Phone for a new doctor? Budget < 12K

You can have a look at Nokia 6630 for a symbian phone. But it's -ve points are mono sound, no FM and bad camera.
Other phone you can have a look at is Nokia 5300 but I don't think it has Symbian OS.
Also, SE K750i and SE W700i are good phones in the range but since music isn't your priority you can keep them out but just in case you need to have a look W700i has good sound and K750i for camera. And SE phones are really good.

Go for the Nokia 6681 Black version. It has handsome looks, good quality screen, stereo music player, Symbian OS (can install compatible Symbian software and of course Java applications too), good quality 1.3 mpix camera with flash and sliding cover, EDGE Class 10 and has a very comfortable keypad. I think it'd suit you friend just perfectly and would make a great gift. Visit www.nokia.co.in to learn more about 6681.

If a Doctor is requiring a Mobile,then it should be a "Windows Mobile",as there are excellant Medical software (atleast 1000 in number) available ONLY for WM (Skyscape,Medical Wizards to name a few).Gr8 support for all e-Book format.
There is NOT a single symbian phone which supports .CHM file,only WM does it.

I suggest Nokia E60 as its the most professional.All kind of Connectivity features like wifi,bluetooth,ira.Symbian 9.1(S60 3rd Edition)And the best part 16million colours TFT screen nothin can beats its screen.But it does not have camera which according to me it doesnt matter as anyway mobile cameras are lousy and mp3 player in them are also same.You can never compare there quality with good DAP.So I suggest dont focus too much on all in one device but the device which can do its main purpose properly.And if u are looking for some FUN factor also I think nokia 5500 its has everything and its new model also.

go for either windows mobile or Motorola Ming

The thing is, moto Ming will give him "Note" & Scribling feature, this is better then typing things & notes, such as to do or reminders, at a very low cost, unlike other touch screen phones. U can also give him Nokia 7610 if it can be found under 12k

Nokia 6033

Thanks a lot for the reply guys. So kind of you
I have a few more questions for you though

1) @tech_your_future: Are Sony-Ericsson phones reliable? I have heard their build quality is not very good. Till date I have used only Nokia phones and moving to some other brand is a little scary for me. What are the -ve points of 6630 and that 5300 looks girly Are you sure you would suggest that phone? Which one phone between K750i or W700i would you buy?

2) @krazyfrog: Oh man...Nokia 6681 looks awesome!!! Thank you for that tip. I saw it on IndiaGSM and on the same page I saw N72. It looks great as well. Yes it costs 15K but what if I somehow increase my budget till that? Is there any better phone then N72 at 15K? What is so great about N Series?

3) @dhan_shh: As far as I know, all Windows mobile cellphones are very costly. Is there any WM phone available in my budget?

4) @snake: E60 costs >=18K I simply don't have that much of budget. On the other hand E50 looks a decent phone. What is your idea about it?

5) 6033? I couldn't find it any where...can you please link me to it?

Actually if you can stretch your budget upto 15k, then you can definitely go for N72. But if you can't, i'd suggest you stick with 6681.

krazyfrog said:

Go for the Nokia 6681 Black version. It has handsome looks, good quality screen, stereo music player, Symbian OS (can install compatible Symbian software and of course Java applications too), good quality 1.3 mpix camera with flash and sliding cover, EDGE Class 10 and has a very comfortable keypad. I think it'd suit you friend just perfectly and would make a great gift. Visit www.nokia.co.in to learn more about 6681.

Click to expand...

+1 but for a little slow processor.

N series are excellent AIO phones, great to possess one, and they are definitely better than N6681 plus they are 3G-Enabled. Futureproofing in mobile terms

go for N-series phones only if you want good video recording, else 6630 was all in all best symbian phone. E50 also goods look as per features and specifications.

First you decide you want symbian or not. you must consider extra weight and big size of symbian phones. non symbian phones are lighter in weight, smaller in size, works faster.

i have bad experience in symbian phones. one virus through MMC exchange caused loss of all my phone nos. i sold my 1month old N70 for 14.5K and now i am happy with Nokia6230i. without any worry for losing my data again.

If u want nokia then only think of 6630. BTW it has stereo sound. i use 6630.
Gr8 phone, but w/o FM. also has more phone memory than 6680/81.

