I've spent plenty of hands-on time with both the Apple iPhone (now announced in the UK) and the Nokia N95 8GB (announced at Go:Play last month). These two 'black beauties' are the smartphone flagships for Christmas, but how do they fare against each other? Where are their strengths and which one comes out on top? Here's my rundown - iPhone versus N95 8GB.

Read on in the full article (http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/news/item/5941_UK_iPhone_versus_Nokia_N95_8GB.php).

Feature wise the N95 is streets ahead of the iPhone. As it stands, with the announcements on iPhone pricing today, I'd quite happily take the Sony Ericsson W960i over the iPhone too.

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On a Mac...using the Nokia Multimedia Transfer you can also sync music with iTunes and pictures with iPhoto.

And it works great too!!!!


And you forgot to mention the SIP VOIP Intergration as well

I've been using Core Player on my E90 and I love OGG format music. With the iPhone you are stuck with what Apple lets you do! In technology and flexibility the £900 iPhone really looks like a poor proposition. I suggest people wait 6 months for the 3G iPhone with 16GB of flash - but even this will not be worth nearly £900!

It's funny... considering how primitive its hardware is I bet Apple could afford to sell the iPhone at a real mass market price ($300 to $400 sim-free, nothing on contract), and they could really grab market share, but they're not doing that.

Apple seem to prefer very high profits from a relatively small share of the market, rather than low margins on mass market products.


"Paired with a Bluetooth keyboard, the N95 8GB can, for short periods, replace phone, camera, camcorder, music player, navigation device, laptop, games console and Blackberry, among others."

...and paired with a TV too it's even better!

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=bbU35ybA3Ow

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=hWek4jmkYnQ

Those are quite fair judgements by you, gentlemen.
Let's now consider how fast it took Apple to create a real contender for the 1st place in the smartphone arena.
Nokia was there 10 or more years or what?
Why did not think of usability real seriously :con?

(not intending to troll or start a flame war BTW)

I've been using S60 since the 7560, but I'm still toying with getting an iPhone rather than an N95. Why? Well in most regards the N95 easily outclasses the iPhone, but not in terms of:

* being an iPod - the N95 isn't, and nor does it interact quite so cleanly with iTunes

* being a read/write web device. In my next <ahem> internet communicator, I want to be able to interact with the web, do my banking etc. and generally have more of a desktop experience. From all the reviews I can see, the N95 is a great web browser, but only if you're not looking to fully interact with web sites when mobile. If this is wrong and you can, for example, bank successfully using the N95 browser, please clue me in.

Cheers
Matt

Matt

On my N95 I can logon to my HSBC bank account and make payments, transfer money etc etc with no problems.

Funnily enough the Nokia Web Browser is based on Apples Safari browser, but unlike the iPhone the Nokia browser also has limited flash support.


The N95 does give reasonable performance as a music player, but as you say it isn't an 'iPod', personally I prefer to have a seperate iPod anyway so I will get a iPod Touch instead of an iPhone.

I've just realised what Steve's article photo reminds me of:

http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/images/news/iphonenokia958gbtiny.jpg

http://g-ec2.images-amazon.com/images/I/51GTF7T3ZPL._AA280_.jpg

Which phone is which villain? :-)

Music is very slick on the N95? Well, the Music Player is a p.o.s., there's no even gapless playback.

@mattrad: Yep, S60 Web is fine for online banking. Never had a problem, other than with screen size and having to scroll a lot. That's why I now have the E90... [smirk] 8-)

"Music is very slick on the N95? Well, the Music Player is a p.o.s., there's no even gapless playback."

Steady on now, apart from gapless playback there's not really any major problems with the N95's music player.

I don't think most people would notice gapless playback anyway, the vast majority of music tracks are mixed to end with some silence anyway. The N95 just extends that silence by a second or so.

@Matt

the iPhone is an internet tablet without 3G or 3.5G! How can Apple claim this?

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at Ratkat

Yeah I know both browsers are Webkit-based, didn't know the N95's had limited flash, so thanks for that and the heads up that it's usable with HSBC.

I just find the iPod integration with iTunes to be seamless, and haven't had the same experience with Nokia Media Transfer, though I'm sure it will only improve.

I should probably just hold off on any new purchases for the next 4-5 years until the "perfect" solution comes along ;)

"don't think most people would notice gapless playback anyway, the vast majority of music tracks are mixed to end with some silence anyway. The N95 just extends that silence by a second or so."

I don't care that morons wouldn't notice it because they listen to some top ten crap in shuffle mode. Gapless playback is a basic function for a music player.

