# n81 vs w890 vs w910 vs n73m



## dtox (Apr 27, 2008)

hey guys!

after months of research (and a whole lot of confusion!! still am!!), i hav narrowed it down to these 4 contenders.. 
I WILL BE USING THE PHONE PRIMARILY FOR MUSIC.. CAMERA MAKES NO DIFFERENCE AT ALL!

adhering to the condition above , who do u think wins in

n81 vs w890 vs w910 vs n73 m  (SOUND QUALITY ONLY!!)

1. from my research n81 shd hav the best audio quality.. but lacks megabass which pulls its quality down on the highs

2. w910 has gr8 walkman 3 feaures, shake, accelerometer etc etc...n large screen.. 

3. sonic experience in the latest w890 seems to be better than 5610 (has a dedicated music processing chip) acc. to review at mobile-review.com.. 

4. n73m is a legend as it is.. nt sure bout its music quality tho..

u can see y i m thoroughly confused!!! or if u guys can suggest a better MUSIC PHONE within 15k tht wud b gr8!

thnx


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## Pathik (Apr 27, 2008)

N81 should be it. W890 wd be 2nd. But n81 has a better screen and is a symbian too. And you dont need a good cam. So n81 it is.


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## dtox (Apr 27, 2008)

^^but is the sound quality in n81 better than w890?? i mean i m really a fan of SE ka megabass.. hwz n81 on the highs?? hav u tested it personally?? i know for a fact that without ne equalizer, n81 kicks ass.. wen u strip it down to the base.. like mobile-review guys did wen they compared w960 n n81.. but wat bout WITH the equalizer?? does the quality improve in SE?? coz megabass surely adds magic!

also.. can u tell me hwz the sound quality for n73m?? hw wud u rate it from the above 4 choices?


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## dreamcatcher (Apr 27, 2008)

check my w890 review and u will know about megabass..and w890 has 3.2 mp cam while n81 has a crappy 2 mp..n81 luks pathetic,is a fingerprint magnet and a slider(nokia sliders..ask ur local dealer)....if u want a nokia phone,go for the n91 but not the n81..nething but that...and MEGA BASS WILL ALWAYS ROCK!!!

and screen, mobile-review and phone arena says- "one of the finest screens i the market"..and u really dont want to carry that bulk of a phone..do u??..w890 is 10mm thick and will fit in ur underwear pocket as well...


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## dtox (Apr 27, 2008)

^^ wat u say might be true.. but, wat has really hit me is that n81 beats w960 hands down in audio quality test done by mobile-review... and w960 is supposed to be the best walman in the series as far as sound quality goes!! so i can only assume w890 wont be better sound quality wise...? coz n81 annihilated w960


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## dreamcatcher (Apr 27, 2008)

man!!!...that is the worst review i have ever come across..mobile-review has been damn biased every thing..they did not even give an explanation as to why they ranked the w960 so low..check their RNAA rests and the frequency tests in the w960 review and u will see it has fared better...trust me..w960 rocks..i have used them and know what i am talking about..u will not regret the w890...and moreover..u will have to shell our more money for the n81 so as to get decent sound quality,..the inbuilt ones are crap..so n81+ep 630...more than 17k..and w890 will cost u 14.5 k with 2 gb card..the n81 comes with 1 gb... best still..u go and check them our yourself..


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## dtox (Apr 27, 2008)

^^ i already have ep-630


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## utsav (Apr 27, 2008)

^^ then its better u use those from someone else to listen to its music quality to get experience urself


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## ico (Apr 27, 2008)

Go for W890 if you need:

*Great music playback & form factor (just 1cm thick)*
HSDPA (consider it as a future investment)
A good 3.2mp camera without AutoFocus and Flash
+ All the SE Walkman features like MegaBass, Track ID etc.
And do check out AMD64s review of W890 here: *thinkdigit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=86175

Go for W910 if you need:

Bigger screen
Shake control (quite useless in my opinion) and motion sensor
2mp Camera without AutoFocus and Flash
HSDPA (future investment)
+ All the SE Walkman features like MegaBass, Track ID etc.
Go for N81 if you need:

