All About Symbian - Symbian, Nokia and S60 unwrapped.
Battle of the Budget Smartphones: The Final Reckoning
Published by Ewan Spence at 17:41 UTC, September 1st 2010
Summary:
And so we come to what we suspect will be the most contentious piece in Ewan's quest in comparing a £100 Android smartphone (the ZTE Racer) with an £80 Symbian smartphone (the Nokia 5230). Third party applications and the final decision, rounding up conclusions from the previous comparison parts. Which will triumph? Read on for the final instalment, plus links to the other parts.
See also (previously in this series):
Why the Budget Battle of the Smartphones is important
Battle of the Budget Smartphones: Hardware
Battle of the Budget Smartphones: Email and Web
Battle of the Budget Smartphones: PIM, Music and Media
Marketplaces and Stores
The advantage to Android that is talked about more than any other is the volume and availability of third party applications. According to legend, the Android Market, and the support from Developers, is enough to overcome any obstacle and make this the perfect phone for everybody.
Marketing speak aside, it's not a case of 'build it and they will come' (or 'code it and they will download').
Having used these two phones in the wild for four weeks, the benefits of third party applications is being overstated. On the Android powered Racer, I've downloaded and been actively using a Twitter client, a Foursquare client, and not much else (okay maybe the Abduction platform game as well). But that's it.
I do have the Facebook app, but frankly it's far quicker to use the mobile version of the site than try to use the app. While I have downloaded Opera Mini, the advantages it offers over the built in browser are not as much when you compare it to the Nokia S60 Browser. On the 5230, Opera Mini is almost a requirement, on the Racer it's a luxury that you can easily live without.
Over on the 5230, my popular third party apps are a Twitter and Facebook client (Gravity), an eBook reader (I never found one that suited me in the Android marketplace), and the already mentioned (in the previous article) Opera Mini.
Do I need a huge number of third party applications to get anything done on either phone? Not at all. [you'll remember my seminal piece on this subject: Three Apps on my Smartphone - Ed]
I do see the value in having a solid ecosystem, and Android certainly has more meaningful applications than the Ovi Store (e.g. a Geo Caching app or alternative Task Manager), but these are apps that have limited appeal. In the same way, I don't have the need for a Project Manager or photo uploader to multiple social networks on the Nokia 5230.
Both the Ovi Store and the Android Market work, and while the Android store is easier to navigate, it has a number of issues, such as the laborious process to update applications, the small number of apps on display at any one time, and to be honest the sheer number of rubbish and pointless apps. There may be more in the Android Market than on Ovi, but more apps doesn't always mean more quality.
But Android, as it stands, has a solid story to tell Developers, something Nokia is lacking. It's one area where Symbian is playing catch-up, and they'll have to go some to match the perceived power of the Android marketplace, even if a lot of it (like most app stores) is a lot of smoke and mirrors.
Time to sum it all up
In general, the question of “which is better” at the low end of the market, the Nokia 5230 or the ZTE Racer, is almost an impossible question to answer to everyone's satisfaction. There will be people looking for a definitive answer, but they're not going to get it here. Both devices deliver what they promise, they allow the user to not only get online and do basic web and email work, but also have a competent set of built in applications, and the obvious gaps in the application suite are filled on both platforms by third party software.
You might as well ask who is the best Doctor Who. Everyone will have a valid opinon, and others will disagree vehemently and decry that the other person is being paid to say that, is blind, or a hypocrite (it's Pat Troughton by the way - [agreed - Ed]).
If I was handed either of the devices on review here and asked to get to work, then I'm confident that either handset, and either software platform, would be able to cope with what I look for in a smartphone in day to day to use. There are areas of difference though, and it's those differences that might swing a personal opinion (and it has swung mine), but on a macro level, there's no clear winner.
So I'm going to take this as a two pronged approach. The first is to look at just the Nokia 5230 and the ZTE Racer, the pure head to head. Then I'll consider the more balanced question of Android v Symbian at the lower end of the phone market.
