LinkBack URL
About LinkBacks
User experience - N95,N900 & HD2 After a lot of encouragement and support from readers on India broadband, I would like to write an article on Mobile phones. An important part of our modern lives and interestingly and an ever-growing industry. I have been a Nokia fan most of my life like most people however I somehow feel Nokia is losing their grip from the market considering the mediocre devices they have come up with very recently.Today I share with you my experience on the 3 most recently used phones.
The first device and the phone that I have used for the maximum time was the Nokia N95 8GB however It got lost/ stolen (God bless the person who got it), I would say one of the best phones from Nokia and I can still recollect the hype surrounded by the Nokia N95 Type 1 with the tag line – It’s not one thing, it’s many.”
Nokia N95 8GB
Operating on the Symbian platform, With 5 Megapixels of camera the phone was a treat to have when it was launched with 8 Gigs of inbuilt memory, what more could you ask for. I will leave the technicalities to the experts. I will purely go by the user experience that I had with the phone. The screen size is good with a fantastic camera and lens and the reliability of the phone was marvellous to have. The scroll keys on the phone are a little tightly placed considering the large display in comparison to the previous N95, however still can accommodate large fingers. I used the phone for almost a year and half and was the most stable phone with very good battery life and all essentials like Wi-Fi and other required communication options on the phone. The only disadvantage that I found from day 1 was that handset was huge and heavy too. I remember my friend referring to the phone as a “Soap box” whenever I used to boast about the phone.
It’s also worth noting that Nokia came up with constant software updates to the phone which enhanced user functionality at the same time make me believe that they valued user feedback.
Initially priced at Rs.28000/- was a very expensive phone however it was and would be Nokia’s most popular phones today. The price now I believe has dropped considerably and is still a phone worth considering. Someday if I have extra money, I will possibly purchase a N95 again.
Nokia N900
One of Nokia’s newest devices and definitely this one has the capability of being a best-seller. I bought this piece (US unlocked version) from a local reseller priced for Rs.22000/-.I must say this is the handset that I have spent the most time with researching and installing new applications. As this was a used piece (I was told only 10 days used but I felt it was used much more) I did not get the actual security code for the application as I wanted to make the device brand new (for my satisfaction) I wanted to delete all the previous user settings however the default code did not work, researching over the internet got to me to this video on YouTube where in a detailed procedure was given to hack into the device and then use a software to get the unlock code and somewhat around the same time it is now (3.35 AM) I started following his instructions and took me almost 4 hours and a very rewarding experience when it actually worked for me.(Almost felt like Newton when he must have realised about gravity)
Coming down to the features and the user experience, Again 5 Megapixels (Nokia seems to be stuck at) and 32GB of memory and the touch interface to match the ace- The I-phone.the only issue was that the phone was bulky but somehow I have gotten used to using those phones. With Maemo 5 installed and hundreds of free applications to choose from, it becomes a very enticing proposition, (how could I forget) Fabulous and I mean it, Fabulous music quality on both speaker and headphone. All essential as far as communication and wireless options available, however a lower battery life, thanks to the huge screen.
Nokia live ups to its reputation and updates are easily available over the air on the phone which is very helpful. I would give thumbs up to this phone. The only reason I went on to the next device is somehow a feature that I wanted to stream music and videos from my PC over the phones Wi-Fi. I was able to stream music without any additional software however for some reason the videos did not stream, I researched over the internet and could not find much answers and did not want to use 3rd party software’s for the same. Although this phone has 32GB memory I somehow was thrilled with the idea of streaming videos from my PC to my mobile. (Interesting isn’t it). I was able to remotely access my PC over Wi-Fi with VNC, However did not enjoy it much. Hence I decided to go for the HTC HD2.
HTC HD2
As I start writing on this, I see Chandler from “FRIENDS” talking about his new laptop with 12 MB of RAM & 500 MB of hard drive and I realise that technology is too fast paced. The main feature that attracted me is the availability of Windows Mobile 6.5 OS, irrespective of many people claiming that Windows Mobile is a dying breed. My friends tell me about the 1 GHZ snapdragon processor and the RAM and all, however for me the TOUCH sensitivity and the flow of the phone is supreme and incomparable. With 5 Megapixels of camera and 8 GB of memory in the box makes the phone top notch.
The phone has an option of “Remote mobile desktop” which gives me direct access to my PC but I had to break my head a lot for streaming content over the Wi-Fi connection. There is a software called Network Plug-in, Once installed it shows “Computers near you” so that you can map the shared folders on the network (looks quite easy when I write, But is easier said than done) Finally got the things to work and had the same Newton like feeling again.
I could access all my shared files and folders on the WI-FI network; it was like a dream coming true. Watching movies, Pictures and listening to music without having to store it on the handset but only access it when I was home. I also installed software’s on the phones and most of them work fine however they are still in very preliminary stages. Themes are not available for the phones easily nor in much variety. I also downloaded and installed Monopoly; the game is very interesting especially on the handset.
I had download to CorePlayer to make the other video formats to work and the gigantic 4.3 inch display is a marvel produced by HTC. A very interesting fact is that the HD 2 with these qualities still manages to be very light but it is lot broader. (I don’t mind).The music quality is too good especially with the CorePlayer installed. This handset has become a like a prestige icon for me and talking point amongst my colleagues. Something I would strongly recommend if you are considering buying this phone. I even considered certain Android phones before going in for this model however my main requirement was streaming videos which I found very little info on the these phones.
I am deliberately ignoring the pricing part here bearing in mind this is an expensive phone, No doubt.
Again, Thanks for reading.Hope this helps people looking to purchase these handsets.
Aditya Sharma
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by jagan2 
fftopic: I was watching this episode three days ago. LOL.