Head to head: The Nokia N97 vs HTC Hero

[moonshot]

As most reviews point out the N97 is no more than avarage. Maybe the HTC Hero is also only average but the N97 is Nokia's flagship device.

Is the N97 is a serious attempt at a 'multimedia computer' or just a device that is trying to be everything to everyone. Who wants a full qwerty keypad and a touch screen anyway?

Nokia are way behind and are running hard to try and catch up in the touch screen market. I don't want to carry around 150 grams in my pocket, (if I wanted a 'multimedia computer' I would have bought a small laptop) so I thought I would try a touch screen multimedia phone and so, staying loyal to Nokia, but for how much longer I'm not sure, I bought the 5530.

Maybe not up to what the N97 standards should be, but it got, on average, better reviews................... not from All About Symbian though; as they have not bothered to review it.

[lookatbowen]

If Symbian were doomed, why is Nokia releasing new phones almost every 3rd week with the Symbian OS on it?

One phone gets Maemo and every non Nokia phone holder thinks Symbian is dead in the water...

So for all those HTC and iPhone nutters out there, until your phone makers start releasing more than 1 phone a year with Android or Apple on it, there really isn't any point in making comments about Symbian.

[lookatbowen]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I bought the N97 and used it for a couple of weeks. To start with. It was OK but apps crashed or scrambled my input. The novelty of the keyboard wore off when it became obvious it was more awkward to use than the old numeric pad. I gave up with it completely after a few days. The screen touch was unresponsive, often requiring repeated taps to work. It is still, in spite of their hype, a collection of disjointed apps I listed 3 pages of problems when I sent the phone back for a refund.
I got the HTC Hero on a free upgrade just to play with. In a few hours it won me over completely. The UI is well t thought out and a delight to use. Apps are linked together so emails, texts and Facebook details are linked ti the contact they relate to. The battery life is equal to the N97 (people getting poor battery life are running notorious background apps such as Locale). The touch screen is so much nicer that the resistive of the N97, responding to very light touch. The N97 wins on camera and sound output but that is all. However A2DP Bluetooth support is so much smarter on the Hero that cordless, portable speakers work intelligently and give way better sound than either anyway. Synchronisation with Google of calendar and contacts just happens. It's brilliant.

I agree with your comments above, although in the end I decided to not go for either phone. I did a lot of reading on the HTC Hero and was determined to like it, but I am looking for a phone to replace my original N95 (even though I got the Nokia 5800XM in the meantime), which I use daily, it doesn't give me the same buzz as the N95 did. It's a pity the HTC hero didn't add a flash to the back or some kind of slide out qwerty keyboard. It's the little things that it didn't have that turned me against it!

As for the N97, my wife has it and it's a boring phone! I thought I would like it, but it's got nothing special that I have not already seen in the N95 and 5800.

I would like a fast, multitasker, flashy UI, widget, QWERTY keyboard, multimedia, major wow factor phone next... What could that be? Is there anything out there?

[slitchfield]

Originally Posted by moonshot

it got, on average, better reviews................... not from All About Symbian though; as they have not bothered to review it.

There are good reasons why the N97 has never had anything beyond its initial review (from me) - Rafe and I both know what's coming in v20 firmware and there is little point in laying into the device for problems which will be history in a few weeks time.

If you want my thoughts on the N97 read my 1st impressions piece and my missives ever since.

When v20 arrives, I'm going to be doing a full multi-part N97 review, summarising where the device has got up to and whether it's still relevant, and all the other hard questions.

Ditto the i8910 HD, we were waiting for the II1 firmware. Now that this is out, I'm (ahem) supposed to be giving this the full treatment as well. But Rafe's away this week so we're a little short staffed 8-)

[celios]

Originally Posted by lookatbowen

If Symbian were doomed, why is Nokia releasing new phones almost every 3rd week with the Symbian OS on it?

One phone gets Maemo and every non Nokia phone holder thinks Symbian is dead in the water...

