Home > Nokia N97 v Samsung i8910 stat-clash!
Nokia N97 v Samsung i8910 stat-clash!
By Mike Browne on May 22,
 2009 at 00:00,

Samsung has clearly pulled a fast one by making sure it’s new Symbian S60 5th Edition smartphone, the Samsung i8910, is in the stores before the Nokia N97 comes to town. With it shipping in the UK this week, we thought it was time to give it  by the numbers check over against Nokia’s new knock-out smartphone, the Nokia N97.

The Samsung i8910, the phone previously known as the HD Omnia, has started to ship in the UK this week on Orange. Now, call us cynical but is this merely a ploy to get it in front of people early, trying to tempt them away from their wait for the Nokia N97?

Screen

We have to concede that Samsung may have won this round before we even start. The i8910 comes with an AMOLED display that weighs in at 3.7-inch, making it slightly bigger than the 3.5-inch of the Nokia N97. Not a good start for the Nokia N97.

Round One to Samsung i8910

Interface

Like the Nokia N97, the Samsung i8910 runs the Symbian S60 5th Edition OS, but from what we’ve heard, Samsung has added its own interface and moved things around. This is something the Symbian OS is more than capable of handling but with a familiar layout and interface, it’s not likely to have the same appeal as the Nokia N97. Round Two to Nokia N97

Keyboard

We use email all the time so having a keyboard is a must and if there is one feature on the Nokia N97 that is a ‘must use’ it’s the keyboard. When we tested the Nokia N97 we found this to be a sheer pleasure to use. Turning to the Samsung i8910 - what’s this, the Samsung i8910 hasn’t got one? Seems the guys at Samsung let their guard down on this one, making it a clear knock-out for the Nokia N97.

Round three to Nokia N97

Camera

The Samsung packs in its 8-Megapixel snapper with a degree of aplomb, which knocks the 5-Megapixel CCD of the Nokia N97 into a corner. But what’s this, the N97 is fighting back with its Carl ZeissTessar lens, so images may not be as big but they’ll be sharper. This looks like it could well be a draw but it looks like the Samsung has the edge when it comes to video, packing in a 1280 x 720p resolution at 24fps. Grudgingly, we have to say that’s pretty cool.

However, a quick look around for a few test shots shows a quite different story. Video playback for the Nokia N97 is clearly high on the agenda, while this video sample of the Samsung i8910 is a little less impressive than the specs would suggest.

Round Four is a tie

We have to admit that on paper, the Samsung i8910 looks an impressive beast but when you start to look at the options and how well all that tech has been implemented, we’re safe in waiting for the Nokia N97 – the undoubted winner of this stat clash!

Tags: i8910 N97 Nokia Omni HD s60 5th Edition Samsung
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  • olivier

    The N97 will enormously benefit from the ecosystem nokia is building with all things OVI.

    It’s probably the single most important factor.

    But the first thing people will see is whether the UI is graphically appealing or not. I hope the N97 delivers on this front. I don’t want to deal with a slow browser, clumsy transitions and clunky interface. The pre and next iPhone will deliver on both front. I hope nokia will deliver on looks too.

  • John

    N97 is definitely the phone to get… I have heard complaints of people returning their Samsung Omnia cuz they can’t install nokia 5800 apps on them. S60 is best on Nokia devices they give full support, with constant firmware updates, plus Ovi store is gonna be awesome. Am definitely getting the N97. Whats the purpose of getting a ferrari, if you can’t drive it on top speed.

  • daniele

    N97 is just an n95 ìwhit a bigger screen and i allready have an n95 and that’s why i will buy the i8910

  • http://www.lookatbowen.com/nokia5800 Mike Bowen

    It’s going to be a very tough decision when all the phones are available.

  • indie

    This is no lie……..(before anyone says so) my friend was a contract developer on the Samsung and he hated it. Basically they rushed it so badley……They had sold the phone to networks before it was even able to make calls.

    There are features on the hardware that dont even have drivers for them such as the fm transmitter. Also there is a hidden 3d type menu that again i dont think made the final firmware even after months of dev….

    yes the tech spec is great but it wont hold togehter i\’m affraid.

  • Gery

    This review is actually kinda funny. I mean, obviously it’s on a Nokia fansite, so… it’s going to be favoring Nokia… obviously…

    So, to redo the above comparison without the Nokia favoring… here we go:

    Screen (S=3, N=0)
    Well, the Samsung is 3.7inches, it’s AMOLED and it’s capacitive… where as the N97 is 3.5, and resistive.