*A heavy phone*
*Crappy camera*
Fine sound quality with EP-630
Symbian
Plus, it is having some sort of hiccups and many people are reporting
Go for N73me if you need:

A nice 3.2mp camera with Flash & AutoFocus *- which you probably don't need*
Thik-Thak music playback but you'll miss out SE features like Mega Bass, Track ID
Symbian
I advise you to buy either of W890 or W910.....But I'm more inclined towards W890 as it is also having a better Camera. And yeah, W890 & W910 are cheaper than N81......


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## Pathik (Apr 27, 2008)

And IMO you should really go and try out n81 and w890i. Music quality is really subjective.


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## krazzy (Apr 27, 2008)

N81 has the best audio quality among these. Also it can go loudest among these phones through headphones and can easily power big cans. This is not something many phones can do. Plus it has a dedicated 3.5mm headphone jack and you also get remote control with it which is really convenient when the phone is in your pocket. It is also the only phone to have dedicated music playback keys. So no matter in which application you are, you can directly control the music. About the bass, it does not have Mega Bass option, but you can easily increase its bass with the manual equaliser. The Mega Bass option anyway isn't that great as it makes the bass boomy and the sound muddy, especially with low-bitrate files and SE's default headphones. With N81's manual equaliser you can not only increase the bass but can also control the other frequencies, something Mega Bass doesn't allow you to do. Also you can create unlimited equaliser presets in N81 music player, which you can't in Walkman phones (only one). N81 also has pretty decent stereo speakers and A2DP. Also you can upgrade the memory of this phone upto 32gb (upto 8gb for now though) and microSD cards are much cheaper than M2 and are available in higher capacities. Think about all these things. IMO, for music playback, N81 is the best among these phones.



amd64_man2005 said:


> ....and moreover..u will have to shell our more money for the n81 so as to get decent sound quality,..the inbuilt ones are crap..so n81+ep 630...more than 17k..and w890 will cost u 14.5 k with 2 gb card..the n81 comes with 1 gb


N81 does not cost more than 17k. It costs around 14.7k. And it also comes with a 2gb card.


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## dreamcatcher (Apr 27, 2008)

well in kolkata it costs round 16k..nokia phones are more costl here..anywaz..sorry for the goof up...isaid n81 +ep 630 

and trust me guys..dont go for the n73 anymore..come july.the n78 will be out and n73 will be out of production..and as nokia's history goes..no more firmwares..have ur say...

so comes down to n81 and w890..

i believe..if u want to use symbain features..then get the n81..if u want a good cam and music qualities..get the w890..


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## yogi7272 (Apr 27, 2008)

yup .. very true for n73 .. the upcomming n78 looks very good phone to me..barring looks though ..


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## dtox (Apr 27, 2008)

thanks all u guys! from ur replies, i have eliminated w910 n n73 from the equation.. 

it remains n81 vs w890i.. who wins?? i really need a comparative opinion in terms of sound quality.. honestly speaking.. i think 2 gb is more than enuf..

as for 3.5mm jack.. does w890 hav one? considerin i use m4a files encoded at 100kbps (which is quite awesome quality at a very small file size) and or mp3 encoded at > 192kbps , which phone can give me th best sonic experience?

but wats really tilting the balance in w890's favour is the ability to put custom acoustics through firmware hacking.. which i don think is possible in symbian based n81..?? wit custom acoustics, w890 will sound amazing!

and i checked the cost... w890 for 14.8k, n81 8 gb: 15.6k, n81 2gb: 14.6k in PUNE



gagandeep said:


> Go for W890 if you need:
> 
> *Great music playback & form factor (just 1cm thick)*
> HSDPA (consider it as a future investment)
> ...



thanks for the effort man!! ... i just had to thank u for this gr8 post!!


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## Pathik (Apr 27, 2008)

Nope. You have to use the fastport to 3.5mm adapter. You ll get that with the HPM70.
And yea, N81 looks real good compared to the w890. Or is it just me?


