Nokia N97 or HTC Magic ?

[megamania]

I have the chance to buy a second hand phone from a trusted source - a friend who buys and sells them at a frantic rate.

He offered me a Nokia N97 and a HTC Magic. I really need to change my phone now, as my Sony Ericsson W810i is breaking and it's not worth having it serviced (it's almost 4 years old).

Can you give me your advice/impressions on what you would buy and why? Compatiblity with Ubuntu is a plus because I don't use windows / Apple (but I can install XP in Virtual Box).

I'm tempted to get the HTC because it's Android, but I'm afraid I could be biased. :-)

[aysiu]

Anything else you're looking for besides Linux compatibility?

[megamania]

Anything else you're looking for besides Linux compatibility?
Right. I am an old-time Palm user, which I love. I have a TX and I want the phone to replace both my W810 and the Palm.

I'm also a Google products (mail, address, calendar) user, so the Magic seems perfect for me.

I read that the Magic has very little free memory for applications and that they can't be installed on the external SD card, and that makes me worry.

I haven't heard much about the Nokia, but I like the fact that it has a real keyboard.

I'm more on the Magic at the moment, so if you have one can you give me your opinion on day-to-day use? (I think I read sometime ago that you have an Android phone...)

[wersdaluv]

Magic because of software and N97 because of hardware. If it wasn't because of Magic's lack of a physical keyboard.... hehe

I'm still for the Magic. N97's software is no fun. I'm expecting a lot more development from the Android hackers than Nokia. Symbian should be abandoned. hehe. It's not for smartphones.

[geoken]

I think Android will be slightly more compatible. From a quick search, it seems like the N97 still requires some stuff to be done through it's Windows sync software..

Android on the other hand never needs to touch a computer at all. It even updates itself without needing a computer.

Apart from that they both can mount as standard USB devices so music/video transferring is probably a wash between them. Some apps directly support syncing with android phones (ie. they automatically place music and playlists into the correct folders on the device). I'm not sure if this is the case with the N97, if not, I guess that's another plus for android.

As for syncing other stuff (calendars, contacts, mail), android can be sync'd with any device that has a browser. I don't know how the N97 fares in this respect but if extra software is needed for any of that stuff then I guess it's another plus for android.

[ukripper]

I would say palm-pre or HTC hero!

[megamania]

I would say palm-pre or HTC hero!
At the moment, my choice is between HTC Magic and N97.

And as far as I know, the Palm Pre is currently being sold only in the USA...

[chriskin]

Htc magic :)

[geoken]

I read that the Magic has very little free memory for applications and that they can't be installed on the external SD card, and that makes me worry.

By default they can't, but there are multiple ways to do it. There is an app called apps2sd which will make all apps install to sd by default and will also allow you to move apps from the on board memory to the sd card.

[ukripper]

At the moment, my choice is between HTC Magic and N97.

And as far as I know, the Palm Pre is currently being sold only in the USA...

In that case HTC magic in my opinion is better one, my mate got N97 and he ain't happy!

[ukripper]

Magic because of software and N97 because of hardware. If it wasn't because of Magic's lack of a physical keyboard.... hehe

I'm still for the Magic. N97's software is no fun. I'm expecting a lot more development from the Android hackers than Nokia. Symbian should be abandoned. hehe. It's not for smartphones.

i have got E71 (s60 series 3), symbian is slow at times to load java apps especially. But i do have all the things i need from a smartphone including putty client to access my ubuntu servers. FTP on SSL is tricky and doesn't work, except that i am happy with it. But still prefer HTC G1/magic, I hope it supports FTPS

[amitabhishek]

Nokia N97 is slow, OS is outdated, unrealistically priced. In fact nothing is right in this phone except QWERTY keyboard.

Go for HTC Magic.

[perce]

According to Wikipedia HTC Magic doesn't support bluetooth phone-to-phone and PC-to-phone connections. I have a N82 and I'm overall not happy with Symbian, but at least it has not been stripped out of basic functionalities.

[aysiu]

I'm also a Google products (mail, address, calendar) user, so the Magic seems perfect for me. Yes, this is true.


I read that the Magic has very little free memory for applications and that they can't be installed on the external SD card, and that makes me worry. Don't worry. You can easily root your HTC, and most rooted Android ROMs automatically move applications to SD.


I haven't heard much about the Nokia, but I like the fact that it has a real keyboard. In that case, maybe an HTC Dream (or G1) phone might suit your better. Real keyboard and Android OS.


