We love to hear what our avid readers and subscribers have to say and this article is entirely dedicated to them! Many of you asked for a detailed comparisons...this one goes out to you! We have picked up THE major competitor of the Nokia N97...you guessed it right, the Apple IPhone 3G. Now you will say what about the Sony Ericsson Xperia, Blackberry Storm and Samsung Omnia etc? Well, lets look at the real competition. The competition which is making friends turn into foes, the animosity between the Nokia users and iPhone users! Both these phones are top-of-the-line products from their respective companies and are in a similar price range. In this comparison what we have tried to do is to interpret the specs from a user's angle and look at the practical aspects of using some of these features. Our team has narrowed down the comparison to top 10 features which we feel make the most difference to users. Sure smart phones are primarily used to make phone calls, but they are more than just that. We envision this comparison to become a real life competition of sorts. Some thing like a new Olympic Decathlon! (Imagine if Olympics really has something like that...Phone users competing against each other for supremacy..there'll be bloodshed!).Here's starting off this debate with an in-depth analysis on using these 10 features given by the team from the point of view of comfort, convenience and usability.
Let the Battle begin!
| Feature | Nokia N97 | Apple IPhone 3G |
| Touch Screen | A large 3.5 inch resistive touch screen display of this phone is first one from Nokia that works without a stylus. The power of this screen shall be visible only after launch | A 3.5 inch capacitive touch screen gives IPhone the key edge over its competition. The multi-touch display makes moving around menus quite easy |
| Messaging | A 30 degree slide out full QWERTY keyboard should make it the fastest SMS device among all smart phones | No QWERTY is surely a disadvantage. Also, some of the basic symbols are not available in the direct keyboard |
| Imaging and Video | A 5 Mega Pixel Carl Zeiss camera is sure to put old digicams to shame. Twin LED flash adds that extra punch. DVD video recording make this the perfect all in one device | A 2 Mega Pixel camera is good to take pictures in daylight. Compact camera but it’s without any flash light. No Video recording support is surely a major drawback |
| Music | An audio out port and a high quality built-in speaker is the right ingredient in this phone for the music lover. Album art support and preloaded music albums give it the edge | The IPod legacy continues and all the interactivity and convenience of the IPod are part of the IPhone. The speaker phone is not that powerful and you need to relay on your headphone which are also quite great. |
| Storage | Inbuilt 32GB memory and support for an additional 16GB make this the largest phone storage on the planet | 32 GB IPhone has just been announced but the ones available on the Apple store are only 8GB and 16GB versions. |
| Internet, Maps and GPS | Nokia’s Symbian platform comes with an in built browser that supports almost all sites. Assisted GPS in the N97 and pre loaded Nokia maps provide it the extra edge | The OS platform supports a mobile Safari version that has a much better browsing experience. Integration of the GPS with Google Maps also gives route info in certain countries |
| Applications | Nokia doesn’t have an application store for the N-Series yet. As most applications are free or third party, there is a lot of scope for improvement here. | The Apple store is one of the biggest selling points for IPhone. With almost 10k applications to choose from this is one place where IPhone has a clear edge |
| Gaming | The N-Gage gaming platform has been evolving with the N-Series hardware upgrades. Now touch screen games with accelerometer support such as Asphalt Racing are expected soon | Apple has a number of games running in the IPhone but no tie up with any major gaming labels |
| Connectivity | The phone has 3G support, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity. Support for the OVI platform adds a zing to the connectivity support of the N97 | With 3G and Wi-Fi, the phone fulfils the requirements of a smart phone. However absence of any online or Bluetooth sync capabilities is a hindrance in some cases |
| Vital Stats | 150 gms in weight and 6.5 hours of talktime on GSM,this baby can surly survive for long | 133 gms in weight and a talktime of over 7 hrs on a GSM network make the IPhone a part of your survival kit |
| Software | The latest Symbian S60 version 5 operating system has widget support and is faster and better than ever before | No one can write software like Apple does. A mini version of the Mac make the software fast and responsive |
| Overall Verdict | Nokia N97 is power packed, innovative and a dream device for some one on the move with this music,movies and games. An application store would compliment the abilities of this phone to large extend | Apple IPhone has tested the market for a while but has still devoid its users with the features of video recording and Bluetooth. However, the fun of applications does come out with the IPhone |
64 comments:
One of the best and comprehensive comparison of these two phones that i have read so far...keep on guys..this blog seriously rock !!
nice blog...quite a useful info...
