Hey everyone,

I'm a longtime Nokia user, currently using a C5-03. My previous phones were a N8 (before it got stolen), and a N86 before that. 'm looking to purchase either the N9 or the 808, but would like this community's in-depth thoughts on each. I'm quite aware of what each has, that other doesn't; but I haven't had a chance to try them for myself or met anyone who has.

And please, don't mention the Lumia 920. I find a 4.5 inch screen way too big, even though I have rather large hands.

So 808 is mostly about the camera. Is that important to you?

The other thing is the UI. Which one do you like the most?

I would say 808 has better features and is a more complete device but it's up to you to decided. I have a love hate relationship to my n9 so i can recommend it unless I know the user.

Why not a n900?

Well, to be honest, it's quite handy to have a decent P&S camera on me. I'm a student, so having any fancy cam is way out of my budget at the moment.

Regarding the UI, I've only seen Harmattan on videos, and I'm not sure how accurate a judge is that. I've no problem with change, if that's what you mean.

And there's no (affforable) way to get a N900 where I live (Mozambique), new or second-hand. There were a couple sold here when it was just released. But now you pay an arm and leg for one.

Ok, I vote for 808 for you.

N9 is not that Exellent in any way. It's more of a fun toy.

N8 is the better featurephone.
N900 is the better enthusiastphone.
N9 is the better smartphone.
808 is the better cameraphone.

Really depends on what features are important to you, or if you prefer an all-round better device.

For instance, the N9 is a "better" phone than the Lumia 800, but the Lumia 800 is all-round better smartphone because of its ecosystem (which isn't much).

Which is why the 2+ year old Samsung Galaxy S (EPIC 4G/i9000) is a much better smartphone than the Lumia 800, because it has much better software and also a much better ecosystem.

I'm not particularly an 'ecosystem' person. I have an Android tablet, and the apps that I get a lot of mileage out of are feedly, Pocket, and Kindle. But there aren't things I can't live without (though I appreciate my contacts being synced quite easily).

You mentioned the the N9 being a better smartphone. What exactly does that entail?

The N9 is for you if you like to use your knowlege of GNU/Linux on your pone. SSH into your phone, edit files directly on the phone's file system, tinker with settings etc. - No way to do this on a 808.

Also, the UI is smoother on the N9 and simpler. (Simple also meaning: less possibilities.) It's just more of a simple every day phone if your use case is making phone calls, checking mails and following your friends on twitter. (The event feed is nice.)

On the 808, you have a number of additional technical goodies that the N9 cannot offer. The usefulness largely depends on your other technical equipment, of course... You have a removeable SD card, FM transmitter, USB on the go to attach USB-sticks or external hard disks, standard compliant 3G video calls, HDMI out, SyncML built in...

I also found the 808 to be more reliable when it comes to 3G data connections. The N9 keeps dropping connections when I move (like in a car or bus), the 808 doesn't.

On the UI side, I found the 808 to be strangely slow, given that it has a faster CPU than the N8. I don't know where all this additional speed goes to, but you hardly ever notice it when using the device.

OTOH, the usual desktop-concept with all the useful widgets and shortcuts is a huge plus for me on the 808. I really miss those on my N9.

I'm not the person to judge the number of 3rd party applications. The few I use are available on both devices somehow. The only thing that my Symbian device has and the N9 doesn't is this whole Microsoft integration with not only Exchange, but also Lync, Sharepoint etc. - I wouldn't use those normally, but a have to at the office, so this is the only software I really need that the N9 cannot offer.

Given all of the above, I have to contradict Kangal; I'd say that the 808 is the better smartphone because it just offers more of everything. The N9 is the cooler device. It doesn't offer anything that the 808 doesn't have. But the things it does it does in a more friendly and beautiful way, if this is of any importance to you.

I own both, here's the problems/limitations I found with each...

n9:
* Very difficult to write with it, painful to code.
* Couldn't use it as a secure WI-FI hotspot (there's only wep).
* Couldn't use it as a USB modem on linux reliably.
* Couldn't play webm videos embedded in a html5 document.
* Couldn't find a FTP application.
* The only (3rd party) whatsapp application was unreliable.
* Couldn't watch embedded vimeo or youtube videos.
* Couldn't interact with embedded applet content on sites (like wunderground radar).
* No widgets, just an old-fashioned icon-grid as well as a multitasking pane and notifications pane.
* No inbuilt per-person aggregator for communications & subscriptions (web-feeds, social-media, email, etc.), however there is an most-in-one aggregator (notifications pane, no Google+).
* No useful OCR technology.
* 3rd party applications are mostly spammy, many are just web-portals.
* Low volume; I always missed calls in the mall.
* Noisy photos in low light.

808:
* Couldn't use google-chat.
* Couldn't select & copy text in the email client.
* Multitasking is slow & tedious.
* Inbuilt keyboard doesn't have arrow-keys (anymore, thanks Nokia), swype only lets you enter text in full-screen mode.
* Couldn't use it as a USB modem on linux reliably.
* Very difficult to write with it.
* Couldn't use it as a secure WI-FI hotspot.
* Couldn't do python scripting on it.
* Couldn't play webm videos embedded in a html5 document.
* Couldn't watch embedded vimeo or youtube videos.
* Couldn't interact with embedded applet content on sites (like wunderground radar).
* No inbuilt per-person aggregator for communications & subscriptions (web-feeds, social-media, email, etc.).
* No useful OCR technology.
* Couldn't find a FTP application.
* 3rd party applications are mostly spammy, many are just web-portals.
* Unstable; stopped checking gmail once, rebooted itself a couple of times.
* Camera would sometimes shoot black frames, had to switch settings at random to get it working.
* Couldn't hot-swap the simcard.
* Unbalanced when using with one hand; physical buttons at the bottom, heavy camera at the top.
* No lens cover, lens is right where my index finger goes when holding the phone comfortably.

I think the N9 is a joy to type on because of the fantastic virtual keyboard. Way better than any other virtual keyboard I have ever used because of both haptic and sound feedback both when you press and release the keys.

Also the camera thing is relative. While the camera might be better in the 808 the N9 is no slouch. It kicks the arse of most Android phones in my experience. I think it has fantastic quality for being a smartphone camera.

Here's a few sample photos for the OP:

https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resi...9DE940F173!134

1st off...
poster doesn't seem to be able to do most basic stuff...

• FTP Server
• WifiTrans
• or lftp client...

• CodeCam
• MeeScan
• and many more...

and so on, and so forth...

the poster probably still use a phone like this...
frantically hits the dial button...
shouts impatiently "miss, Downing Street 10 please..." and keeps looking desperately at his phone, wondering why there is no connection...


what are you looking for?
a run of the mill mobile phone with basic run of the mill smartness, i.e. all that social garbage that seems to be synonymous of Internet nowadays?
then both the N9 and the 808 PV are good for you because both offer plenty of free apps for that line of business...

the next best thing to a geek device? obviously, the N9 is your choice. keep in mind that 16GB is very little if you use geek features intensively, so get yourself a 64GB model

808 PV as a camera phone?
well, if you already have a N900 (as your phone and shoot of the century camera (slide open camera cover and shoot away)) then yeah, a 808 PV makes sense
have to carry it around though

tomorrow is a mystery, of course, but...
if the device you are about to buy is going to be your primary (mobile) phone for the next few years, you maybe better off with the N9 as support for Symbian devices might become a tight spot once NOKIA goes bankrupt... before the end of 2013
with this Community (and maybe a little help of Jolla ) the N9 may come along quite nicely

if you want to go real geek you will need a BT keyboard (search for nokia N955...) as the terminals available are rendered useless by the lack of hw kbd