I have had a Nokia E71 for the past couple of years which in many ways is perfect for my needs. The problem is that it freezes or shuts itself down on a pretty regular basis (once a day on average). I'm thinking about getting a replacement if there is something more reliable out there. The 'must haves' are:
- ability to sync smoothly with Microsoft Outlook
- good internet browsing capability (I currently use mini-Opera)
- good email facility
I *think* I'd like a hardware keyboard, like on the Nokia, as I write a lot of emails, but I'd like to hear people's experiences of screen-based keyboards.
So, something reliable that does what the E71 does. Any suggestions?
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Blackberry - plenty of cheap deals about.
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Any of the keyboard equipped Android phones would also work for you? HTC seem well made.
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Thanks for the suggestions. Any particular recommendations from people who are currently using these phones (eg, is there a particularly good/reliable Blackberry/). I'm keen to hear from people who have been using their phone for a while and found its operating system to be robust.
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My last Blackberry was a Bold - it did what it was meant to.
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Youngest daughter is hassling to upgrade for a Blackberry at the moment... I tell her it is so 2008.
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THat probably means the Desire z. I dont have this but rather the original Desire which only has a touch screen keyboard. However it is brilliant on the web side of things although I dont use outlook but rather Gmail. However I believe it does sync with outlook ok. Suspect if you go to the large screen smartphone you will need to get your head around charging it every night or every other night.
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>> something reliable that does what the E71 does
I'm pleased with my Nokia E5 on Three.
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>> I'm pleased with my Nokia E5 on Three.
We're all issued with E5s (on Vodafone) where I work. Company is looking into changing them for another model (the older E72 I think) because of the number of problems we've had. Mine's been replaced once after it refused to turn on (wasn't the battery).
Can't really comment on how good it is because I'm not important enough to have a data contract ie. no internet.
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Don't get a Nokia N8. I've got one. It's wireless connectivity is flaky, and the operating system is well past its sell by date. The camera, however, is brilliant.
Get an HTC with Windows.
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Ditto on the N8. I'm getting my 3rd as the first two were utter carp. One lasted 4 days before being unusable and the other a few hours!
It's not symbian that's all the problem. It's the UI nokia stick over the top which is also utter garbage. I think you can download a replacement for series 60 which is supposed to be loads better.
I'd still get an iphone 4 as it is the most likely of the smart phones to be reliable on a daily basis.
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Agree, friend has an N8 and it is a total car crash on a daily basis. Unreliable and crashes constantly.
iPhone is completely painless in daily use, but I'm on my third. First was DOA, second got bored with being a phone (although somewhat surreally the mobile data continued to work perfectly). The on screen keyboard is not as good as a real keyboard, but having spend a few months adapting, I think I actually prefer it because of the smaller size of the phone as a result.
I'm not sure that there's a huge difference between iOS and Android any more. iOS is a bit more reliable and polished, Android less so but more flexible. You pays your money...
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>>
>> I'd still get an iphone 4 as it is the most likely of the smart
>> phones to be reliable on a daily basis.
>>
Provided you don't put your finger in the wrong place....
Spamette Minor has had an E72 for nearly a year, seems stable, good call quality.
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I've not had a phone in years that you couldn't kill signal by doing something. My previous two HTC Windows phones lost about 3 bars of signal when the keyboard was open. In the real world it is simply not an issue.
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Just checking: I was under the impression that that iphones didn't sync particularly well with MS Outlook (especially the 'Tasks' feature in Outlook). Is that the case? If so, they're not for me. My main requirement is for a reliable phone that:
- syncs well with Outlook
- is good for internet browsing
- is reliable
I *think* I'd prefer a keyboard as I write a lot of emails, and I'm especially interested in the views of people who are currently using phones which they would recommend.
I'm not fussed about things like a camera or the ability to play music.
Cheers
Last edited by: Pete on Fri 11 Mar 11 at 11:55
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I have an iPhone synced with MS Exchange, and you're right, while Mail, Calendar and Contacts works flawlessly in this regard, tasks don't sync.
I use a free app called Wunderlist, which has iPhone, iPad, Mac and PC clients and syncs seamlessly over the web, but I appreciate this may not be what you need.
