Head To Head Review: Touch Pro 2 Versus Nokia N97
By Simon Sage on Wednesday, July 8th, 2009 at 4:39 PM PST In Devices, HTC, Haptic feedback, Hottest Hardware, NSeries, New Hardware, Nokia, Reviews, Rumors, Symbian, Windows Mobile
Software
Operating System – Decision: HTC
HTC Touch Pro2 (Will’s take)
What can I say. The HTC Touch Pro2’s Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional underpinnings are, without a doubt, the smartphone’s biggest downfall. HTC did a great job of covering up the Windows Mobile UI, and even re-tooled many common Windows Mobile menus to be more finger-friendly. But, even with all that fancy TouchFLO 3D II goodness hiding the WinMo interface, it’s clear that the Windows Mobile platform (especially the “Professional” touchscreen variant) is getting a bit long in the tooth (read: old as hell).
Drill down past the first level of menus, and you’re stuck having to pull out the stylus if you plan on interacting with Windows Mobile’s minuscule buttons, check boxes and the like. Don’t even start thinking about trying to close an application or pull up the task list (upper right corner of the Windows Mobile UI) without a carefully placed finger nail or the stylus.
Even with gobs of memory and a speedy processor, the Touch Pro2 can sometimes become bogged down and laggy. I blame Windows Mobile for this. Every Windows Mobile smartphone, regardless of processing power, has exhibited some sort of delay or slowdown during moderate to heavy tasks (checking email while surfing the web, and trying to fire up a Twitter app). Push Internet and frequent email retrievals? Don’t even think about it. I had to set my email fetch frequency to some asinine interval and disabled Push Internet in an attempt to regain some system speed. Windows Mobile 7, where are you?
But, when you look past Windows Mobile, the HTC Touch Pro2 shines. Speaking of “Push Internet,” the TouchFLO 3D II UI boasts a pre-fetching website utility that will automatically download and cache pre-determined websites at pre-determined intervals. It’s not really “push” internet, in the sense that webpages are delivered to your smartphone, but the “Push Internet” feature makes for some speedy page-load times (seeing as how the Pro2 already has the page-data cached, avoiding the need to download data over a wireless data connection).
TouchFLO 3D gives the user a side-scrolling interface that looks and feels as smooth and finger-optimized as any touchscreen interface on the market. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, HTC knows what they’re doing when it comes to skinning boring UI’s. TouchFLO 3D UI and the HTC Hero’s Sense UI are prime examples of how hardware manufacturers, with the right resources, can do what software developers failed to do.
Overall, the Pro2’s operating system sucks. It’s actually the reason that HTC had to use a resistive (squishy) touchscreen on the Pro2. TouchFLO 3D II is the Pro2’s saving grace.
Nokia N97 (Simon’s take)
Here’s where life gets hard. After coming from the HTC Magic and its smooth Androidy transitions, Symbian felt just plain old. Don’t get me wrong, functionally, there wasn’t a thing I couldn’t do – send files by Bluetooth, set up my e-mail, browse the web, the whole nine yards, but it really doesn’t matter how much it can do, the basic experience still feels like it belongs five years ago, even with the “new” touch-friendly interface. The third party apps that I tried, like the Gravity twitter client and Google (NSDQ: GOOG) Maps for Mobile both handled smooth transitions and graphics swimmingly, so it’s certainly not a shortcoming in horsepower on Nokia’s part (although the 434 Mhz processor is significantly underpowered for the class).
It’s not even that I need swooshy transitions and bright colours to be impressed like some kid with a shiny new iPhone; after all, I’ve been packing the BlackBerry for a long time, which is pretty bare-bones when it comes to UI. The difference between the BlackBerry OS and Symbian, is that BlackBerry is smart. From the home screen, the whole QWERTY keypad is packed with shortcuts, and while new widget layout for touch devices is neat, it simply can’t compare to the same level of application access BlackBerry offers. When compared to the Touch Pro 2, I can’t help but be a little jealous of the the great job HTC has done on TouchFlo 3D, and can only wonder why nobody has skinned Symbian as nicely.
