Symbian "awesome-ness"?

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Petite Priincess

New member
Hey there! I've had a Nokia N73 for a few months so far and it's nice and everything, but the main reason I picked this phone over the K790a was because of Symbian. I can recall a few people saying if a phone doesn't have Symbian, they don't even look at it, Symbian is the best, etc.
I have had no use at all with Symbian. I don't understand why it is so good to many people. Sure, I downloaded a few apps, but they didn't do anything for me. All the things I want are right in the phone; the new MP3 player in the ME version, Real Player is nice, and a real good camera.
What I'm trying to say is: What do Symbian phones have that's a MUST have? I really want to know so I can find a love in having a Symbian phone. This thread isn't to bash symbian at all, I just want to know some real cool things I can do with Symbian.
Sorry if I seem like an ignoramus (lol). Thanks for reading.
 
The great thing about Symbian phones is that you can do ANYTHING with them. Check out the Freewares thread stickied for some samples, but here's a list of the things I use my phone for:

1. P2P (Symella) - if I hear a song on the radio that I want in my collection, I can download it right then and there.

2. Podcasting app - I can keep track of all my podcasts (and download them) right on my phone. Easy, always up-to-date, no synching required

3. I use my phone like a mini-portable laptop. I have my Gmail, full-on Internet, AIM, etc. All in one place.

4. Smartmovie - full movies on your phone (or tv shows, or whatever else you download

5. Salling Clicker lets me control my PC from my phone

Just think about ANYTHING you want to do with your phone, odds are there's an app to do it, or there's one being developed.
 
I agree with u when u say that almost all the applications u'll ever need are on a symbian phone.

Whats the one way to fall in love with symbian despite not having and 3rd party apps? Use any other phone after using a Symbian (especially S60) based one. Believe me, u'll fall in love.

Its kinda like having a hot girlfriend after having a smart one. The hot one gets boring after a while, the smart one remains smart for a long time. You never get bored with the smart one. I know the sex might be unbelievable with the hot one, but whats gonna happen when ur seventy?

The symbian phones aren't perfect, but they are getting there. And 3rd party apps help in getting there faster.
 
OMG yes, you are 100% correct. I looked at your list of apps and I was thinking that most of those need the internet. Unfortunately, cingular's internet plans are a little too much for me. Maybe if it was $8 a month extra I would do it, but right now I can't. If the N73 had WiFi, I wouldn't need to use Cingular's Unlimited Data plan at all would I? Sometimes I wish I had an N80 just for that lol.

Anyway, I was searching around and BOOM, I found a Gameboy Color emulator for the N73!! I was skeptical at first, but I downloaded it and it is AWESOME! I never thought they could have these things on phones, but man was I wrong. It is so smooth just like your playing it on the actual Gameboy but with a bigger screen. It only has two buttons to press so playing on a cramped keyboard isn't bad at all. I just hope my joystick doesn't get worn out with all the gaming I have to do. I downloaded the Vampent one. The only gripe I have is that I can't play the emulator in widescreen, but whatever; THIS IS AWESOME. Now I have the ME version of N73 and a Gameboy, so cool.

As for other apps I saw like internet radio, gmail, etc... I really wish I could get the internet plan, but whatever.

Thanks for your replies and thanks for not bashing me lol.
 
You'll find there's an emulator for just about every system ever put out, if you do some searching.

I guess I'm real spoiled, I was lucky enough to get in on the fabled Grandfathered MEdiaWorks package, $20 for 1500 SMS, 200 MMS, and unlimited Internet. I blast through around 300MB/month, but I'm finding that number growing, I'm convinced this month will be closer to 400-450MB already.

Also, if you use Outlook on your computer (and if you don't, you should), you can sync that beautifully with your phone via PC Suite. I have bluetooth on my laptop, and when I come into range, it automatically syncs contacts/calendar/todo/notes/pics/videos without me having to do anything. ULTRA convenient.
 
Hey thanks for the suggestions. I used to use Outlook, but I got too much spam mail (I was young at the time ) and now I use hotmail primarily. $15 for all that stuff is awesome especially since it includes SMS, etc. Would Cingular ever have "sales" on these plans? Thanks again.
 
I wouldn't count on getting that plan ever again.

