Gadget News

Today, I’m going to take a look at the two highest-spec music-oriented mobile phones, from the two biggest manufacturers in the UK: Nokia and Sony Ericsson.

The Nokia N95 8Gb – smartphone heaven?

Easily one of the best seller of 2008, the Nokia N95 8Gb is quite simply one of the most powerful mobile phones in the market, at the minute. Powered by Symbian Series 60, just like their other top-end mobile phones, the Nokia N95 8Gb packs in a 5 megapixel camera, built-in GPS and super-fast internet access, and then builds on top of that by adding a huge 8Gb of memory for you to store your stuff on. As part of the Nseries range of mobile phones, as well, the Nokia N95 8Gb is very definitely a smartphone, a mobile phone you can just pile on extra features to, until the cows come home. From office applications to games, from instant messaging to a virtual pet dog (which my mate has on his Nseries mobile phone), the only limit to what you can install on the Nokia N95 8Gb is what the programmers have made! It truly is a super-powered, high-end mobile phone.

But it’s not without competition… let’s take a look at Sony Ericsson’s highest spec Walkman phone no the market, the W960i.

Sony Ericsson W960i – a more touching option

Sony Ericsson have their own ideas about what a top-end music-oriented mobile phone should be, and those have come to fruition in the Sony Ericsson W960i a touchscreen wonder phone that uses a different version of Symbian to the Nokia. in this case, it’s UIQ, and that gives the Sony Ericsson W960i a crucial advantage over the Nokia. It has a touchscreen. And that is just brilliant. Mobile phones with touchscreens are always, in my experience, far nicer, and much more fun, to use. Of course, you get the same rage of options to add extra software to the Sony Ericsson W960i as you do with the Nokia, you get super-fast internet, and you get the same 8Gb of memory. In this mobile phone, however, you get a 3 megapixel camera (not 5) and you don’t get GPS, but despite that, the Sony Ericsson W960i is one of the best music mobile phones going.

Nokia vs. Sony Ericsson – which is the champion?

It’s kind of hard to decide between the two mobile phones, in this case. both Nokia and Sony Ericsson have really upped their game, and are on top form. Ok, sure, the Nokia N95 8Gb wins in terms of having a 5 megapixel camera and GPS, but then the Sony Ericsson W960i wins in terms of having a touchscreen and better (MUCH better) music, with the Walkman player (and on a side note, the Nokia music player tends to do stupid things like playing songs back at the wrong speed, so everything sounds like Alvin And The Chipmunks). So, if we’re judging them as being general mobile phones, then the Nokia just edges it. If, however, we’re judging them as being out and out music mobile phones, then the Sony Ericsson takes it.