Comparing Handsets
I'm calling the Nokia 5230 the winner, and while there will now be a stream of comments going “Symbian site in 'Symbian wins' shock” let me tell you why, because I think that any neutral observer will agree with me.
There are three major issues that I have with the hardware that lessen the impact of the Racer. The first is build quality, it's very cheap and cheerful. I have a problem with any device where you can hear the battery rattling in the case when you give it a little shake. Even with some sprung contacts, the ZTE Racer does not fit together here. While it doesn't impact on the operation of the phone (the electrical contact is always maintained from battery to circuit board), it just feels wrong.
The second issue is one with the materials used. After four weeks (around the Edinburgh Fringe), the Racer looks pretty battered around – the silver coating on the call buttons is flaking away and as this is a backlit button, a small camouflage-like pattern is appearing. The matt finish on the body and back of the Racer hides a lot of scratches and blemishes, but they are there. And the plastic on the front of the device, including the screen, has been dinged a couple of time and has some scratches already in evidence.
But the biggest problem is that twice in the month the Racer has locked up, frozen and then switched itself off. And even though the battery was almost fully charged, it refused to start unless it was on mains power – which could then be removed to show 85% capacity on the battery. To not be able to be switched on while out and about until you find a convenient USB port or socket for the mains charger means that part of me now simply does not trust - or indeed charge - the Racer.
While the hardware on the Nokia 5230 does have some issues, the sometimes loose fitting back cover being an annoyance I could live without, the hardware is utterly dependable and I've never had cause to question that the Symbian phone would not switch on and do what I ask of it.
Would I give up the 5230 for a Racer? Probably not. Would I be worried about what I could do with the Racer if it's all that I had? Nope. Would I be worried that it would let me down? Just a little.
Comparing the Operating Systems.
It should be clear from previous parts in this series that, in terms of functionality, there is little to differentiate the two Operating Systems. While there is a greater buzz around third party applications on Android, Symbian's baseline of software compensates to an extent for the smaller range of utility applications because the functions are already built into the phone. If you're looking for more games and native interfaces into US-focussed web services then Android does have the edge, but it's not as much as the Google flag wavers would have you believe.
While Symbian and Android both have their roots in the higher end devices, it's Symbian that makes the more successful transition to the low-end. The design decisions made by Android really need a much faster CPU and higher specification device than can be (currently) afforded on a £100 smartphone, and the compromises that have to be made are noticeable.
Nokia have had to compromise as well, but Symbian works at a far better pace on the hardware available. Because of a more direct relationship between the OS and the CPU, with no virtual machines or emulation layers in-between, the difference in battery life is hugely in favour for the 5230. That's almost a reason in itself to go with it.
But there's another, more subtle, benefit. At this price point, to get a touchscreen device you really need to go with a resistive screen. That means a stylus is preferable, and neither device comes with one. To be fair, the 5230 I have shipped with a guitar plectrum that was styled as the pointer, and the ZTE Racer actually has space in the internal chassis for a traditional pointer that is blocked by the battery cover, but this is a notable omission.
While tapping is still easily achieved, sliding and swiping is a lot harder on a resistive screen. Because S60 5th Edition can be perceived as a 'retrofit' of touch to the original S60 UI, the fact that the majority of operations are highlight and tap, rather than touch, slide and release means that it's far, far easier to drive the 5230 with or without a stylus. Android has enough elements that are focussed on the swipe method of input that, coupled with the cheaper touch input, it's just awkward to use on this screen technology.
Android is not yet ready for the low end market – not without some serious changes to accommodate the interface offered by cheaper hardware or the constraints placed on the system by slower CPU chips and less memory.
Symbian will have to keep a careful eye here as well, because one of their strong points here is accidental. Hopefully the marriage of Symbian^3's streamlined interface to the requirement for capacitive touch will bear fruit, though it'll take a while for this combination to make it down to this 'budget' price level.
Final Thoughts
Of course, last year's high end device is next year's bargain basement device, and many devices are purchased with a big discount on hardware through the network subsidy. That means the advantages in the 5230 are transitory at best, and might not be worthwhile points going into 2011. The rate of change is going to be fast. Both Android and Symbian know this and are going to be fighting in this arena more often over the next twelve months, and I'll be keeping a close eye on it.
