Back to the dark side..

[arkwright]

Thought some of you may be interested in why I've returned to Nokia as my preferred phone manufacturer. I have always had a Nokia since my first mobile phone many years ago and only change a few months ago because I felt Nokia were trailing behind the likes of Android with their operating system.

I bought an HTC desire and have to say for the time I've owned it, I've loved Android. It is clearly still a better OS than Symbian but having now experienced Symbian 3 with the Anna updates, the gap has closed somewhat.

However, my problem has been with the actual phone as opposed to the OS. Having just bought a Nokia N8, I've realised that the Desire is poor in comparison. The N8 is better in so many ways and here are but a few.

1. Build quality
2. Camera
3. External speaker, internal speaker and general sound quality particularly when listening to music through a headset.
4. Navigation system
5. Battery life (exceptional)
6. Size (sits in the hand much better than the Desire)
7. Screen clarity especially in sunlight compared to Desire.
8. Memory capacity
9. And here's the BIGGIE... Signal strength.

Let me explain number 9. I use my phone primarily as a phone and secondly for text messaging. All the other features are wonderful, but not a necessity. Prior to buying my Desire, I had a Nokia 5800 and because of the plan I was on, I used it as my main phone at my place of work. When I bought the desire, I was unable to get any kind of signal at my place of work and subsequently had to use a landline which cost me money. Now I'm back with a Nokia, once again I can use it at work, getting at least 3 signal bars and usually more. This is clearly a fault with the Desire as I haven't changed networks.

So why am I telling you all this. For no other reason than to try and present my experience of owning a Desire and an N8 at the same time and the very different experiences I have had.

I still love the Android OS and I guess in an ideal world, my perfect phone at this present time would be a Nokia N8 running Android, but alas that is not to be.

I hope you all found my experience useful in some way.

 

[amlothi]

9. And here's the BIGGIE... Signal strength.

Out of curiosity, what model Desire do you have, what network are you on, and did you buy it through your mobile carrier or not?

It's possible that the Desire just isn't supporting all of the bands needed to get a signal where you are. In that case, it isn't really a "fault" with the Desire itself (unless you think HTC should have made the Desire more globally compatible) and is really a problem where you have a phone that isn't optimally compatible with the network you use.

I'd be curious if there is any evidence whether your Nokia phone's hardware is truly able to pick up a stronger signal using the same band as your Desire was able to pickup (albeit weaker). I suspect, though, that the Nokia is picking up a different band altogether.

 

[matttye]

I'm not surprised to read a thread like this.

Nokia has always had the best hardware in my opinion. The sound quality on my Nokia 5800xm was incredible, signal was better, battery life better too.

For me though, the Symbian OS is dire. I can't stand it.

If Nokia sided with Google and made Android handsets rather than WP7, I'd definitely be looking into what they had on offer.

 

[Rafalema]

Tested the N8. As for your points, I added my opinions.

1. Build quality - Correct.
2. Camera - Very true. But I'm not a big camera user, so I left that out when I was choosing.
3. External speaker, internal speaker and general sound quality particularly when listening to music through a headset. - The loudspeaker sucks. But the phonespeaker and headset are good.
4. Navigation system - Google is soon to come out with a navigation update for the Maps. And Ovi Maps is laggy.
5. Battery life (exceptional) - After I've rooted and flashed redux, my battery life has gone up to 5x
6. Size (sits in the hand much better than the Desire) - no IMO
7. Screen clarity especially in sunlight compared to Desire. - IMO, incorrect
8. Memory capacity - Again, rooting a2sd+
9. And here's the BIGGIE... Signal strength. - Haven't noticed any change

My friend has an N8, other has an iPhone. They talk about internal space etc.
I always tell them that Android, as a stock, is just below the average. Android, rooted, ROM'd and customized however, beats everything.

But just my opinion.

Enjoy your N8.

 

[arkwright]

I guess this was my problem with the Desire.

I'm just an old guy who bought a phone and wanted it to do what I needed it to do. Call me old fashioned, but I don't expect that once I've bought a product, I am required to 'root' it, 'rom' it and 'customise' it to make it work. I expect the manufacturer of the phone to do that for me.

Regarding the comments about signal problems. all I can add is that if I sit the 2 phones side by side with exactly the same carriers (Orange) sim card installed, the N8 has no problems getting a signal and the Desire can't get a signal. I know not why this is the case, it just is and the fact I need a phone to work as a phone in my place of work is all that's important too me.

I'm not attacking the Android OS, I'm just not completely happy with the Desire.

 

[bigbob2010]

I have to agree with you there. I have had my desire since june last year and im still running on 2.1.

I know i can update, but i dont want to. I have been reading this forum regularly for the past 14 months and many people have issues when they've updated.

Also, i still think htc let android down with the original desire. My only concern is they havnt made the improvements i was looking for in their newer phones...

If this htc trend continues i too will be jumping ships.

 

[SiHa]

I have to agree with you there. I have had my desire since june last year and im still running on 2.1.

I know i can update, but i dont want to. I have been reading this forum regularly for the past 14 months and many people have issues when they've updated.

Your fears aren't warranted really. Sure, there may have been a few issues where people upgraded and a few apps didn't play ball, but there's nothing a factory reset wouldn't cure.

But regarding signal issues, I have to agree. I had a Nokia E51 from work before I bought my Desire. At home on T-M, I can barely get a signal and it will often drop out when making a call. The Nokia shows full bars with no call problems with the same SIM. The Desire is a great bit of kit, but as a phone it's not the best.

 

[amlothi]

You're not going to find a perfect cell phone out there, to be honest. They all have their advantages and disadvantages. I respect the OP here because he honestly is stating that his personal preferences/needs are what drove him elsewhere. It wasn't that the Desire was so horrible he had to run away.

The Desire, like all phones, it a good phone for a certain group of people. My Desire, now rooted with a custom ROM, has no problems and fits my purpose for it very well. (I don't use it as a phone so much as for internet, email, dictionary, e-reader, all-in-one tool for many things in my life. I don't want to carry a phone, a camera, a book, a foreign language dictionary - I live outside my home country - a map/GPS, etc. with me all the time.) For that, it works well in my situation.

I like the flexibility Android gives me to customize. (That's a plus for me, not a minus - but I understand why some may not want to have to customize a phone.)

I like the screen size - big enough for it's purpose, not too big. (I've seen the EVO and DROID-X... no thanks. Don't want to carry that around all day.)

The battery life gets me through a normal day of usage easily, and that's all I really need.

I have a real camera that I take when I am touring or to events where I want real photos. The one in my phone does the job for those unexpected situations where I need it.

I bought my own set of headphones, and the sound quality is quite good. I don't use the external speaker for music.

No big problem with memory now that I'm on a custom ROM.

Don't talk on the phone that much, so I probably would be the last person to notice signal problems anyway. (I can use it on the subway underground, that's enough for me.)

The one point I can say that I truly agree with the OP is trying to use the screen outdoors. However, as I said, no phone is perfect.