But the best bet is SE K750i..U can use Walkman headphones with it. Looks much better than W700i. Also W700i lacks the Autofocus which is very very imp for close ups..I gifted it to my bro few months ago....He is an engg student.. and a funny thing .... he just clicks the photo of friend's assignment instead of zeroxing it, saves a lot of pocketmoney. Autofocus helps.
If he is not going to use symbian OS...then K750i it is !!

eddie said:

Thanks a lot for the reply guys. So kind of you
I have a few more questions for you though

6033? I couldn't find it any where...can you please link me to it?

Click to expand...

Sorry for typo, it is 6300

tech_your_future said:

You can have a look at Nokia 6630 for a symbian phone. But it's -ve points are mono sound, no FM and bad camera.
Other phone you can have a look at is Nokia 5300 but I don't think it has Symbian OS.
Also, SE K750i and SE W700i are good phones in the range but since music isn't your priority you can keep them out but just in case you need to have a look W700i has good sound and K750i for camera. And SE phones are really good.

Click to expand...

Agreed. Build quality of Sony Ericsson w700 would be as good as N70 but as I've owned w700 for two months I wouldn't know. If you want a phone for a doctor I'd recommend one from the N series rather than Sony Ericsson w700.

Actually I don't know if I want Symbian phone or not. The reason being that I don't know what advantage a Symbian phone will have over other phones!!! I just want my friend to be able to install a few applications if he ever wants to. Are such applications available for non Symbian phones? Can we install extra games and such things on phones like K750i/W700i/5300 etc?

Also, I don't think he will be recording many videos so does that bring any advantage for him in N Series? I have been going through lots of threads in this forum and looks like K750i is recommended by almost everyone. I am not considering 6630 as I feel it has become seriously outdated but another phone that has caught my attention is 6233. Has any one had a look at this phone? 2MP Camera, FM, 3G?

Currently I am looking at N72/K750i/6233/6681 (in that order or preference). Please tell me the reason why Symbian phones are so popular and give a little insight regarding 6233.

Best thing about symbian is that it has huge no. of apps. and I don't think any other OS on the mobile platform has so many apps. But it has a huge downfall that it can get affected by viruses too, if the user isn't careful.
On the other hand java doesn't have as many apps as symbian phones. But, I don't really think he'll miss much of the functionality of symbain. There are no viruses for non-symbian phones AFAIK.
If you are going for non-symbian phone go for K750i. But since you said camera, music and stuff are last in your priority then I feel you should keep K750i out. As well as 6233 cos it's not a Symbian phone.
So, that narrows to N72 and 6681. Well go for N72 if you can really extend the budget otherwise 6681. Well IMO, you won't really miss anything with 6681.
BTW, what's so outdated about 6630? It has everything you need good battery life, symbian, 3G enabled. Very decent specifications. Compare it to 6681 which doesn't have 3G. I am getting 3G into equation cos that's what you want but I really doubt if people will be using 3G anytime soon. 6630 in fact has more internal memory than 6681. I don't see how 6630 is outdated when 6681 isn't. Here's a comparision *www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone2=811&idPhone1=1046
Now if you say N72. Yes it will definitely outclass 6681. Comparision between the two *www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone2=1552&idPhone1=1046.

Go for 6681 dude...cool phone n within ur budget...ur DOCTOR SAHIB gona love it

symbian phones are usefull in case you want to view word/ excel/ power point files on phone. else there is not any significant application which you will miss in non-symbian phone. but as said earlier symbian phones are prone to viruses.

I have used 6630 and N70 both. main difference i found in features was video recording. in N70 it was 352x288 px, in 6630 it was 176x144 px. rest of the features doesnt make much difference. further the keypad of N70 was not comfortable - very small size keys, hard to press. for camera N70 has 2Mpx, 6630 has 1.3Mpx (which is more than enough for 6"x4" size printouts)
6681- whats great about it over 6630? and 6681 has plastic transparent buttons with cheap look.

for the budget and requirements you ahve, the Nokia E50 should suit you fine. It's got a 1.3mp cam, sleek design + usual refinements and symbian OS.

symbian's OS main use? while you're lisetning to a song, simultaneously you can check your messages, or view your phonebook or do other things.... in one short and sweet word... it allows multitasking.

or you can also try the Nokia 6233. 2mp cam, traditional nokia os, stable software.

ya E50 is good choice too go for it

As your friend is Doctor and now days Doctors to have to much pressure of work so as per me give him phone which is ALL ROUNDER with FM and MP3 which help him to hear his favorable music even as short as for 5 minutes too.

