Recently I've been changing my handset on a fairly frequent basis, ever since I decided to change from the E51 I had been using for a while. I faffed about choosing between the N82, E66 or E71. I considered a few retro ideas (N73 or N80) but quickly decided against that, thought the N95/N95 8GB would be too much like going back, and eventually settled on the N82. Except, I didn't settle for long.
After choosing the N82, (which has made it's way onto my all time favourite list*), I made the change to the E71. I had been considering it, the E71 was getting rave reviews online, and I had the chance for a good deal, so I took it. I learnt my lesson, with that one. Whilst I cannot fault the performance of the handset during my time with it, I came to the conclusion that QWERTY is not for me. A real shame, because the E71 is an excellent product, and works really well. However, I found myself constantly getting the wrong key, always pressing the next to the one I wanted. During a text conversation with a friend, I got really frustrated and after feeling like throwing the damn phone against the wall, I removed my SIM back to the N82 and sanity was restored. For a while.
Shortly after having returned to the N82, I took the chance to pick up a 5800. This wasn't even in my list of options initially, but with a positive launch and an enjoyable day out in London with the 5800, I was sold. For just under a week. I think that the 5800 is also a perfectly adequate handset, feature rich at a very competitive price. Usability is easy, simple with S60 doing all it does best. I quickly customised the menu layout to how I wanted it and the phone was working well. Excellent music playback, good features; I was set. Almost. There are two things I do most on my phone, message and web. Email, IM, Text, MMS, and web browsing account for easily 85% of my phone usage. I rarely make calls, my other usage is made up with things like taking pics/videos, listening to music, and a few other miscellaneous options. Web browsing on the 5800 soon started to wear me down, even using the stylus I found selecting links on certain sites awkward, and quickly tired of the hassle. I needed something else.
I found my solace in the N95 8GB. Like putting on a pair of comfortable old slippers, the N95 8GB was a dream to be using again. Fantastic in every way, *this* phone gave me what I want. Easy web browsing with the D-Pad controlling things, huge memory, and a keypad of which I hadn't enjoyed such comfort for many a day, since selling on the E51. Messaging became a joy again, and no longer an arduous task, and man, that screen is something else. I started to regret ever selling on my N95 first time round. I've hunted the market for a phone that gives me what I have found in the N95; simple usability aligned with top of the range functionality. No damn touchscreen, no damn QWERTY keyboard, just ease of use and mighty fine looking, too.
However, as you can see from the title of this post, I am not using the N95 8GB right now (well, kind of sorta, but not really). After a week or so of returning to the N95 I had the chance to purchase an E66. Here, I thought, was something worth having. After all, as much as the N95 is great, the E66 was new, would carry warranty for any future issues, but also matched what I'd been looking for - build quality and functionality of the Eseries devices, but it still looks like a phone! Proper keypad, and all. And the E66 is all that, but suspect battery it is rumoured to have, and that's what I found. In the end I only had it two days, yet I had to charge it four times! Amazing. The obvious course of choice, it seemed, would be to go back to the N95, but instead I find myself using an N85. Walking down the high st I saw one in a shop, for sale, SIM free. It was second hand, in a sense, but really almost brand new. A customer had bought one on contract, took it back the next day, didn't want it. Phone still has the screen covers on and all sorts. There wasn't even a call made on it! I just happened to be passing at the right time and picked it up for a good price.
So that's it, really. A couple of months of phone changes, from Eseries to Nseries and back and forth, nightmare experiences with Touchscreen and QWERTY devices, I find myself using a handset that two months ago, I hadn't even considered. First impressions are good, this is one solid phone. I've seen much feedback on various forums, slating a wobbly slider, and other build problems, but this device has none of that. Feels solid, well built, has good weight in the hand, pretty much matches the N95 for what I want in a phone, with a slimmer, better looking design. The screen on this thing is amazing, such clarity. Looking back over the last couple of months, I've changed my phone a lot, really. The Switch application on S60 devices has been invaluable, so easy to keep my calendar, messages, bookmarks, contacts and others up to date on which ever phone I had at the time.
That's a good overview of how I've tried various options out recently; now I just need to see if the N85 can keep me happy, for the next few months at least. If not, there is still the N95 lying around, I currently use it for music. Nice to have a quality music player from which I can take high quality pictures, browse the web and send/receive emails. One thing my recent experience has taught me is that the N97 is NOT going to be for me, seeing how it combines the two main options, Touchscreen and QWERTY, that I dislike the most!
*My all time favourite list in no particular order is 6310i, N73, N82, N95 8GB.
