Nokia has revealed its Touchscreen gizmo the 5800! So far Nokia has not done great with touchscreens. Its only two releases the 7710 and the 6708 were disappointing and we assumed that Nokia – One bitten was twice shy.
Its a well accepted fact that Nokia makes some good smartphones, media phones, but the only place where it gets it wrong is the Touch!! However the 5800 looks better than what we have seen before. Here is a quick comparison of the iPhone vs Nokia 5800:
1) Design: Looks has been one of the strong point for Apple. Right from the Macs to the iPod and lately the iPhone. Apple products are a style statement. Nokia 5800 looks good, but it lacks that killer iPhone looks. This one surely goes to Apple. However the plastic body Nokia makes the 5800 lighter than the iPhone. Also we are sure that the iPhone is much more delicate than the Nokia 5800.
2) Camera: Nokia 5800 is powered by the Carl Zesis 3.2 Megapixel lens with a Dual Led Flash. While the iPhone has a 2MP cam with no flash. Though the iPhone camera gives good enough results, the Nokia beats the iPhone easily. Oops.. and did i forgot Video Recording ?? Nokia has it, iPhone doesn’t!
3) Screen and Touch: Touch functionality of the iPhone is UNIQUE. Both the 5800 and the iPhone offer a accelerometer but the Nokia still relies on offers the Stylus! This according to them will offer handwriting recognition and appeals better to global audience (specially in Asia). The iPhone screen is a little bigger at 3.5″ compared to Nokia’s 3.2″. I guess both of them have their own advantages and disadvantages. TIE
4) Music: Ahuhmmm the iPod backed iPhone and the Nokia. iPod fans love the iPhone! But theres more: Nokia now has its own music download service that competes with iTunes. Gotta wait and watch how things shape up! (Both devices offer a 3.5mm headset jack)
5) Features: Apple is restrictive and the iPhone isn’t all that open. Standard functions like Copy n Paste, Sms Forwarding etc are still missing. You can delete a single SMS and getting those 3rd part apps is a pain! Nokia offers a mass storage mode and has a Mini USB connectivity, symbian has loads of softwares already, its a Nokia – so all the basics are right! Its made for the masses. The only thing is that the Mac Os powering the iPhone is made for TOUCH usage, unfortunately the Symbian isn’t! So the only complaint would be the not soo Touch oriented usage of the Symbian OS that powers the 5800.
Also Nokia 5800 has AD2P Bluetooth support and matches the iPhone with WiFi and GPS. Nokia claims much better battery life, and we believe thats a fact.
6) Memory: iPhone comes in 8GB and 16GB version. While the 5800 comes with a 8GB MicroSDHC card free, you can add a 16GB as well. Nokia has a 81MB internal memory. (and not to forget the Usb Mass Storage mode it offers). Nokia Wins here!
7) Pricing: The Nokia is CHEAPER!! It sells unlocked and gives no trouble. Apple iPhone sells for approx 800-900$ unlocked, and the contract with AT&T is too expensive. Globally the Nokia 5800 will reach you much easily, open, unlocked and would be cheaper at below $400.
Specifications comparison 5800 vs the iPhone 3G:
| Feature | Nokia 5800 | iPhone 3G |
| Network | GSM 900 / GSM 1800 / GSM 1900 / GSM 850HSDPA 2100 / HSDPA 900 | GSM 900 / GSM 1800 / GSM 1900 / GSM 850HSDPA 2100 |
| Antenna | Internal | Internal |
| Weight(With Battery) | 109 gms | 133 gms |
| Dimensions | 111 x 51 x 15 mm | 115.5 x 62.1 x 12.3 mm |
| Display | TFT touchscreen, 16M colors | TFT touchscreen, 16M colors (Multitouch) |
| Storage Memory | 81 MB + 8GB included | 8/16 GB |
| GPRS | Yes, Class 32 (EDGE) | Yes (EDGE) |
| HSDPA speed | 3.6 Mbps | 7.2 Mbps |
| Keyboard | Onscreen | Onscreen |
| Bluetooth File Sharing | Yes | No |
| Bluetooth | Yes, 2.0 with A2DP | Yes, 2.0 |
| OS | Symbian OS v9.4, Series 60 rel. 5 | Mac OS X v10.4.10 |
| Camera | 3.15MP | 2MP |
| Browser | HTML | Mobile Safari (HTML) |
| Battery Talktime | GSM: 8h 45m | GSM: 10h |
| Carrier Bundling | None (Unlocked) | Locked (in most countries) |
Go here for more on the Nokia 5800 + Video review of the Nokia 5800
Update: The Nokia 5800 is a winner for Nokia – Selling 2.8 million units in 3 months. Still being rolled out in some markets.
Update: iPhone 3G S (Video + Speed)
While many still debate that 5800 is better than the iPhone 3G, I have now went handson with the Nokia 5800 for enough time to conclusively tell you that its no where close to the iPhone in touchscreen experience and very frankly the camera quality is also just OK. With the iPhone firmware 3.0 and the new Video powers of the 3GS – 5800 can only call upon the Nokia N97 to compete with Apple (but In out opinion comparing the two phones is not a great idea). However IMO even the iPhone 3G with the OS 3 is good enough. Amazing games, apps, wider screen, better touch controls, multitouch and far far superior web experience are some of the reasons I love the iPhone over the Nokia 5800.