Anyone using the Nokia N73? Or any other S60 phone?

[Applespider]

I've had a Sony Ericsson phone for the past few years but it's time for an upgrade to my current k750i

The 'obvious' move is to the k800i but although I know that the camera is better on it and it has a better screen (which is one thing I don't like about the k750), I'm not sure otherwise it's that much of an upgrade.

So I was looking at the N73 or N80 for a change. One of the 'complaints' about this is that the S60 operating system is 'slow' and crashes a lot. Anyone got any views on this? I used to have a Symbian P800 which was fine... although it did crash occasionally.

One thing I do want to be able to do is browse the web more easily. Not for major surfing but I do find the k750 a little limited in its ability - it seems to come across several pages which it can't go any further from - and running Opera isn't always ideal.

Reading the phone forums seems to end up just with SE and Nokia fanbois shouting at one another and I'd like some more balanced views from 'normal' users.

 

[daneoni]

Hope this helps. I have a Nokia N80 and its a pretty good phone. Its packed with loads of features and its sleek and sexy, has a beautiful screen, wifi, BT amongst many. The Browser is first class on any phone i've seen, it renders the pages as you would see on a computer.

Call quality is also good BUT the bad things:

Battery life is really subpar and you would need to charge at least once a day. With my uses i get 3 days before charging (i text alot than i call).

Coming from Palm OS, the Symbian OS IS quite slow....just a slight lag in response...nothing major. I have yet to have my N80 crash on me, however, i have few applications installed so maybe that why plus i have a decent memory card.

Camera is OK, lack of autofocus hampers it though. The K800i has the edge when it comes to camera function.

Overall a decent phone but i won't be giving up my Treo just yet. This would be a social phone.

 

[AlBDamned]

Hi Applespider. You and I are in a similar situation as I'm soon to upgrade my W800i and am currently toying between a K800i and an N93 (when they're finally launched).

I was using an N80 at the weekend and was pretty impressed overall. The build, look and overall feel was excellent. The only downside for me on this front was the keypad being set back and under the top panel, but I'm just not a big fan of slider phones so that's more of a personal preference.

Operation-wise, it was definitely quicker than the W800i at pretty much everything (as you'd expect really), and there wasn't any noticeable lag. OS speed when flicking between menus was fine.

Web browsing was good if still blighted by the connection speed.

The screen size is great and crystal clear and easily tops the K750/W800 there.

Camera was ok though the flash was pretty much useless. Had no problems with motion.

As always I was slightly underwhelmed by the Nokia interface. The menus took me straight back to my last Nokia (a 3210) and it was a bit depressing to see how far they haven't come.

Didn't have time to check out the "Smartphone" functions.

I'd say much of the above can be applied to the N73 seeing as they're pretty much indentical except for unit design (Slider vs large candybar).

As for the K800i. I know exactly what you mean about it not being much of an upgrade but from speaking to a few people about them including a conversation with a guy from Mobileburn.com and using one very briefly last week, the general consensus is it's awesome and the best phone on the market at the moment.

Picture quality on the camera is the highest of any of the 3MP phones, it went from front screen to watchable sky news TV in just a couple of seconds, RSS functionality is very usable, interface is very familiar but in a good way and "suped-up predictive text input takes a while to get used to but improves text speed a lot."

I'm not too sure about its looks, nor the reduced capacity available on M2 memory sticks for the time being, but it's a pretty compelling package and they're giving them as free upgrades for a lot of deals.

Only reason I might go for the N93 is I like the idea of a good video cam-phone, I'm a bit bored with SE phones (though that may be a bad decision) and I really like the look of the N90/92/93 models for some reason - probably techno lust again...

I't s a big leap to go back to a Nokia phone. I think if the K800i looked a bit nicer (like the K750i) I might go for it it, but the N93 is definitely winning at the moment for me.

 

[tektonnic]

I have a Nokia N70, so using S60, and to be honest it has been the worst user experience I have ever had with a phone, and I will not be using any Nokia phone ever again (or Vodafone for that matter!)

It crashes frequently, they had to release a patch to actually enable the phone to ring, it used to not ring sometimes when called/sms'd. Currently my phone is not telling me when I miss calls and not recording them at all, games stop working, buttons start locking - for a week the 0 button wouldn't work, you wouldn't believe how much you use 0 in numbers and spaces in texts!!

