i8910 vs N900 vs Experia X10

[havoc]

Past-due time I upgraded my K810i, and looking at how far the tech has moved on I'm feeling like a luddite! So much has changed...

So...what do people think about the above three? My requirements are:-
- straightforward calling is a priority - ease of use
- texting is also important - which has the best/worst interface?
- camera is important, particularly low-light performance (more important than a high Mp count)
- a selection of apps would be nice
- internet browsing will be occasional only, so less important.

Finally, what is the difference between a 'resistive' screen and the other sort of touch-screen, and why do people moan about resistive screens?

Thanks all,

Martin.


PS - not interested in the iPhone as it'll cost me an extra £200+ per year for the 'privilege' of owning one. For me it's not worth that premium.

[Tycho]

I have the N900 and love it. I did have an HTC Magic with Android 2.0 on it which I also thought was great.

The resistive screen on the N900 is very good and people often think that it is capacitive. The only downside is the lack of multitouch but I never saw the point in it anyway.

I can text better on the physical keyboard of the N900 than the on screen Android keyboard.

There are a lot more apps on Android than the N900 but I have all I need and it is apparently quite easy to port from full Linux. I can start up Easy Debian and run Open Office full edition and also Gimp to edit some photos.

Battery life is OK on the N900 but I just charge every night so it is not an issue.

Having full Firefox on the N900 is brilliant and you can watch the desktop version of youtube and iplayer easily.

The N900 has 32Gb on board and I put my 16Gb SD card in as well to give 48Gb of storage which is great. Most Android phones only have a few hundred Mb on board and I'm not sure if you can get 32Gb micro SD cards yet.

[havoc]

Thanks Tycho!

[clonmult]

If you're after low light performance on the camera, then the options are incredibly limited.

Most of those listed only have LEDs, which are lousy for photography. Something like an SE Satio or the older (but very reliable) Nokia N82 are about the only ones that are any good.

[Tycho]

havoc said:

Thanks Tycho!

No probs,
I have just found out how to use my PS3 controller with the SNES emulator!!! Playing Contra, Mario Kart etc on the big screen with a Dualshock is great!

Another good review here:
Toms guide

[Tycho]

clonmult said:

If you're after low light performance on the camera, then the options are incredibly limited.

Most of those listed only have LEDs, which are lousy for photography. Something like an SE Satio or the older (but very reliable) Nokia N82 are about the only ones that are any good.

Totally agree. The N900 is quite good though. There is a bit of noise in the top left but from what I've seen it is equal to the N95 camera which was very good for a phone. Here is an example:



The X10 could be a good cameraphone if Sony use the Cybershot brand/software but if it uses the usual HTC crap then it'll be very poor.

[clonmult]

Tycho said:

clonmult said:

If you're after low light performance on the camera, then the options are incredibly limited.

Most of those listed only have LEDs, which are lousy for photography. Something like an SE Satio or the older (but very reliable) Nokia N82 are about the only ones that are any good.

Totally agree. The N900 is quite good though. There is a bit of noise in the top left but from what I've seen it is equal to the N95 camera which was very good for a phone. Here is an example:



The X10 could be a good cameraphone if Sony use the Cybershot brand/software but if it uses the usual HTC crap then it'll be very poor.

Thats not bad, but the unit is likely the same one as used in the N95, N85, N79, N82 .... so its a reasonable performer in adequately lit environments.

I've been quite disenchanted with mobile cameras though, and with the imminent death of the N85 on saturday I picked up a new Nokia.

5230 - its quite a surprise. Overall functionality is quite good - GPS is fantastic, voice quality is good, UI looks very similar to that on the 5800, but actually works. So its a touch screen smartphone with satnav, £99. Plus the mandatory and irritating £10 top up.

The camera is only a 2mp fixed focus unit with no LED or flash, but it does better in low lighting than the darned N95 and N85.

I've been tending to carry my Panasonic FT1, so if I want to send my mum a decent pic of the kids, I'll take it with the Panny, stick the memory card into the phone .... its a little awkward, but guaranteed to get better pictures.

[Tycho]

clonmult said:

I've been tending to carry my Panasonic FT1, so if I want to send my mum a decent pic of the kids, I'll take it with the Panny, stick the memory card into the phone .... its a little awkward, but guaranteed to get better pictures.

]

I'm going to do similar thing. I'll get a CF->SD adaptor and then put the SD->Micro SD adaptor in that so I can get photos off my DSLR and email them without a PC.

[havoc]

Some interesting stuff, thanks.

Anyone used the Samsung, to compare?

[clonmult]

havoc said:

Some interesting stuff, thanks.

Anyone used the Samsung, to compare?

Not used it, but its worth looking over forums.

Its definitely got a good camera, and the 720p video is apparently okay (but not great). Screen is supposed to be gorgeous, device runs quite fast, but is let down by the operating system to some extent. I think its similar to the Nokia 5800 on that count - its got a good core of functionality, but its lacking in polish.

What is strange about the i8910 is that whilst Samsung themselves seem to be somewhat tardy at getting firmware updates released, there are some third parties releasing firmware updates that make a fair difference in the device. Thats the second time I've heard of anything like that on Symbian, the only other device being the Siemens SX1.

[Mr E]

havoc said:

Some interesting stuff, thanks.

Anyone used the Samsung, to compare?

I'm using 2 of them right now. Screen is excellent. Handset is "chunky". Radio performance seems pretty good from what I can tell so far.

Interface doesn't work for me. It's a S60 interface, so it's expecting a joystick and clicks to confirm. It doesn't quite mesh with the touch screen (which is otherwise pretty good).

I'd not have one over an iPhone personally.