All About Symbian - Symbian, Nokia and S60 unwrapped.
Best of Symbian vs Latest Android: Samsung i8910 HD vs Sony Ericsson X10
Published by Steve Litchfield at 8:01 UTC, April 21st 2010
Summary:
With the arrival chez-Phones-Show, Spring 2010, of the Sony Ericsson X10, the very latest from the world of Android smartphones, I wanted to pitch it head to head against the current flagship in the Symbian world, the Samung i8910 HD. On paper, there's a good match here... Smartphones to your corners: Fight!
Hot off the Sony Ericsson product line, the Xperia X10 represents a cutting edge Android smartphone in every way except the raw OS version currently used. Choosing a Symbian-powered phone to pit it against was easy - it's almost an exact match for the Samsung i8910 HD, which I've recently tricked out with everything available. The Samsung is a year older, but until Nokia's new Symbian^3 devices become available, it's the closest I have to a 2010 flagship.
(As usual, I've tinted with green the cells in each row that indicate an obvious 'winner' for that attribute, for interest sake. See below for comment)
| Samsung i8910 HD | Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 | |
| Latest firmware | HX 3.29 (based on official JB2 firmware, but with five times the free system disk space) - up to date, but not official | Android 1.6 (2.1 update promised for the future) - official, but not up to date(!) |
| Form factor, materials | Plastic, but very solid full-face glass capacitive touchscreen, 148g | Plastic with glass capacitive touchscreen, tapered sides enhance the thinness (13mm), 135g |
| Input mechanisms | Virtual qwerty landscape keyboard (with no writing aids), plus virtual numeric and handwriting options, all with super haptic and aural feedback. Compatible with most Bluetooth keyboards (with downloaded driver) | Two (different) virtual qwerty keyboards (depending on app) in both portrait and landscape modes, with basic writing aids, let down by a tiny 'space bar' (which slows down corrected typing), plus voice search in Google search box only. Compatible with one Bluetooth keyboard, or with more via a commercial driver |
| Display | 3.7" (360 x 640 pixels) AMOLED, gorgeous indoors, but hard to read in direct sunlight | 4.0" (480 x 854 pixels) transflective LCD, great indoors at full brightness (though default auto-brightness is very dim), and easy to read in sunlight (same as iPhone) |
| Interface | S60 5th Edition, kinetic scrolling everywhere but in the main Applications folder | Android 1.6, three homescreens, heavy widget and shortcut customisability, finger control only but designed for finger touch from day one |
| Speed | Symbian flies here, with an OMAP 3430 chipset to power all the graphics, transitions, etc. and with 150MB free RAM for the OS to work in. Video playback is terrific, with a wide range of codecs supported. | Nippy, as you'd expect from something powered by a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, graphical effects and overlays all work well (such as they are), though video playback is disappointing, with limited codec support so far. |
| Memory capacity (storage) | 85MB of (C:) system disk, plus 8GB (or 16GB) mass memory and microSD expansion. Apps can be installed on any disk. | Around 440MB of internal storage is plenty for most purposes, though apps have to be installed into this space. A big microSD card is essential for media though - an 8GB card is supplied |
| Camera (stills) | Superlative 8 megapixel stills, but only LED flash for evening shots. Exposed (but recessed) camera glass | Slightly disappointing 8 megapixel stills (poor handling of sunlight extremes and general detail), very exposed camera glass and, unbelievably (as on the Symbian-powered Vivaz), no LED flash - you have to go into 'Advanced settings' just to turn on the continuous 'Photo light'! |
| Camera (video) | HD (1280 by 720) video is very good, though audio is either noisy or slightly choppy (depending on configuration) | Video capture is very disappointing, at WVGA (720 by 480) but ruined by poor audio/video sync and by the lack of any kind of pre-set, initial or automatic focussing - videos are shot focussed at infinity, as on the Nokia N97 (for example) |
| GPS and navigation | Great GPS, let down by poor support of the initially-offered Route 66 software. Most users resort to Google Maps. Or to modified Ovi Maps 3.3. Includes digital compass | Great GPS, backed up by Wi-Fi location and the latest Google Maps and with real time voice navigation now active in the UK. Also a 30 day trial of the commercial Wisepilot, somewhat redundant for some countries now, of course! Includes digital compass |
| Audio out | Very loud stereo speakers, 5.1 channel simulation(!), 3.5mm jack, A2DP | Appallingly tinny, tiny mono speaker, 3.5mm jack, A2DP |
| Web browsing | S60 Web (webkit-based), functional without ever really impressing, though there is Flash support (including video) if needed. | Browser is also Webkit-based, but with no Flash support (this is 'coming soon'). There's also no multitouch for pinching and zooming (as on some other Android phones) |