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## ico (Apr 27, 2008)

dtox said:


> thanks for the effort man!! ... i just had to thank u for this gr8 post!!


* You're welcome.....
*


dtox said:


> as for 3.5mm jack.. does w890 hav one?


No, it doesn't have a 3.5mm jack



dtox said:


> considerin i use m4a files encoded at 100kbps (which is quite awesome quality at a very small file size) and or mp3 encoded at > 192kbps , which phone can give me th best sonic experience?


As far as the Internet is saying, N81 is having good sound quality which is comparable to N91 but again, it is heavy like N91......N91 was 164g and N81 is 140g whereas SE W890 is just 78g + a lot slimmer.....
Will you like to carry the N81 load??

Anyways, Music playback isn't everything. Musical features also matter.....

W890 has Track ID, Mega Bass and Sense Me. + Walkman player as you know. W890 is also having the punch in its 3.2mp camera, so consider it a better all round phone.

W890 also has High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), so it is also going to serve you in the future.

If you aren't inclined towards Symbian & Ngage games, then go for W890.

As GSMArena is saying, N81 captures video @15fps whereas W890 captures video @30fps........Another plus point for W890.

Also, N81 is having some sort of glitches as people are reporting in the forum.



dtox said:


> but wats really tilting the balance in w890's favour is the ability to put custom acoustics through firmware hacking.. which i don think is possible in symbian based n81..?? wit custom acoustics, w890 will sound amazing!


Yeah, this also add a positive point towards W890.

Anyways, I'm also getting W890......


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## rohan_mhtr (Apr 27, 2008)

go for n81 , it does not look that good in pictures from various websites but actually it looks very good when seen personally . It is the best sounding among the 4 followed by w890 , w910 then n73 . It is no doubt loudest among all through headphones as well as loudspeaker . Currently it is best sounding nokia mobile after n91 . I agree that nokia phones are slightly  overpriced but  they  have better after sale value and will fetch more if you sell them . Also You wont get bored with the symbian operating system easily.N81 will cost you around 16k but if you want to save about 2k then w890 is not a bad option .But you should certainly go with n81 if camera is not that important plus 3.5mm jack is a big advantage .


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## acewin (Apr 28, 2008)

I am glad to hear so much good about N81, heehe. ANd interesting to.
I really think getting a very good camera in mobile phone is becoming hard they release so many camera phones. LOL.

So my question is how good is the 2MPix of N81 compared to other 2MPix.


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## dtox (Apr 28, 2008)

^^ not good..

 this is wat gsm arena says:

"It's astonishing that Nokia has decided to integrate a 2 megapixel fixed focus camera into the Nokia N81, instead of trying to close the gap in the three megapixel race"

"The image quality of Nokia N81 is just what you would expect from a 2 megapixel Nokia camera - slightly below average for that pixel count."

.. its becoming harder n harder to find a phone which can be labelled an "all rounder".. specially SE models.. last i checked my old w810i was the ONE!


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## krazzy (Apr 28, 2008)

rohan_mhtr said:
			
		

> I agree that nokia phones are slightly  overpriced but  they  have better after sale value and will fetch more if you sell them.


+1 for that. Yesterday I went to a shop to see how much my year old W710i will get in exchange for N81. The shopkeeper said 2.5k. That too for a phone which is in decent condition and 1gb card. New W710i costs 8.8k. Upon enquiring why the price is so less, he said that SE phones get less resale value.


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## dtox (Apr 28, 2008)

@krazzy
 yeah.. i am also aware of that fact.. resale value of SE is lesser than nokia.. btw.. did u happen to ask hw much was n81 was retailing for?? the 8gb version..??


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## rohan_mhtr (Apr 28, 2008)

latest n81 price in navi mumbai is 15.3k and 8gb is 17.6k
My verdict will be to buy the normal version of n81 since it can support 8gb cards when they are released .