I think one thing nokia needs to up pretty soon is the screen resolution (QVGA on 2.8" screen is lame) and the processor speed. Processor speed even more so than any thing else. I like browsing on an iphone because of the much faster browser (and the resolution helps). There is some thing totally intutive about the apple webbrowser alone that, i prefer it to my N80ie and N800 (even with a higher resolution?). That part really baffles me! And those nokia things have some huge learning curve. I unlocked an iphone (using the free thing with 20 different steps) and still have problem changing profiles on different nokia phones (say N93i vs N80ie) ... Nokia simply needs to get it's sh*t together and put some order!

Apple has deliberately left out Flash support in favor of the MPEG H.264 format. Both Goolge and YouTube have started to migrate their videos to the H.264 format (apparently the move was prompted by Apple). This is a major setback for Adobe.

For the matter, anything outside of JavaScript and even Apple's own QuickTime that requires a browser plugin will likely not work in iPhone. That includes Adobe Flash and Shockwave, Windows Media and Real embedded and streaming audio and video, any client side Java applets, and SVG. Apparently, Apple appears disinterested in ever suppling support for Flash, Java, and proprietary audio and video formats.

I don't care that morons wouldn't notice it because they listen to some top ten crap in shuffle mode. Gapless playback is a basic function for a music player.

I tend to agree on this one with Guess Who. It's not a problem when listening to normal albums, but if you want to listen a live concert it doesn't sound pretty good with pauses between tracks.

It's not just the gapless playback, the music player just isn't very good. Like most other S60 apps, I believe it was "designed" and built by engineers who just lack the competence for designing user interfaces. Because of this, the music library is so hard to use that I just don't use it. Some things you can get used to, but this music player is crap.

(And I guess I should point out that I'm a long-time S60 user and not particularly enthusiastic about the iPhone.)

>>and still have problem changing profiles on different nokia phones (say N93i vs N80ie)

Err...... just press the power button. Takes half a second. Seems easy enough to me.

On Gapless Playback
I agree that it should be in all music players, but I will point out that it is only in the last 12 months that the iTunes/iPod has supported it.

On Flash v H.264
You are talking about two different things really. S60 Browser has limited support for Flash, for example basic flash animations in webpages, not Flash Video as in YouTube etc.

The thing I dont get is the long contract tie-in with the iphone, 18 months in the UK, 24 months in the US.

Technology is moving a such a pace that I cant help but wonder if iphone users delighting in having the newest thing right now wont be a little sick of it 12 months from now, when the novelty of the "pinch" has faded and they realise they still have months and months to go before they can upgrade to the new 25 Megapixel, mind reading, tea making iNokiaSE phone that has just come out.

Still I could be wrong, after all I always doubted the hype that video calling on 3G would change the way we use our phones and look how wrong I was there .. Ooops .. no, thats right, it bombed didnt it. Oh well ;-)

The way I see it, Nokia really has to catch up in the OS domain in order to compete with Apple. Nokia (as well as SE) is very strong in the hardware side but its software and integration are weak. Symbian, unlike OSX, is not a full computing environment. Nokia has to develop S60 to make symbian a complete platform for smartphones. In this regards, OSX can do more than what Symbian and S60 can provide. Thus, Nokia has to rethink of their software strategy or perhaps consider to use Linux to develop future smartphones. I think if N95 features can be provided for the N800 Internet Tablet, then a good new generation of Nokia smartphones can be realised.

Apple has raised the bar for future smartphone development and it seems to me that future smartphones will be based on touchscreen technology. Conventional keypad will continue to be used for the mass market phones.

MLP: I'd say OS X has a lot of catching up to do in the OS department, but I guess I don't quite understand what you're getting at. What you're saying is quite vague. Why isn't S60 a "full computing environment"?

I'd say Symbian/S60 is better than OS X in many ways. It obviously supports more hardware, and it doesn't seem to require as much memory and CPU power as OS X. I absolutely agree that OS X is way ahead in the UI department, of course.

The point of this comparison, honestly?... The only thing where iPhone wins over the N95 is the big touchscreen - even the advantages that brings into the interface is eliminated by the closed OS it uses. Not to mention the almost non-existent connectivity.
Apple... it'd be nice to see ppl being shaken out from that outrageous policy of Apple, blinding everyone as if they had invented the question mark and selling a previous-gen product for one-third higher price than that of one of the highest-end device of the market. x_x

puterman: Nokia has always claimed that their smartphones are multimedia computers. But do you think Symbian can be used as an OS for a notebook computer? OSX and Linux provide full compuring environments that are used in many notebook computers. As smartphones are getting more advanced and overlapped as an alternative computing environment, Nokia needs a more robust OS to support advanced applications.

On the other hand, Nokia may be experimenting the use of Linux for their future smartphones as seen in their new N800 even though it does not support any telephony at the moment. It is interesting to note why Nokia did not use Symbian/S60 for the N800?