In summary, Android works on a £100 budget smartphone, but the hardware and software need a few iterations to work well. Symbian has a great operating system that is proven to be rock solid and that makes lowering your bill of materials a valid choice, but it needs to continue to improve the customer-focussed areas to stay relevant in a fickle market. Right now it is ahead, but not by much.
-- Ewan Spence, Sept 2010.
Discussion
Just to say that I have really enjoyed this series Ewan, it has both been entertaining and informative.
I think that it a battle between the smartphone ethos, and the mobile computer ethos, and I think the smartphone definately wins at this pricepoint (the nokia), and your most important point is battery, the constant chattering with the internet seems to ignore battery limitations and limited bandwidth and signal strength. It's an easier task for Nokia to improve usability (i didn't fall into the trap of calling the UI/OS outdated) than for Apple and Android to change the laws of physics
These articles have given me food for thought, I intend to get an Android in 2011 (waiting for gingerbread, post snapdragon processor etc) and I still do after reading this. But my current solution is an N85 and an iPod touch. I intended it to replace the N85, but with the limitations stated of mobile computing devices, I think I really need my n85 to accompany my 2011 android purchase, for battery, one handed operation, probably a superior camera, and just liberate the android device from making that emergency call
I guess I'm a two box solution guy at heart. One size really doesn't fit all
"While Symbian and Android both have their roots in the higher end devices, it's Symbian that makes the more successful transition to the low-end. The design decisions made by Android really need a much faster CPU and higher specification device than can be (currently) afforded on a £100 smartphone, and the compromises that have to be made are noticeable.
Nokia have had to compromise as well, but Symbian works at a far better pace on the hardware available. Because of a more direct relationship between the OS and the CPU, with no virtual machines or emulation layers in-between, the difference in battery life is hugely in favour for the 5230. That's almost a reason in itself to go with it."
Boom! (As Steve Jobs would say). That's it, right there. That's the visible tip of the iceberg between Symbian and Android. That iceberg (9 tenths of which is invisible) is the years of maturity and engineering and supreme design that have gone in to Symbian that can only be dreamed of by Android. And this, the low end, is one of the real coalfaces where the difference between the two OSes becomes starkly clear. You take away the high-end budget to build an Android phone, and it's desperately scrambling to stay alive, starved of power and memory and battery. Meanwhile, Symbian just shifted into 5th gear and floored the accelerator. The differences would be even more clear between the 5250 (at £50, rather than £80) and other low end Android devices.
And note also that while yes power at a certain price point (e.g. the £100 of the ZTE racer) will increase as hardware costs fall and thus make Android more usable at that price point, remember that the lower priced and powered hardware required by Symbian will also fall - and fall further and further into the bigger and bigger markets for mobile phones (non smartphones) worldwide. The smartphone market is growing rapidly and it is growing at the bottom end and the leading player by a LONG way is Nokia/Symbian.
While Nokia's high end fightback will likely succeed, remember that hundreds of millions of people over the coming years will have basically two choices at lower price points: mobile/non-smart/feature phones, OR a Nokia/Symbian device (and they already love Nokia in many poorer places). So Nokia/Symbian will get all these converts ready to grow into the future with more powerful Nokia/Symbian devices. Where is iPhone there? Nowhere. Where is Android there? Picking up the crumbs from the table I reckon, because it simply can't compete technically when the going gets tough (i.e. cheap underpowered components in the devices that sell hundreds of millions to the masses of the world).
As a side note it's interesting to see how RADICALLY wrong those people are and will be, who have predicted the imminent death of Nokia smartphones and especially Symbian. Including many respectable publications and journos. Shocking really how people jump on bandwagons without any real thought or knowledge.
Android does a better job even in the low end in terms of most smartphone functions, i'll give the 5230 better battery life, but i'd rather have a device thats fluid, consistent, multitasks with no need to baby sit RAM and opens web pages without giving dam memory errors, i dont mind losing an hour of charge for that :) ,but the review does show that Symbian belongs in low end,and should let the big boys: iOS, Android, Maemo/Meego, do the high end.
