What makes a smartphone 'smart'?

[Taz]

I've been debating whether to get Nokia 6680 or a Sony Ericsson K750i. They're both similar in price and functionality and both have good points and bad points. However, the Nokia 6680 is touted as a smartphone and the SE K750i is not.

So, is the 6680 a smartphone because it's got an 'open' OS (Symbian Series 60) and, hence, is capable of running many third-party applications? The K750i has a proprietory OS but there still seems to be some software around for it.

[Aaron]

Definitions for what a smartphone is varies as it's a bit of a marketing term, but my definition would be "a phone on which you can install and run natively coded (i.e. not Java) applications".

All of the software available for the K750i is based on Java. Generally Java applications are slow and limited in their functionality. A smartphone provides much more rich environment for developers and leads to more advanced and better performing applications.

If you look at the 6680, it can do the following which the K750 is unable to do*:

• It comes with a full web-browser, capable of viewing most standard websites - not just WAP sites.
• It comes with software for viewing MS Office documents and PDFs
• It has very good IM software available, allowing you to connect to MSN, AIM, Yahoo!, ICQ and IRC. Not only can you connect to these IM networks, you can take a picture and send it instantly over the IM network.
• The 6680 supports mp3 and aac, just like the K750. However, you can also download free software to allow you to play other formats like ogg.
• The 6680 can play .3gp video just like the K750. However, you can also download software to allow you to play much higher quality DivX and XVid movies.
• You can sync you phone with Microsoft Outlook, Windows Address Book or Lotus Notes, including calender events.
• There's lots of console emulators available, including those for MAME, gameboy colour, NES, SNES and MegaDrive.
• Smartphones are capabale of advanced 3D graphics for games. There's even a version of SP Mark 04 available for Symbian phones!
• A lot of network operators are basing new services on smartphones. For example, you can now watch live TV on your 6680 smartphone with Orange!

I'm sure there's other stuff I've forgotten about too.

[* I haven't had much of a play with the K750i, so I might be wrong on its capabilities]

[Lord Kordir]

Have you had a look at the spv c500? Also a very good contender

[Marcos]

Have you had a look at the spv c500? Also a very good contender

I'm now debating between the c500 and the K750i

The k750 is clearly the better built, better designed phone with a much better camera.

But the emulators and software on the smartphones sounds great, and i'm sure the media player options on the c500 will be better than that on the k750.

The C550 has been announced which has improvements, like built-in media player keys and finally a good joystick as well as an improved camera, i think 1.3mp

[Aaron]

Have you had a look at the spv c500? Also a very good contender

I'm a little biased here, but I don't think that the C500 isn't anywhere near as good as the 6680 because:

- The 6680 has 3G, whilst the C500 only has GPRS and doesn't even include a GPRS counter, so you can't tell how much data you've used
- The 6680 has a very good 1.3MP camera, the C500 only has a poor 0.3MP camera
- The 6680 has the faster CPU
- Series 60 has a lot more software available for it than Windows Smartphone
- The build quality on the C500 is poor. There's been big problems with dust getting behind the screen and paint flaking off the keys.
- You can't use mp3 ringtones on the C500
- The C500 doesn't have a proper joystick, making it useless for games
- The C500's Java support is very broken and most games don't work on it
- The C500 has very poor bluetooth support
- The 6680 has a screen capable of showing more colours
- It's a very subjective matter, but I'd also say that Series 60 is by far the better UI and the 6680 looks a lot nicer than the C500
- The C500 doesn't have hot-swappable memory and the phone takes a very long time to boot, making transferring large files a pain

But that's what you would expect from a phone that was first released almost a year ago. Having said that, the C500 is smaller and cheaper.

The C550 should address some of the problems, but it's still lacking a lot of features.

[Taz]

I was initially set on the Nokia 6680 on Orange 3G. But there has been a lot of discussion here on Hexus about how good the SE K750i is. I did take a look at the Orange SPV C500 and it seemed pretty good but the battery life was a bit poor.

To be honest i'm torn between the Nokia 6680 and the SE K750i. I need to make a decision soon as my Virgin Mobile PAC code runs out in three weeks and i'm off on holiday in early July so I need a new phone by then.

Aaron's replies are convincing me that the 6680 is the way to go...

[Marcos]

Woah, the 6680 has less resolution onscreen than a 6230i , thats pretty poor

in my mind i can't help but think windows mobile would have more useful software to use, or at least , more fun.

Comments on the c500 being poor, i've heard nothing but great great things about it

[Aaron]

in my mind i can't help but think windows mobile would have more useful software to use, or at least , more fun.

That's a mindset that a lot of people have, but it's not really true.

Series 60 has a lot more software available for it than Windows Smartphone. Also Symbian/Series 60 is a lot more open and gives developers access to a lot of functionality that Microsoft keep closed and hidden.

For example, there's a large number of multiplayer bluetooth games for Series 60 whilst there's only one for Windows Smartphone. There's also many games for Series 60 that make use of the camera, whilst this really isn't possible with Windows Smartphone until v5.0 is released later this year. Lastly, there's this very innovative open source game for Series 60 called "The Journey". The game character moves around various locations by the actual player moving between locations. It's not exactly something you can play on the train, but it is a good use of a mobile gaming platform.

It's easy to think "Windows = proper OS = better software". It's true on the desktop, but not so much for phones. Series 60 is a hell of a lot more popular than Windows Smartphone (Windows Smartphone sold around 500,000 units last year, Series 60 shifted about 5 million in the first quarter of this year alone) and therefore you see a lot more software development for it.

Having said that, MS Pocket PC blows them both out of the water by a long way.

Comments on the c500 being poor, i've heard nothing but great great things about it

Apologises if I gave that impression. The C500 isn't a poor phone, it's just a little out-dated compared to the newer (and more expensive) competition. When it was released last summer it was a huge leap forward for Windows Smartphones and become a well-loved classic.

[Allen]

That 6680 looks very nice, and there's some pretty good deals for it at the moment (free phone and cheap line rental etc). The only problem is, it's only on 3 (as far as I can tell). I've heard lots of bad things about 3, so what's the deal with them now? Are they OK to go with? Or could you buy the phone and put a SIM in it from another provider?

[Taz]

That 6680 looks very nice, and there's some pretty good deals for it at the moment (free phone and cheap line rental etc). The only problem is, it's only on 3 (as far as I can tell). I've heard lots of bad things about 3, so what's the deal with them now? Are they OK to go with? Or could you buy the phone and put a SIM in it from another provider?

The Nokia 6680 is also available on Orange 3G.

[Moby-Dick]

and vodaphone

[Allen]

Ahh, OK. Don't think Orange will let me have another phone after a stupid incident a few years ago.

After reading a bit into the K750i thread, that phone looks rather tasty too, but I prefer Nokia's menu and prefer their texting too...

[Aaron]

That 6680 looks very nice, and there's some pretty good deals for it at the moment (free phone and cheap line rental etc). The only problem is, it's only on 3 (as far as I can tell). I've heard lots of bad things about 3, so what's the deal with them now? Are they OK to go with? Or could you buy the phone and put a SIM in it from another provider?

Personally, I'd stear clear of 3. Their customer service is appalling and you can't access the internet from their network. What's the point in having a phone that has a full web-browser and allows you to use MSN Messenger when you can't use the features. Still, 3 do offer some fantastic deals though and apparently their service has been improving recently.

As mentioned, the 6680 is available on Orange and Vodafone too. As with any Nokia, it's only a matter of time before it gets released on O2, T-Mobile, Virgin Mobile et al too.