Comparison really helps a lot. Looking forward to it specially for the camera...:)
awesome blog man!!
One of the main worries any one would have to transfer his/her contacts to the new phone seamlessly.
Nokia E51/E71 series comes in handy with an application called "switch" , any idea it comes with N87 aswell?
@ Mahendra - The N97 should surely come with such an application. This is because most users of this phone will be people who will upgrade their phones from another model. This application is available in the 5800 XpressMusic, so support for Symbian 5 is there. In fact one can easily use Ovi or Microsoft Outlook to take backup of one's contacts and other personal items.
Guys you arent speaking of HTC at all!!
HTC name probably does not resonate as much as nokia or iphone but the deals they offer are good!Imagine this:fingerprint and handwriting recognition too!
@suban...yes...i support that...that application is available in a 5800.My friend just bought one 5800...decent phone,i must say
Yes Yes.. I concede... I havent been factoring in HTC too much into the equations. Well i have just one answer - HTC runs Windows!
But windows IS convenient for a lot of users(i of course count myself in!)These users are ones who have well adjusted to their lappies and PCs which are running versions of windows.And i have heard of problems in S60 symbian...how do you counter that dude?
but i must say....it more than justpinches my pocket with a price tag of 70k!!but features like:7inch screen running Intel 800MHz processor and what not!!maybe i'll buy one when i get my next promotion!
why are some points in red?touch screen,internet gps,imaging video etc??
@ Kumar: They are hyper links to previous articles that we have written related to the features. As for HTC, it might interest you to know that HTC is actually an OEM supplier to companies like Nokia as well. They dont really have a good overall solution and play the value for money game.
Akhil - Yes this is comprehensive, exactly what I wanted in my first comments to the blog. The blog is exciting....
Looks like N97 has Envy thy Neighbour characteristics.... Though I have hopes alive from Apple.
but you forgot to compare one extra thing.the most important one infact!Whats the price coparison like?apple come ard 30k i guess...
and of course the fact that this very apple iphone i'll get from usa at really cheap rates:if i buy form USA and get it unlocked then its ard 16k!
now many people will argue about legality and all,but its rampant in India.You visit heerapanna in bombay and they get it unlocked
@ Geetika - There are hardly any iPhones available directly in the US these days. They come bundled with tariff plans. As for after sales service and warranty, I doubt if 'Heerapanna?'can match up with Nokia :)
The option to upgrade the memory slot in the N97 is a much bigger advantage than people seem to realise. I'm sure many might say 32 gb's a tad too much for most people but that's what we thought about 8gb less than an year ago or 4 gb just a few months earlier than that, for that matter. Just over an year ago, people were gladly lapping up the N95 8gb without an upgradable card slot and now they lament that 8 gb's too little for a mobile phone of that capability. And I'm sure that with N97, it's going to be just the same, maybe even more crucial. And Nokia understands that. That's why they gave the N96 a memory slot even with a 16 gb onboard memory, and are doing the same for the N97.
This is amazing stuff !
What a battle we have on the cards !
I feel that Iphone finally has a true rival, with Samsung Omnia and the Blackberry Storm already biting the dust when they tried to even compete with the legendary Iphone.