I'm more on the Magic at the moment, so if you have one can you give me your opinion on day-to-day use? (I think I read sometime ago that you have an Android phone...) You can read about my Android experiences here:
http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntucat/tag/android/

[plb]

Neither, wait for the nokia n900. Both n97 and Magic are imo underpowered. n97 has so many problems; don't waste your money. You can google all the issues with the n97. Most people I know who had the n97 have sold it.

[aysiu]

Both n97 and Magic are imo underpowered. Underpowered for what? Phone calls?

I have an HTC Magic, and it works wonderfully. I do have some criticisms of Android, but nothing to do with a lack of power. I use it for phone calls, for looking up quick things on the internet, checking email, calculating tips, getting directions... works fine for that.

It's not a desktop or laptop (or even netbook) replacement. It's a phone.

[geoken]

According to Wikipedia HTC Magic doesn't support bluetooth phone-to-phone and PC-to-phone connections. I have a N82 and I'm overall not happy with Symbian, but at least it has not been stripped out of basic functionalities.

Even if the Magic supported this what would be the point? Other phones need this stuff because their syncing methods are based on tethering the phone to some desktop app. The Android phones don't do anything when plugged into the computer, their syncing features are exclusively handled through the cloud (google services in specific). If you want to change the number for one of your contacts through your computer, than you'd log on to gmail, go to your contacts list and change the relevant info. Your changes will be instantly sync'd back to your phone, a link between your PC and phone never needs to be established.

[plb]

Underpowered for what? Phone calls?

I have an HTC Magic, and it works wonderfully. I do have some criticisms of Android, but nothing to do with a lack of power. I use it for phone calls, for looking up quick things on the internet, checking email, calculating tips, getting directions... works fine for that.

It's not a desktop or laptop (or even netbook) replacement. It's a phone.

No, not for phonecalls. What I mean is if you're going to buy a phone today it may as well be one which makes use of up to date technology. And mobile phones stopped be "just phones" a while ago =) The processor in the Magic is old and HTC is trying to use it for all it's worth. The nokia n900 will be running maemo 5 which is essentially Linux which is imo better than android atm. Not to mention the n900 has a 5mp camera, omap 3 processor, opengl 2 support, 256mb RAM and upto 1gb application memory...etc you can look up the specs to get a better idea and it launches very soon. There are a couple of videos floating around on youtube to check it out..it looks very impressive.

[aysiu]

No, not for phonecalls. What I mean is if you're going to buy a phone today it may as well be one which makes use of up to date technology. And mobile phones stopped be "just phones" a while ago =) The processor in the Magic is old and HTC is trying to use it for all it's worth. The nokia n900 will be running maemo 5 which is essentially Linux which is imo better than android atm. Not to mention the n900 has a 5mp camera, omap 3 processor, opengl 2 support, 256mb RAM and upto 1gb application memory...etc you can look up the specs to get a better idea and it launches very soon. There are a couple of videos floating around on youtube to check it out..it looks very impressive.
Well, of course they're not just phones (I listed a whole bunch of other functions I use my Magic for), but the Magic is perfectly equipped to do the functions it is made for. It does not feel sluggish or "underpowered."

Anything newer is going to have better specs than something older. It doesn't mean the older model is "underpowered."

So the n900 has a 5 megapixel camera and 256 MB of RAM? So what? Probably the next model will have a 5.2 megapixel camera and 384 MB of RAM. Does that mean the n900 is "underpowered"?

I consider a consumer product "underpowered" only if its specs do not allow it to do the functions it was designed to perform. The HTC Magic has specs that are just fine to perform the functions it is designed to perform (light web browsing, text messaging, phone calling, email checking).

[gloscherrybomb]

I have an N97 and I love it. Having said that I need to send it to get repaired because I have an early model and it has GPS problems. The software is getting better, and Nokia are good at releasing updates. V2 of the firmware is coming in October. I like Android, but there isn't the high powered device available yet that would force me to switch. (qwerty, 5mp+ camera, GPS, compass, etc).

[perce]

Even if the Magic supported this what would be the point?

What about transferring files from one device to another? That's what I use bluetooth for

[plb]

I have an N97 and I love it. Having said that I need to send it to get repaired because I have an early model and it has GPS problems. The software is getting better, and Nokia are good at releasing updates. V2 of the firmware is coming in October. I like Android, but there isn't the high powered device available yet that would force me to switch. (qwerty, 5mp+ camera, GPS, compass, etc).

minus a hardware qwerty and the htc hero has all that.

[megamania]

Thank you all for the feedbacks and suggestions.

My view and my needs are very similar to Aysiu's and I decided I'll buy the second hand Magic from my friend.

It looks like a perfect replacement for my Palm & phone, and the simple idea of finally having one single shared database for contacts, calendar and everything makes me happy.

Thanks again!