Nokia hiatus.

After so many years of being loyal to the Nokia brand, there STILL is no sign of innovation at all from these new handsets! After the E90 Communicator, Nokia seemed to fall into a stagnant state of utter laziness with the ESeries line. I wasn't even excited about the E72 when it was announced, for it barely offered anything more than a few unexciting features. While these upcoming models will certainly make someone happy, I am speaking from the perspective of a former Nokia fan who has become tired of waiting for the company to get with the times and use some common sense.

ESeries units are great for messaging functions, but I want more in multimedia support for a better camera sensor and a refreshed user interface. I understand that this product line is marketed for a consumer bracket that may not be interested in multimedia, but it just makes sense to have a true convergence device to try and satisfy ALL potential buyers. Being that I am so bored with ESeries devices, I really want to believe that I can eventually find a Nokia model that will grant me the enhanced convergence experience that I am looking for. I thought that the N97 was the answer to all of my problems with its included qwerty, but I was wrong...very wrong.

My overall impression of the Nokia N97 is tarnished from a number of factors, and I can admit that a few may have been wrongly used to criticize it. My disappointment in the poor qwerty feedback and lack of a functional word document editor is my own cross to bear, not Nokia's. I tried to take the N97 and turn it into an ESeries savior, which is not what it is meant to be in any way, shape, or form. I then put forth an effort to make amends by revising a review video I had posted onto a TRENT SENSE netcast episode, for I felt that it was the right thing to do. I would like nothing more than to maintain the trust and respect I have gained from my subscribers, even if it means admitting when I am wrong. This is why I added the revision to the netcast episode on July 19, 2009, and I would certainly do it again if necessary in any other situation. I use this blog and the YouTube channel as an outlet to share my honest opinion, not to blindly promote unfounded bias.

In the not-so-distant past, I could never see myself leaving the brand after it had been so beneficial to me in my daily use with additional apps and Mac syncing. I was a loyal Nokia customer who at one time had laughed in the faces of first generation iPhone owners with my brand new E90 Communicator (I did eventually get an iPhone and return to the Nokia fold, but that is not the point). As a result of first discovering the 6255i on CDMA and then the E62 on GSM, I found myself devoted to a worldwide leader in phone manufacturing and sales. Nokia and Symbian was considered to be the utmost example of excellence for me, and I was definitely proud to be a part of it as a willing buyer and enthusiastic fan. In the Nokia mindset, I lead myself to believe that it was just as important to have great camera optics, stereo sound quality, a comfortable qwerty, and a stable Symbian OS. I was really impressed with the features of the NSeries product line, but desired a full qwerty keypad that was not available at that time. No other manufacturer brand seemed to be right for me in the quest to own the perfect smartphone, and I was mostly content with the quality offered from Nokia ESeries handsets. The Symbian OS was very stable and the onboard multimedia features were advanced in comparison to competing models. I was happy. I was satisfied. I was whole.

Things began to change when the non-touchscreen interface of the ESeries began to feel antiquated and boring amidst the popularity of touch interfaces. I no longer wanted to be confined to a potential misconception that all ESeries users were businessmen uninterested in advanced phone features. I could recall the amazement I felt when navigating a touch UI on either the iPhone, iPod Touch, or Windows Mobile devices, and I wanted the same for the ESeries units. Since the E72 was the only thing that appeared to be coming in the near future amidst other non-touchscreen models, I had to go for what seemed to be the next best thing: a NSeries gadget with a qwerty and touch UI. Sure, the E71 was perfect for my needs at the time, but I wanted to take a chance on something new. With the announcement of the N97, it appeared that the planets were in alignment for a sudden surge of success in Nokia's destiny! I sincerely wanted to be a part of that.

I should have known that something was wrong from the moment I opened that dark grew box embossed with silver font and an image of the N97. I can remember feeling a little bit underwhelmed when I held the unit in hand, for it seemed so much larger in those online review pictures I had already seen. Aside from that, I really didn't expect much trouble from using that new qwerty slider on a daily basis. I was optimistic that the N97 would be able to satisfy all of my wants in a smartphone, so I willingly overlooked two quirks: seldom slow response from the touch UI, occasional freezing that sometimes required battery removal, and lack of ample RAM for efficient multitasking. There were indeed other issues I had conflict with, but as I said earlier, these were my own to deal with and not at fault of the device. Overall, the N97 only had some operating system issues that could easily be addressed by future software updates and was ultimately very good for a smartphone. I still stand by word that it was not a flagship in any sense of the word, but it was great for what it was supposed to do: handle multimedia. Even with that realization sinking in, I still was not content with the phone for my own personal usage. There was the alternative to return to my E71, but by that time I had been influenced by the touch screen UI and suddenly found my old phone to be lackluster. As a result, I was stuck in limbo between two product lines that no longer satisfied me anymore; Nokia no longer satisfied me anymore.