Doctor Sahib get recharged within 5 minutes and change is Mood too, you will get lot of bless from Patient and there relatives who make there Doctor charge very fast.

I don't think Busy Doctors have any time to use Symbian, even some time I found they have no time to attend phone.

So if he is too Busy Doctor or you think that he will be than give him Music Phone by Sony Ericsson.

I became totally enthusiastic when it comes to Doctor and Mobiles,I agree with you Windows mobiles are expensive.If they are economical(like imate SP3 10.9K) they may not support all software.I would suggest you to stick on to older Symbian v8.1 (like 6630 or N90 or N70) rather than latest Symbian 9.0(Nokia 3250 or N5500 or E50 or N73) as older has more software time tested.

Thanks a lot for such intuitive answers guys. I could never even imagine to have gathered so much knowledge myself by searching/googling. You guys rock.

@Mehul: You got me there mate. That "outdated" comment about 6630 came from my dislike for its shape. It has this weird pot-belly that looks really...well weird

I get the point about 6681. Also, 3G is not something I want. Not at all. According to your comments it seems that a black 6681 is probably the best choice for me. On the other hand K750i also confuses me. He is not the kind of guy who would go to a PC and try to install something new. He might ask me to install something for him but not by himself.

Can someone please tell me how easy it is to find applications for K750i? BTW my choices are now down to 6681 and K750i

^^
As far as applications are concerned, 6681 is much better than K750i. K750i can only install java apps while 6681 (being a Symbian OS based smartphone) can install compatible Symbian apps along with Java apps. 6681 is light years ahead of K750i in this aspect. But K750i does have its own advantages and does many things better than 6681. But since they are not your priority, i won't be listing them.
So as before, i'd still suggest you stick to 6681 (black).

Well if you want that more apps can be installed then definitely go for 6681. I have no clue as to it's cam but I am sure K750i has a better cam and maybe sound too. But, for anything else 6681 will go better. And since N72 was there on your list earlier. I'd say go for it if you really want to spend too much, which I feel that the phone's not really gonna used that much. Specially if that's his first phone. It will make him quite a satisfied user with 6681.

hey eddie what kinda apps wud mostly be used on the phone? let us kno... we can then tell you the availability of the apps.

one more thing to consider is that, can he afford to format the phone in case of a virus attack (symbian phones)?

Actually this whole 'virus' thing in Symbian phones is blown terribly out of proportion. For most people virus is probably the first word that comes to mind after hearing/reading Symbian. And all this because of stupid rumours spread by people who probably know nothing about Symbian phones. I've been using a Nokia N-Gage QD for the past two years. And in all these years i've never come across any major problems caused by viruses. There was once this CommWarrior which got in my phone, which made my phone restart a few times and all. But it was nothing that my Anti-CommWarrior could not handle. And my phone was back to normal in a blink of an eye. No formatting done. No data lost. No nothing. I am a regular college going student and like many others like me, i do a lot of sending/receiving of files via bluetooth every single day, even sometimes to people about whom the only thing i know is their bluetooth device name. But still apart from the one incident mentioned above, i've never encountered any 'virus' problems in two years. You might think i'm lucky. But that is not the case. Actually the no. of viruses for mobile phones are few enough to be counted on one hand. All the major ones even have an equally effective anti-virus available for them. So there is really no need to worry. So i'd like to take this opportunity to tell all the people reading this post to not shy away from symbian phones and consider other alternatives just because of this stupid virus threat. The number of advantages that symbian offers is even more than the letters in CommWarrior So don't worry, be happy and use Symbian.

thats exactly what i'm trying to say. is he comfortable wid installing and using an AV? i'm saying this coz my uncle (a businessman) bought a symbian phone. he used it as a handy li'l digicam and used to transfer clicked pics to his laptop via bluetooth. BT used to be on most of the time... and a lot of .sis files also got into his phone....

he's a busy man.. he cudn't afford to clean the virus everytime which had become quite freq (not just from one location). so he gave up the symbain phone and bought a java phone. coz all he needed was a good cam, music phone.

so analyse ur usage wisely. every feature has its pros and cons.