You may want to set Outlook up again, only not with the email portion. You can still use it to organize your contacts/calendar/todo/notes. In fact, I think you can also setup your Hotmail with it, for free. Not sure, though. I just know it's WAY easier to use Outlook to organize all that and then sync to the phone. But I also use Outlook heavily at work, so I may be biased.
 
Wirelessly posted (HTC-2125/1.2 Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.5; Windows CE; Smartphone; 240x320) UP.Link/6.3.0.0.0)

you can get an unlimited data plan from cingular for 20 bucks a month, that's not too bad. Having an unlimited data plan really multiplier the phone's capabilities tremendously.
 
I was on the grandfathered plan rcadden is on for the last few years, but every few months it "ends" and I start getting charged for data. In other words, every few months I get a bill for around $1,000 bucks. It just happened again last month and after 2 hours on the phone arguing with a bunch of knuckleheads for the umpteenth time I caved in and switched to the new MediaMax 200 plan which is still $20/month and is unlimited data and 200 text and no mms I believe. It still fits what I need without the extra hassle. The good news is the old mediaworks plan isn't compatible with the new cingular music and video service they are rolling out but the mediamax plans are (and I'm having fun playing with the new blackjack

So all in all, $20 bucks a month isn't bad for their current plan.
 
For me the beauty of Symbian - and something which hasn't even been mentioned so far - is that there's a ton of little 3rd party apps that turn a relatively humble phone into a much more capable, FLEXIBLE one ... allowing you to change button functionality, call functionality (anything that can conceivably be done with a call, can be done in Symbian).
Turned my 6630 from a competent phone into an Objet D'Amour.
 
You cant ask somebody else to tell you what is vital about a phone. As with any smartphone it offers you the chance to do many different functions and use third party software. That is all on you - what is it that you want to do. The only "cool" thing in a phone is the thing you personally WANT or NEED to do. That is what makes it "cool".

For example
- my E50 is one of the smallest devices that I can pull everything from my Outlook (E-mail, contacts, calendar, to do, notes) and take with me
-my work and personal activities requires me to navigate city streets a lot on foot and the London street maps from www.lumisoft.net are to me a killer app. Worth far more in value than what I paid.
- I use language dictionaries a lot as well.

But that is just me. Each person has their own thing.

So rather than you asking other people, better you ask yourself what you want to do with a phone. Once you know that then you can find any software you want.

Coversely, you may find that the activities you want do not have good software in Symbian S60 3rd. In which case you need research and find the platform that has better software for it if it is not Symbian for you. That is how I personally left UIQ3 and ended up with S60 3rd.
 
Let me tell you about a phone I'm currently testing (yes I test stuff on phones for a living). It's an LG coming to Verizon. The main menu has several options: email, web, messaging, IM, etc. These items are set in stone. There is nothing the user can do to change where these items are in the menus, or add stuff there other than under "get more -> games". Furthermore, clicking on IM launches the Verizon program to connect to their server. Launching the email client launches the browser to connect to the Verizon site. Hell launching Messaging starts, you guessed it, the browser to connect to the Verizon site.

My point is dumb phones are not only dumb, they are getting more and more restrictive, both in the way apps work and on how far they can be customized. Nokia phones, especially S60, are all about freedom. While it's possible for a provider to cripple them, it's much harder to remove all those freedoms, and the phones can always be unlocked relatively easily.
 
Sorry for my newbie ignorance but I just bought a Nokia 5500, my first Symbian phone so these are probably stupid questions.

Sending & receiving simple SMS messages seems a lot more complicated and cumbersome than on a 'stupid' phone like my previous 6230. As far as I can see there isn't a possibility to use smilies?? Thrown back to the dark ages by typing : - ) all over again??....
 
6230 is a Symbian phone too (Series 40), just a more simple one which was fixed so that it didnt run 3rd party software.

With the Series 60, you can do more, so there are more options and of course the interface gains some complexity as well.
 
One of the reasons you don't see any S60 CDMA phones on VZW.

@ skagen: Last I heard Series 40 is a Nokia operating system only, no Symbian.
 
if you press the "1" button three times, you'll get a smiley, then you can press the "*" button to scroll through them.
 
I've been on the plan since it was offered and have had zero troubles. I also had the LG CU320 when it first came out and used it with the MEdiaWorks plan with no problems.
 
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