The way Symbian handles connections is a hassle too. You’ll often get pop-ups confirming whether or not you’ll want to go online, and while I appreciate how the browser is counting every kilobyte of data, it’s not something I’d be concerned with if I bothered to launch it in the first place.
Finally, I wasn’t especially satisfied with the speed of the OS. A part of that was having to chew through multiple layers and subfolders to get where I wanted to, but overall, it felt like there was a lot of loading wait times, likely due to the sub-par processor. Every once in awhile, my Bold would get hung up on some glitch and I’d have to sit through it for a minute or so, but on the N97, it feels like I’ve got to wait for just about every navigation choice and application launch. In short, I can’t wait for a Symbian overhaul with supportive hardware.
Applications – Decision: Draw/Tied
HTC Touch Pro2 (Will’s take)
Windows Mobile applications. There are a veritable sea of options for just about any smartphone application you can think of. Windows Mobile has been around for years and years, and that means there are years and years worth of Windows Mobile applications floating around the internets, waiting to be downloaded and installed. Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait for Windows Mobile 6.5 before we can make use of the unified WinMo application store, the Windows Marketplace for Mobile.
In general, Windows Mobile applications can be clunky. This is especially true for WinMo freeware. And, when dated UI design doesn’t get in the way of a good app, Windows Mobile insists on mis-managing resources and crashing/freezing applications on a whim. Of course, with the expansive collection of WinMo apps available online, it’s not hard to find a truly well-designed (but not free) Windows Mobile application. The pre-loaded WinMo apps – like YouTube, Google Maps, Teeter, Calendar, People – are examples of good software. As long as you remember to close applications as you move from Google Maps to YouTube to your Twitter client, you’ll find that the apps are a pleasure to use and quite stable.
In the end, applications on Windows Mobile are hit or miss. There are great pieces of software out there, but there are also stinking pieces of crap floating around the inter-webs. The trick is to concentrate on the eye-candy that is the TouchFLO 3D interface.
Nokia N97 (Simon’s take)
From the few that I tried, everything ran smoothly and generally hassle free. Using the resistive touchscreen wasn’t quite as bad as I thought it would be, mainly since the interface was amply adapted for finger use, but it does leave me wondering why they even bothered packaging the ridiculous, flat little stylus.
Like I said earlier, Symbian’s pretty functional (I’ve even seen folks use a Wiimote to play emulated games on it before), and have no complaints about the apps themselves. Discoverability, however, is hurting. The Ovi Store really didn’t step up to my experiences with the BlackBerry App World or Android Market on the HTC Magic. Again, it’s clunky navigating to a category view, only ten results are shown per page, thus demanding a lot of flippping, and the front page is diluted with other kinds of content like wallpapers and an entirely separate Games tab.
The Ovi Store might be a little underwhelming, but I was really impressed with the amount of preloaded apps on the N97. The Facebook widget is great, Qik came included, JoikuSpot was also there, RealPlayer, a solid weather application, and like I said earlier, the Podcasts application. Out of the box, there was very little I immediately needed to go hunting around for. Even Vlingo, a voice command app I thoroughly enjoyed on BlackBerry, was effectively built into the operating system. I only wish more S60 programs had Widget support, which won’t happen for awhile, I realize, since it’s still relatively new to the platform.
Although Ovi’s not what you’d call awesome, it sounds like it’s more than what’s available for Windows Mobile; even if WinMo has a few more apps available than Symbian, the added discoverability, finger-touch friendliness, and widget support pushes this category ever-so-slightly in the N97’s favour.
Messaging – Decision: HTC
HTC Touch Pro2 (Will’s take)
When it comes to messaging, the Pro2 seems almost purpose-built for this kind of work. Emails, SMS text messages, instant messages – it’s all good when you have the Pro2’s slide-out QWERTY keyboard handy. The keyboard, as I mentioned above, is darn near close to perfect. I actually prefer tap-typing on a touchscreen (iPhone style), but the Pro2’s keyboard is laid out well enough to almost make me reconsider my position on physical keyboard.