| Other application highlights out of the box | Quickoffice viewers, Google Mail client, Smart reader (business cards), Dictionary, Zip manager, Converter, RoadSync (MS Exchange) | Timescape and Mediascape (social and multimedia) browsers, Facebook client, native Google Mail client, Moxier (Microsoft) Exchange client, Mobile Systems OfficeSuite viewers, TrackID music utility, YouTube client, Google Talk client, PlayNow web-based store. Curiously, there's no Google-synced Contacts application. |
| Application store and ecosystem | No on-device store, but many S60 5th Edition apps will work fine (e.g. Gravity, Opera mini, Sports Tracker). Some trial and error needed. See also our freeware guide | The Android market boasts many thousands of applications, the majority of which are free. Quality is variable, but there's no shortage of choice. Application updates are automatically checked for. |
| Battery | 1500mAh, microUSB charging, nightly charging needed | 1500mAh, microUSB charging, nightly charging needed |
| Ongoing firmware support and updates | Via PC Studio only. Samsung updates have been profligate with C: disk space, so I recommend sticking with the modified HX versions, also applied via a PC utility through Samsung's built-in bootloader. | Over the air updates, in theory. The intended frequency isn't known and this is most definitely not a 'With Google' phone... |
Attempting to be objective, adding up the green 'wins' gives five to four in the Samsung's favour, which doesn't really help much. In truth, there's not much between the two devices in terms of raw processing hardware. The X10's unique selling point is the addition of the Timescape 'timeline' view of your media and social contacts, but this is something of a novelty and after the initial few minutes of playing you'll have downloaded a proper Twitter client so that you've got full functionality rather than just a lot of eye candy. Mind you, with access to the Android Market, there's no shortage of options here.
Also significant for the X10 is the larger, brighter, better performing display - given that the i8910 HD has, arguably, the best display in the Symbian world bar none, this is rather telling. See also my feature on screen sizes yesterday - these two devices are certainly up there with the best of the 2010 competition - but the X10 edges it.
Where the i8910 HD scores is when it comes to music and its camera. The X10's speaker is a complete joke - whereas the i8910 HD can pump out music, Internet radio or podcasts across a room. And the i8910 HD's stellar photos and pretty darned good video (admittedly with a few firmware updates under its belt) really show up the poor state of camera functions on the X10. Quite how much the latter can be improved depends a lot on how much effort Sony Ericsson put into their flagship and how well they integrate Android 2.1 when the time comes.
Steve Litchfield, All About Symbian, 21 Apr 2010
Discussion
atmozphere
I think the info in the table is wrong when it comes to the X10 keyboard. It's got both haptics and sound. It might be a bit cumbersome to enable those options but they exist. As far as I remember there were three keyboards to chose from, the Japanese one, SE one and the stock android one.
brrip
Heh glad to see AAS using custom firmwares in phone comparisons :P
slitchfield
@atmozphere: you're right I've found the options you're referring to. it's a bit of a mess, really - two separate keyboards, each with different options and it's not obvious which one's going to pop up in which app. Also, once you've enabled sounds and vibrations in BOTH keyboard dialogs, the end result is pretty horrible: over-loud 'dings' (by default - you have to go through hoops to adjust overall system media volume to reduce these) and very weak - and slightly delayed - haptics. In contrast, the i8910 HD's feedback is PERFECT: a nice typewriter sound-sample and well pulsed, well-timed vibrator etc.
UKJeeper
Steve 'sponsored by Nokia (:D)' Litchfield referring to the i8910 as "Best of Symbian", and "Current Symbian flagship".
[sound effect]UKJeeper falls off his chair in shock[/sound effect]
Now if only BBC licensed the Iplayer for the i8910.... ;)
[sound effect]UKJeeper falls off his chair in shock[/sound effect]
Now if only BBC licensed the Iplayer for the i8910.... ;)
Unregistered
Quote:
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Originally Posted by slitchfield
and well pulsed, well-timed vibrator etc.
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richardyates
iplayer works fine on my i8910 - in what way do you mean "licensed"?
Ratkat
It should be noted that on Android devices, that yes, you do have to install applications on to the internal memory, but also that application can store their data on the memory card, for example a game can store all its graphics data on the memory card, thus minimising the data installed to the internal memory
iFanboy
Wait a minute...did Steve SERIOUSLY just pit a hacked Symbian phone against a stock Android phone to compare?? Really?!