Unregistered: OSX is not a closed OS. Apple has a strategic plan in place to deal with 3rd party applications. Just be more patient. Also considering that Apple uses high quality scratch resistant glass and titanium frame as compared to the mainly plastic material used in many Nokia phones, I don't think iPhone is overpriced.

By the way, I have been using the touchscreen Motorola A1000 for the past 3 years. So iPhone is a natural replacement model for me and many other A1000 users. I can't say the same for existing Nokia users.

Offtopic, but how come you have n-gage exec on your N95 in the last photo? :)

One thing that is apparently easily forgotten is that Symbian was designed for low-powered, low RAM (and memory)-endowed mobile -oriented devices. Thus it all fits into less than 1/10th of the size of the reported 700 Mb(!!) needed by the iPhone.
It is a measure of the efficiency of the approach and continual development of the platform that it does *most* things better than Apple's handset with so little resource.
If Symbian wished to 'round out' some of the capability of 9.x and the attendant S60 3rd Edition FP x/ UIQ 3.x, I'm sure that increasing the "space" available for OS in ROM, together with increased RAM would enable it to perform more of the background calculations/predictions that enable the 'flashier, more intuitive' UI.
As others have pointed out; one hopes that hardware buttons DON*T die out on high-end handsets ESPESCIALLY KEYBOARDS on Commies as they have a lot of disadvantages - they should be additional and protected by hardware like the "coverphone" so as to ensure integrity.

I think despite all the pretences to be looking at this impartially everyone is really extremely emotional when it comes to the iPhone vs N95 debate.

I for one detest the iPhone. Can't say why, there is nothing wrong with except that it is over-hyped and is functionally deficient in a few key features (SMS and telephone calls). Then again, I really want an E90 that appears to suffer from the same issues. Guess I am a Nok-Nok (or whatever nokia fan boys are called)

The problem is that Nokia and Apple (and SE) are strong brands and people tend to gravitate towards one. That's why weak personalities like Macboy are incapable of rationally discussing the short-comings of the iPhone. They see in Apple something they want to be. It doesn't matter what reality is they will love it. For some reason the Apple brand irks me. It doesn't matter if the iPhone is the greatest thing since sliced bread I won't buy it. Fortunately it is a somewhat less than great phone.

However, on a rational basis OSX is far better OS than Symbian. (A. Orlowski might disagree with the following statement but he is Symbian core brand devotee). The Symbian legacy architecture (and unfortunately there is still old code) is dragging down S60 and UIQ. Of course they have also made some bone headed decisions that add extra overhead (which is very counter to the original Symbian) but as much of a "hater" as I am I have been told by many a programmer that OS-X is architecturally elegant and better implemented.

Anyway Apple will struggle in the phone business. The phone product cycles are too short. On an annual release basis (which tends to be Apple's cycle time) they will be out innovated by the Top 5. The N95 is the first Nokia that hasn't been superceded as the flagship within 6 months that I can remember for a while.

And by the by. If apple had brought out the iPhone in 2006 when I believe they were supposed to they *would* be kicking everyone's ass right now. When the iPhone was spec'd the 3G chip-sets were real power hogs... the Product Management was right on but the Product Development didn't deliver.

Steve,
regading integration with a desktop/laptop, you write for the N95 8 GB:

"Full functioned but messy integration with PC Suite and other tools on PC, Nokia Multimedia Transfer, iCal/iSync on Mac, etc."

I have direct experience on a E61i, which I guess is similar to the new version of the N95, save only for Multimedia transfer, and I can say that I experience a "messy" situation only between a PC and my Nokia S60.
Double entries in PIM, deleted entries which will not go away (yes, I got my advanced settings OK in synching with Outlook, thank you), media files which do not transfer etc.

On the other hand, files zip back and from my Mac via BT effortlessly and PIM synching is a breeze via BT (with the free plug-in from Nokia installed, of course). No doubles, no misses, no problems. Only no category preservation on the phone as we know. For the rest, it just works, as the Apple saying goes.
Good work Apple, good job Nokia.
And good old MS? Well, you have guessed by now.
Cheers, SymF

PS: if you think this sounds like a dutiful Apple funboy, please read next posting.