Dedicated comma and period punctuation keys flank either side of the space bar, which is located right where you’d expect it to be. I’ll let you guess where the space bar is located (hint: the Nokia N97’s right-biased shift button isn’t where a space bar should be). I’d liked to have seen more dedicated punctuation keys, but I imagine it’s a balance between too many keyboard keys and a balanced, well laid-out keyboard. I’ll take the balanced, comfortable keyboard over a dedicated question-mark key any day.
One downside is that the Pro2’s full QWERTY keyboard necessitates that you use both hands to type. For one-handed typing, I’d suggest keeping the Pro2 in the closed position and using the on-screen virtual keyboard (which is much improved, thanks to the revised, more accurate touchscreen). The worst thing about the keyboard is that you have to use two hands (two thumbs, really), which is pretty awesome.
Nokia N97 (Simon’s take)
There’s been a lot of contention about the N97’s keypad. It’s very true that it takes awhile to get used to having the spacebar far on the right side, you do get used to it in time. The keyboard itself feels good – they’re shallow, so you won’t get a lot of give when you type, and the spacing is enough to get good movement between the keys. The D-pad hugs the left side of the keyboard a little too tightly, so you’ll occasionally move the cursor mid-sentence, but overall, I was happy with the keyboard itself.
All the common advanced characters are accessible through shift and alt keys, and more still through the Sym key, so those weren’t much of a problem, but what really stuck with me was the lack of intelligence in the output – that BlackBerry and the HTC Magic throw in to make life easier, like automatically capitalizing after a period, or heck, even putting in the period after two spaces. The more efficiently you can do little, common tasks like that, the better the OS, as far as I’m concerned. Although the N97 handles e-mail, contacts, SMS and all that jazz like a champ, the aforementioned issues with having to issue the pull command on your e-mail just kills me. I certainly appreciate the BlackBerry’s immediacy at this point.
Why the hell do you need so much RAM/ROM and a faster processor, when you can multitask smoothly on any S60 device? Is the extra RAM really necessary? Or is it purely for precautionary purposes? Faster processor? Just an illusion for faster speeds, period.
IMO, USABLE specs are the 3.5mm jack, the 32GB flash memory, better camera, FM transmitter, and PROBABLY USABLE SPECS IN THE CASE OF EXTREME POWER USERS WHO CLOG UP THEIR PHONE WITH 20 APPS AT THE SAME TIME HENCE REQUIRING MUCH MORE RAM are the extra RAM ROM and faster processor. Seriously, you CAN beef up performance of S60s through firmwares to free up more RAM and such, but you CANT replace the lack of 3.5mm jack, the camera etc.
Hence, fallacies on your part:
1. why the hell are UNNECESSARY extra RAM/ROM faster processor usable specs and why is the camera/3.5mm jack/3G bands not as important? (i.e. how did you set your criteria for usability of specs?)
2. the lack of RAM processor speed can be solved or at least eased with software upgrades, the lack of hardware features can never be solved without the introduction of the HTC Touch Pro III. (i.e. whether the lack of features can be eventually solved)
Please address the two points I have brought up.
Louis said: Why the hell do you need so much RAM/ROM?
Louis, any person with even a kindergarten computer intellect knows that you can never have enough “Ram/Rom”.
The newer apps eat up more and more resources.
It’s the “RAM/ROM” one of the many improvements over the TP1 (HTC Fuze) that makes the TP2 so very attractive.
IF AT&T had it’s version called the “Tilt2″ available now, I’d already have it. There’s nothing wrong with my HTC Fuze; BUT, it’s my shared belief that the HTC TP2 is the single best smart touch phone available anywhere in the world – bar none.
Shared belief with 13 Best Buiy & T-Mobile store managers.