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## dtox (Apr 28, 2008)

rohan_mhtr said:


> latest n81 price in navi mumbai is 15.3k and 8gb is 17.6k



thanks a lot!!


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## krazzy (Apr 28, 2008)

It was out of stock in the shop where I went though.


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## dreamcatcher (Apr 28, 2008)

well..in kolkata..noun buys nokia for a change...my 5700 was sold for 57oo while my friends w610 bought 2 months before me sold at 6800....well..and btw..w710 has a low price coz w710 is out of production..go to a mobile-store outlet..you will know ehich has a better resale value..

so dtox-decided yet?


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## dtox (Apr 28, 2008)

^^ things r lookin strong for w890.. i hate its design tho.. to me n81 is more appealing.. its still touch n go..!! how i wish i had friends who owned nice mobiles like ur friends!!  i wud really like to test them both out myself!!


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## dreamcatcher (Apr 28, 2008)

yeah...dont worry..i will review the g900 and the c902 too.. ..if u want to wait till then that is...and the shiho and XPERIA (mine and my best friends respectively)  ...

bte..have u actually held both things in hand...go to any store and ask them to give a u a demo..rather go to a sony showroom and check the w890...

and check the nokia in a local shop...u will like the w890..i feel it luks greak..sleek and powerful...


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## ico (Apr 28, 2008)

dtox said:


> ^^ things r lookin strong for w890.. i hate its design tho.. to me n81 is more appealing.. its still touch n go..!! how i wish i had friends who owned nice mobiles like ur friends!!  i wud really like to test them both out myself!!


Well if you don't like W890s design, you can also go for the W910....It is just having a 2mp camera instead of the 3.2mp of W890s........
+ it has Motion Sensor, a bigger screen & shake control......

Personally, I like W890s design.....


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## dtox (Apr 28, 2008)

gagandeep said:


> Well if you don't like W890s design, you can also go for the W910....It is just having a 2mp camera instead of the 3.2mp of W890s........
> + it has Motion Sensor, a bigger screen & shake control......
> 
> Personally, I like W890s design.....



problem is, i hav read that the w910 music quality sucks.. even 5610 beats it acc. to mobile-review.com..


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## dreamcatcher (Apr 28, 2008)

check esato for news..according to them the new frmware has really boosted the sound quality...or u can wait for the w760..3.2 mp cam,accelerometer,gps...will be out on 26th may..


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## dtox (Apr 28, 2008)

amd64_man2005 said:


> check esato for news..according to them the new frmware has really boosted the sound quality...or u can wait for the w760..3.2 mp cam,accelerometer,gps...will be out on 26th may..



yeah.. but that wil b lunched on 26th may.. god knows wen it wil come to india!! 
w890 was launched on 21 march.. it still hasnt hit the stores completely.. i searched in pune.. but cant find it!!

also ne idea wat it wil cost? w760? i m guessing around 16-17??


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## dreamcatcher (Apr 28, 2008)

^^yea..sumthing like that..


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## dreamcatcher (Apr 28, 2008)

btw..w890 is exclusively available with rpg techcom in kolkata..i guess u will get it at the mobile store surely..i however got my k850 at a normal store...


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## dtox (Apr 28, 2008)

^^ lol.. here.. the mobile store guy hadnt even heard bout the phone!! .. i had to make him check his database on his computer and then he says ki it will b available in 2-3 weeks..!! plus those idiots dont even update their site regularly.. 

i wonder if i shd wait for w760.. it has some excellent reviews.. better than w890

btw.. i almost forgot.. n81 2 gb has no ports whereas n81 8 gb has microUSB??? i learned this from univercell.in!! is this true??


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## dreamcatcher (Apr 29, 2008)

well..botht he phones have microusb..actually all nokia phones have microusb..but trust me..the fastport is better and faster..i had the 5700 with it and it was damn slow... 

i think if u can..then wait for the w760..also u will have choices then..the w760,c702,c902,g900,g700..woah!!!
else w890 is the way to go..at least for me..my k850 after 5 firmware updates can match any music phone in the market..what bass...brilliant..


