David Carrington

I’ve owned the T-Mobile G1 for 7 months and the N97 for a two weeks. I’m not at all experienced with the Symbian OS so I’ve been quite critical of the N97. Now I think I’m coming to the conclusion of which one will be my main handset for the next few months.

The G1?

With the G1 I have a smooth, clean, and fast experience that was designed from the start to be a touch screen interface to be used with your fingers (i.e. without a stylus). Combine that with the 5-row keyboard and I’ve got a device where I can type out very fast text messages and happily browse the internet.

Biggest negatives? The battery life is poor and the camera isn’t too hot.

The N97?

Within days of owning the N97 I had constructed a hefty list of niggles – fairly major problems that I was having with the device. There were 28 of them!

My main outstanding issues are simply summed up like this: the S60 operating system is terrible for a touch phone. A bit harsh? Maybe. The underlying issue is that Nokia have taken their usual OS and added a few touch features to it, ending up with an inconsistant mess that’s frustrating to use. Really, so bad that I packed the phone back in it’s box two days ago and wondered if I should sell it.

All is not lost though – the N97 really does kick G1 butt when comparing both the camera and battery.

Is that enough?

Today’s decision

The N97 simply does have better hardware. It may be frustrating for me to use but that doesn’t mean it won’t eventually do what I want. The G1 on the other hand will never take as good photos or remain charged for as long – it physically can’t.

That’s settled then, for now, the N97 has it’s new home in my right pocket and the G1 will stay in my rucksack, available as a backup and for any moments where I need the extra Google connectivity with it’s better GMail and GTalk clients.