I would really REALLY not recommend at S60 phone.

 

[AlBDamned]

I have a Nokia N70, so using S60, and to be honest it has been the worst user experience I have ever had with a phone, and I will not be using any Nokia phone ever again (or Vodafone for that matter!)

That doesn't sound good on either front.

Before they got too big, Vodafone used to be a great network. My g/f is still with them and is always getting overcharged, customer services are useless and her bill is always well over what it should be.

Having experienced the same deterioration in service, I switched to o2 last year and they've been excellent, plus my bill is a good 30% less every month than it was with Vodafone. I don't know if their customer service is any good as I've never had to call.

 

[miniConvert]

Series 60 is awesome. It's a whole mobile OS and in that respect it's certainly clunkier than, say, Series 40 or other manufacturers (mostly pathetic) attempts at phone OS's.

I currently use an N80. It's a fantastic, capable piece of kit. The N73 looks gorgeous also.

 

[Roba]

I have a Nokia N91 and i believe that uses the same OS as the Nokia N80. My phone has never crashed on me when i am surfing via wifi or doing anything else.

The only thing with this phone and i believe the N80 also is the same is that there does appear to be a limit on the size of a file of about 290kb that can be sent via Bluetooth. I don't know if a new firmware update has been released yet for this problem though. When i experience this problem i just have to download my pictures via USB cable which is not really so bad.

If i had to choose between the N80 and the N73 I would opt for the N80 because the N80 is wifi capable whereas the N73 is not. I suppose it depends if you think that you will ever use wifi on it or not if this feature will be useful for you or not.

Right now these phones are not officially supported by Apple but there are hacks for this that do work well that allow these phones to be synced to a Mac.

 

[Applespider]

Picture quality on the camera is the highest of any of the 3MP phones, it went from front screen to watchable sky news TV in just a couple of seconds, RSS functionality is very usable, interface is very familiar but in a good way and "suped-up predictive text input takes a while to get used to but improves text speed a lot."

I't s a big leap to go back to a Nokia phone. I think if the K800i looked a bit nicer (like the K750i) I might go for it it, but the N93 is definitely winning at the moment for me.

Was that on the k800 or the N80?

I'm just stuck... Perhaps I should toss a coin?

The only thing with wifi is the sucking battery life bit - I've got quite used to the k750's great battery life. And I'm assuming the wifi is 'b' only which would mean changing the home network.

 

[Roba]

My phone also supports 802.11g standard also along as 'b,' the N80 also supports the same. My phone also supports WPA, WEP and 802.1x. I think these the N91/N80 will support most home network setups without the need to change ones home network settings.
My battery life is good I do not use Wifi on it a lot but just occasionally when i need to. It is just a handy thing for me to have when i need it.

You can also turn of your wifi if you choose to do so so it will not affect your battery life at all.

The only thing with wifi is the sucking battery life bit - I've got quite used to the k750's great battery life. And I'm assuming the wifi is 'b' only which would mean changing the home network.

 

[AlBDamned]

"Picture quality on the camera is the highest of any of the 3MP phones, it went from front screen to watchable sky news TV in just a couple of seconds, RSS functionality is very usable, interface is very familiar but in a good way and "suped-up predictive text input takes a while to get used to but improves text speed a lot."

Was that on the k800 or the N80?

That was the K800 I was referring to above.

I'm just stuck... Perhaps I should toss a coin?

Could be worth a shot. I would say first though (and this is what keeps me from pre-ordering the N93 right now), is that with the K800, you know it's a good phone, you know you like SE phones and while it's more evolution than revolution, it's unlikely you'll regret getting it because it's been universally acclaimed.

With the Nokia, there's more than a slight possibility you'll find lots of things you don't like about it/them and features, subtleties etc that you'll find disappointing or annoying. And there's nothing worse than being stuck with a phone you can't stand using.

 

[jsw]

Just a small point:

"Series 60" actually encompasses a wide range of OS versions. The newer v3.x phones had a period where the OS was shaky, but it's improving rapidly and there are numerous new features, esp. involving the browser (based on WebKit, as is Safari), that might make it compelling. I like the SVG support, but I'm a geek.

However, what's out in the field and what I see around here are often two very different things.

