Nokia E71 or Windows Mobile return in the cards?

As much as I had come to like using my Nokia N97, there was still a tendency to question its validity for my own personal usage. Things became all the more pressing with the lack of a compatible (and efficient) mobile office suite, a reasonably quick interface and ample qwerty feedback. While I could appreciate the great multimedia support through a Carl Zeiss camera and suitable stereo speakers, there was a persistent feeling that the NSeries did not provide enough satisfaction to my liking. This would not really be an issue if my only intended alternative was to resume use of my E71, but another possibility had surprisingly presented itself: a return to Windows Mobile.

The idea of going back to an unlocked Windows Mobile device seemed improbable when I was fulfilled with the Nokia ESeries, but things changed when I used the N97. I had been so accustomed to the qwerty bar form factor of the E71 and its non-touch interface, but soon regained a preference for touch navigation. Another discovery was that having a sliding qwerty no longer appeared as an inconvenience to me, and I was excited to have access to worthwhile NSeries ammenities for an enhanced multimedia experience. A widescreen for great movie viewing, Internet access, and faster navigation to rival the old-fashioned d-pad was a treat made sweeter with a 3.5mm headphone jack! I was truly convinced the N97 was as close to perfect I was ever going to get for my own needs in a mobile device.

However, the honeymoon was practically over once I had to accept the reality of my mild disappointment in the N97's touch OS and software/hardware limitations. Going without an editing version of a mobile office suite would certainly not be a pain for most users, but it was certainly a valid one for me. As a bona-fide writing geek who could be inspired to write at any given moment on his smartphone or laptop (and needed to get a life according to some people), I was extremely frustrated with the lack of an editing version for Quickoffice. Being able to only VIEW documents was never deemed acceptable by me, especially when a device reached a certain price bracket. Of course, I could have waited until a suitable editor for Quickoffice was available, but I honestly succumbed to my Nokia fanboyism. To a certain extent I could accept the blame in that situation since I was aware of the risk from the start.

The next factor in my lack of satisfaction was the performance of the touch interface for Symbian 5th edition. Most issues involved seldom freezing, a non-responsive backlight when waking from locked mode, application glitches, failing widget connectivity, sluggish navigation, poor memory management resulting in random app shutdowns, and sporadic non-registering of a connection when attached to my Mac. Another minor issue that left a big impact was the performance of gaming on the N97, particularly with the Hero of Sparta game. When I had played that same game on my iPod Touch with great graphics and fluid movement of onscreen characters, I expected the same from my NSeries device. What I ended up with was a poor 2D experience with clunky, unnatural movements from pitifully rendered characters and backgrounds. I would have expected this from my E71 which was not meant to support NGage gaming, but from the N97 was simply inexcusable. Reading reviews of seemingly graphic-intensive games on the Ovi Store were highly critical at best. I was not familiar with what went on under the skin of either the N97 or iTouch/iPhone, but it was clear that Apple had justification to pat itself on the back for a job well done. This opinion was further verified when I downloaded a trial demo of ASSASSIN'S CREED on my iPod Touch...yes, ASSASSIN'S CREED!! The gaming was breathtaking in comparison to my N97, and I had to give credit where it was due. How could a worldwide entity be given the smackdown by a US company in such a noticeable manner? With any new release of technology there was bound to be quirks, and I had no doubt that most could be addressed by future software updates. Whether certain elements of software could be fixed or not, I would certainly be more tolerant if I sincerely held the device in high regard. That was the case for the E71, but not for the N97. There was most likely more expected of the N97 since Nokia claimed it to be a flagship, and I probably didn't favor the device to begin with. One hardware issue I thought I could fully come to terms with was the feedback of the qwerty keypad. As much as I love to write, I could attempt to push myself and adapt to a button layout with daily use. Although I had successfully adapted to the N97, it was only to a certain extent that still left me yearning for something better. I bascially settled for the poor tactile feedback to hold on to the positive qualities of the device.

I was continuously amazed by the Carl Zeiss lens, 30fps video capture, stereo speakers, widescreen views, photo browsing, FM transmitter, and European craftmanship, but I was getting to the point where it was not enough. At the end of the day, I was a writer/blogger who preferred ESeries and not a gamer/photographer who wanted NSeries. Even still, going back to the non-touch territory of the E71 would be awkward after using the slider qwerty of the N97. That was when Windows Mobile popped into my head with a visualization of the Touch Pro 2.

For years, my Nokias had stood apart from other devices in additional software apps and features such as Sports Tracker, bluetooth tethering and Podcasting. The only other major factor was Mac syncing, and Missing Sync could handle any OS with no problem. Podcasting was fully taken care of by my iPods and bluetooth only proved to be a rare novelty. What was left was GPS tracking for my runs via Windows Mobile, and I used to think that Nokia Sports Tracker was in a class by itself. I was wrong. Upon reading posts on Howardforums.com, I came across a mention of something called SportyPal which was a free GPS fitness tracking utility. The gears in my head began turning after having read reviews of the Touch Pro 2 being improved with its TouchFLO UI and compatible with the upcoming 6.5 version of Windows Mobile. A major caveat of no North American 3G support was something to consider, but that didn't mean the N97 was off the hook.

As I continue to shoot footage of the N97 for a TRENT SENSE video review and look forward to updating its software, I still have one foot out of the door. If Nokia couldn't measure up to other touch interfaces that seem to be more advanced, then it may only be a matter of time before it became stagnant in its own gilded cage. While returning to my E71 was quite possible, the perceived lack of effort by Nokia to produce more than just the same Symbian OS overlayed with touch was probably reason enough to leave the platform completely. Only time could tell.

TRENT
Sent from my Nokia N97
TRENT SENSE blogger/netcast host
trentonnsmith.blogspot.com
youtube.com/absolon3