N95 vs. N75 vs. N73
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?
If you think the n73 has a good battery, you should try the E61i
It’s the reason I have kept my N73. It’s a great phone and I love my N95 but sure use it too much and battery death is a major annoyance. I have the N73 set up pretty much the same as my N95 so that I can make the switch relatively easy if I have to. It’s a shame that I have to do that but the N73 is a lovely phone to have as a back up to my N95 and I won’t get rid of it until Nokia in the future can do something about their batteries whether that is with the N95 or newer future handsets
a dirty secret - all Nokia phones have worse battery performance at first. Subsequent sw updates usually improve battery life.
I think phone batteries have to and will eventually change.
I’m not sure if enough R&D is going into new battery options at present but again I’m confident that phone companies will eventually see the need for it and pursue those options.
I remember reading an article a couple of months ago about someone who had filed a patent for a battery who could be recharged by means of kinetic energy; there’s a lot ideas out there it just depends how long it will be until someone sees the need to pursue it further.
That of course, depends on the speed of mass adoption of “new” ways of using your phone. As long as the big bulk of mobile phone users just makes calls and sends texts change will happen very slowly.
As far as I’m concerned, I’m still deliberating getting a N95 despite the reported pathetic battery life; just to have the good camera and an increased amount of RAM. Of course it helps that my carrier actually offers me an easy upgrade, a HSDPA connection and I’m on a 500MB data flat rate, hence don’t use WIFI too often.
So I guess, I value innovation and speed over longer battery time.
I wonder if that preference will change though as soon as I have to go on my first intercontinental flight with the N95, which is never far away given that I live in Australia
@John - true, however, no software update is going to make an 800 or 900 mAh battery perform like an 1100 one.
I still use my N95 daily, I just think that there’s not really a reason they couldn’t have made the N73’s battery fit into either the N75 or N95.
I’m not really a heavy user so my N95 lasts quite long… and I’m very power-conscious when it comes to using the battery. I’m wondering why you’d need to have it permanently connected via EDGE/wireless all day?
The only real battery test I had for my N95 recently was when my flight was delayed for a while… had to listen to about 3 hours of mp3’s and an hour of FM radio, then watched 1 hour’s worth of a movie on the plane, leaving it with 4 bars when I fell asleep, forgetting to plug the phone in when I got home. Woke up and it was at 3 bars still so I was still quite satisfied.
well , i guess u can buy another battery to use when ever u need it . right ???