The Tube Jr.

The tasks I do require me to have at least two phones on my person most of the time. I do have a preference for smartphones. To this day, I think the Psion 5mx and Revo Plus remain unequaled.

Presently, I have a brace of Nokia Touchscreen phones, the 5800XM and the 5530XM, that meets my needs.

The 5800 needs no introduction. I think even Nokia did not expect it to be a runaway bestseller. It has its bugs but I expect the forthcoming major firmware update due in October will fix most of the irritations.

Now, the 5530 is Nokia’s low-end entry into the touchscreen arena (the N97 covers the high-end and the  5800 covers the mid-tier). Another low-ender, the 5230 is also arriving on the scene very soon.  Most reviews have been positive because the 5530 sports kinetic scrolling, an enhanced homescreen, a great display, solid build, and, more importantly, a great price.

The homescreen of the Tube Jr alone will tell you that Nokia has another winner. Just check out the pictures above. You have a scrolling contacts bar with up to 20 of your favorites (4 in the Tube). There are no physical hardware buttons (the Tube has 3 in front). And you can put the music player’s controls (with album art) on the homescreen (or the radio’s buttons)!

Lest we forget, the Tube Jr. has a lot of goodies (3G, video-calling, GPS, etc.) that are missing compared to the more expensive Tube.

The Nokia Tube

Nokia Tube

I have been reading quite a lot of Nokia Tube (5800XM) and Ipod Touch/Iphone comparisons lately, and have come to the conclusion that, given a choice, I would pick the Tube.

Yes, Apple has sold millions of Iphones. Over twenty million I think since the device came out in 2007. The Tube has actually sold quite well too. About one million devices each month since it came out late last year.

Why did I choose the Tube? Simple. It is a stand alone device. You can purchase one, drop your SIM card, and be off taking advantage of all its features in no time. You can’t do that with the Apple device. First, you need a computer. And then you need ITunes.