Having just lost my work phone (which was fairly crap anyway), I've decided I want a personal phone with data/music type gadgets etc.

I can't decide between the Nokia N97 or an iPhone. Call plans are similar, though I have to pay for the iPhone.

Anyone looked between the two?

I like the fact I will have my itunes music on the iphone, but the nokia has a better camera. choices choices?

Different!

I have the iphone and i think it is great, battery life sucks but i can live with that. Always had memory full issues with Nokia N series phones before, had a couple, though maybe they have sorted that.

All in all both phones do a lot, the iphone has masses of apps available for it and as you say, having your itunes without a separate ipod is handy.

Camera is poor on paper (2mp version) the 3GS is better but to be honest the results are not too bad, and lets face it you're only using the camera for the odd shot and if you actually want to take a family portrait you'd use a proper camera….

Work out what you really want, itunes or camera, keyboard or touch screen….

Both will have their fans and rightly so…..

hmmm – battery bothers me

I want internet access and trying to explore if I can get Lotus notes mail (but that this a notes issue – not a nokia & iphone thing)

N97 is a better camera on paper (5 megapixel and a flash versus 3.2 megapixel and no flash on the 3GS) – not sure how they actually compare though.

You're never going to hang a photo from one of these "cameras" on your wall anyway.

Nokia Exec: "The N97 Will Beat The iPhone 3GS" (InformationWeek.com)

iPhone battery life depends on (surprisingly….) how much you use it.
Use it constantly, and it's dead in 6 hours or so. But it's the big touch screen that kills it. Don't use it as much and it lasts a 5 days……

But I fail to see where that's a problem myself, unless you regularly spend more then a day without access to electrikkery…

🙂

I'd have a look to see what other applications you're actually going to want on it. Mapping? Sports Tracker function?

PP is right, use it a lot and you're done very quickly, i have a spare usb lead at work, plug it in and music on the desk all day, and still fully charged when i leave…

Personally I love it, first phone I have ever had that i didn't get bored with after 2 months….

Just waiting for gmail push application to get through and that's another plus….(if Apple allow it)

I went for the 3GS, I'd never used an iPhone before. A friend has the N95, and he says the iPhone is much better than his N95. The 3GS certainly has better battery life, you can buy external battery packs, I have an AA pack for when out on the bike. The camera is better than my Ericsson c902(5mp), reception seems to be just as good.

I went to a wedding at the weekend, was constantly checking/sending emails/wimbledon and I didn't have to charge my phone over the whole weekend, I was very impressed with the battery life of the 3GS.

I think you can get hold of Lotus iNotes for the iPhone, although I'm not too sure.

As said, its handy not having to take an mp3 player, phone, camera, when going for a ride. Even if you forgot your cycle computer, you can use the iPhone.

For me its also very handy being able to access the exchange server here at work from anywhere, and have my hotmail pushed to my iPhone.

Apps? There are sooo many, it will be hard for any other company to compete with the amount of apps. Well for at least another year.

so battery life is improved then on 3GS. cool.

is the sports tracker good then – will save me buying a GPS then.

I tend to charge my 3GS overnight, and use it all day afterwards, repeat the charge at night, though sometimes it holds two days. It comes with a USB charger as well as mains adapter, but I also have a car charger so there is no place that it could not be charged 🙂

As said, its handy not having to take an mp3 player, phone, camera, when going for a ride. Even if you forgot your cycle computer, you can use the iPhone

I feel exactly the same…about my N82. I think all Nseries do all of this.

cynic al – i know nokia can do that. but as my music is in itunes format. I don't want to change it for another phone

Like I said, both will have their fans..

Go to a shop that has both, spend time in there trying them out, load some web pages, post some comments on here, how easy were they to use?, which do YOU like?, it is you after all that has to pay for and live with it for 18+ months…..

ArmChairBiker, There are loads of apps for tracking GPS and giving cycle computer like information. Some are free, and some you will have to pay for. B.iCycle is supposed to be really good, but not free. There is another thread from yesterday with info on iphone cycle apps, iMapMyRide is one of them.

I'm sure I wouldn't put an iPhone or N97 on my handlebars, but certainly would put it in my camelbak. Really need to compare the Garmin against the iPhone GPS.

Well I've been looking into exactly the same choice and today (if I can find one!) I'll be getting a 3GS.

In many ways, I really wanted to stick with a Nokia – for a start I'm no Apple fanboi and I don't really want to have to install iTunes on my computer.

The iPhone's interface is slick and has clearly been designed to all work together and work consistently. Internet browsing is great. The camera I can live with as I'd only ever use it for snaps though it's shame there's no flash at all.

Everything I've read about the N97 suggests that the interface just isn't that slick and that it's obvious in a lot of it that the touch screen has just been grafted on to the OS rather than properly designed for it. Having now also played with one, I felt the same.

Add in the multitude of apps for the iPhone (some of which are even useful!) and the continued support for it due to the sheer volume of users and the probable lack of real support via Ovi for the Nokia then it became a fairly clear choice.

I've got one of these which will charge an iPhone 3G from flat about 3 times.

http://www.expansys.com/d.aspx?i=166301

Handy if you're going to be away from power for a few days and be using it a lot.

I know it may be low on people's priorities but no one seems to have mentioned the quality of phone calls on the iPhone.

I've got an N95 8GB and my wife has an iPhone. In low signal areas the N95 seems a lot better at getting a connections. Sound quality seems better as well.

after spending an unhealthy amount of time (couple of hours each day for 3 weeks) trawling the internet for information and perspectives on both of these phones, I've just gone and bought an iPhone 3GS rather than an N97 – this is despite that fact that I wanted an N97
The things that swung it for me in order weight:

– N97 not available on O2 yet, if ever
– bad reviews of N97 including bugs, keyboard, useability, interface and the relative merits of the screen
– everyone has an iPhone (this is a plus, not because I'm a sheep but because popularity means better quality and availability of apps, accessories, etc.)

I was in the same position, i bought a iphone 3gs yesterday & i love it.

I was not in any position to buy a new phone, but chose the iPhone as my bro-in-law is a tech tart and queued to be the first to get the iphone 3gs. End result is i get his 8 month old mint iPhone for £180. One swift jailbreak later and i am a happy music listening, phone calling, email sending and turn by turn GPS using bunny

I know it may be low on people's priorities but no one seems to have mentioned the quality of phone calls on the iPhone.

Never had a problem personally.

Jamie – on another network?

Would probably give the N97 a wide berth as it's a new product and I don't like beta testing. Having said that, just got an HTC Magic which is relatively new, and that seems to work ok, no funnies all week.

#
cynic-al – Member

Jamie – on another network?
Posted 9 minutes ago # Report-Post

Nah, using O2 Simplicity (£20 for 600mins/1200 texts/Unlimited Data). Unlocking to a diff network seems simple enough tho.

Cool ta.

I looked into the N97, the reviews i read say it was basically a 5800xpressmusic with the addition of slide out keypad, but the 5800 is quite a bit cheaper.

You're never going to hang a photo from one of these "cameras" on your wall anyway.

You sure?