Nokia released its new model N96 in India yesterday with high media coverage. There has been a big time comparison of Nokia N96 Vs iPhone 3G. The journalists call the N96 the “iPhone killer”. To figure out more information, I did a bit of search on net and this is what I found.
|
|
Apple iPhone 3G |
Nokia N96 |
|
Max data speed |
1.8mbps on HSDPA |
3.6mbps on HSDPA |
|
User Interface |
Multitouch UI |
S60 v3 FP2 |
|
Thickness |
12.3mm |
20mm |
|
Weight |
133g |
125g |
|
Display |
3.5” multitouchscreen |
2.8” |
|
Screen resolution |
480×320 |
240×320 |
|
Camera |
2 megapixel |
5 megapixel with Dual LED flash |
|
Battery life |
10 hours on GSM |
3.67 hours on GSM |
|
Web browser |
Safari |
S60 browser |
|
GPS |
Yes, A-GPS |
Yes, A-GPS, Maps application |
|
Bluetooth |
Limited to handsfree device |
Full fledged connectivity |
|
Replaceable Battery |
No, ship back to apple store |
Yes |
|
Entertainment |
No Video capture, No FM, Supports SMS, MMS, E-mail, Instant Messaging, Push e-mail, IM |
Supports Video Capture, SMS, MMS, E-mail and FM Radio |
|
Price (in India) |
~INR 31,000 (8GB) |
~INR 35,000 |
As you know, N96 is the first ever mobile device to offer a memory size of 16GB expandable to 32 GB through an external micro SD card (Hot Swap Supported!). You could store more than 60 hours of videos and movies with high quality.
You may be amazed at iPhone’s trendy looks and features. But think if you really need to go for one as it doesn’t support Bluetooth(see above). Out of the box you can only use Bluetooth to connect to a hands-free headset, so no A2DP stereo Bluetooth, file transfers or internet sharing. Pictures you take can be emailed to friends, but not sent directly to another mobile device. Similarly, there is no video capture and FM radio. Coming to price, both are priced crazy! On top of this, there will be data subscription charges from the telecom service providers.. Do you really need one of these?
Suzane says
When IPhone came out here in the US for the first time. The price tag was exorbitant. Besides, you had to get a contract with AT&T if you want the IPhone. I didnt wanna switch my cell phone provider. So eventually, I ended up buying and ipod touch. Its no different from an IPhone, except you can’t make calls. You can do everything else, even surf the internet if you have wifi (which I do). And trust me, I’m not spending any more of my hard earned greens on an apple product. They aren’t as foxed out as they’re hyped to be.
Nokia’s going the drain too. Their quality has deteriorated from what it used to be.
Suzane says
When IPhone came out here in the US for the first time. The price tag was exorbitant. Besides, you had to get a contract with AT&T if you want the IPhone. I didnt wanna switch my cell phone provider. So eventually, I ended up buying and ipod touch. Its no different from an IPhone, except you can’t make calls. You can do everything else, even surf the internet if you have wifi (which I do). And trust me, I’m not spending any more of my hard earned greens on an apple product. They aren’t as foxed out as they’re hyped to be.
Nokia’s going the drain too. Their quality has deteriorated from what it used to be.
Mohan says
@Srinath
I see a pro-mac guy in you.. nothing wrong.. keep it up 🙂
Srinath says
Whatever happens, IPhone will still be “the best” phone.. no comparison with other phones 🙂
Jeff says
At OMEGA COMMUNICATIONS, we have various brands of mobile phone in stock for Sale. They are
brand new and comes in their original sealed up pack with full accessories and an international
warranty.
Nokia N96 16gb…………..$375
Nokia N95 8gb……………$250
Samsung B600……………..$350
Samsung G800……………..$255
Apple iphone 16gb 3g……..$350
Apple iphone 8gb…………….$250
Sony erricsson xperia x1………$400
Sony Ericsson P990i……….$295
Siddharth says
@Krish….hmmmm….totally disagree with you on that one. Nokia’s UI sucks??….no ways….speaking in a techie’s way….nokia’s UI (symbian) is like Windows and every other phone’s interface is like unix,linux 😀
Nokia has a market share of 55% thanks to its user-friendliness…Nokia’s phones are the easiest ever to use. All tasks on a iphone require both your hands at work….most tasks on an N96 can be done with one hand….Not just my opinion, many experts feel the same way. You can read articles spread across the internet…
What makes iphone UI really good is the touchscreen…thats the only advantage.
well..personally I could never get adapted to touchscreen…it always slowed me down (i never owned any…used my friend/cousins phones).I find keypads more convenient. Even if nokia comes out with touchscreen…I may not go for it.
Vishal Verma says
Also the 8GB and 16GB capacity is illusion, as you cant store cistom files from computer (like portable HDD/ pen drive). Nicely written neutral article.
Krish Ashok says
Nicely documented, but you know what. You already have your answer at row 2. User Interface. The iPhone is how a phone UI should be like. Everything else is nowhere close. So globally, I dont think the N96 has a chance. Nokia user interfaces totally suck. They could have atleast gone with Symbian UIQ (that the newer Sony ericssons use), as that’s pretty usable.
It’s not really about the features. It’s the whole package. Ofcourse, in India, the price is ridiculous and will come down over time, and power users will prefer N96, but the average, non-techie, phone user will choose the iPhone any day
Siddharth says
Here are the list of phones I’ve used:
3310,3315,3200,6600,3250, N73 Music Edition and N 95 8GB (using it now)
want more proof for my loyalty?….lol 😀
mohan says
hmm yeah.. thats true. I missed to add those 2 points! Good catch.
Even I was a Nokia loyalist for over 5 years! I was using Nokia 3530 till last November. Now i am using Sony K750i 🙂
Siddharth says
I’m nokia loyalist 🙂
Well…mohan….you have forgotten to mention 2 of the biggest killer features of N96.
1. it has in-built tv tuner (hell…yeah! no kidding). it has a DVB-H receiver.
2. It has a 128 mb ram….phones with this kinda RAM??….wow!