Pretty, isn't it? She was supposed to get the purple colored Nokia 7610 Supernova that I mentioned in my previous post. Unfortunately, when we went to Digital Mall in Section 14 to check out the prices, we were told that it was out of production as Nokia had come out with a newer, more updated model, the 7230. With a 3.2MP camera, larger 2.4 inch screen, 3G capabilities, Nokia Maps (supposedly built in) and a 2GB memory card included in the box, it was definately a better model than the Supernova. Sadly, Nic had to give up her dream of owning a purple colored mobile phone. At RM490 from a tiny mobile shop in SS15 (who's supposedly the distributor for the Selangor area), it was cheaper than the Supernova too, which would have been approximately RM500-600.
Since I've been toying with the idea of buying a new phone anyway, when we went to pay the deposit on her phone I was itchified enough to start asking the sales guy about phones for myself. He asked: "What brand are you looking for? And what's your budget?" My response to that was: (in my head) 'Ohshitidunno'. "Erm. Sony Ericsson? Maybe RM800 like that?"
So he recommended me a phone that looked pretty darn good looking. The SE W705.
I can honestly say that the brushed metal silver casing, with its understated gold trimmings really hooked me from first sight. And this is coming from a person who's favourite colour is black. It was priced at only RM658. That sounded awesomely cheap at the time for something that looked that good. Plus, Nic was encouraging me to get something for myself because it was clear to her that I really wanted to get a new phone so I could 'retire' my trusty old SE K618i.
So I went home that night, all quiet and introspective, and after a late dinner, plunged into the world of mobile phones to find out what I really wanted. After several hours of searching, I found that I had a whole shitload of candidates from both Nokia as well as Sony Ericsson, which included the Nokia 5800, N86, 5530, 5535, SE Yari, W705, G705, and W995. I knew I needed to really knuckle down and narrow the list quickly otherwise I would probably either never get around to buying anything, or buying something on impulse and regretting it.
What I did was, I came up with a list of features that I wanted. Being the semi-geek that I am, I want all the latest stuff, but can't afford it. So I came to a middle ground of sorts. Here's my list.
FEATURES WANTED
1) It must be a slider or a touchscreen.
2) It needs to have an accelerometer sensor. (Click on the link if you're not sure what an accelerometer is)
3) It needs to be WiFi enabled.
4) It needs to have GPS capabilities.
5) It needs to have a camera above 3 megapixels.
6) It can't be above RM800.
7) It needs to look good to me.
Some of those are wants, and some of those are needs. It was tough figuring out which was which. Fortunately, some of those decisions were easy enough to make. Through more tedious research, I found out that most new phones now have accelerometers built in, and all the phones I wanted already included that attribute.
I also realised that I did not want to opt for a touchscreen phone because the ones on my list were built with resistive touchscreens, (which means they require pressure to operate, full definition here) and I would need to take great care not to damage the screen and put any undue pressure on it. To summarize, it would be just too much work. That eliminated all the Nokia's I had on my list with the exception of the N86.
So, 2 down, 5 more to go. These 5 were the toughest because I could see the need in every one of them. I needed the WiFi to cut down on the data costs on my mobile plan, I needed the GPS so that I wouldn't get lost whenever I'm in unfamiliar territory, I needed it to be comparatively cheap because I'm desperately overbudget (not just for this month, its more like on an accumulative basis) and I need a good camera because I don't, and never have had, an actual standalone camera.
Of the remaining phones, the first to go was the SE Yari. Though it was cheap, and rather pretty, it didn't have WiFi. Bye bye birdy. The next to be dismissed was the SE G705. Even though it had everything I wanted, I thought it was ugly. Toodle-doo. The next phone to be ruled out was the W705. This was difficult to do because it was simply too pretty...and it was cheap too! Unfortunately it had no GPS capabilities, and after weighing the pros and cons of GPS, I decided to let it go. So long...fare well.
Finally I was down to 2 phones, the Nokia N86 and SE W995. By this time it was already 6am. Both these phones were also over the RM800 mark, with the N86 costing over RM1200 and the W995 costing RM1038, both for AP sets. However, as you can see, the budget limitation of RM800 had long gone out the window. But with the exception of that fact, each phone had all the other features I was looking for. In fact, it was a close call between these phones because both had excellent reviews and very similar sets of features.
N86 - which has a dual-slide function. This side is for regular use.
This side, on the other hand, is for music and gaming! XD
However, after 2 more hours of review-reading, the SE W995 still won out for several reasons.
1) It was prettier. No wait. It was fucking gorgeous! The N85 doesn't even come close in this category.
2) It's a much newer model.
3) It's cheaper. Though not by alot, but still!
4) It's not a Symbian phone...so hopefully less chance of it 'hanging'.
5) It has motion sensor related games like 'Bowling'. I know, that function has been around for awhile in SE phones...but I DONT HAVE IT YET! Besides, even though the N86 has the N-GAGE function built in, you still need to pay for those games...right?
6) Oh don't mind me. I'm just making up more reasons to buy the W995 because it's prettier to look at. I'm such a shallow, shallow person. XD
Before I forget, here are some photos of my baby-to-be.
Here's what caught my eye. The brushed metal...
Here's what made me take a second look. The kickstand, 8.1MP camera and the 3.5mm earphone jack which is only found on this Walkman model!
And here's what made me fall in love! *sighs dreamily* I can already feel it in my hands...mmmmm....
Oh, and by the way....I'm taking the black coloured one. :P
Was there ever any doubt?
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