Exactly, this virus thing is blown out of proportion. Just dont accept any files from unknown people! And even if you have accepted any file, dont open it! Even if you open it, you will be asked 2-3 times whether you want to continue! Then if you take so much pains to install a virus, you get what you deserve

OK so N72 is out of picture but last night I was reading the reviews of 6681, K750i and E50 on gsmarena. Well I must say that I am seriously confused!!! All three phones are simply awesome and at very reasonable price. Where 6681 and E50 have Symbian OS...K750i is an excellent all-in-one type phone. I guess the only way left to decide now is to go to various shops and actually look-feel how they are in real life.

I am indebted to you guys for giving so much insights

Why don't you talk that friend of your's along and both of you'll make a choice as to which one to get. So, he will be happy too for getting the phone to his liking.

mobile-review.com is better than gsmarena for reviews. review of E70 is not there. here are links for review of k750i and 6681:-
K750i
Nokia 6681
i will choose E50 from these three. other 2 are outdated models. E50 beats 6681 by a great margin, see comparison between 6630, 6681 & E70 specification about camera is not clear from nokia site for E70.

I wanted it to be a surprise for him...anyways...if I'll be unable to decide anything then I'll take him with me

@sariq: thanks for mobile-review.com links but I don't see how E50 beats 6681 by long margin. Only main difference that I can see between two phones is that E50 has newer version of Symbian...

forget all of these, he is a doctor, better give him a Motorola 1200 or A728, not only these phone have amazing design. but also they are handwriting recognition capable, something he will find a lot usefull. It also has real player, so songs can be played, Memory card too...big screen.....

K750i, N-Series, they are all good at what they do, but nothing beats the ability to write stuff on the go, which will be really helpful in his profession

I understand what you are saying but I don't have that kind of budget. According to IndiaGSM Motorola 1200 costs somewhere around 17k. No way I can afford that

Also A728 is not even mentioned there. Is it available in India? Do you have some ideas about how much it costs?

But, is it within the budget? univercell.in shows the price of A1200 as 17K, though I have seen prices a bit lower in the actual market. But is it within the range? BTW, this phone runs Linux, that might interest you eddie. Can't find the price of A728 but again that's a Linux phone.

LG, Samsung and Fly have some Nice and SEXY look phones in Mkt @Mumbai

If you can wait more look for Fly Mobiles, I personally see the model (not tested) very very sexy the only what I didn't like is No FM in that model. You can check Fly for other Models and definitely within budget models with Fly.

I use 6681 and I'd say it rocks, giving me no troubles for a year and 2 months now Get the black one definitely if you wish to go for this particular one.

eddie said:

@sariq: thanks for mobile-review.com links but I don't see how E50 beats 6681 by long margin. Only main difference that I can see between two phones is that E50 has newer version of Symbian...

Click to expand...

differences
1. weight E50-104g, 6681-130.5g
2. screen resolution E50-240x320, 6681-176x144
3. internal memory E50-70MB, 6681-8MB

@Mehul: I read a bit about these Motorola Linux phones and there is one that fits in my budget. It is A780. Its features are comparable to E50 and 6681 except that it has Linux OS and has an in-built PDA. The saddest part is that Linux OS in these phones are locked. You cannot install Linux applications on them...just Java apps are available. Anyways, A780 is now on my list for phones to have a look at.

@Stick: Never heard of these Fly phones yaar. I wouldn't want to buy a headache for my friend...who knows how they will perform? It is better to stay with players that have proven reputation in market

@Harsh: 6681 is very high in my list mate. It looks like a solid phone but still need to look at other models.

@sariq: Ah...yeah you are right. Absolutely right. E50 is definitely a little better than 6681 but memory is not much of a difference here. 6681 comes with a 64MB MMC while E50 doesn't have one...so it more or less equals there.