By the way was the 1st time i had heard of ZTE, wasnt there a Android SE, HTC, MOTO or SAMSUNG at that price point???
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Originally Posted by Tsepz_011
Offcourse the Symbian was going to win,you could see it from the 1st part of these reviews. :)
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Originally Posted by Tsepz_011
... ,but the review does show that Symbian belongs in low end,and should let the big boys: iOS, Android, Maemo/Meego, do the high end.
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"Nokia platziert sich mit dem X6 und dem 5230 knapp vor dem iPhone 4. Damit schlagen Telefone für 380 und 169 Euro das viel teurere Kulthandy von Apple."
Translation by Peter Sulzer:
Nokia places itself with the X6 and the 5230 just before the iPhone 4. So phones for 380 and 169 Euro beat the much more expensive cult mobile from Apple.
'Android does a better job even
in the low end in terms of most
smartphone functions, i'll give
the 5230 better battery life, but
i'd rather have a device thats
fluid, consistent, multitasks with
no need to baby sit RAM'
@Tsepz_011
'Most smartphone functions'? Can you please define/state what smartphone functions actually are? Man, you are calling us fanboys, but you're pathetic. Turning a blind eye towards the limitations is blatant fanboyism. A platform which can't run more than 6 'recently' open apps at a given time, and that's on the android top-dog Galaxy S with 512 MB of RAM, is not a smartphone platform at all. Samsung and LG feature phones support more than that! And I didn't even mention the pseudo multitasking where the apps are actually frozen/hibernated, and even when you exit one app, the process runs in the background 'assuming' it might be important! Resource management? I think Google needs a crash-course. Symbian is resource-friendly. Maybe putting 256 MB of RAM and 600 Mhz cpu could've made things better, but that rant is applicable for N97 or the likes, not this 'down-to-the-earth' smartphone! And also, these are mostly intended for asian countries, and there the name nokia spells magic (with the exception of Japan and a few others). And re not using phones from other manufacturers, Samsung has an age old Galaxy Spica at around 150€, LG has one at 200€, motorola and SE has none beyond 200€ mark. So as you can see, none of the major manufacturers are releasing cheap devices on androiad, simply because they can't. They have to maintain a standard in the lower-end devices that is battery-life, and its not possible for android in that price-point. At least, not now. I guess now you know why 5230 won?
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Originally Posted by Tsepz_011
i'll give the 5230 better battery life, but i'd rather have a device thats fluid, consistent, multitasks with no need to baby sit RAM and opens web pages without giving dam memory errors,
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What are you on about? cant run more than 6recently opened apps at a given time???? Ive got Opera Mini, TweetCaster, MXit, MediaScape playing music, Facebook Chat, Jet-VD, Astro, MailDroid and Photobucket app all going, all STILL active for the past 30mins,so WTF are you on about exactly???
when i say smartphone functions im talking about heavy multitasking, Calendar/Contacts sync, Email, web browsing, social networking etc...things we expect our smartphones to do without going through any hoops or having to baby sit the system like we have to a phone like a 5230. Try running Gravity, built-in web browser opened on a large web page like a M-R review, playing music and Facebook app,you will hit an out of memory error NO DOUBT, do the same on that ZTE Racer and you wont come across the same crap,interesting that none of the review parts covered multitasking fully,very interesting. :)
None of what you said explains why the 5230 won kmm, resource management??? As i said,run the above apps for a bit on both, the user couldnt give a dam about whats happening under the hood,what matters is that the phone is fluid,fun and easy to use and being a smartphone; should handle some heavy use now and then, Android does this better in both low and high end.
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Originally Posted by Tsepz_011
,what matters is that the phone is fluid,fun and easy to use and being a smartphone; should handle some heavy use now and then.
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I have a ZTE racer. It lives in a drawer and it is unlikely to ever come out. Very poor.
The other 15% is made up of feature phones and one or two are using windows mobile.