Steve,

you might be forcing too much an equal footing "battle" between the iPhone (in the present offering) and the N95/8GB.
You compare total cost of ownership by pricing the N95 on a similar 35 GBP a month plan.
The snake in the grass with the iPhone is precisely that you are forced on a plan, whereas you can buy a Nokia smartphone SIM-free and you do what you want.
Yes, I know about visual voice mail, etc on the iPhone. Still it sucks.
You add the usual suspects: no 3 (and 3.5) G, fixed battery, very, very limited apps (really do not care if from 3rd party or "certified" by Apple), no editing of docs, etc, etc. And you are not left with much, really.
The capacitive, multi-touch screen is a beauty, the CPU looks (much) faster and interfacing with iTunes (on my Macs) should be a breeze, though.
Good, I will get myself an iPod touch for Christmas.
And cling to paleolithic S60 in my "phone" for the time being.
Cheers,
SymF

@Steve

is it true that on the iPhone if you are using wifi you can't take a call and if you are using EDGE the session is stopped while you take a call? I thought Apple's OS X was multi-tasking?

In terms of understanding what Apple is upto with the iPhone, let us look at what they have done to the ipod. In a crowded market, they have given the users an integrated music player to enjoy. There is a price to pay. Microsoft tried it their way and sunk! So those who continue to buy iPods relish the experience.

Apple has announced a Wifi enabled music download function. that may spell doom for he nokia music initiative. They are only additing a functionality. Not an ecosystem. The system works on an apple because they protect it.

The OS X is a full function UNIX OS. Unlike Symbian. so everything you get form apple works! I'd hate to buy something - music/video/whatever that does not work! Besides they are at a liberty to add OS features/applications that maynot be possible on a N95.

I dont think these two phones are made for the same target. I am a critical music fan and enjoy iTunes/iPod. Dont ever want to go to a nokia. Sound wise it doesn't measure up.

i think you should also mention that the iphone headphone jack is recessed and most 3rd party headsets dont fit

- Fred not dead

OS X is a nice OS but on a mobile phone its frankly a waste of resources, I'd rather have an OS that was designed for my device rather than a desktop OS thats been crippled and shoehorned on. Symbian has been designed specifically for mobile devices and has been kicking about in one form or another for well over a decade, its not trying to be a desktop OS it knows its place and it knows it well. Symbian will continue to evolve and add new features as the market requires them. I don't think Apple will be doing much on the iPhone that wont be possible on Symbian or indeed the N95 for that matter.

If you are such a critical music fan and sound quality is such an issue why have you chosen a player that values style over substance? iPod for all its flashy looks isn't exactly a high quality audio player by any stretch of the imagination.

to be fair Nokia have only just entered the services industry and so in that respect have catching up to do with Apple.

In terms of understanding what Apple is upto with the iPhone, let us look at what they have done to the ipod. In a crowded market, they have given the users an integrated music player to enjoy. There is a price to pay. Microsoft tried it their way and sunk! So those who continue to buy iPods relish the experience.

Apple has announced a Wifi enabled music download function. that may spell doom for he nokia music initiative. They are only additing a functionality. Not an ecosystem. The system works on an apple because they protect it.

The OS X is a full function UNIX OS. Unlike Symbian. so everything you get form apple works! I'd hate to buy something - music/video/whatever that does not work! Besides they are at a liberty to add OS features/applications that maynot be possible on a N95.

I dont think these two phones are made for the same target. I am a critical music fan and enjoy iTunes/iPod. Dont ever want to go to a nokia. Sound wise it doesn't measure up.

i work for Nokia Music and all i can say is watch this space

I am a die hard Apple AND Nokia supporter. Right from the very first Nokia mobile devices (which I used to sell on the old analogue networks) and the first Apple Classic Machines.

I've had a play with the iPhone and have had my N95 8GB (Amazing deal from Vodafone £435 sim free equivalent) for several days now.

The iPhone is incredibly frustrating to use because of the touchscreen. It just isn't fun to work with and even more frustrating trying to shoot off a quick SMS. MMS? You can't. What is far worse is the lack of 3G let alone 3.5G. Using novamedia.de software you can instantly use your 3.5 Nokia to pair with your laptop (in my case my beloved MacBook) and surf anywhere at broadband speeds...not to mention use your N95 8GB's own browser or email client. You can't do this with the iPhone.

I absolutely LOVE mac products and am always the first to buy their latest device. You'd think that something I could use everyday as a phone would be top on my shopping list. Not in this case. What's the point? I can sync my ical with my Nokia easily. Contacts sync too. I want a decent camera, why would I buy the iphone with it's rubbish and outdated camera?! I can take brilliant pictures and upload them to my flickr instantly with my fantastic Nokia N95 8GB.

The N95 8GB is a good leap forward from the original N95 and is quite simply the best Nokia I've owned, if not the best ever phone. Email is fast and RAM means I don't have any memory problems, the storage is awesome, the camera and flickr fantastic, entry is fast and easy via T9, audio quality bog standard brilliant Nokia.