I've not tried to sync directly with Outlook, I've only ever done it via Exchange, so I'm afraid I can't comment on that. Safari remains by far the best mobile browser I've personally tried, although obviously if you want flash then it's not much use.
In heavy use, phone (iPhone 4 32 Gb) has only crashed a couple of times in 6 months, as opposed to pretty much daily with my previous smart phones. The plethora of additional apps are the main draw of both Android and iPhone, and in my view pretty much rule out any other type of smartphone as they simply can't compete (although with your Outlook criteria, perhaps you should look closely at Windows Phone 7 - it's supposed to be very very good in parts, although I don't know anyone that actually has one).
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Oh, and one other factor that would be easy to overlook. The battery on the iPhone 4 actualy lasts the day in normal use. I've never had a smartphone where that was true before.
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>> Oh, and one other factor that would be easy to overlook. The battery on the
>> iPhone 4 actualy lasts the day in normal use. I've never had a smartphone where
>> that was true before.
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I get three to four days out of my HTC Wildfire but I only achieve that because I leave GPS, WiFi and BT switched off unless I'm actually using them.
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I get about 36 hours in normal configuration. But that's with 3G, wifi and bluetooth on, with 3 exchange accounts polling at 15 minute intervals, and assuming I'm out of the office and using it regularly for email, web, apps and phone calls.
When working at home so lower use and a nearby wifi point the battery probably lasts about 3 days, more like 5 or 6 on holiday with 3G, data, wifi and bluetooth all turned off.
Push email on and a couple of hours of GPS useage for navitgation (TomTom) in addition to all the above will kill the battery in less than a day. But that's *really* unfair useage, at least until the next battery breakthrough.
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Thanks - that's very helpful info that wasn't really aware of. I'm not bothered about access to a wide range of apps. I really just need a pda (like old palm devices) that can send emails, browse the internet and make the occasional phone call.
Must admit I've never had a problem with battery life on the E71, even with a lot of internet browsing.
I'll start investigating Windows phones as well as Blackberries.
Last edited by: Pete on Fri 11 Mar 11 at 12:43
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Just steer clear from Nokia smartphones. Mine crashes every week.
Go for any Android HTC phones. For emails, Blackberry is still the best.
But remember, bigger the screen, sooner the battery will require charging.
Some large screen HTC phones require charging twice a day even with moderate usage.
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The latest edition of BBC's Focus Magazine has a review of 4 Smartphones for under £130. Nokia's C3 -01 is the worst. Orange's San Francisco comes out top.
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As you want to synch with outlook, the windows 7 phone is the one for you.
>> Some large screen HTC phones require charging twice a day even with moderate usage.
Really not true, screen is not the significant power user. Video typically takes 5% power per hour.
3G is the killer, followed by Wifi.
An hour of 3G use takes about 20% out of the phone.
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>> As you want to synch with outlook, the windows 7 phone is the one for
>> you.
>>
Any thoughts as to the reliability of these? My E71 syncs fine with Outlook but the reason I want a replacement is that it keeps crashing.....
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Windows 7 is a completely new OS written from the ground up. Reports I've read say that it's really good at what it does, but that it doesn't do that much yet compared to either Android or iOS. I've not read any complaints about stability, but on the other hand almost all tech journalists appear to not think freuqent crashes are much of a problem as long as the kit is shiny.
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Thank you! It's great being able to access the knowledge base of people who are up to date on these matters. I'm fine about the OS not doing as much as Android etc.
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Maybe worth cleaning the contacts on the battery (with an eraser or similar), I've had phones do really weird stuff like random resets due to imperfect contact between phone and battery.
The E72 does seem much more stable.
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>> Maybe worth cleaning the contacts on the battery (with an eraser or similar), I've had
>> phones do really weird stuff like random resets due to imperfect contact between phone and
>> battery.
>>
Thanks. I'll give that a try. It does seem to be most unstable when it's been moving around.
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Reading threads like this make me glad I don't need/want a Smart phone. My compact splash/dust-proof Nokia 3720 suits me just fine. And it even has limited email/ineternet capabilities!
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I have a 3720, Excellent bit of kit, me proof, and rings like a 1950's police car. :-)
Last edited by: Old Navy on Fri 11 Mar 11 at 18:27
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Reliable Internet Enabled Mobile Phone - R.P.