I hope that your computer intellect and logic someday evolves beyond that of a nursary school level.
Me?
I have a doctorate in Cellular Terminology and Technology; so I have a tiny little bit of knowledge of the industry that I’ve been involved with, since before the FCC had issued a type approval for the cellular radio service.
Cliffy44
Either one has got a nerve calling itself a smartphone when neither has User Selectable Fonts. RIM set the store with smartphone and everyone has jumped at the idea leaving the most important feature out.
AFAIK, there definitely exists font changing applications for S60 V3, which would logically be ported to the fifth edition if they haven’t been done so already.
Louis, sure the N97’s performance can be improved by firmware updates, but so can the Touch Pro 2’s. On a relative basis, they cancel each other out since the same difference in ceilings exists.
No phone with Windows Mobile should win over Symbian (as bad as S60 is!). WiMo is just a horrible OS.
hy the hell do u talk all this sh*t??? i mean n97 belong to HIGHEND phones so if we use 20 apps at the same time is OK. u get it?
Why is the resistive screen a big drawback? The main reason that I haven’t chosen an iPhone or any of HTC (or Samsung)’s Android offerings is because of its capacitive screen. Granted, being Asian and requiring a stylus might have something to do with it, but have you even tried using those screens? It just feels so inaccurate using a capacitive touchscreen, especially when it comes down to texting, compared with using a Nokia 5800XM.
Oh, and please don’t forget to mention that WM mobiles are limited to 65K colour screens – I believe the Nokia screen displays 16M colours.
[...] IntoMobile has done the now classic face-off between these two smartphone titans again, and unsurprisingly, again came down on the side of the Nokia N97. [...]
great post, thank you
How can the lack of HARDWARE features on the Touch Pro 2 be improved on by firmware updates? Kind to enlighten me how a firmware update over the air can drill a 3.5mm jack on your dear HTC, or bring miracles to the tiny camera sensor? Firmware updates solve firmware problems (N97 have ‘em), they don’t solve hardware ones (Pro2 has them).
Your opinion. I like Winmo, it gives you options no other mobile OS gives you. I have big fingers but have no issues with any buttons at any level within touchflo/winmo standard. After 7 symbians the last being the N95 8GB i switched to an HTC Touch HD and never regretted it for a second. The 6.5 energyROM i run is lightening fast compared to the standard, so ROM updates can make a huge difference.
Louis, firmware certainly can’t change the jack or the camera, that’s why the N97 won the media category. Performance improvements will happen just as much on the Pro2 through firmware updates, however, so the performance gap between these two will remain.
afntay, handwriting support tends to be a dealbreaker when it comes to choosing between resistive and capacitive. Personally, I find having to use a stylus pretty awkward, especially when you’ve got a full keypad you’ll be using in between – a smart UI will be able to compensate for precision. Good call on the colours, though the Pro2 still wins out on resolution and a bunch of other hardware specs.
Really cool compare mate! But .. what about the FaceBook status in N97 screenshot? ahahah .. LOL!!!
Usable specs? Seriously? Hand in your mobile blogger card sir
I find this review quite… strange
Maybe it is there But I could not find info about 64 Gbytes memory available for applications on N97 (internal + card) which to me makes big difference
also comparison of UI is… strange
the system which has lags and delays and you have to constantly take out styllus… wins Vs, one that is just… not nice…
and the fact that “As long as you remember to close applications as you move from Google Maps to YouTube to your Twitter client” still does not prevent touch pro 2 to be a winner (imagine that on your PC you need to close an app to run the orther)
It looks like to me that reviewer just “slightly” unfamiliar with the UI on N97(i.e. asking about connections can be easily switch off in many if not in all applications) – so I advice to learn a bit more about reviewed device before start a review
ps. about the blackberry OS being so smart – before taking N97 into my hands I played with one of the new blackberry devices – I put it away after 5 minuts – it was so unintuitive and not “smart” at all Vs any Nokia N60 I had in my hand previously, so I changed to N97
Uh, Name, what do you now about blackberry in 5 minutes? About which two phone should be on top, well looks to me HTC Touch Pro 2 looks clear to me. Oh by the way I did this in l minute. Just because you own a Nokia doesn’t mean it better than….. Look at me I own a Storm and I love it, but the new HTC Touch Pro 2 came too late.
