Battle of the Budget Smartphones: PIM, Music and Media

You mention battery life. This is where the fundamental power and architecture of Symbian shines through. Android is incapable of ever being anywhere near as efficient as Symbian, so case closed on that one. And let's face it - after the battery dies on an Android device, you're then comparing a useless lump of plastic and metal with a fully functioning Symbian smartphone, easiest win in history.

I'd also like to see if a comparison is even possible between the new Nokia 5250 (story below this one on AAS front page) and Android, because frankly I don't think Android can even compete at that level - £60 (sim free new), and below. Which means that Nokia/Symbian will own the one big growth area in the mobile industry going forward - emerging markets and the developing world.

One of the main reasons Android has such lousy battery life is due to their owners using the handset more than ever when compared to their old dumb "smart" phones.

When I was on my N97, I hardly used it to check emails/news/weather/etc. Now I do all those and more; a lot more often on my Android phone. In fact I am on the phone so much, my other half has complained.

That should be a plus point for the N97. It is so limited in use that my missus gets more attention. :)

Well, well, Ewan Spence picking a Symbain and Nokia phone as the winner. What a great surprise *wink*

I see Symbian fanatics/employees are out in full force these days on the AAS forums.

LMAO what do you expect on a site about Symbian? what a dumbass comment

The reason that Android battery life is crap is because people haven't downloaded a task killer app to get rid of all the appcrap that Android leaves behind.

Despite the theoretical way that Android is supposed to work, in reality a task killer app it necessary and made all the difference to my battery life.

But there is a serious point in this. Why they hell do people waste time poking a gadget in their palm? FFS, I am going to chuck mine on Ebay and get an old Nokia 6100 out of a drawer and to hell with all this geek crap.

I've no idea why it took me so long, but thanks for the epiphany moment. I am going to do something human with the time and cash.

The 5230 has a weak 434mhz CPU and 1320mAh battery, the ZTE Racer has a smaller 1100mAh battery with 600mhz CPU, so NO FRIGGIN DUH THE 5230 would have better batt life!!! Its got NOTHING to do with symbian being more effecient so quit singing the same old lame song. I would rather have the ZTE Racer knowing that everything will run smoothly, web browsing will be fast,there will be no random crashes, reboots or out of memory errors when i start multitasking, unlike the 5230 where the above problems are guaranteed at some point. Would love to see how they compare in multitasking as they are smartphones. Play music, open a social network app, and then use the built in browser to open full html Engadget, a Mobile-Review review and WOM World,see how the oh so "effecient" 5230 crumbles under the pressure while the ZTE Racer does it all with no problem. :)

Actually, nobody attempt to run Android on a 434MHz CPU, but you can with Symbian so the efficiency has EVERYTHING to do with it.

"When I was on my N97, I hardly used it to check emails/news/ weather/etc. Now I do all those and more; a lot more often on my Android phone."

Okay, no hard feelings, but I sincerely believe you hardly know how to use symbian; since I do all those on my severely outdated 5320 (not 5230!), and a lot more for years! I can run various python scripts on my phone thus significantly increasing the productivity, and this is something no other platform out there can offer. Yes, symbian's got an outdated browser, it's got a lousy interface; but that's a very low price to pay for the functionality it offers. And re 'people who buys cheap smartphones can barely exploit its potential' - that's not entirely true. I bought my phone for a mere 120€, and I believe I exploited its potential more than many n97 users ever could out of their flagship phone. At the end of the day, its not the phone that limits its usage, its the user who decides its limits.

ACTUALY thanks to an app called SetCPU i managed to clock my X10 down to 384mhz, it ran fine,but did start to jerk and slow down a bit in the very same way nokia s60v5s do e.g when using opera mini,but it was still faster and smoother than a n97mini, maybe thats thanks to the GPU, point is Android can run on a slow and outdated CPU but why limit the users like that huh? Use even a HTC Wildfire then go to a N97mini or 5230 and you realise how much that 434mhz CPU totaly destroys the user experience, as i said, it has NOTHING to do with effeciency,its about having a smartphone that performs well, and the Androids do that far better than symbians at the moment. Interesting that Nokia saw the need to bump up the E72 and other Eseries to 600mhz CPUs, they saw how awfuly slow even the N86 was, so they fit those cheap Freescale 434mhz CPUs in cheap s60v5s to cut costs.