But I feel N97 has a very strong chance of displacing the Iphone from its top position, but need to come up with innovative pricing & plans for people like us who are bound by existing 2 year contracts here in Australia
Cheers
Good Job Akhil
N97 is definitely going to be there in my kitty the time I get to Office ! I always used to wonder when can I have a NOKIA with all the features listed. I am a die hard NOKIA fan and have a N93 myself, Got 5 Nokia mobiles in my family.... This one's gonna be up there in my list as well. Well this blog just reinforced my belief and trust in NOKIA. Well done bloggers !
hey it's N73 music edition and not N93..... typo error... no wonder i made folks wonder about N93 !
Bad News N97 - Before the launch the competition is ready - that too within the same OS: check out Samsung Acme - with 8 MP Cam, S60 5th Edition (same OS as that of N97) and, HDMI output... yes you read it right.
The HDMI output explains the HD 720P video capture and playback that the device is capable of... I know too much of sweat for N97... This is besides every other feature thats standard today.
sorry folks... but its better to know whats coming... With the same OS it cant be a dumb device :P
Check it out: http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/06/samsung-acme-i8910-gets-caught-flashing-its-s60-5th-edition/
and here:
http://dailymobile.se/2009/02/06/samsung-acme-i8910-high-quality-pictures/
N97 rocks by all means!!
fair comparison.but isnt iphone set to release something bigger and better?
@Shantanu - If youve read our earlier comments, its not the pixels that make a great camera but the lenses and the hardware. 8MP is easy to achieve with a bit of interpolation applied.
And if Samsung is using Symbian 5, its just an admission by another industry player that Nokia does have the best solution to offer in terms of hardware or software.
If you read up more about the Samsung phone, you would realise that it just has a touch screen. It has much lesser memory, that too achieved my external memory card. To be honest, except for the 8MP on paper, I dont see it any better than the 5800 XpressMusic. Dont be too surprised if Nokia just replaces the camera in the 5800 and totally annihilates the competition that you speak of.
It is a tendency of some people to read a lot into specs and become what we call as Measurebators. What looks good on paper does not always translate to an exceptional solution. Its how well the services and the app store integrate with the product offering that will make the difference.
@Suban:
Agreed, that megapixel is a myth - I myself use a 6MP Nikon DSLR which produces much better images than a 12 MP point and shoot.
Competition is always good. I am sure that this blog isn't about establishing the N97 supremacy; but about knowing the N97 better - the much anticipated phone. We all love what N97 seems to be.
There is nothing like a Jesus phone ever. N97 may be outstanding in most of the departments - but it may not be the last word.
As far as Samsung Acme goes, don't confuse it with other Samsung 8 MP phones coz there are plenty out there. What sets apart Acme is the High Defn Video Capture (720p), High Defn Video Playback and the ability to connect with your HDTV via the high def HDMI link - all three the first ever in the world. It comes with S60 series 5 OS, which gives it similar capabilities as that of 5800 or N97 (barring the physical Keypad).
I am sure Nokia would be happy to know what the competition is upto.
It's just so interesting to see the evolution - as there would always be something to catch up... this gives scope to the spec sheets for N98, N99 and N100 ;)
I am jus loving the war of Superphones! :)
The best of all... Its gonna be an ongoing war - consumer is eventually the king!!!
Only if we could do away with the recession! ;)
coz it hurts to buy a phone which costs as much as a notebook! :P
Its totally upto your imagination to figure out who is competing.. a Vaio P also looks like a competitor... as a N97 kinda device can almsot do everything that a netbook can!
Really very good comparison of these two phones. It's very impressive.............It shows nice job done by you. So Keep it up.
After the stupendous success of i-Phone around the world, can Nokia N97 challenge the market monopoly of i-Phone? That we will see when it comes out because it takes a lot to create a hysteria like Apple i-Phone has done in this one year
battle of 'smart' phones: clearly n97 emerges 'smarter'! maybe smartest as of today1
Wow, that is like one of the most exhaustive and accurate comparison between the two machines.
After reading this, I'm sure N97is going to give iPhone users a terrible heartache.
N97 rocks!
Wonder why I didnt land on this post earlier!! Easily one of the most complete comparisons.. Way to go!