some additioal comments to this… strange review
how the hell the reviewer could give “hardwere” win to HTC when it is not powerful enough to run the system properly (delays and lags) “As long as you remember to close applications as you move from Google Maps to YouTube to your Twitter client”
evluation of hardware has only sens if you compare it with system requiurement and,in the end, user experience. HTC has just not enough power for the system while Nokia does
it is like saying that 700BHP heavy truck has better engine than Ferrari cos it has more power – what is inportant in not power but use of this power
and another fact about the reviw..
no mention of fabulous sound guality of attached headphones with remote control (by the way SIGNIFFICANTLY better than any walkmen, ipod, and i phone I have Used)
etc. etc…
This is either a very biast review or otherwise, just very poor. From the spec test the N97 should’ve clearly won hands down on “usable” specs. I refuse to believe that those who wrote this review has used any S60 Nokia in their lives long enough to say they are familiar with what it has to offer. The lack of multitasking on the HTC again having to close applications down before using the next?? The N97 allows clear multitasking and doesn’t slow the phone down dramatically. Poor poor review… I’m heading back over to allaboutsymbian.com
Seriously guys… and I suppose the Iphone 3GS is better than N97 because it has a virtual keyboard lol!
I’ve been using HTC for over 2 years and couldnt do without a slide out qwerty keyboard now, any app i’ve every wanted hasn’t been a problem finding for Windows Mobile. Before HTC I would only ever buy Nokia and now they have brought out the N97 I thought it was time to come back to them but i don’t think i can miss out on the Pro Touch 2.
If i was younger and used the phone for more music and video the N97 might be the way but to lose so many great apps just so i can be with the in crowd and have the sexy N97 i’m not gonna do it.
HTC is the only option and with T-Mobile UK not offering it at the moment it looks like i’m gonna have to knock them on the head after 18 years and move over to Vodafone!
I have just replaced my TytnII with the Touch Pro 2 – great device!! I also had a Nokia N95 but I was not satisfied with Symbian
As mentioned earlier in an another thread, the version of the TP2 that Telus will be receiving will included a 3.5mm headphones jack, which is craze news.
Nothing had been said about the US version, but it now seems that the devices to be sold trough carriers in the states will also get the version with the standard jack. That’s some crazy great news, and in my opinion is ample justification for having the TP2 released in North America a few months later than it was in Europe. Woot!
More at http://www.AllTouchPro2.com
I for one think this is a good review. I have been waiting for the TP2’s release since I first caught wind of it several months ago. For those of you whining about not being able to multitask on the WinMo platform, try it. I do it everyday on my my Touch Pro. I dont experience the crashing or lagging as described. And bitching because you have to close an app? You eventually need to close apps on every phone or you will run out of memory. Thats where the REAL “usable” specs come into play. Like faster processor and more RAM. Not a better camera and headphone jack. Remember, these are phones first. If I want to take some super high quality pics, ill use my digital camera because thats what its made to do. The WinMo platform is a bit old, I agree. But, there is still a LOT that it can do.
Louis- You sound like youre upset because your phone wasnt choosen as the winner. Get over it and grow up. If your phone suites your needs you should be happy. Choosing fonts a winning/required feature? Get real. By the way, my Sprint Touch Pro 2 will have a 3.5mm jack
Louis – “Why the hell do you need so much RAM/ROM and a faster processor, when you can multitask smoothly on any S60 device? Is the extra RAM really necessary? Or is it purely for precautionary purposes? Faster processor? Just an illusion for faster speeds, period.”
