It has been more than a month since the Nokia N97 has been available to Nokia fans worldwide. With each passing day, it appears that the series of complaints have been gradually increasing in regards to the flaws of the Nokia N97. It started with minor complaints about applications crashing and UI lag due to the minuscule amount of free RAM. Next, and most ironic of all, was the scratching of the 5 megapixel camera glass due to the device’s own lens protector. Hardware issues aside, the rather sluggish user interface would make anyone wonder if it was possible to have a pleasant and lag-free user experience on S60 5th edition. This question would be answered with the power of the Samsung i8910 Omnia HD.
The Samsung i8910, also known as the “Omnia HD”, features a stunning 3.6 inch 360×640 AMOLED display, shining through a scratch resistant capacity glass touch screen. The Samsung Omnia HD also features an 8 megapixel camera with Autofocus, LED flash, and most importantly, HD video recording. Already these hardware specs outshine the Nokia N97. The most impressive and most crucial aspect would be the implementation of 256MB worth of RAM. This allows S60 5th edition to perform lightning quick. This inevitably provided users with the UI experience that S60 5th edition was intended to be experienced.
In this video, you can clearly see the Omnia HD outshining the N97 in a benchmark UI speed test:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSTYXOpSDLA
The only aspects where the Nokia N97 out performs the Samsung i8910 would be outdoor screen visibility, total memory storage capabilities, and possibly text entry. An AMOLED display proves to be a double edge sword. The colours and contrasts are beautiful indoors. However, the screen is almost impossible to see when outdoors. The total memory capability of the Samsung Omnia HD is currently capped at 32GB, while the N97 can store up to 48GB worth of data. Realistic, most users will encounter some difficulty trying to fill 32GB let alone 48GB. Therefore, for most mobile fans, memory capabilities wouldn’t be an issue for these two devices. Lastly, would be the presence of an onboard QWERTY keyboard.
The tactile response has been criticized by some Nokia N97 users. The biggest complaint would be Nokia’s decision to place the spacebar on the right on side rather than the centre. This will make typing rather awkward. However, like most things, it simply takes some time to get use to.
For most users, the touch keyboard on the Samsung is currently still rather cumbersome. Due to the Omnia HD’s super sensitive capacitive screen, users must lift their fingers off the screen in order to enter another character. Any miscalculation of touch typing will result in strands of annoying gibberish. Like the N97 keyboard, it will take some time to get use to. In light of this, the Omnia HD does hold a small advantage over the N97. The pesky typing can be fixed with feature firmware updates. No software update in the world can shift the spacebar to the center of the N97′s keyboard.
In the end, it comes down to whether or not one would want a touch screen QWERTY slider or a slim full touch screen device. Symbian 5th Edition is still quite young. There is a massive step between a stable non-touch interface to an interactive touch UI. The Apple iPhone has certainly done an amazing job for raising the bar for touch technology. As far as S60 5th Edition devices goes, the Samsung i8910 Omnia HD is the most advanced and most expensive device on the market. I would advise S60 fans to stick to their 5800XM or S60 3rd devices to allow Nokia to experiment with newer 5th Edition models. Hopefully they will get it right on the 4th or 5th try.