The $450 U.S. 3G Question
So, for 2 years we’ve all hooed and hawed about the lack of US 3G S60-powered handsets. Nokia obviously listened, and today we have a somewhat decent selection of S60 smartphones that are able to take advantage of the only HSDPA network in the U.S. big enough to matter to more than one city.
What’s even better is, despite the complaints that I hear often about Nokia cell phones being too pricey, all are available unlocked and unbranded (SIM-free, for the Brits reading) for under $450. While I realize that’s still pretty pricey, considering you’re getting a completely untouched smartphone with HSDPA capabilities and without a carrier contract, I’d say it’s not too shabby.
Currently, the N78, N95, and E71 are all available with US 3G support (that’s AT&T, for those that didn’t catch the jab earlier) from Amazon.com or Buy.com, both reputable online marketplaces, for under $400.
Let’s take a look at the trio in a few key categories:
1. Camera – The N95 takes the cake here, with its 5 megapixel autofocus camera. However, the N78 and E71 both offer a respectable 3.2 megapixel autofocus camera (the ‘auto’ focus on the E71 is debatable).
2. Input – All four phones use a d-pad, which has proven to be preferred over a joystick to most users. The N78 and N95 both offer a numeric keypad with T9 predictive text input, while the E71 sports a full QWERTY keyboard, paired with a new predictive text implementation from Nokia.
3. Music – The N78 could be argued as the winner here, with its 3.5mm audio port and FM transmitter, though it lacks dedicated music playback buttons. Meanwhile, the N95-3 has the 3.5mm audio port and dedicated music playback buttons, but not the luxury of an FM transmitter. The E71 is the clear loser here, with a 2.5mm audio port and neither FM transmitter nor dedicated music playback keys. All three offer A2DP support for Bluetooth stereo headsets and microSD card slots for extra storage space.
4. Interface – While all three handsets are powered by S60, only the N78 uses the new S60v3 Feature Pack 2, with more eye candy and a few nice updates here and there. The N95-3 is much more stable, however, with its S60v3 Feature Pack 1 that’s been updated to include Flash Lite 3, Web RunTime, and Demand Paging. The E71 also uses S603 Feature Pack 1, but was ‘blessed’ with those completely hideous grey Windows 95 icons as ‘default’, along with a new Contacts and Calendar application.
5. Eseries vs Nseries – The constant debate is between Eseries and Nseries. Most hardcore S60 enthusiasts wish Nokia would just give up and consolidate the two, keeping the Eseries build quality and the Nseries’ multimedia features, but alas.
So, with $450 in your pocket and an AT&T SIM card with unlimited data, which would you go for? The N95 incumbent with the killer camera, the N78 newbie with the flashy UI, or the E71 businessman with his QWERTY keyboard?
You forgot to mention the n95’s horrible sound quality in the music feature. I was amazed at how noisy it is and the lack of lower bass extension. Does anyone know about the n78’s audio quality being on par with the n91? iPhone and n91 have all had the best sq of any integrated device I have used.
You are right in saying that the library of what is here is now better than it has been. The issue though is the same, folks just don;t know, or are duped into thinking that this could not be a better solution.
All that means is as much as ever that we have to keep pushing he boundaries of our N and E-series devices, showing what is possible if folks are willing to just think outside of the mainstream opinion/behavior for a moment.
You forgot to include the Nokia E51. It’s US 3g as well.
Charles, the E51 is 3G only in areas with 850 band coverage. Many of AT&T’s 3G areas are on the 1900 band.
[...] July – Nokia Email Beta, later renamed to Nokia Messaging, is launched. Samsung’s i8510 Innov8 slider gets official, packing an 8 megapixel camera and 16GB of internal storage. Three different S6o devices squeezed under the US$450 price point, all with U.S. 3G support. [...]