directly from Nokia's website, firstly so I didn't have to change my contract but also because there was no way I was getting a phone with a red stripe on it and the blue one was only available on line - I think O2 are still only offering red). Ironically, I've had this contract for about 18 months - although I've never gone over the £15 per month and have never worried about how many calls or texts I make. (It's all about timing with these things as offers change).

Responsiveness - the iPhone wins hands down on this, it's screen responsiveness is superb, smooth and fast - particularly on the internet (iPod Touch has wifi too) where it scrolls beautifully. The 5800 is decent and I received a text some time ago telling me to upgrade my software - part of which was to improve the screen responsiveness, which it did.

Connectivity - I'd have to take advice from someone with with an iPhone to compare the 3G speeds although I suspect they are fairly similar. The 5800 also has wifi which is excellent so there's not much to choose between the two. Not sure about bluetooth. With the 5800 I can bluetooth anything between devices - photos, music, etc and have had no problems. One of my big gripes with iPhone is that you weren't allowed to bluetooth stuff - not sure if this has been resolved with the 3GS so, again, I'd take advice.

Battery life - apple is very poor here compared with Nokia but I imagine it depends on how much you use it and what for. If you use either for watching videos or browsing the net, it will die faster than just making calls or sending texts.

Sound/Music - a win for the 5800! The built-in speakers are brilliant not only for mobiles but even for some low grade speaker separates - a really good sound quality. The iPod Touch built-in speaker is pants in comparison. No difference when using headphones. Both phones have a standard headphone jack so no more stupid Nokia only headphones required.

Music/Video - because of the speakers I'm inclined to give points to Nokia here. Nokia also has it's own (inferior, tbf) version of iTunes but you can drag and drop from iTunes into the Nokia Music Centre since the 5800 plays aac files as well as mp3. I also don't like being tied into the iTunes but do so because it's easier - damn you apple! Video is very watchable on the Nokia - just as good as iPod Touch - and I can watch BBC iPlayer over wifi on the Nokia. It is possible to watch Youtube vids over 3G but it's slow and does drain the battery.

Camera - Nokia 5800 is 3.2 megapixels and I think iPhone 3GS is only just catching this up. Both need to improve but at the moment are comparable and the Nokia has a Carl Zeiss lens - which is supposed to mean something to camera techies.

Voicemail - from what I've seen the voicemail on apple looks excellent but I don't get enough calls to worry about queuing my voicemail, so it's not enough of a selling point for me.

Calendar - very functional calendar in iTunes hence I don't really use the Touch one but I imagine it's horses for courses here.

Aesthetics/"User-friendly-ness" - apple wins although I do like the nice blue stripe on my 5800.

Texting/typing - one of the reasons I've stayed with Nokia is because of how intuitive the keyboard is, e.g. predictive text. You can also choose from two sizes of qwerty and even handwriting - as you get a handy little stylus which sits nicely inside the handset, although to be honest I hardly ever use it because my handwriting isn't the most compatible!

Overall, I do enjoy using my iPod Touch, mainly as an mp3 player but also for playing games to pass the time. As far as contact with the outside world when I'm out and about, I still prefer Nokia. Doesn't make me an idiot just making an informed choice.

I think when Hughsey was deciding whether or not to get one (and I see he's very happy with it, which is good!) he had a a similar thread and someone posted a link or comment that people who have iPhones are richer, have better jobs and are more intelligent or some such rubbish - which I'm sure apple would love you to believe! More likely people who are intelligent get good jobs and can afford to buy one and see it as a status symbol - rather than the other way around!

For me your choice comes down to what you need from your technology:

Do I want my phone to have a camera stuck to it and music and games on it, or do I want my mp3/game player/camera to have a phone in it?

If it's the former I still think Nokia are ahead but the gap is getting smaller. If it's the latter... forget about it, go buy an iPhone.

Hope this waffle helps, Icers!

[Iceman]

Thanks jisty. Got me the 5800,and it works well. Gps works very well after i forgot some directions. I could seamlessly connect to my company's exchange server. The 16:9 format is great for watching movies,and just watched the dark knight. The camera took some lovely pics and the built in wifi is good as well. The UI aint that bad as people say it is,and have been working flawlessly for me. Id recommend this handset to anybody looking for a cheaper alternative to the iPhone. Its as good as the iPhone, but the iphone's browser is much better. I use Opera mini so it eliminates the crappy browser that the 5800 has.

[EnglishChris]

You can now buy a Rovers Chant App on iTunes for touch and iphones at only 59p