A comprehensive analysis .. I must say !! Job well done ... any information on multi-modality feature ; integrating voice and graphics in particular..?? Graphics are amazing though !
Nice overall comparison between the two hottest smartphones, but i think N-97 has a clear edge due to its connectivity options, gaming and multimedia edge over i-phone. The only thing missing is the application support which i am sure nokia will fix in time to come.
well..
basking in the glory of IPod cant help Apple till long..
although N97 still falls short in a couple of these features as mentioned my Akhil.. sleekness, battery life.. weight.. all these things help the utilitarian.. the hedonistic wont bother anyway.. for whom this 'on the beach' is made!
Akhil..
im really amazed by ur in-depth coverage of the features.. but one appalling miss is anythin related to businesses & industries..
how do u satisfy this class of clients with ur features.. who're looking 4wd to 1 catering to their needs along the lines of the Blackberry?
lukin into da comparative charts of n97 n the apple iphone....the n97 clearly beats it handsdown...clearly see it making waves in the markets if marketed & priced properly.
Even though the n97 scores high on features, the Iphone i believe is still unbeatable in design and will continue to be the phone u would want to flaunt.
a nice and honest comparison. i am unable to fathom the callousness of apple towards user naeeds and their brazen attempts to lock the user to their own hardware and software. e.g. iphone cannot record videos (a feature which even an entry level camera phone has these days) and allowing only apple's own bluetooth hardware to work with apple. though it might have been great for generating revenue through selling accessories, but severely restricts people in sharing files with other mobile phones. no doubt apple is a great company, and designs stunning products, but it's high time that it stopped being so arrogant and listened to the customer to include at least the basic universal features in its products.
Apple rocks!!!!!
My statement before visting this blog..
N97 seems a much better bet..
Nokia rocks!!!!!
The comparison is very well laid out and easy to understand. it is true that iPhone has the aura of Apple and its iconic products. However, it lacks basic features like Bluetooth and keyboard input.
The N97, like any offering from Nokia's stable, is very stable. However, if it has to sell, it has to be 'trademark' Nokia - easy to use.
apple apps are great though...Nokia shd come out with killer apps to counter the competition..
but agree with the AV out part...apple does not seem to be listening to its users
yup apple needs to revamp ...iphone needs more features...i was expecting the new gen of iphone to have a GPS , Bluetooth compatibility atleats..if N97 doesn't forces them to listen to then all will be left of steve job's credo " stay hungry stay foolish " will become an epitah !!!
Nice job. Hungry for more. Can we get a N97 vs Omnia comparison?
Apple pushes users to stick to iTunes and the iTunes store. If you install iTunes on to the desktop, there are almost 4-5 services running in the background eating up on system resources. Apple almost wants to control its users.
What mechanism is Nokia planning to help overcome issues like applications crash and causing OS related problems ?
if an announcement from apple comes with a newer better version of their iphone,tables will turn..
Thanks everyone for such insight comments on our research for a comparison between Nokia N97 and IPhone. We had detailed interviews with smart phone users in general and IPhone users in particular to come with the list of 10 parameters for comparison.
As per user requests, we would come up with comparisons with other phones such as Omneia and HTC and Blackberry Strom as soon as we are able to lay hands on any of these devices and understand the real features.
N97 definitely sounds better that iphone.
In the war is not to shame to lose to powerful enemy, the same here so IPhone should not feel bad to lose the world of touch screen to nokia n97 ,because N97 is a powerful and nothing can compete with it.
nice comparision! still tough to choose from. it's not between good and bad, but between to very good phones that one has to make the choice. boss, give me a raise, i wanna both of these in my handbag.
i hope the slide mechanism doesn't compromise on sturdiness.
is these bolggers are telling truth? If yes then this phone is beating all market expectations and iphone is going to have a tough competition.
Now N-97 seems better than i-phone.
Nokia needs a really good browser to compete with the Iphone
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