The only major problem with the N95 8GB is the screen resolution. Why this has not been increased baffles me. If you look at the N73 you'll see that you have the option to view ONE LINE ONLY of messages - WHY IS THIS NOT PRESENT in the new N95 8GB? It means you can only view 5 email headers at a time, not say 20 that you can on the lesser model N73. Crazy!

Otherwise I think this is a case of wait and see...I imagine the iPhone 2 won't allow Nokia to have such an easy ride!

If you need the facilities of an N95 then an iPhone just isn't at the races. If you don't then the iPhone is probably doing to be more fun.

What's the point of comparing what are two different animal? I mean you can ride a horse but you need a terrier to hunt rabbits, so which do you choose?

Depends what you want to do.

I use the N95 and will continue to because the iPhone doesn't allow me to install new apps and use 3G. I'd buy an iPhone if I needed umm, wait..... oh yes a music player with no gaps between tracks. That would make all the difference of course, couldn't live without that.... must go out and buy an iPhone now. Seriously, Nokia could drop gapless into a software update if it was even slightly important. Getting 3G onto the iPhone? There's a challenge.

The difference between the UI is the difference between easy to use and even easier. Perhaps iPhone users in their houses use an elevator to go to bed..

The only major problem with the N95 8GB is the screen resolution. Why this has not been increased baffles me. If you look at the N73 you'll see that you have the option to view ONE LINE ONLY of messages - WHY IS THIS NOT PRESENT in the new N95 8GB? It means you can only view 5 email headers at a time, not say 20 that you can on the lesser model N73. Crazy!



Install the 3rd party email app that suits you best. No need to be constrained to the built in one.

I know this is a symbian website, and trust me, I'm as much a Nokia fan as anyone else, but the feature list comparison isn't really what products are about these days.

People love to point out that product X has 2,000 features and product Y only has 500 - but that doesn't make product X better than Y.
Look at the Nintendo Wii - highly underpowered, much fewer features, but selling 3x as fast as the PS3 and XBox 360.
Take the iPod vs any other MP3 player out there. The iPod will have less features.

I've owned a N95, a E61i, a E65, N73, etc and even considered purchasing a E90. But when you sit down and spend some time with the iPhone - going back to any of these products feels like I'm traveling back in time to the 80's.
The integration with the apps on the phone, the ease of use, and the features of each app are unparalleled.

At some point if you want your comments and reviews to be relevant you're going to have to find another rating method besides - X number of features gets XX points.

and the features of each app are unparalleled.



Errm, wasn't the the point of your post that we don't count features?


I was going to say something here, but there's no point. If there was always a clearly better option then there would only be one product out there.

I am not going to buy an iPhone to hammer in a nail, and I'm not going to go back to the eighties (as someone said) to a 2G phone either.

Horses for courses, my course is the pragmatic one, not the fancy one. Yours is up to you, I couldn't give a flying f...

I find windows media player makes a better music transfer tool than nokia's own efforts. Only problem is if you've recorded your music in aac.

Is it completly taboo to metion a Windows powered phone in here? It seems to me that a comparrison between an all singing all dancing Nokia & an Iphone (clearly something pitched at the uber cool, money doesnt count brigade that want a phone that is a ipod to boot) doesnt seem that fair. Why not compare (excuse the pun) apples with apples & lets see a meeningful comparrison between the N95 & an HTC Kaiser for example. Or is that perhaps being a bit to sensible????????????

"Apple has raised the bar for future smartphone development and it seems to me that future smartphones will be based on touchscreen technology. Conventional keypad will continue to be used for the mass market phones."

Yet interestingly the latest incarnation of Nokia's internet tablet, the N810, has had a sliding keyboard added. With Apple pushing internet access as the major feature for the iPhone has Apple in fact gone in the wrong dirction?

S60 music player sucks (apart from N91) too much background noise and too long gap also processor works too hard (affect battery) look at iPod, iAudio, iRiver even Sony how battery last compare to S60's battery in music only mode (screen off, offline mode)

The iPHONE cost $399 and can easily be unlock and used with your current provider. The N95? $789.00 and it sux!

Steve,

Could you elaborate more on the Vodafone pricing - I had a scan of their site but could not find a similar deal to what you have mentioned.

thnxs.

Owning and using both the iPhone and N95 (original version) everyday, I think music playback on the iPhone is leagues ahead of music playback on the N95...

Someone mentioned gapless playback on the iPhone, something that's very important to serious music listeners (a lot of electronica, jazz and classical music greatly benefits from gapless playback).

The N95 is extremely noisy at low listening volumes (especially with in-ear sound-insulating phones) and overall sound quality is average at best!

Coverflow on the iPhone puts the N95 music playback UI to shame - sorry :)

Steve,

Could you elaborate more on the Vodafone pricing - I had a scan of their site but could not find a similar deal to what you have mentioned.

thnxs.