    Interface (S=1, N=1)
    This is mostly a personal preference. Some like the Nokia widgets, some like the Samsung widgets…

    Keyboard (S=0, N=1)
    Well, I think all of us would want a keyboard if we could have one, but thats a lot of added size if you don’t… so… hmmm… let’s call this a win for Nokia and add another category called portability.

    Portability (S= 3, N=2)
    Okay, so, we’ll measure height, width, depth, volume and weight.
    Samsung height: 123mm (0)
    Nokia height: 117.2mm (1)

    Samsung width: 59mm (0)
    Nokia width: 55.3mm (1)

    Samsung depth: 12.9mm (1)
    Nokia depth: 15.9mm (0)

    Samsung volume: 93,615.3 mm3 (1)
    Nokia volume: 103,050.444 mm3 (0)

    Samsung weight: 148g (1)
    Nokia weight: 150g (0)

    Camera (S=12, N=4)
    And finally the camera, which can be subjective, so let’s stay with objective. We can say which lens is better, which one has higher resolution and frame rates as well as capabilities.

    Samsung Lens: Samsung optics (0)
    Nokia Lens: Carl Zeiss optics (1)

    Samsung MegaPixels: 8MP (1)
    Nokia Mega Pixels: 5MP (0)

    Samsung Capabilities: Geo-tagging, face, smile and blink detection, image stabilization, wide dynamic range, ISO 1600, LED flash (7)
    Nokia Capabilities: autofocus, LED flash, video light (3)

    Samsung Video: 1280×720 @ 24fps, 720×480 @ 30fps, QVGA time-lapse and slow-mo video recording (4)
    Nokia Video: 640×480 @ 30fps (0)

    Memory (S=1, N=1)
    Okay, so this is a big one too. The Hard Drive storage is less important than the ram because you can just get external memory cards and toss them in, but I’m not going to weight that stuff when counting points:

    Samsung HDD: 8/16 GB (0)
    Nokia HDD: 32 GB (1)

    Samsung Ram: 256MB (1)
    Nokia Ram: 128MB (0)

    Processor (S=2, N=0)
    And finally the processor… how fast does the thing work anyways?

    Samsung: ARM Cortex-A8 600 MHz processor; 3D Graphics HW Accelerator (2)
    Nokia: ARM 11 434 MHz processor (0)

    So, let’s tally up the scores. It looks like Samsung finishes with a score of 22, while Nokia finishes with a score of 9. Now, I’d like to make things a bit more even here because the camera category really is so heavily in Samsung’s favor… but let’s take out all the special features points on the Samsung, and just deal with the hard specs, that brings the scores down to 15 and 6. Now, I didn’t count in two other important things that REALLY need to be factored in. Samsung is notorious for horrible support so far as doing software updates, if that’s the case, I’m going to award another point to Nokia for updates, making the scores 15 to 7. Finally there’s the issue of user base… or community… who is going to be developing for these, and what has been put in place to support this? Well, that would be another point for Nokia as Samsung is way behind in this area, giving us a final score of 15 to 8 in favor of Samsung.

    Now, a lot of Samsung fanboys will cheer this comparison while Nokia fanboys will cry foul. The truth is I just did my best to compare everything in as detailed a way as I could. If we were to take a more high level comparison and we were to award 1 point for each category the scores would be thus:
    Screen (S=1, N=0)
    Interface (S=1, N=1)
    Keyboard (S=0, N=1)
    Portability (S=1, N=0)
    Camera (S=1, N=0)
    Memory (S=1, N=1)
    Processor (S=1, N=1)
    Updates (S=0, N=1)
    Community (S=0, N=1)
    ——————————-
    Total (S=6, N=6) which is a tie.

    In conclusion I would say that at a high level, the phones are very similar. However the hard specs of the Samsung clearly weigh in it’s favor. When you dig deep the Samsung really shines in the specs and Nokia flounders. Once you step outside the specs though, you start to see that Nokia supports its products better with firmware updates while Samsung is notoriously poor and Nokia has a better community creating applications.

    If you’re looking for a phone that can do more, the Samsung is probably for you. However the Nokia has more supporting it. It’s kinda like buying a car with higher specs vs buying the car that has a better community and more firmware updates. Now… are you really going to go and put all the mods on your car that the community has to offer… probably not… are you more likely to try some on the phone? yeah… sure… How many are you likely to use that aren’t already made by the S60 community… who knows?

    The Samsung is the stronger phone without a doubt. The Nokia may offer a better community and upgrades… which is for you?

  • Faiz

    That was a pathetic article written by Mickey Bee…pretty much stooping down to Apple fan boys level. This is not what I expected from a Nokia website. Nokia fans don\’t just appreciate but criticize as well. Thats the best part.