Wouldn't a better comparison be against the SE Satio? Or the Vivaz??
If you're starting to do that, why not pit every Flagship Symbian has against a Jailbroken iPhone 3GS?? Multi tasking, SSH, Bluetooth file transfer, MMS, Side loading of unofficial apps, Themes the list goes on and on Steve, if Symbian is as good as everyone here thinks, put a hacked phone against a hacked phone, and then see which one has the most "Greens".
Jeez, the bias on this site sickens me sometimes. I come Here for news on my potential next purchase, not "We can bend every rule in the book to make Symbian look awesome!"
Rant over?
Wouldn't a better comparison be against the SE Satio? Or the Vivaz??
If you're starting to do that, why not pit every Flagship Symbian has against a Jailbroken iPhone 3GS?? Multi tasking, SSH, Bluetooth file transfer, MMS, Side loading of unofficial apps, Themes the list goes on and on Steve, if Symbian is as good as everyone here thinks, put a hacked phone against a hacked phone, and then see which one has the most "Greens".
Jeez, the bias on this site sickens me sometimes. I come Here for news on my potential next purchase, not "We can bend every rule in the book to make Symbian look awesome!"
Rant over?
Unregistered
What about Garmin for Samsung, it's good as the stand-alone gps unit!?!?!?!
buster
Quote:
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Originally Posted by iFanboy
Wait a minute...did Steve SERIOUSLY just pit a hacked Symbian phone against a stock Android phone to compare?? Really?!
Wouldn't a better comparison be against the SE Satio? Or the Vivaz?? If you're starting to do that, why not pit every Flagship Symbian has against a Jailbroken iPhone 3GS?? Multi tasking, SSH, Bluetooth file transfer, MMS, Side loading of unofficial apps, Themes the list goes on and on Steve, if Symbian is as good as everyone here thinks, put a hacked phone against a hacked phone, and then see which one has the most "Greens". Jeez, the bias on this site sickens me sometimes. I come Here for news on my potential next purchase, not "We can bend every rule in the book to make Symbian look awesome!" Rant over? |
I for one found it an interesting comparison. It was a good illustration of how a flagship Symbian device, given the "right" firmware, fares against a more recent Android device.
If you don't like the content here, why not go somewhere more to your liking and stop bothering us with your pathetic whining...? Or is your rant really over?
slitchfield
Oh, iFanboy, you've missed the point. I was only declaring the firmware I was using. 99% of the stuff in that column is also relevant to the stock i8910 HD firmware. Going HX wasn't a point you need to focus on for this feature.
daos
Input mechanisms - there are at least 2 different PORTRAIT keyboards for symbian 5th, which work wonderfully on Omnia HD/
Display. Since when transflective LCD is better then AMOLED, especially in contrast, color reproduction and battery saving?
GPS and navigation. As i wrote it before, GPS on Omnia is unbelievable. It gets fix on cold start in less then a second. And navigation software for symbian 5th is much more mature then for Android - Garmin, smartcomgps (ozi formats), sygic, ndrive, ovimaps etc, etc. And all work as a clock on Omnia.
Display. Since when transflective LCD is better then AMOLED, especially in contrast, color reproduction and battery saving?
GPS and navigation. As i wrote it before, GPS on Omnia is unbelievable. It gets fix on cold start in less then a second. And navigation software for symbian 5th is much more mature then for Android - Garmin, smartcomgps (ozi formats), sygic, ndrive, ovimaps etc, etc. And all work as a clock on Omnia.
Dups!
@daos
Have you seen the X10's screen?
Also, this AMOLED is better than TFT is unfounded, yeah, old school TFT but not what is offered currently. AMOLED has a sharper screen indoors but the colours are unrealistic whereas TFT has real colours. Outdoors the AMOLED is trumped hands down. Its real advantage is that it is thinner and conserves battery standby times.
I kinda understand IFan's argument, notwithstanding Steve's response, it would seem Symbian wins more often than not simply because this is a Symbian forum and thus full of Symbian supporters/fans.
I hate full touch phones but the X10 seems the better bet, I mean what's with comparing an HD phone with one that isn't similarly equipped? If this was a software comparison then what are the camera comparisons for? Why not include audio quality through headsets? The Sammy will be murdered in that department.
See, there just isn't going to be an even comparison unless it was Vivaz vs Omnia HD.