On Vodafone the N95 8GB is £400 + £20 for 12 months = £640, clear as you like on their site and then it's yours.

As for music players, it's good enough for me and how many people here have heard the 8GB version? Quite a few judging by how many have commented.

Gapless playback is for the ultra-anal. It's a smartphone and if you want gapless playback and a different user interface, then download an app that has those features. On the N95 or any symbian phone you are not constrained to what ships in the box.

Nokia could fix the gapless and the UI with a software update.

In my opinion, 3G, 3.5G and HSDPA is a million times more important. And these cold days, using the damn phone with gloves on is also very useful.

I realise that you don't follow Apple as closely as Symbian for obvious reasons but its worth pointing out that SJ has announced in an open letter on Apple's hotnews 17/10/07 that Apple will be releasing a full SDK for iPhone & iPod Touch in February 2008 ("Let me just say it: We want native third party applications on the iPhone, and we plan to have an SDK in developers’ hands in February. We are excited about creating a vibrant third party developer community around the iPhone and enabling hundreds of new applications for our users. With our revolutionary multi-touch interface, powerful hardware and advanced software architecture, we believe we have created the best mobile platform ever for developers.")

This should go in the comparison.

Interestingly On-line banking won't work for NatWest site with my Nokia e61 but does work with my ipod Touch.

Competition is good - I look forward to better Nokia and Apple products in the future :-)

The biggest drawback that iphone suffers from is that its owned by Steve Jobs, he's pretty good at selling hot air and that's what he has made out of the iphone when he could've created a serious contender to nokia instead. Some people never learn from their mistakes. I'm sure a similar device from nokia would be ten times more powerful.


We've seen Art meets Intelligence, lets wait for touch meets Intelligence.

Don't forget that the iPhone also has WiFi access through The Cloud, which at £9.99 over 18 months is an extra £180 you can add to the Vodafone tariff.

It would be interesting to compare the iphone and N95 with the just released HTC Tytn 2. I reckon that with its slide out & tilting qwerty keyboard, built in GPS, improved camera, good PC integration and high speed data conection the Tytn 2 would outgun both the iphone and the N95 (and at a decent price).

Those of you that saw this weeks Gadget show, will have seen that they blind tested the N95 8Gb and the iphone music players, using two DJ's who new the track they were listening to intimately.

Both the DJ's said the Nokia had better sound that the iphone.

In my personal oppinon, i think the Nokia is a better bet, as it is not forced to only use the iTunes tunes.

jAy

About those moaning about the gapless playback not avaliable in the N95:

i think the N95 is by far the better equipped music phone. For starters it has a radio (talking about basic) and 3rd party applications for Symbian mean it also has digital radio which you can stream over the 3G network (or HDSPA if you prefer). The N95 is also a more complete music player because it supports stereo bluetooth.

So the nokia music player is obviously better

Well, I'd like to point a few things out.

You claim the web browsing experience is "similarly good" for the Nokia -- but spend any time using the browser in the iPhone, with the two-finger and double-tap zooming and the instantaneous switching between upright and landscape - plus the onscreen landscape-mode keyboard and extra UI for using web forms - and it quickly becomes no contest. The web browsing experience for the iPhone is "good" - and a mere good because of the lack of Flash and Java - while the web browsing experience for the Nokia is "crap"; the same "crap" that web browsing on a phone has been slogging along in for years. Even the way the iPhone _tracks_scrolling_ as you move around the page, and the framerate of that scrolling, are factors that add to the difference.

You also claim that text entry for the Nokia is "relatively inconvenient". It's not just "inconvenient". It's absolute [expletive] torture. Especially compared to a predictive-text keyboard, whose "buttons" are pressed with the lightest tap of a finger instead of the relatively slow application of force with a thumb. Yeah, you could buy a bluetooth keyboard and wedge that in your back pocket, if it will fit, ... but now you've gone and tripled the form factor. Yeech.

But probably the biggest issue I have with your comparison is that you say the iPhone needs to be "pouched/cased by necessity, to protect the touch-screen". I dunno what planet you live on, but around here, iPhone screens are very hard to scratch. Google "iphone scratch" for a pile of videos demonstrating this. (As an aside, the glass plating also helps the clarity of the screen.)

Also, "Real World Experience" does not boil simply down to "Can you use it with one hand." You say that on the Nokia "Almost all operations are easy to accomplish one-handed" ... but seriously, aside from when you are actually talking on the phone (operations that both devices support with one hand just fine) or poking at your music player controls (once again, quite possible with both hands, now that the iPhone defaults to the music interface in various conditions thanks to a firmware upgrade) ... what good is one-handed use? It's agonizing for entering text, crappy for web surfing, crappy for managing your contacts, crappy for searching a map... Which sure as hell doesn't equate with "easy to accomplish", in my book.