Based on my friends very few care what OS is on the phone and are more swayed by value for money. There's only a small percentage of the market want to spend big money on phones.
WRT Androids not being able to be cheap, well Symbians with 256mb RAM and 600mhz CPU arent cheaper than the price point here either, just look at the E5. The 5230 paid the price of being cheap with a weak CPU, poor RAM and ROM,no Wi-Fi, weaker 3G/HSDPA radio, weaker camera etc...Nokia had to cut alot to actualy get the 5230 to be so cheap, when you look at the specs.
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Originally Posted by Tsepz_011
The 5230 is neither fluid,fun or easy to use,its touch display is awful,often requiring multiple taps like 5800, so no, reviewer did point out androids consistancy and fluidity if im not mistaken,so the ZTE didnt fail on those.
WRT Androids not being able to be cheap, well Symbians with 256mb RAM and 600mhz CPU arent cheaper than the price point here either, just look at the E5. The 5230 paid the price of being cheap with a weak CPU, poor RAM and ROM,no Wi-Fi, weaker 3G/HSDPA radio, weaker camera etc...Nokia had to cut alot to actualy get the 5230 to be so cheap, when you look at the specs. |
The advantage of Symbian is that you CAN cut CPU etc down and still get a usable phone in a well constructed build. The 3G/HSDPA radio is better on the 5230, the two phones side by side on the same network always shows the better signal on the Nokia. The difference between the camera produced images is barely noticeable, in fact in most conditions the Nokia is better. I have both phones and I can honestly say, if the ZTE Racer was as inexpensive as the 5230 (20%) the ZTE Race would still be overpriced.
The crap that is talked about Android "fluidity" is unfulfilled. There is nothing particularly special about Android, it is way behind iPhone and whilst it is better than Symbian ^1/S60V5, it is not much better. Frankly, I was hoping for great things, but Android is a disappointment. Even with the efforts of manufacturers with their SenseUI etc, it's still just quite ordinary. Consistency and fluidity? LOL. Joke.
What I meant by '6 apps' was the task manager of the stock android. Last time I checked it offered only the 6 last accessed running apps. Yes, there are alternative task-switchers, but it's about the stock o.s. And android is more fluid compared to symbian, I agree, but that's apparent only on screen resolution beyond wvga, a qvga screened device is an absolute no brainer if you're looking for fluidity. The only point in favor of android (apart from apps) is snatched here by the 5230. And regarding multi-tasking on 5230, been there, done that (on 5800 though, but it's comparable with 5230). I'll give you the raw amount of consumed ram in each case:
1. Opera mobile, with a M-R review loaded, around 10-11 MB (based on review size),
2. Facebook app- 2 MB (even less for mobile-site),
3. Gravity - 5 MB at most,
4. Music player - ~1.2 MB (it consumes cpu mostly),
5. Gmail app - 4 MB (with auto update on)
6. Jbak taskman running all along, consuming another .5 MB of RAM.
Do the math, it says with this kind of a bit exaggerated usage you're having more than 20 MB of RAM to play with. I never hit that memory error even after loading an Asphalt 4 game while doing all this. The general performance slowed down, but it was usable. If you do away with theme effects, the slowdown is even less apparent. Are you still clueless about the Racer losing? Don't be, it never stood a chance.
Gravity and Opera Mobile dont just sit at those amounts of RAM. When you start doing more with both they eat resources like crazy, ive tested them on my 5800, a 5230 and N97mini, result was the same, and as you said the phone also slows down,and why on earth should you have to turn off theme effects to do such basing things??? I read why the reviewer said the 5230 won,and it certainly wasnt due to multitasking, or anything else in your last post.
unregistered
Multiple taps are not an extra tap here and there, it means 3 or 4 taps just to hit a link or whilest texting,to having to hit a letter a few times before it pops on the text field,maybe you dont mind this but for many its annoying,and yes Android is far more consistent and fluid than Symbian. I do agree that its not on the level of iOS, as iOS and even WebOS UI's are simply far more well thoughtout, and look lots more mature,everything is where its meant to be,and just works in iOS, but this here is Android against Symbian.