Have you seen the X10's screen?
Also, this AMOLED is better than TFT is unfounded, yeah, old school TFT but not what is offered currently. AMOLED has a sharper screen indoors but the colours are unrealistic whereas TFT has real colours. Outdoors the AMOLED is trumped hands down. Its real advantage is that it is thinner and conserves battery standby times.
I kinda understand IFan's argument, notwithstanding Steve's response, it would seem Symbian wins more often than not simply because this is a Symbian forum and thus full of Symbian supporters/fans.
I hate full touch phones but the X10 seems the better bet, I mean what's with comparing an HD phone with one that isn't similarly equipped? If this was a software comparison then what are the camera comparisons for? Why not include audio quality through headsets? The Sammy will be murdered in that department.
See, there just isn't going to be an even comparison unless it was Vivaz vs Omnia HD.
brrip
Quote:
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Originally Posted by slitchfield
Oh, iFanboy, you've missed the point. I was only declaring the firmware I was using. 99% of the stuff in that column is also relevant to the stock i8910 HD firmware. Going HX wasn't a point you need to focus on for this feature.
|
Even so, most of the items covered in the review aren't really affected by firmware, except maybe the camera.
germcevoy
Give us a new comparison format Steve. These tables give us nothing
Bulakbuk
Steve, I expected more from you than just put all your nice perspective on your precious Samsung. I understand that your Samsung is indeed a powerful mobile tool for today's standard, but I must say that your comparisons were overly objective in favor of your Samsung.
I really don't like the thought of pitting two devices against each other and prove w/c one outsmarts the other. What I think is important is how you can maximize your device's potential to the tops and get the most out of it and make it work for you the way you want it to.
I really don't like the thought of pitting two devices against each other and prove w/c one outsmarts the other. What I think is important is how you can maximize your device's potential to the tops and get the most out of it and make it work for you the way you want it to.
Unregistered
Here's a good link to legal Symbian apps, also free downloads.
Check www.allapps.co.uk
Check www.allapps.co.uk
Unregistered
This isnt really a fair compariosn pitting a SE Android device that isn't running the latest firmware and is has had the SE custom interface slapped on to it.
The Xperia in my opinion does not represent a good android phone, a better comparison would be with the new HTC Android devices like the Inredible, HTC have managed to do a great jop of keeping the core of ANdroid intact while adding the Sense UI on to it. The experience is much fatser and smoother.
The Xperia in my opinion does not represent a good android phone, a better comparison would be with the new HTC Android devices like the Inredible, HTC have managed to do a great jop of keeping the core of ANdroid intact while adding the Sense UI on to it. The experience is much fatser and smoother.
Gerii
No need for a modified version of Ovi Maps on the I8910 - just install the latest S60SOA package and download the latest version of Ovi Maps from Nokia or even get 3.4 from Beta Labs. All working fine.
chippysteve
Contacts does sync. It just needs to be turned on. SE needs to create a guided first-time set-up app for the X10.
Agree that camera is disappointing. Video not bad though. 2mbps MPEG4 at VGA produces good results. Don't buy this for the cam. Less sensitive than an N82. Cam light is very poor.
I'm sure the screen is plastic, not glass. Just my observation though.
Browser is super-fast. Very impressive. GPS too.
Mediascape has some nice features, fast track, genre, favs, recent played plus infinity button to get YouTube related videos, PlayNow tracks or Google search.
Apps.Apps. Apps Apps! Google Sky, Email, maps, goggles, etc etc. Elevate the phone way above symbian. (I'm a 2 year N82 user but this Android experience probably means I won't be going back to Symbian)
Speaker is crap
For an active user, 9-12 hours usage with either Wifi or 3G. Heavy user will have to charge late afternoon.
Screen is just amazing. Outdoor and in-car use is better than anything i've tried. Transflective.
Wisepilot very good but damn expensive. This version doesnt include offline maps although thats coming.
HSPA is fast. (I'm getting 1.5mbps UPLOAD here!
On screen keyboard is not so accurate but includes some very good word prediction. It needs hit area intelligence. Many keyboards on the market though.
Style is great. Yes, some plastic, but good plastic and rubber covered back.
Good memory management.
Quality buttons.
Nice case. 8GB micro SD (class 2) USB charger.
Poor codec support. (up to 2mbps WMV and MPEG4.)
The X10 doesn't beat the Desire (apart from screen) and the Milestone is now under 400 Euro so is quite the bargain (has Gorilla glass too!)