So for all those HTC and iPhone nutters out there, until your phone makers start releasing more than 1 phone a year with Android or Apple on it, there really isn't any point in making comments about Symbian.

Well, I think that argument is blown out of the water as far as Android is concerned...

LG GW620

Motorola Dext

Motorola Sholes

INQ

HTC Tattoo

Samsung/O2

Samsung InstincQ

Samsung Galaxy Lite

T-mobile Pulse

SonyEricsson X3

And that's just what is confirmed for 2009 or early 2010! I'm sure there will be plenty more coming later in 2010 or unconfirmed at this stage.

[ogami_ito]

Hi Steve,

I keep on thinking about going for an Android phone to replace my iPhone, which mistakenly replaced my 5800, which rightfully replaced a WinMo device (didn't pay anything for the 5800 or iPhone...were presents for helping friends find jobs).

There are things which are new to this review. But there are also areas that are too biased.

1. I'm pretty sure everyone who has used a capacitive screen phone will know that it is so much better than resistive. However...

2. I think anyone who has used a WinMo phone for more than a day and then moved to a Nokia (ie. me) knows how much it sucks to not get good readability outside. None of the other review sites I read said HTC Hero had a problem with sunlight readability though...so I'm a little surprised and confused.

3. One of the key little feature that makes SenseUI / Hero good is smartdialing. This is important as it make touch devices much more usable as a phone.

4. YOu did'nt talk about usability of Android touch phones versus S60 touch phones. Android seems easier to use than the 5800.

5. I think you were a little off-the-mark with the Ovi versus Google thing. Google is far more popular. Ovi maybe has a lot of integration on the phone. But Google has a lot of integration across multiple devices and services which I use every day. Also, it seems Android apps are cheaper.

6. All this said though, you leave out some of the key things you can do with a Symbian phone:
a. Use as a notebook replacement with wireless keyboard (can't do that with Android AFAIK without a serious hack). BTW, does the Samsung HD thing allow wireless keyboard?
b. Display calendar appointments on the homescreen...invaluable for people like me who have lots of appointments all day long.

[moonshot]

Originally Posted by slitchfield

There are good reasons why the N97 has never had anything beyond its initial review

The review I was referring to was for the 5530. No updates pending on that one and it's been in the shops for 6 weeks.

Originally Posted by ogami_ito

1. I'm pretty sure everyone who has used a capacitive screen phone will know that it is so much better than resistive. However...

Not me. I NEED to be able to operate the phone gloved. I also extensively use the handwriting input and recognition, so for me the limitations of capacitive make it a dead loss.

[slitchfield]

Originally Posted by ogami_ito

1. I'm pretty sure everyone who has used a capacitive screen phone will know that it is so much better than resistive.

Indeed. Though resistive is better for some things, to be fair to Nokia, and it is probably cheaper to make.

None of the other review sites I read said HTC Hero had a problem with sunlight readability though...so I'm a little surprised and confused.

The difference was surprisingly noticeable. Even more so comparing an iPhone to the Hero - Chalk and cheese in the sunlight. With the cheese err.... melting. 8-)

YOu did'nt talk about usability of Android touch phones versus S60 touch phones. Android seems easier to use than the 5800.

Very much what you're used to, I think. I find S60 easier to use 8-)

Use as a notebook replacement with wireless keyboard (can't do that with Android AFAIK without a serious hack). BTW, does the Samsung HD thing allow wireless keyboard?

Not as far as I know. Only Nokia have written a keyboard driver. Anyone know a way?

[slitchfield]

Originally Posted by moonshot

The review I was referring to was for the 5530. No updates pending on that one and it's been in the shops for 6 weeks.

Ah. Well, it seems we haven't been able to get one yet. And I can't expect Rafe to buy every model with his own money! 8-)

We do our best you know...

[moonshot]

Originally Posted by slitchfield

Ah. Well, it seems we haven't been able to get one yet. And I can't expect Rafe to buy every model with his own money! 8-)

We do our best you know...