"maybe thats thanks to the GPU"

- Indeed it is. Exactly the same reason why the N8 runs so much better than the N97, even though it has the same CPU family. The GPU 80% of the whole experience, since 80% of the operation of a modern smartphone are screen-updates.

BTW. However! If you reduced the RAM in the X10 to 128 MB, I assure you Android would die a painful death.

"Okay, no hard feelings, but I sincerely believe you hardly know how to use symbian; since I do all those on my severely outdated 5320 (not 5230!), and a lot more for years! I can run various python scripts on my phone thus significantly increasing the productivity, and this is something no other platform out there can offer. Yes, symbian's got an outdated browser, it's got a lousy interface; but that's a very low price to pay for the functionality it offers. "

LOL, LOL, LOL. This perfectly exemplifies how delusional Symbian fans are (I was once as well). Python scripts!!! Who in the effing wide world has the spare time and useless energy to learn a language and program their phone to bring it up to par with other platforms????

ALso, I think you have no idea how flexible Android is otherwise you wouldn't be quoting python scripts as a shining example of Symbian's all-conquering geekiness.

Just because most normal users find it far easier to lead a connected, in-sync life with an Android set means they don't know how to use Symbian!! How thoughtful.

As for those advocating battery life above all else, I see your point and it's a major irritant, but I'd rather spend a few hours at the absolute top of performance heap rather than spend two days crawling and stuttering. I also think Android encourages users to use it a lot more, both online and offline, so its battery life suffers even more.

And hey, a couple more things

Yes, Symbian is cheap, and offers smartphone functionality at unparalleled mass market levels. Nokia is to be applauded for that. That said, at the absolute bottom rung is where the OS belongs in terms of user experience.

Secondly, the STRICTLY THEORETICAL premise that Symbian is efficient on the resources is soundly rejected by an endless line of Nokia phones which were downright dogs to operate. Even their 'good' phones pale in comparison once you use a non-Nokia device.

Thirdly, I'd like AAS to publish comparison between a proper Android device and a high=end Nokia phone.

Well there's not much sense in any of that (or anything talhamid writes on here) but I would like to know why Symbian only belongs on the bottom rung?

I mean if you have good hardware, QT and an improved UI how is Symbian only confined to basic phones? I see no reason for a limit at all. But I tend to be a postive kind of person.

BTW, I am an Android user.

@talhamid
I seriously don't place my comments regarding 'anything' without knowing it first. I've used android, the almighty Galaxy S to be specific, and I've gotta admit that I was impressed...by the display! Apart from that, everything felt 'gimmicky'. Okay, I'm not advocating s60 5th here since it's seriously inconsistent, but the function is there which is rendered half-useless by some stupid interaction choices. They are being rectified in symbian^3, and I believe 'it's better late than never'. As for symbian 'Is hard to use', 'hard' is a very subjective word. Personally me, along with my friends prefer ubuntu to windows. The former is much more command line driven, not nearly as easy to use as windows, but any hardcore computer geek will find it more enticing. Yes, android integrates all the programs into the system, it's got live widgets that boost the UX, but it hasn't yet covered the basics like wired tethering, just to name one. You feel android is much better than symbian, very good, just don't try to preach at us (hardcore symbian users), as we will always mark you (and others like you) as the fox in Aeshop's fable who got his tail cut in a trap and then tried to signify it as glorious. It's allaboutsymbian, and you know the triumphant!

@kmmbd

Agreed. Replace Galaxy S with HTC Desire, and my experience is the same as yours.

Android is great for those that are heavily into social networking and google services. Otherwise it has little to offer, apart from useless fart/vuvazela apps and pointless widgets that enable access to functions which should be available by default. If Andriod were a car, you'd need to install a third party gearbox before you could drive it.

@kmmbd

"Okay, no hard feelings, but I sincerely believe you hardly know how to use symbian; since I do all those on my severely outdated 5320 (not 5230!), and a lot more for years! I can run various python scripts on my phone thus significantly increasing the productivity, and this is something no other platform out there can offer. Yes, symbian's got an outdated browser, it's got a lousy interface; but that's a very low price to pay for the functionality it offers. And re 'people who buys cheap smartphones can barely exploit its potential' - that's not entirely true. I bought my phone for a mere 120€, and I believe I exploited its potential more than many n97 users ever could out of their flagship phone. At the end of the day, its not the phone that limits its usage, its the user who decides its limits. "

It's quite presumptuous of you to assume I do not know how to get the best out of my N97.
Here is a quick and brief timeline of my phone ownership;
Nokia 2110, Nokia 8110, Nokia 8810, Nokia 8850, Nokia 8910i, Nokia 9500, Nokia E90 and finally the N97 which out of all my Nokia handsets was the most infuriating piece of crap I've ever had the displeasure of owning.