    However, the above commenter Gery saved my reading of this page. That was a perfect comparison of the two phones Gery. Kudos to you. This was what I would have expected from the authors here. Not just some stupid comparison to make Nokia the winner.

    I myself am a Nokia fan. But when it comes to hard facts…I criticize. OmniaHD has put the N97 to shame on some very important fronts. Shame on you guys for sticking up unfairly for Nokia.

  • John

    @faiz

    Did you even read the article, the author admitted that Omnia hd is higher specked than the N97 in some aspects. But the overall functionality is sub-par compared to the Nokia N97. And the major aspect of any product is its functionality, how useful is it in real life. Sure the Omnia HD boost pretty high specs, I believe it was rushed to the market and its OS was not properly implemented. There are complaints all over the web from Omnia hd owners. Complaints of low frame rates @ 5 – 10fps gameplay are mostly rampant. this goes to show even with a powerful hardware, you can\’t guarantee huge performance if the software part is neglected or poorly implemented.

    Samsung is a hardware company, the just license an Os, load it up on a highly specked hardware and thats it. Meanwhile is not just a hardware company, but also a software and a service driven company. So Nokia has a better chance of implementing, integerating and merging services, software and hardware into a powerfull, all in one, do-it-all package. So this is the reason why the Nokia N97 beats the Omnia hd or any other smartphone. Its not just about the specs, its about functionality. Power without control is no power.

  • Chappas

    “Grudgingly, we have to say that’s pretty cool”

    When you include statements such as this, which make it blatantly obvious you’re biased, I’ve gotta say it takes a lot of weight from your argument and opinions. (by a lot, I mean all)

    Why would you “grudgingly” admit the camera is better if you’re just out to find out which phone is the best and inform other people of this?

    Good read. (And by this I’m talking about Gery’s comment.)
    Gotta start getting concerned when people are more interested in the comments than the actual article itself ay?
    Phil x

  • Chappas

    Oh just to add, John… you’re completely & totally right and I’m glad you can put forward good points for your case.

    “Samsung is a hardware company, the just license an Os, load it up on a highly specked hardware and thats it.”

    This I found especially interesting, if I understand you correctly, you’re saying the software is the problem?

    Well, ‘whichever’ company owns the Symbian platform clearly have no idea what they’re doing on developing software… They should start taking some tips from Nokia as you say! (intentional sarcasm)
    Phil x

  • paragonpig

    There are a few points that were mentioned in the comparison which are biased and undermine the validity of this comparison.

    Video
    Video playback comparison examples are not consistent. You tube recodes video for web display and reduces frame rate with more compression which means it \’s not the true quality that comes from the camera. Vimeo has less compression. Not a fair comparison.

    Keyboard.
    Why assume that all of us would require a keyboard. That is big assumption based on a personal choice. Slim profiles phones are more discreet in the pocket and feel more solid the i8910 has a very accurate touch qwerty which with the big screen means decent sized virtual keys and is an equal to a physical keyboard with smaller keys. Also mechanical sliding systems add weight can break and loosen over time whereas a solid all in one shape has a solidity that will last.

    Overall i question the statement \"Nokia N97 – the undoubted winner of this stat clash!\"
    Undoubted winner? It\’s not as clear cut as that statement makes out.

    Also users comment that mention that they have \"heard from a friend\" are to be sniffed at. See the real thing before you cherry pick from the rumours that suit your opinion.

    Bravo Gery for getting the balance right.

  • http://thoughtsons60.com jonnybruha

    A lot of the blatant Nokia fanboyism has already been sifted through, but I just want to focus on the camera comparison one more time.

    The camera in the N97 is almost identical to the one used in the N95. There have been no additions to the software in over two years. The Samsung is not only bumping the megapixel count to 8, but also features, smile shutter, blink detection, face detection, mosaic shot, panoramic shot, ISO 1600, several more scene options with very intuitive descriptors, and a wide 6mp option for stills. The video camera also features 30fps D1 video recording, 120 QVGA, and slow motion capture. These features have all been standard on standalone digital cameras and 8mp camera phones of last year, whereas Nokia is still yet to come out with their own 8mp cameraphone that still doesn’t have any of these additional features. There has also been videos posted that show how insanely fast the OmniaHD’s camera operates due to the significantly faster processor.

    To declare the N97 the winner of the camera shoot out just because they slapped a name brand on it is insulting to your own credibility and emphasizes how short sighted this “comparison” really is.