As an after thought, would you buy a computer that only has the minimum hardware to meet the minimum requirements of your programs? Doubtful. Same applies here.
Dont say that htc tp2 lacks a 3.5mm audio jack. A converter is more than enough!! u can keep it plugged in our headset. that is wht i do. And Win mo is more like a PC not a mobile. but symb. is more like an ordinary mobile. so winmo needs more powerful processor and ram and i have experienced with nokia already and planned not to buy nokia at any cost.
What would you buy a car with better speed or car with lower speed?
And user interface is unmatchable. Touch flo 3d is a generation ahead of nokia
upto how many mb expansion does the htc touchpro2 support ?
im usin an 8gb card at the moment..upto how many can i increase it WITHOUT affecting the phones performance ?
Come On. WHO KNOWS SYMBYAN OS? who knows windows OS? Most People Use windows… and windows mobile will get better on the version 7. and HTC and windows APPS …. tons and tons of apps for windows mobile… i dont See NADDA for SYmbian compared to windows…..touch pro all the way
U can extend upto 16gb without affecting the performance in HTC tytn 2 itself. So i think u can use 32 gb without any drop performance in your touch pro 2 i guess.(remember tytn2 was 2007 release it supports till 32gb and its running superbly with 16gb card and i didnt try 32gb )HTC miles ahead of Nokia(fact).
HTC for me but opinions are like ***holes…everyone have one and most stink…
Two questions, anyone can help ?
1. I have over 3k contacts on my e90 now (some with pictures) hanging once a day, is N97 or HTC P2 storing contacts on external memory ? If not which one will perform better ?
2. Video calls with Skype, would be supported earlier on P2 or N97…or N900 ?
I was a little disappointed at the review, personally. Nokia N97 is a great phone, it is currently in need of a few bug fixes from nokia, but they’ve already released news about a firmware 2.0 for the N97 due next month.
I can run more than 7 applications at the same time on the n97 without any of them slowing down on performance. The phone does great even with the little RAM that it has. The battery will last for two days with internet running all the time, and minimal calls, moderate use.
The keyboard was a disappointment initially, but I got over it in 2 days, and learned quickly enough to adapt to the layout of the keys. And I think, everyone will take a while to adapt to a new keyboard layout within a few uses, and that is not a reason to discredit a phone.
The phone responds quick to almost everything you expect from it, except for the occasional crashes. When setup properly, the N97 runs great. I am a sound engineer and musician, and the sound quality of the provided headphones are great, the usability is excellent, with the controls on the headset, etc.
The only drawback currently in my book for the N97 would be the lack of proper cut and paste support from the web browser. Nokia and Symbian are driving me nuts with that. I had the E90 prior to the N97 and same problem. Ridiculous!! And now Nokia’s picked up Maemo and Linux with the N900, no idea where they’re going with that. Are they going to drop Symbian??
One warning however, and this may go for all touchscreen phones. The N97 is useless without the touchscreen as in it won’t even answer a call, cos that’s touchscreen. Mine mysteriously broke even after being perfectly cared for. I noticed a very tiny crack under the screen, and I have no idea how it got there. So I don’t know about the build quality of the touchscreen on the Nokia N97, and this is not a comparison, however, this is something companies should think about with touchscreen phones. How do you make them strong, durable and able to withstand significant amounts of pressure?
Personally I wish phone companies would learn from the Apple example. Make one product, focus on making it perfect and keep it stable. This way app developers can continue making apps that will certainly be compatible. This also allows for good support, less confusion among users, and way less expense in terms of production.
Ram and faster processor is very important!!!! Louis what kind of idiot are you not wanting more!
I mean when look how Windows Vista takes advantage of way more Gigabytes of RAM!!!
I laugh at those people running Linux smoothly with terribly inferior processors and ram. My Vista uses 6Gb of ram currently and a quad core still is not as fast opening windows but I can always add more ram.
Leave the OP alone with his God given right to have more processor speed and ram with his Windows Mobile device.
Voleure