Originally Posted by Rafe

a bigger screen... Should have a 5530 review shortly.

?

[morpheus2702]

Originally Posted by slitchfield

Some replies(!)

>>Does anyone take Steve seriously anymore?

More and more people, actually, if subscriptions to my Phones Show and traffic to AAS is to be believed....

Steve, I hope your tongue was firmly in cheek when you wrote that.

Yeah, I subscribe to The Phones Show but ask yourself, what's the ratio of Nokia to non-Nokia handset reviews recently? And of those non-Nokia handsets you have reviewed, how many have actually faired better against comparative Nokia handsets?

Next up, you are not AAS. That's a real disservice to Rafe and Ewan.

Those that want to hear that Nokia can do no wrong, that all is right in Nokialand and live in the Nokia comfort zone simply gravitate to those sites where they will hear just that.

However there may be some truth to the Phone Show's and AAS's increased popularity down to your efforts alone:

a) Yep, you're right, you have your finger on the mobile pulse. You are John Lennon for the smartphone generation. We all sit back in awe, stroking our chins and murmuring 'wow, I never thought of it like that.'

b) You have your finger stuck somewhere else and are unable to break beyond the bounds of a 'Nokia good, non-Nokia bad' mindset. I no longer 'tune in' to AAS to get informed opinion - rather, just to hear what utter, unmitigated biased crap you'll come up with next.

But hey, it worked for Howard Stern, maybe it's the way to go...

There are good reasons why the N97 has never had anything beyond its initial review (from me) - Rafe and I both know what's coming in v20 firmware and there is little point in laying into the device for problems which will be history in a few weeks time.

yeah right... that's why you reviewed the hero just a few days before the firmware update

I was a frequent AAS visitor many years ago but wondered why I drifted elsewhere. I recently came back to see what was happening at AAS. Now I'm constantly reminded how bias this site is. I was fed up with all the propraganda and bias shown by AAS. Just name it All About Nokia (AAN) at least you'll gain some respect and we all know it's a fan site.

I know the biggest reason why you accept anonymous messages like mine where many other sites are restricted to members only. Simply because you gain so much traffic from these crazy articles you publish, just to provoke a reaction from the nonsense published.

What makes you guys think your special from the rest of the world tech industry? Perhaps listening and being more objective may help.

I mean search the internet about the N97 and do the same for the HTC Hero. You will find the vast majority gave favorable reviews of the Hero but the N97 is quite the opposite.

I'm no Nokia hater. I definitely like many of their handsets such as the E71, E52, E55, N95, E90 etc and the upcoming N900. You'll also find favorable reviews and articles all over the internet about these handsets. Credit is given where credit is due... The same can't be said about AAS aka AAN.

Typical AAS nonsense. If you want to waste your money listen to everything AAS has to say...

[PaulyLaw]

I seem to be in the minority here in that;

1) I have an N97 and pretty much totally happy with it. Yes it has its quirks (read bugs!) but the initial ones were ironed out with the v11 firmware, and even with the quirks (oops, I mean bugs) it still seems to do pretty much WAY more than anything else out there.

2) I read AAS because I find it the most interesting Symbian site around. I dont visit iphone sites because I dont have one and am not that interested, I dont visit Android sites because I dont have one and am not that interested.

I seem to be in the minority because I am not a whining, moaning, cowardly (read "unregistered") bore who berates this site and its content but keeps coming back..

What do you care how biased or not the site is? How well or badly Nokia and other Symbian based hardware producers will do in the against others. How does it so affect your lives that you feel duty bound to come back day after day to moan about how the VAST majority of the worlds smartphone users are wrong and you are right. Who cares!

I think Steve and the other AAS staff and contributers demonstrate and amazing amount of patience when replying to really quite personal criticism from people who dont pay a penny to be here, and dont contribute to the AAS community in any positive way at all.

Personally (and I am in no way associated with AAS) I wish all you malingering thread hoggers would just p**s off if you dont like the content here, and leave the site to those of us who do.