Try this for "Real World Experience". Take out an iPhone and an N95 and lay them side by side. Then, pick up each one, in turn, and do the following exercise:

1. Start listening to a random song.
2. Take a picture of your feet.
2. Show your address (which you should have entered as a contact in the phone) on Google Maps.
3. Search for "donuts" in your vicinity
4. Get directions from your place to the donut shop.
5. Call them up and ask if they have Cruller donuts. As you're talking to them, go to their website and see for yourself.
6. Tell the person, "Thanks for answering my question. To show my gratitude, I'm sending you guys a picture of my feet." Hang up.
7. Find the 'contact' email address for the donut shop, and email them the picture of your feet.
8. Stop the song, and note how many seconds have passed.

On an iPhone, I can do this in about two minutes.

Try this for "Real World Experience". Take out an iPhone and an N95 and lay them side by side. Then, pick up each one, in turn, and do the following exercise:

1. Start listening to a random song.
2. Take a picture of your feet.
2. Show your address (which you should have entered as a contact in the phone) on Google Maps.
3. Search for "donuts" in your vicinity
4. Get directions from your place to the donut shop.
5. Call them up and ask if they have Cruller donuts. As you're talking to them, go to their website and see for yourself.
6. Tell the person, "Thanks for answering my question. To show my gratitude, I'm sending you guys a picture of my feet." Hang up.
7. Find the 'contact' email address for the donut shop, and email them the picture of your feet.
8. Stop the song, and note how many seconds have passed.

On an iPhone, I can do this in about two minutes.

That's all well and dandy. I tell you something you can try:

1. Synchronize devices to your iPhone via bluetooth and use it as a hsdpa modem.

2. And while you're at it, those feet of yours, forget emailing it, send it to me as an MMS message, and if you do fathom how to send it as an MMS, wait a moment or two and I'll return an MMS back to you!

How long do you think it would take you to do those two simple tasks on an iPhone?

Happy New Year all.

I see. I propose a comparison test in real-world use, and the best you can do is, "Bluetooth sync and MMS! Nyeah!" ? So jailbreak your iPhone and install a few apps.

Now, as I was saying: How long does that list take on your Nokia?

Oh I see now,

I see. I propose a comparison test in real-world use, and the best you can do is, "Bluetooth sync and MMS! Nyeah!" ? So jailbreak your iPhone and install a few apps.

You're saying that if I jailbreak my iPhone I can have HSDPA support, a properly implemented bluetooth stack and MMS support?

Really?!!?

The Nokia N95 8GB has finally been released on the 3 network, great news if like me you don't like paying too much ro your minutes and text!

http://www.phoneslimited.co.uk/Nokia/N95+8GB.html

i am not a very technical person when it comes to S60 and OS X stuff. but all i can think of is the practical use of these devices. i think it is very hard to use the iphone cause we have to wash our hands before we tap on the screen. what if i am eating some kind of finger food then somebody called, do i have enough time to go the the wash room and wash up before the call gets dropped?

another factor is, how can i replace the battery if it starts cutting out on my use time. would wallmart carry such stuff or equipment?

also, do i really have enough money to subscribe with all of these applications so i can fully use them and if i do have the money, is it worth it?

see...i dont disagree that the iphone is a revolutionary piece of technology but for the money that it costs i strongly believe that it should do a lot more than it suppose to do.

I own both an I-phone and a N95 8gb. Apart from software apps the basics are the Nokia has better Mike and speaker reception. The i-phone is better for TXT. While the Iphone has only 2mp camera, the Nokias 5mp is by no means better quality wise.
I would suggest if you have had several Nokias and have had good service from Nokia buy Nokia! I have been very happy with lack of warranty recall with Nokia phones I have had.
The first Apple i had locked me out with 3 minutes of going into Australias network. I now have the next version of software in a new phone,works fine.
Touchscreen Vs keys. Ask that question in a years time and see how many I-phone users are throwing their phones in the bin. I was disillusioned when after the first I-phone I received bricked itself. I went online into the forums then found out that more than a few people had the same problems I had experienced. The more I read the more I realised i had bought a dud and went straight out and bought the Nokia. New I-phone or new Nokia, get both and stop wasting time wondering which one to get...

This is not a fair comparison, the iPhone is mercilessly trampled.