 

[Koodauw]

I too have the Nokia N80, and for the most part I really like it. The size has taken some getting used to, coming from a razr, but it's not a huge deal. The battery life is not very good as other have stated, I charge mine every other day.

Feature wise the phone is great. I use the 3MP camera more than I ever thought, and the Wifi is nice when out and about. The OS is a little bit different than I am used to, (I have had motorolas for the past 8 years) so other than the adjustment factors, I would say the phone has been very good.

 

[Helium3]

In defence of the N70

I am using a Nokia N70 on Orange and bought it specifically because it would synchronise nicely through iSync. The sync is quick and works well.

I don't find that it is as buggy as suggested by the post above, but there have been a couple of occasions when it has run out of memory and required "rebooting".

It is true that the battery life and responsiveness are lacking compared to non-smart 'phones, but I was prepared to live with that for the extra features. The camera is also of surprisingly good quality but with terrible lag between pressing the shutter release and capturing the picture.

In practice, there is a certain amount of luck in what version of Symbian firmware the operator ships with the 'phone. Earlier versions obviously tend to be more buggy. You can find the firmware version on a Nokia using the key presses:

*#0000#

I think that the N73 does seem like a great 'phone. Maybe you should wait a while for the firmware to go through a couple of updates .

 

[tehdee]

series 60 and mac os x are suprisingly pairable. i've had a great experience with my nokia 668x (0/1/2), and various other s60 nokia offerings. the BT implementation is perfect. i am currently awaiting the N80 north american edition... then im all over it.

for more mobile phone specific stuff, i frequent www.howardforums.com

 

[CrEsTo]

I just got a white/M. Brown N73 and I love it, camera is very decent for a mobile though yeah, the OS is not that fast, but it's ok.

And with a small "hack" you can make it work with your iSync.

 

[Applespider]

I would say first though (and this is what keeps me from pre-ordering the N93 right now), is that with the K800, you know it's a good phone, you know you like SE phones and while it's more evolution than revolution, it's unlikely you'll regret getting it because it's been universally acclaimed.

With the Nokia, there's more than a slight possibility you'll find lots of things you don't like about it/them and features, subtleties etc that you'll find disappointing or annoying. And there's nothing worse than being stuck with a phone you can't stand using.

That's precisely my problem. I thought a similar thing with my k700 to k750 upgrade last year which was worth it in the end. I'm just not sure. I'm guessing that if I got the N73 and hated it, I could go back to the k750 and sell the N73... which wouldn't be so bad.

 

[AlBDamned]

That's precisely my problem. I thought a similar thing with my k700 to k750 upgrade last year which was worth it in the end. I'm just not sure. I'm guessing that if I got the N73 and hated it, I could go back to the k750 and sell the N73... which wouldn't be so bad.

Well if this is any help - I've just had my service company on the phone and despite the fact that I'll have to wait even longer (now end of September they reckon) and it's going to cost me about £150, plus the alternative offer of a free upgrade to a K800i, I'm going to hold out for the N93.

I may regret it, but I really like the idea of the Nokia. The K800i while it has everything going for it, just doesn't capture my imagination (or fulfill the gadget freak in me) in quite the same way.

 

[t0mat0]

Just got a N73 and enjoying it - depends what you want. N93 is big, but does great video and pics. N73 does good pics. No wifi, but video messaging, mp3 player, fm player. some phones in this range don't have all of those features.

 

[vouder17]

Well if this is any help - I've just had my service company on the phone and despite the fact that I'll have to wait even longer (now end of September they reckon) and it's going to cost me about £150, plus the alternative offer of a free upgrade to a K800i, I'm going to hold out for the N93.

I may regret it, but I really like the idea of the Nokia. The K800i while it has everything going for it, just doesn't capture my imagination (or fulfill the gadget freak in me) in quite the same way.

Sorry for resurrecting a bit of an oldie...
But i am in the exact same situation as you, i can upgrade my phone tomorrow, and they are offering the K800i for free, but i really want the N73 but i cant find the N73 anywhere on the site for extensions of contracts, just new ones. I can get the N70, but it just seems inferior to anything, and in the world of cellphones, if you buy something that is slightly old, two weeks later it will be in a retirement home.
So yeah, its either just biting the bullet and gettin the SE, or begging the people from the network to get me a nokia (dont think that will exactly work )