When I made the jump to Android, it was a breath of fresh air. I felt free for the first time and could do what I wanted/needed to do with a "smart" phone.

I have to say, my experience is limited to me and my technical requirements and they may not be the same for you. However, assuming the user is at fault for not being able to use a POS phone like the N97 is just plain wrong.

????? ookay. I often wonder when i read comments like this whether the user even knows what they are doing or if their android is faulty. Hj havent come across many fart apps or vuvuzela apps,but then again i usualy have an idea of what i want and even the 1st page of android market has some great and useful apps and good game recommendations,is this where you are getting many fart and vuvuzela apps? there must be something wrong, id suggest hitting search for what you want or go to apps and look in the categories.

Widgets are there to extend apps that are already there and also provide info in a way you want e.g weather widgets, i dont know of many s60s with a weather app built-in and even then you usualy have to go and open the app each time, with widgets its there in your homescreen, same with latest news,calender entries,facebook etc...most of these are built-in to androids anyway,only widgets i had to download was one that shows my exact battery left,internal mem and mem card mem on my homescreen and a weather widget, i find them pretty useful,but thats me.
Only necessary app i had to get was Astro file manager other than this android has everything and more, s60 still sucks at even showing true battery amount left yet in android i have the indicator and percent that are far more precise.
Wired tethering is even easier on android, i got Easytether, which i can do on any pc within 5mins,on s60 you have to get the pc suite and then find the tether app etc...takes forever.
lol i love how it went from a 434mhz CPU to 128mb RAM. WELL 128MB RAM on S60v5 sucks to!! Get off the "symbian is effecient/can run on low end hardware" crap as the N97 totaly killed that arguement, symbian is crap on low end hardware thats just how it is.

obviously you have a lot of hate and frustration for symbian and that's where your judgments are coming from. Words like "crap" , "Totaly destroyed the user experience"? Maybe you meant "your" experience? Sure, I agree compared to you 1ghz X10.

You have a point about the N97 but I doubt 5230 or that ZTE buyers will multitask beyond playing music while texting or viewing notes/calendar/pictures. By the way, my 2.3Ghz dual_core laptop is more battery efficient than my 1.6ghz single core laptop with almost twice the battery cells. So higher mhz does not mean worse battery. It could be a lot of things like antenna, screen, etc. . .

@ kmmbd,

Your post about installing Python, and tweaking your phones shows that you have a myopic understanding of the consumer market. Google and Apple get it while Nokia continues to flounder. The modern consumer wants a phone that just goes. While the iPhone may not have cutting edge hardware, it has proven time and time again that it's the software that matters most. Again, Nokia fails greatly in this area and it seems that they will continue to play catch up. Thank goodness there is the bottom feeder market to keep them afloat. If Nokia had to go head to head against Apple or Google with the likes of the N97 or even the coming N8. Nokia needs to clean house and get in a management team that really has a grasp of the consumer market. Look at the regurgitated phones that Nokia is offering. Practically no innovation at all. It is a sad state of affairs from a once proud company.

You should consider this handset now for the budget handset comparison:

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE67N58620100824

??????????


Compare this Dell $300 handset to a Nokia 5230.

LOL you are funny.

5230 retails for the equivalent of $125. No contract.

When a phone "that just goes" becomes available, please let me know. There's not been any yet.

LOL! Android 1.5 Cupcake on a $300 phone. What idiots!

after try galaxy s i'm falling in love with android no limited technology & hardware like Symbian. N900 look really suck xD Nokia need change old man & give too young man. we all know Nokia Symbian^1 team & phone really disappoitment.

I am very pleased that you have made your choice and are happy with it. Now run along and play with it.

Personally I wouldn't be interested in a Galaxy S or any huge slab phone, unless I was looking for something to prepare vegetables on. The Galaxy S has got to be the ultimate boring geek's gadget.