Nokia – the Internet Company – that would prompt me to think that their devices are designed with connectivity in mind, right? Let’s do a comparison, then. I’ve got the N73, N75, and N95, and have used them all recently (currently with the N75. I figured I raised such a stink about getting it replaced I might as well use it).
As "connected" devices, which one do you think is the best? Is it the N95, with WiFi and EDGE? Or the N75, with US 3G? Or the N73 with EDGE. Whoa, wait. Why is the N73 in the mix? It only has EDGE. The other two have high-speed data connections, obviously they’re better "connected" devices, right?
Wrong. Out of the three, I’d say that the N73 is the best "connected" device. How so? It’s simple. The other two will allow you to be connected at a much faster rate, but for how long? Yeah, this is a battery post.
This is a tricky situation, for sure. You could easily argue that the N95, with the 5MP cam, GPS, WiFi, and everything else, should be expected to have a shorter battery life, due to the functions. But why is that? And wouldn’t you rather be able to stay connected longer rather than faster?
The N75 died at 2pm yesterday. And when I say "die," I mean completely shut itself off. Way past the "low battery" warnings. Activity? Installed some apps, reorganized the menu, updated the music library, BT GPS for about 20 min, downloaded 2 songs on Symella, and tethered to my N800 for a few hours (mostly idle, with only Gtalk and the Gmail notifier on). Then I started up Spodtronic (streaming internet radio) which, btw, played BEAUTIFULLY over the N75′s 3G with zero buffering or stuttering, and it died. I even had the thing plugged in, and it was using up so much of the small battery that it wasn’t able to store any of the charge I was feeding it. For shame.
The N73 has a killer battery. A killer battery which, as I observed, is not much different from the N95′s, physically. The N95 will last a day, but not if you leave it tethered to the N800, or if you’re using the internet constantly to download music with Symella or Podcasts or just updating Twitter. The constant internet connection, regardless of whether it’s WLAN or EDGE/3G, is going to kill that battery quick, fast, and in a hurry. So while it HAS the most connection options out of the three devices, given the limited LENGTH of connection, it’s simply not the king.
Re-enter the N73. I have tethered for an entire workday with the N73, and still had enough battery for GPS (via Bluetooth) or a few phone calls on the drive home. Simply astounding. THAT, in my opinion, is what makes the N73 a truly "connected" device. Sure it’s a bit slower, but I’ll go for length of connection rather than speed any day of the week.
I’m not saying that the N73 is the better phone out of the bunch in every way, though. I still carry my N95 daily (letting a buddy borrow the N75, and Christina got the N73), and enjoy it thoroughly. But I have to watch how much I use the data, so that it doesn’t die. One of my biggest pet peeves EVER is a dead battery on a cellphone. I know it’s my fault cause I used it and didn’t charge it, but it still annoys the heck out of me.
What do you think? Would you trade faster internet for shorter battery time? I think that the N95 does a decent job, but given the minute difference in battery size, I’m pretty pissed they couldn’t figure out how to put the extra power in there. As phones do more and more, do you think the batteries will change? Do you think there’s enough R&D going into new battery options?