In addition to discovering my new found preference for a slider qwerty/touch UI form factor with a good qwerty and reliable word processing, I once again learned the same old lesson: there is no perfect device. In any case, there was always a compromise in using a particular model and I had to reevaluate my priorities. Do I hold on to a multimedia unit for the sake of taking pictures and video and put my primary wants on standby? Or do I choose a gadget that doesn't focus on doing stellar multimedia, but manages to fulfill my needs in other areas of usage? For a while I was under the impression that shooting video at 30 frames per second, taking pics with more than 3 megapixels, and hearing music from stereo speakers was most important for me in a phone. I was sadly mistaken. I ended up coming to the point where making compromises and settling for that which worked properly for me was sufficient for me. In this new found mentality, I would not be so quick to judge a mobile device as long as it thoroughly met all or at least most of my required preferences. At the end of the day I was ultimately a blogger who enjoyed writing in his free time, and no multimedia feature would ever be enough to change that. I certainly learned that after my experience with the Nokia N97, and very glad that I did.

At this point, I am going on a hiatus from using Nokia devices on my own accord until considerable strides are made to foster innovation. I shall remain happy for those who continue to be satisfied with what Nokia has to offer in these current times and respect their opinions. Even though there is a faint glimmer of hope that comes from reading recent blog articles about rumored future product lines (CSeries and XSeries), I will believe it when I see it.

TRENT
Sent from my HTC Touch Pro 2
TRENT SENSE blogger/netcast host
trentonnsmith.blogspot.com
youtube.com/absolon3

HTC Touch Pro 2 is here!

Writing a word document on the Word Mobile application for the Touch Pro 2 feels absolutely amazing...AMAZING! I am really taken aback by the typing experience on this qwerty that certainly trumps EVERY single device I had ever owned previously! Words cannot describe just how wonderful it feels to finally have my fingers typing on the offset layout of this phone! The XT9 works great for predictive text and automatic inclusion of key punctuation marks, and I have a control key again!!

Now that I have gotten past the excitement of the qwerty keypad, I shall now move on to sharing my first impressions of this device:

So far, I am thoroughly impressed with the build quality of this model and the improved stability of Windows Mobile. HTC certainly gave this qwerty slider a more upscale appearance in comparison to past HTC models I had previously owned, for the glossy and reflective surfaces seem to be paramount throughout the entire body of this phone. The plastics do not feel cheap and have been polished to the point where I feel as if I'm holding a jewel. The bulk has only increased from the N97 in terms of width, and the length seems to be shorter by a tiny margin. Weight has definitely been increased with this HTC, and it is immediately noticeable upon first picking it up in my hand. The slider feels like it has a bit more resistance than the N97, and the tilting mechanism requires a good amount of force to initiate...but there is a presence of solid craftsmanship nonetheless. At this point, switching from the N97 to the Touch Pro 2 is like going from an accessible Volkswagen to a more refined Audi.

There was some apprehension in first turning on the unit, for I was reminded of the unstable nature of the TouchFLO interface from the first generation Touch Pro. Navigation through the updated version has been relatively painless and MUCH faster than the Symbian 5th edition on the N97. and mulit-tasking is FINALLY doable in the most efficient manner!! No worries here of running out of memory! Lack of support for US 3G has not really become a hindrance in my usage at this point in time, but it may end up being a necessary evil since upcoming models for US carriers will probably have qwerty keys changed from the international offset layout.

Bluetooth setup with my MacBook was trouble-free and Missing Sync performed flawlessly as expected. One HUGE surprise comes from the power of the speakers at the back of the phone! The stereo feedback of this Touch Pro 2 is WORLDS away from any other Windows Mobile device known for mediocre audio output (except the Motorola Q9), and listening to music is about as pleasing as an NSeries device. The speakerphone is more than suitable for necessary volume and is worthy of the highest rating amidst every phone I had ever owned. Another welcomed surprise was the support of all the video files transferred from the N97! Each movie and TV episode shows up on the screen in a comparable fashion to the Nokia, although the touch controls aren't as detailed.

This move ultimately meant sacrificing the 32GB storage of the N97, but having a comfortable qwerty and reliable office suite is more important to me than multimedia consumption. At the end of the day, I do have gadgets dedicated for my multimedia creation and enjoyment. Freeing up my smartphone of unreasonably high expectations to be an all-in-one device helps me to understand that there are limits to what a mobile device is capable of doing. In addition, I have also learned to not take my other devices for granted.

As the coming weeks continue, I shall be keeping a journal of my findings on the HTC Touch Pro 2 and make a future post on TRENT SENSE. Having this doc editing ability already has me relieved to have left the Nokia N97, and I am hoping that I won't end up regretting my decision.

TRENT
Sent from my HTC Touch Pro 2
TRENT SENSE blogger/netcast host
trentonnsmith.blogspot.com
youtube.com/absolon3