I love reading about how 'terrible' the iphone is

For those that can't see past the spec sheet - then yes , the N95 8GB or even the N95 are far 'better' ...
...but how often do you see a simple case of 'Highest spec wins' ? - the user experience of the iPhone is amazing IMO , my previous recent handsets include 2 x N95's , E61, E90 ,N80 , plus a T-mobile Ameo , each of these handsets has bored me after a honeymoon period of a couple of months at most , whereas the iPhone is still pleasing me after 5 months
The aesthetics, build quality , usability and general 'wow' factor are over and above that of any other handset I've ever used , and going back to an S60 or a WM6 device feels like stepping back in time 5 years
I was talking to a mate the other day who was as obsessed with the iphones lack of 3G as the majority of the 'iphone sucks' brigade are , we had a little race - ( his N95 on Orange 3G) versus my iPhone (o2 EDGE ) , and although he undoubtedly had a FASTER data connection - my iphone was happily displaying the BBC's homepage while his N95's browser was playing the S60 game of Render ,pause, render a bit more, pause , then , just as you think the browser has finished rendering ... the screen goes blank and starts again (if you are fortunate enough to have got this far without getting a memory error and being told to 'close some apps' )
Plain and simple , the iphone simply is better thought out
If it wasn't - then answer me this ....

How come Nokia are working on this 'tube' thing ? - which is quite obviously BASED on the iphone and even dubbed Nokia's 'iPhone Killer'
....Surely if the N95 8GB were 'Better' - then Apple would be the ones working on an 'N95 8GB' Killer ?

The nokia is a better phone alround. In Ireland the iPhone is locked to one network. HUH great idea Apple. I have a N95 and I would like it even more if it had a touch screen and had the 3.5-inch display......So all we need to do is tell nokia.... and there you go...you'll have the best phone ever.
The only good thing about Apple is OS10, and only if your using Pro-tools.

Unfortunately, I was taken in by the iPhone hype and bought one last November. By April, I was regretting it! Today I threw the towel in and signed up a new contract with an N95 8GB. Ironically, I dumped the original N95 for the iPhone...

My main gripes with the iPhone are:

1. Everything is web based – nothing can be installed on the 8GB iphone
2. The EDGE internet connection is rubbish.
3. No outgoing MMS messaging.
4. O2's not so cleverly laid out MMS site. Combine this with the rubbish EDGE connection and double frustration sets in.
5. I hated I-Tunes and the way it decided to re-organise my 250,000 + track audio library. A lot of my collection is audio books and I-Tunes decided to re-order the tracks for each audio book.

(At this point, I now have a personal prejudice against my iPhone and iTunes)

6. I was pretty disgusted by the fact that you couldn't send a text message to multiple recipients until the next update came out! Duh. Hello, this is 2007/8, not 1998
7. The camera is a true disaster. Your photographic subject must be perfectly motionless and in a well-lit environment, and not too far away from you.
8. Bluetooth is limited to audio only – no file transfer.

The iPhone is NOT a revolutionary device – granted that the touch screen is quite remarkable, but what most reviewers have overlooked is that it generally requires two hands to operate the damn thing. Also a touch screen gives no tactile feedback.

In my opinion, as a victim of Apple and now recovering survivor, and who has done the N95 - iPHONE - N95 8GB manoeuvre, I'll stick with the N95 every time.

As a final goodbye to my apple woe’s, imagine reading a specification list in 2007 for a “great” new device to be released later in the year that reads something like this…

a) Revolutionary touch screen.
b) Desirable design.
c) No 3G connection.
d) Partial Bluetooth (no file transfer)
e) 2mb camera, no flash, no zoom and slow reaction times.
f) No multimedia messaging.
g) No SMS messaging to multiple recipients
h) No installation of third party applications.

and the list goes on....

Would you buy one?

Iphone's sound SUCKS, my brother has one and when we take the headphones out and put it on hands free we can barely hear anything

I found this to be a reasonable enough comp. however there is one area thatall reviews seem to miss out on and that is CALL quality. After all it is a "phone".

I will be buying one or other in the next month or so, however for all the bells and whistles, the first priority for me is call quality and my own choice of network. Given apples liking for putting their stuff out on one network initially, I will in all probability go with the N95 8 GB

I have also looked at the htc stuff but a m8 uses one and says call quality is dire compared to all his previous devices

Well thats true no wonder apple DRM sucks, but no wonder they make beautifull products. I mean if u say that iphone is better because it has better feature that u r just another SJS(Steve Jobs Sucker), it looks better that is it. I mean who pathetic a phone would be without video recording. ths for 900$
Now herecomes in N95.. I dont mind its beaulti that is all black body.. Feature are at best.

I mean at end it depends if u want to be controlled by DRM or u would like to go for space where u would like to think for ur use, u would like to make things happen or wait for someone to do that for u like apple adding something basic like flash support.


I hope u understant my point..


(My Personal openion: Apple has easy interface cause they dont have much to do on there products.. DOnt waste money on apple.. Its for those who want to showoff..)