There is one thing in common between a “perfect wife” and a “perfect Nokia mobile”. Both don’t exist !! But they can come close to perfection. Here is a round up of the current Nokia mobiles available in the market and a guide for choosing the best Nokia that fits your requirements & wallet.
Even though there is no such thing as the perfect Nokia mobile, you can try to find one which is perfect for your individual needs. What it means is that a mobile which is perfect for Mr. A may not be perfect for Mr.B and vice-versa. So which one is the right Nokia mobile for you?
The dilemma of choosing the perfect Nokia mobile is faced more by those who want all the possible features in it. These category of people (and that includes this writer) follow the “one device fits all” approach wherein they need a mobile which can take high resolution photos, record videos, play music, listen to FM, transfer files by wireless, use GPS navigation…and so on….. and they “also” can make calls & send messages !!!
A couple of years back, the features which made a mobile elite were music player, camera & bluetooth. Now these features are considered standard features and are found also in low range & mid range Nokias. The features which currently separate the high-range phones from the others are GPS & Wi-fi. Moreover, cameras having resolutions of 3 megapixels and above are considered high end while 2 megapixel cameras are now found even in low range & mid range Nokias.
So which Nokia mobiles currently have it all? We list down your options:
- Nokia N95 (8GB and classic versions)
- Nokia N82
- Nokia N78
- Nokia E71
- Nokia E66
- Nokia E90
These mobiles come close to perfection. But there are a few niggles which keep them away from greatness. And most of the niggles are related to form factor & physical construction.
Nokia N95 8 GB is very bulky and expensive while the cheaper version N95 classic has a weak battery. Also many people do not like sliders.
Nokia N82 & N78 are dream phones but their keypads leave a very bad taste. There seems to be something wrong with Nokia’s design team and such keypads on such dream phones are unpardonable.
Nokia E71 is a good option with a QWERTY keyboard and Nokia E66 is magically slim with similar features in a slider form but various reviews on the internet have found their 3 megapixel cameras below par.
Nokia E90 is again bulky and excessively expensive (you can buy a cheap laptop at the same price and its price has not fallen since the time it has been launched)
If you want a near perfect Nokia, it is upto you to decide which of these niggles can be ignored. There are many who have gotten used to the Nokia N82’s terrible keypad and for them it is the perfect Nokia. Similarly for those for whom price is not an issue, Nokia N95 8GB and E90 communicator are perfect options. If camera is important to you then Nokia N82 & Nokia N95 are your best bets as they have 5 MP cameras with Nokia N82 being rated slightly higher due to its Xenon flash. The perfect Nokia is more of an individual choice rather than an unanimous one.
Now lets consider some options for those who are willing to sacrifice one or two features.
If you are willing to sacrifice GPS, then your options are increased as these mobiles can also be considered:
- Nokia E51 (small 2 inch display only)
- Nokia E61i (no FM radio)
- Nokia E65 (no FM radio)
- Nokia N81 8GB ( bulky & questionable build quality)
Besides all these mobiles have only 2 MP cameras.
If you do decide to sacrifice GPS, then you could try to minimise the loss by installing Google Maps on your mobile which displays your location with the help of cellular towers in your area. But note that this is not as accurate as having a GPS chip embedded in your mobile and you will end up spending a lot on your data plan as this method uses GPRS to connect.
Now, instead of GPS, you are willing to sacrifice Wifi, then you have the following options:
- Nokia 6110 Navigator (only 2 MP camera)
- Nokia 6210 Navigator
- Nokia 6220 Classic
And if you are considerate enough to sacrifice both GPS and Wifi, then you have the following extra options available in addition to all the models mentioned above:
- Nokia N73 (classic & music editions) – The all time Nokia N-Series bestseller
- Nokia 5700 XM (only 2 MP camera and small display)
All the models mentioned till now are smartphones which run on Nokia’s Symbian S60 operating system. The cheapest smartphones running on the Symbian OS are Nokia N70 & Nokia N72 but they run an older version of Symbian and have comparatively low resolution displays than other mobiles mentioned above in this article.
For those of you who would like to use the Blackberry email service on your mobile, make sure you buy a E-Series device only. Note however that the latest additions to the E-Series (Nokia E66 & E71) do not support Blackberry, which is a very sad development.
Amongst the cheaper & mid-range mobiles which do not run the Symbian OS but are still recommended for their feature sets are:
- Nokia 6233 (a true golden oldie from Nokia & highly recommended)
- Nokia 5310 XM
- Nokia 6300 (good looking phone but very poor battery life)
- Nokia 3120 Classic