Actually the reviewer didn't touch upon a lot of points in 5230's favor. Maybe those didn't seem too important to him, or else he tried his best to forgive the racer's shortcomings :-). The biggest gripe I have with racer is its smallish screen with qvga resolution. People bash nokia for using nHD resolution screens, but when an android uses qvga its all sunshine! The 'great' android browser is then rendered as useless as the s60 one. Also, the 5230 has class 32 EDGE opposed to racer's class 10 EDGE. On a 3G network it's pointless, but these phones are mainly intended for developing countries most of which are still on 2.5G, so that counts. Also better multimedia playback on the 5230 (due to screen size and codec support) will check the box for many. Although the racer has Wi-fi, it's rare/not present at most places in the target market (developing countries). And re ever depleting ram in symbian, that problem is much remedied now with firmware updates, and not as annoying as it used to be. I agree it's there, and I've also hit the boundaries numerous times (most annoyingly on n97), but it's less of a bugger in case of normal usage. Two of my friends are almost always on facebook on their 5800, and their phone reboots itself if only used too extensively for 5-7 days. And rebooting your smartphone at least once a week is fundamental. About theme effects, any power user does away with that. All the software technicians I know have disabled all kinds of transitions on their pc as they need every ounce of performance from their cpu. So, why not smartphone power-users? Since now-a-days smartphones are more close to pcs than ever before.
What? Have you even LOOKED at the Android Market? With free apps, Android can pull virtually anything from the internet and place it in scrollable widgets on your homescreen. There is an app to merge Facebook contacts with your contact book. A task scheduler. A complete backup manager (which backs up your phone's image including apps). Let's see... an app to trigger actions based on locations and time (just like Symbian). Google Maps is LIGHT YEARS ahead of Nokia Maps. Plenty of RSS readers, podcast catchers, media players, browsers, gesture search, speech-to-text recongnition, outlook sync, exchange clients - all those are available AND WORKING across various phones having the same Android version. Can you say the same about various phones running the same Symbian version? Man, this is just ridiculous. It is just incredible that you set aside the Android market (messy thought it is) so easily.
And why piss on the poor GTE RAcer? Compare the games available for Desire vs something like N97. EPIC FAIL for NOKIA.
I won't disagree with your choice of choosing 5230 - it is an excellent phone for the money. But GTE Racer? Didn't you know Samsung, Sony Ericsson, HTC also made Android phones? Granted they are not this cheap but hey.
SYmbian has its merits - it is the only OS that can work on cheap enough phones and provide unparalleled functionality at those price points. ONLY.
But please, don't make it into a world-beater. All these comments above are just ill-informed. There is one guy saying he can't run more than six apps simultaneously on an Android since the task switchers shows only that number. Hello? Can you even read English? Bash Android if you want to but at least come up with some educated arguments.
Just don't use Android phones if you prefer, but at least DO YOUR RESEARCH if you are about to comment on it.
To address your two main points.
Why the Racer? Because currently it is the ONLY Android phone available, contract free (Pay as you Go in the UK) at the £100 price point. The HTC Desire is about £230 pounds, a huge step up in cash. I was simply comparing like with like, which I thought was a sensible comparison.
Android Store, oh I spent a lot of time in the store, there were a lot of downloads to the Racer. And after a month I stepped back to see what i used in the real world. What apps were making a difference to my life as I reported on the Fringe, interviewed people, kept abreast of the news, and everything else. I’d say 85% of the time on the Racer I was in the native apps, and about 90% of the time on the 5230. You’ve listed a lot of “cute function” apps there, but very few impacted heavily when it came to getting out of a geek vision and into the world at large.
The units weren’t being tested as games machines – if that was the case then I’d hand victory to a Sony PSP ;-)
BTW have you seen the sales figures for the 5230? It’s in the tens of millions. That world class enough for you? And if a regular user can’t unlock Android features (such as the issue taken with the six app feature) then it’s not a feature, it’s a hindrance.
