Well, Claudio asked in the news section whether he should get a 7710 or a 9500 and that Wi-Fi wasn't important to him.
To me, even with the Wi-Fi thing, the two devices are completly different and that is because of one, fairly obvious reason. One has a keyboard, but no touch sensitive screen. The other has a touch sensitive screen but no keyboard.
This is important because, no matter what software or comms or bells and whistles a device has, the number one factor in whether you will use it on a daily basis for the next couple of years, or use it for a few days and then tuck it in a drawer and forget about it, is what Computer Programmers call the HCI or the Human\Computer Interface.
Personally, the idea of using a PDA without a stylus is utterly foreign. Having to use some dodgy cursor device to scroll through field after field until you get to the one you actually want to modify or enter text into seems like something out of the dark ages.
If I'm browsing the internet and see a link I want to open, I want to click on it. That's what Web Browsers were developed for! They weren't designed to have you tabbing through in the hope the highlighter might, some time this year, rest on the link you actually want.
If I'm presented with a menu of pragram icons and want to pick one somewhere near the bottom I don't want to have to scroll through all the others. I can see what I want. IT'S RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF ME FOR GOD'S SAKE! I shouldn't have to spend valuable seconds of my life trying to tell my phone which of the things I can already see is the one I want. I just want to point straight to it and, in the manner of a certain character from Little Britain (appologies to those who don't get or watch BBC2) say "I want that one".
If you go to McDonalds (Can't think why you'd want to, but lets just say you did, for the purposes of this example), the conversation with the spotty faced youth at the counter (and I can say that, 'cause I just married a former McDonalds employee <hang head in shame>😉 doesn't go;
SFY "Would you like meal deal number 1?"
ME "No thanks"
SFY "Would you like meal deal number 2?"
ME "No Thanks"
SFY "Would you like meal deal number 3?"
ME "Yes please"
SFY "Would you like full fat coke with that?"
ME "No thanks"
SFY "Would you like Diet coke with that?"
ME "Yes please".......
It goes;
ME "Can I have a number 3 meal with Diet Coke please?"
PFY "Sure, anything else?"
ME " No thanks"
For those that didn't give up reading ages ago, the above example is meant to illustrate that the stylus method more closely represents the interface we humans are used to. When we are presented with a list of options with which we are already familiar, we just go straight to the one we want. we don't need to scroll through umpteen different options. We know we want 5. 1,2,3 and 4 hold no interest for us.
However, with the freedom of a stylus comes a choice. We've made our selection, but now we want to store something in our beloved little device. Whether we've chosen the notepad, the contacts list, text message, e-mail, Word, excel. Whatever it is, odds are we are going to want to enter text of some kind. Now, some clever person or other invented a device many, many years ago that allows us to enter basic text, numbers and a fairly extensive range of symbols in such an efficient way that there can be few people in the so-called civilised world that don't have one in one way, shape or form. The Keyboard.
But keyboards are big. Keyboards are bulky. Keyboards require both hands (and, remember, you are already holding a stylus?). So, the keyboard no longer looks like being the best solution IF you are going to use a stylus based interface. It may be the best method we have for inputting large volumes of text, but it adds to the weight and bulk of your device and you can't use it easily in conjunction with your stick.
So, should you buy a 7710 or a 9500?
Well, think about how you are going to use it. Ask yourself;
1/ Am I going to be entering large volumes of text?
2/ Will I be sending the odd text message, or massess of e-mails?
3/ Will I be amending the odd spreadsheet or word document or am I going to be creating large reports from scratch?
4/ Will I be using the device on the move?
5/ Do I have huge clown-hands that are going to make a small keyboard difficult to use?
6/ Does the convenience of having the worlds greatest device for inputting text outweigh the down-side of it making the device bigger, heavier, less intuitive and impossible to use on the move?
In otherwords, think about YOUR human\computer interface.
For me, the answer would be simple, I'm a stylus kinda guy (in case that hadn't come accross). But the tough thing about HCI is that no two humans are alike. Thank goodness that symbian has such a wonderfull array of different devices to suit us all!