  • Jim

    Just a quick note as I have had the i8910 for just under a week now and wanted to share a few thoughts. Camera is very good indeed, pretty quick to start up, works well in most lights and is much better than my old XDA in poor light. Video is fantastic BUT as others on the web have stated the audio codec Samsung decided to use is low quality compared to the image shots and its not (that I can see) adjustable either so SAMSUNG sort it out as until you improve it I will not accept the phone is a true 720p video recorder in its entirety plus it does drop frames if there is a lot going on in full 720p mode. Still I have to remember it is a phone! As for having no keyboard, this was a major issue for me before hand as I was looking at an E75 but due to poor battery reports and a low camera spec and finding the keys a little fiddely to use I went into an Orange shop and had a go at the 8910 and was very surprised at how easy (once used to it) it was to type messages/text via the onscreen keyboard. It vibrates on each key press and this really helps with the feel of things. As for the OS, being a Windows mobile user for the last few years (Nokia 6600 before that) I find the Calendar is rubbish compared to the default one and I am amazed at how may presses it takes to do some things where as a few clicks on the stylus did most things in WM. That said it is much quicker in operation than my XDA in most cases and I am hoping will not crash as often, oh and did I mention the screen? It really needs to be seen to be believed, it is fantastic and I have not seen a better one on anything else. Will it be better or not than the N97? no idea and I don’t care now really, the 8910 is a very good phone generally and I am sure the N97 will also be a good phone. Jim

  • Martin

    Hahahahaha!!!!!

    “The video sample of the i8910 is a little less impressive than the specs would suggest”

    That’s because it’s been uploaded and rendered on Youtube – not an original recording from source like the n97 clip.

    What a lame argument! Nokia propaganda at work here!!

  • sean

    I’m looking at both the N97 & Omnia HD as my next phone, to replace my N95 which is gradually developing more faults as I get closer to end of contract.

    Being cynical, are they designed to do this, to make you upgrade? LOL!

    It does put me in some doubt over the N97, as the N95 is 18months old and reliability leaves a lot to be desired.

    I have surfed around different sites, reading reviews on both & found this ‘comparison’.
    To say I am not surprised at the blatant favouritism would be foolish, after all its a Nokia related site.

    However, ‘most’ of the comments have been interesting, particularly the excellent comparison by Gery.
    (You should get a job doing this!)

    Proof for me will be trying both in an Orange shop at the weekend.
    I was originally interested in the Samsung Toca Ultra Edition until I tried it hands on. thanks but no thanks.

    You can read what you want into the ‘willy wagging’ of the Fans, but be an indivdual and make your own mind up.
    My friends keep telling me to get an IPhone cos its soooo great, ‘and the next release supports picture messaging’.
    Sorry? next release? I have been doing that for years!

  • Marlos

    N97 is already ancient history. You guys should compare Omnia HD with N900 and the Iphone 3GS, cos all 3 have similar hardware specs (ARM Cortex-A8 600 MHz, PowerVR SGX, 256 mb RAM). Today you gotta be very dumb to buy a N97 for the same price as these 3 powerful beasts!

  • John

    I used to have the N97 Nam – Black. Had it for about a month, but decided to give it up. Slowness was my only gripe. 3d games were very choppy on this unit. Even other applications were very slow.

    So i decided to get the Samsung I8910. Faster games and applications run smoother. Many complain that Samsung does not have enough 3rd party applications….my answer to that….just install HelloOx. You will be able to install hundreds of applications for S60 5th edition. In addition, you can install those that were meant for n97 and 5800.

    FYI – Samsung I8910 will be able to directly intstall applications from Ovi as well. Do not download the Ovi client, just do it from the web. Ovi site will detect your device as a Nokia 5800. You can basically install any app for 5800.

    Sorry Nokia…I was a Nokia fan for many years…Had the following phones in order:
    Nokia N95, N95 8GB, E71, N97.

    N97 just killed it for me. However, if Nokia decides to design a better phone, then I will give it a try again.

    The N900 is in my radar. Unfortunately, I do not see a NAM version for it yet. But if they do decided to come out with a NAM, then I would go for the N900.

    Good Luck…

  • Javi M

    I had the N97 for about 2 months, and the problem wasn\’t the hardware, its the clunky OS, s60 is simply not suitable for touch, and is light years behind iPhone OS and Android when it comes to ease of use. I\’ve moved onto the HTC Hero and it seriously smacks these two phones out of the park, it just works perfectly, it has a gorgeous capacative screen and multi touch is just around the corner for Android, the iPhone 3GS is again a good option, a pleasure to use, but personally I\’m not a fan of Apple’s “Walled garden”; concept, but I get why Apple sell so many of them.