Nokia E90 versus HTC Advantage:Updated

So are others struggling with this comparison as well? For the last week, while waiting for the price of the Nokia E90 Communicator to drop, I came across the 5" screened HTC Advantage x7501. www.AllAboutSymbian.com had a good comparison of the two. It is a good pairing, since they are both available now in the US for between $800-900. I included the first box of a great comparison table of the two devices. The side-by-side photos were equally helpful.

AAS Feature: Flagship head to head: Nokia E90 versus HTC Advantage

"Finding valid comparisons for devices from the competing Symbian OS and Windows Mobile world isn't always trivial and this is one of the hardest pairs to match up. Yet both communicators sit right at the top of each product line and, despite the form factor differences, match well in terms of overall specification. Can either of them really replace a laptop?

(photo courtesy of All-About-Symbian.com)

It's safe to say that, at well over £600, SIM-free, the pretensions of both devices are fairly high - after all, you can buy a capable notebook PC these days for far less. So how do the Nokia E90 and HTC Advantage X7500 measure up and how well do they perform the basics of work on the road?"

	Nokia E90	HTC Advantage X7500
Form factor	'Classic' communicator clamshell, smaller than the 9500 but still weighing 210g. Dual displays and very phone-like when closed. Score 9	A 360g tablet with touch-screen and detachable qwerty keyboard, superb as PDA or Internet tablet but almost unusable as day-to-day phone. Score 8

UPDATE: I have read so many reviews about these two convergences devices, that I am starting to develop my own list of pros and cons that relate to the uses that are most important to me. The highest priorities on my list may be quite different from the typical business user, since my business is blogging.

I plan to use whichever convergence device I settle on to keep abreast of travel/tech news via Google Reader, read and respond to email, post to my blogs, research blog ideas (aka surfing the internet), take photos and phonecalls. Those uses are listed in order of priority. Taking quick candid photos and using the phone have recently fallen to the low priority actions, since I compromised and got a thin, non-QWERTY cameraphone for the times when I need to travel light and snap photos quickly.

With all this in mind, the pros for the Nokia E90 seem to be backlit keyboard and a screen more easily read in direct sunlight than the x7501 (providing for better night and outdoor useage), possibly better camera, better phone (you can actually hold it against your head for calls), and a size that while larger than most phones, does not require a love of baggy cargo pants to carry it in your pants pocket.

The HTC Advantage x7501 has a larger screen (5" diagonal) for better browsing, a very good camera, compatibility with the new SDHC high capacity memory cards (capable of holding up to 32 gb), plus 8gb already onboard, and . . . 3G.

Yes, the x7501 is all set to use HSPDA here in the USA, with its triband 3G. This is the huge divider for me between the devices. If the Nokia E90 sported 3G frequencies that worked in the US system, I would have one by now. I really like its portability and form factor, the clamshell, for quick thumb texting and data entry, but it really frustrates me that the internet browsing experience is dependent on the EDGE network. That will be troublesome for posting blog/photo entries.