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## utsav (Apr 30, 2008)

Well i m in kolkata now.  i had a MEGA fight scheduled with a guy in kolkata which got cancelled. lol. I will also have a look at rpg techcom .btw whr is it


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## krates (Apr 30, 2008)

i think if need a phone just for music 

SE phones are the best without any doubt 

if you need to expand features of your phone go for n81 

as it has got symbian


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## krazzy (Apr 30, 2008)

The new Samsung i450 is also a good option for music. It costs less than 13k.


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## rohan_mhtr (Apr 30, 2008)

krazzy said:


> The new Samsung i450 is also a good option for music. It costs less than 13k.


is i450 available in india? i have heard it has got good sound quality compared to n91


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## dtox (Apr 30, 2008)

hmm.. interesting.. i don think samsung can match SE in sound quality.. but yeah.. i'll do more research on that phone.. thnx



just did a quick check.. sounds like a decent device... sound quality nt good tho.. acc. to gsm arena


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## rohan_mhtr (Apr 30, 2008)

dtox said:


> hmm.. interesting.. i don think samsung can match SE in sound quality.. but yeah.. i'll do more research on that phone.. thnx
> 
> 
> 
> just did a quick check.. sounds like a decent device... sound quality nt good tho.. acc. to gsm arena


the i450 reviewed on gsmarena was just the beta product not the actual version of the phone , check mobile-review.com
*www.mobile-review.com/review/samsung-i450-en.shtml
although i have not seen this phone personally but eager to use it since it is based on symbian platform .


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## dtox (Apr 30, 2008)

^^ thnx for the effort .. i wud also appreciate comments from other members?? guys?? wat do u all think?


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## krazzy (Apr 30, 2008)

Its like an N81 without the wi-fi. And its from Samsung.


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## dtox (Apr 30, 2008)

^^ i got that.. do i detect a hint of sarcasm in ur dialog??  ... never used samsung.. shd i risk it?


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## krazzy (Apr 30, 2008)

No there was no sarcasm in it . Just plain old fashion sentence.

Risk it??? Dude you are not crossing over to the Pakistan border! Or smuggling drugs! There is no risk in buying from Samsung.


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## dreamcatcher (Apr 30, 2008)

samsung is quite new into the symbain platform..and samsung has pathetic resale value..

in most phones from manufacturers beside sony ercsson, the sound quality remains the same in spite of updates..


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## infra_red_dude (May 1, 2008)

@dtox
I would reject n81 only coz of the size - its heavy, thick and fugly (don't flame me for this!!). Everything else is just perfect!

I would again reject w890 for being fugly (again, don't flame me!).

+1 for n81 - if you need symbian
+1 for w890 - firmware hacking (I know you are an SE modder  )

Sound quality is subjective. I'd suggest you take a demo of both with your ep630 to test the sound quality, then see the above 2 points to decide which one you need to buy!


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## krazzy (May 1, 2008)

infra_red_dude said:


> @dtox
> I would reject n81 only coz of the size - its heavy, thick and fugly (don't flame me for this!!).



<krazzy flames infra_red_dude>

<infra_red_dude starts burning>

<krazzy laughs his ass off>

<mods come and ban krazzy for going off-topic>


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## dtox (May 1, 2008)

^^    

@infra_red_dude
he he.. i was wondering where u went off too!! and how do u suggest i take a demo for both?? i dont think vendors allow that!


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## infra_red_dude (May 1, 2008)

Get to sony world and nokia priority centers. I suppose they allow demo. At least I could get a demo at one of the nokia priority centers.

offtopic: been very busy 



krazzy said:


> <krazzy flames infra_red_dude>
> 
> <infra_red_dude starts burning>
> 
> ...


Damn the mods!! They didn't haf any problems when I was burning.. but had problems when you were "laffing your a$$ off"!!!!


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## krazzy (May 1, 2008)

Lolz. Also funny siggy.


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## choicefreedom2000 (May 3, 2008)

the war is just begun


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