BTW is there any performance difference between memory card and internal memory? If we add a bigger MMC in a phone (like 128MB in 6681 which will take its total memory to 136MB) will it perform better than a phone with medium internal memory (like 70MB in E50)? Does MMC in mobiles work like RAM in PCs?

^^
No, wont improve the performance but there are situations when it'll reduce the speed, cuz MMC cards act as HDD to it, not like RAM

Wow!!! That totally changes the difference between E50 and 6681. It would mean that the former will perform way better!!! I mean E50 has almost 10 times internal memory then 6681. What do you guys think?

A new 6681(black) comes with a 128 mb memory card. Also it supports upto 1gb card. Another thing to note is that the type of memory card used by 6681 i.e. DV-RS-MMC is the cheapest card available in market (1gb for around 1k) while the card used by E50 i.e. microSD is the second most expensive (most expensive being Sony's Memory stick micro M2) card available in market. You must take these costs into your equation. Otherwise you'll spend all your budget on the phone with no money left to buy a memory card (by this i'm suggesting that you gift atleast a 512 mb card with the phone to your friend). The value of a gift increases tremendously if the one receiving it does not have to spend anything on his part to make the gift work satisfactorily (which in this case is the memory card).

The more internal memory the phone has, the faster it is!

Extra internal memory is always a + point in cell phones.

Well I went out today and guess what? I could not decide anything again!!! Reason? A780 is not being supplied anymore so couldn't see that...E50 is too new to be held by many dealers...6681 will be brought only on demand and K750i is so popular that it went out of stock! Isn't it wonderful...?

Now I am planning to go to Nokia retail stores tomorrow but I don't know if any such stores exist for SE. Does anyone have a link where I can get addresses of SE stores? I had a look at their website but they don't mention anything of this sort.

K750i is going to dicountinued soon (may be rumor but no smoke without fire) have serious joy stick problem and low volume except this other features is rocking.

Nokia Priority Dealer will charge you high than local dealer or retail shop.

Nokia 6233 good fone
SE W810i Rocking

I don't know about other places but here in Mumbai we have couple of Sony World outlets where we can go and buy SE phones. That's where I had gone to first check the phone my sister bought. Buying from them would be a little expensive.

Well today I took him with me and he dismissed all the models I chose. Can you believe it? He liked only two models...w810i and N70 M

I guess its time to put my credit card to a little stress These phones are good ones right?

W810i, just get that, N70 sux in front of it, other then being symbian

Are you sure? That N70 black thing looked real sexy..is it so bad compared to w810i?
Please tell me a few of its negative points so that I can convince my friend. Also has anyone heard about this Subhiksha retail chain? Are these people genuine? Will the phones purchased from them have manufacturer's warranty?

Nah man. I just saw N70ME yesterday, which my friend has bought. And it's really nice. But I guess W810i will still outscore it when it comes to music.
Rather on the other hand I guess W810i is a bit problematic cos I read on mobile-reviews that it has a slow JVM. But someone having the phone can answer that.
Really speaking I can't think of anything that will say that N70ME is bad except that he can catch viruses on it

tech_your_future said:

You can have a look at Nokia 6630 for a symbian phone. But it's -ve points are mono sound, no FM and bad camera.
.

Click to expand...

Dude 6630's camera is one of the best among Nokia phones....

^ 6630 has stereo output in head phones, image quality is good, see here image taken by 6630 :

*www.imageupload.com/uploads/thumb_b8db4_16102006(002).jpg

Regarding N70 - it is good phone, its cons:
1. costly, value for money?
2. extra weight
3. keypad uncomfortable, specially call and end keys are hard to press
4. gallery opeing takes time
5. as all symbians, viruses
6. camera cover design needs improvements, it opens while taking phone out of pocket, starting camera.

thats all i can recollect from my memories

^^ I own N70 myself, and i can say with confidence that its an EXCELLENT phone! Its very fast (you wont even realise its a symbian phone!). It has a 220 MHz processor with 32 MB of RAM (yes, i mean RAM, not the internal memory, internal memory is 21 MB).