X10 is something if you want to be a little unique, really need the fastest, best browsing experience, do a lot of reading (you can use this as an ebook reader)
There's more but I should stop now!Only meant to comment on the contacts sync!
Actually i'm logging all my experiences on a blog. http://xperiax10.carrypad.com
but as i'm a big big cam fan, I might be reverting to my N82 soon until a real Android-based cameraphone (or maybe MeeGo) comes out. I can't see myself going back to current Symbian now despite Gravity and free maps.
Steve / Chippy
Agree that camera is disappointing. Video not bad though. 2mbps MPEG4 at VGA produces good results. Don't buy this for the cam. Less sensitive than an N82. Cam light is very poor.
I'm sure the screen is plastic, not glass. Just my observation though.
Browser is super-fast. Very impressive. GPS too.
Mediascape has some nice features, fast track, genre, favs, recent played plus infinity button to get YouTube related videos, PlayNow tracks or Google search.
Apps.Apps. Apps Apps! Google Sky, Email, maps, goggles, etc etc. Elevate the phone way above symbian. (I'm a 2 year N82 user but this Android experience probably means I won't be going back to Symbian)
Speaker is crap
For an active user, 9-12 hours usage with either Wifi or 3G. Heavy user will have to charge late afternoon.
Screen is just amazing. Outdoor and in-car use is better than anything i've tried. Transflective.
Wisepilot very good but damn expensive. This version doesnt include offline maps although thats coming.
HSPA is fast. (I'm getting 1.5mbps UPLOAD here!
On screen keyboard is not so accurate but includes some very good word prediction. It needs hit area intelligence. Many keyboards on the market though.
Style is great. Yes, some plastic, but good plastic and rubber covered back.
Good memory management.
Quality buttons.
Nice case. 8GB micro SD (class 2) USB charger.
Poor codec support. (up to 2mbps WMV and MPEG4.)
The X10 doesn't beat the Desire (apart from screen) and the Milestone is now under 400 Euro so is quite the bargain (has Gorilla glass too!)
X10 is something if you want to be a little unique, really need the fastest, best browsing experience, do a lot of reading (you can use this as an ebook reader)
There's more but I should stop now!Only meant to comment on the contacts sync!
Actually i'm logging all my experiences on a blog. http://xperiax10.carrypad.com
but as i'm a big big cam fan, I might be reverting to my N82 soon until a real Android-based cameraphone (or maybe MeeGo) comes out. I can't see myself going back to current Symbian now despite Gravity and free maps.
Steve / Chippy
slitchfield
Quote:
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Originally Posted by chippysteve
Contacts does sync. It just needs to be turned on. SE needs to create a guided first-time set-up app for the X10.
|
Quote:
| Agree that camera is disappointing. Video not bad though. 2mbps MPEG4 at VGA produces good results. Don't buy this for the cam. Less sensitive than an N82. Cam light is very poor. |
Quote:
| Apps.Apps. Apps Apps! Google Sky, Email, maps, goggles, etc etc. Elevate the phone way above symbian. (I'm a 2 year N82 user but this Android experience probably means I won't be going back to Symbian) |
Quote:
| Speaker is crap |
Quote:
| Screen is just amazing. Outdoor and in-car use is better than anything i've tried. Transflective. |
Quote:
| X10 is something if you want to be a little unique, really need the fastest, best browsing experience, do a lot of reading (you can use this as an ebook reader) |
chippysteve
Quote:
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Originally Posted by slitchfield
Nope, I turned syncing on. It just didn't. 8-) Give me *some* credit!
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Here are my contact sync settings. Everything kicked into action after configuring them like this.
Unregistered
About a month ago, just prior to buying an i8910, I was dead set on buying Nokia's current Symbian flagship offering, the N97/N97 Mini. However, inside the store and at the very last moment, I decided against these and got the i8910 instead.
I'm very glad I did as I absolutely love the phone.
While I've yet to pimp it out with custom firmware, although I will soon, even straight out-of-the-box I feel it holds up very well against the current flagships from many other cellphone manufacturers.
However, some of the upcoming Android flagships are tempting to me jump ship to that OS - the HTC Droid Incredible comes to mind as I write this.
I'm very glad I did as I absolutely love the phone.
While I've yet to pimp it out with custom firmware, although I will soon, even straight out-of-the-box I feel it holds up very well against the current flagships from many other cellphone manufacturers.
However, some of the upcoming Android flagships are tempting to me jump ship to that OS - the HTC Droid Incredible comes to mind as I write this.