1. Costly? I dont think so! At 16k it outperforms N72 with more RAM, 3G and dual camera.
2. All symbian phones are heavy.
3. Hmm.. The keys are a little small but not that uncomfortable once you get used to it!
4. That's because it has a special rotating galery with previews of all the photos/videos on the phone.
5. You dont get a virus untill you yourself accept to run unknown files.
6. Hmm.. Not happened with me till now. The camera quality is excellent. Especially the video quality is in mp4, which is about 4 times the normal video recording quality on other phones.

eddie was asking negative points, so i listed which i found within one month of N70 ownership

Instead of going for a N 70ME, you can buy a N 72 with a 1GB/512MB card.

Regarding the camera, it's good in daylight but sucks in dim lights, and you get lot of noise as well. The same goes for a video recording as well. You wont need a second camera. He has hardly used that front camera. It'll take some time for 3G for the network providers to roll out. By that time, he might buy another mobile plus initially the cost of 3G also be little expensive. So N 72 is a very choice.

If you have money, then the ultimate mobile IMO is the N 73 ME with the Sennheiser Headsets.

If your friend has liked W810i, then why don't you just gift that to him? It is an excellent phone and is quiet a lot cheaper than N70 ME. You'll just be stretching your budget by 2k.

krazyfrog said:

If your friend has liked W810i, then why don't you just gift that to him? It is an excellent phone and is quiet a lot cheaper than N70 ME. You'll just be stretching your budget by 2k.

Click to expand...

I 2nd ! Go with 810i Unbetable Music with Camera Clearity!

Guys...do you really think that I have any say in this now?

He has said that if I can afford N70 ME then he wants only that...otherwise he will settle for W810i. Now if I ask him to buy W810i then I will have to give him some serious reasons against buying the former. Try imagining yourself with your elder bro and then you will understand the situation. Wouldn't you become stubborn for the thing you want?

If you can afford N70ME, it's worth it, IMO. Otherwise W810i is really good too.

@tech_your_future
you are right .. 6630 is always better than 6681

dhan_shh said:

If a Doctor is requiring a Mobile,then it should be a "Windows Mobile",as there are excellant Medical software (atleast 1000 in number) available ONLY for WM (Skyscape,Medical Wizards to name a few).Gr8 support for all e-Book format.
There is NOT a single symbian phone which supports .CHM file,only WM does it.

Click to expand...

Windows mobile i-Mate SP3 ... Rs.10,200/-
i-Mate SP5m
other ..
Motorola A1200

rollcage said:

@tech_your_future
you are right .. 6630 is always better than 6681


Windows mobile i-Mate SP3 ... Rs.10,200/-
i-Mate SP5m
other ..
Motorola A1200

Click to expand...

Yaar,

Now he settled between N70 and W810i, let we don't make him more confused now.

eddie,

If your friend want N70me than give the same to him, other wise he will not too happy with W810i, though Music and Cam clearity is better with W810i

I have seen at least 2 people having not too good experience with their i-mates so I would not like to buy them and A1200 has Linux OS

eddie said:

I have seen at least 2 people having not too good experience with their i-mates so I would not like to buy them and A1200 has Linux OS

Click to expand...

I have friends .. and their i-mate works like charm .. Its gr8 for those who want it .. like me.

A1200 is the only one which give you that features for a budget buyer .. its value for money.

Either your friends are lucky about i-mate or my colleagues are unlucky

I went out and saw A1200 today. Do you really think a phone worth 17K shouldn't have EDGE? And then its UI was sloooooooow...I don't know whether that person had done something to it but it was seriously slow. Then that phone lid is absolutely impossible to pick up. It might be easy for people with thin fingers but if you are one of those guys who drift on to the bigger category then it is a real pain. It looked ok but absence of EDGE just doesn't ring a bell for me. Why would Motorola make such a mistake?

yes u are right edge should have been there
why?
its a their habit man.. leave out some essential features.. its same with nokia too, 40 sets but .. none is perfectly suits in your budget. it sucks
e.g. if someone dont need camera, when they have a decent digicam .. you still have to pay for it.
many nokia phones didnt had fm, only n series does now.. like 6630 6600
many phones didnt had the modem support... I remember buying 3120.. then foun no modem, It was was way back in 2004.
Why they do that ?

ya sure nokia E50 is good choice. symbian mobile for professionals