Symbian has already moved from Belle to Belle Feature Pack 1 and is available for 603, 700 and 701 as a software update. The mighty 808 Pureview will come with Belle FP1 pre-loaded.That is why we felt a need for updating this popular comparison and bringing a fresh article comparing the latest of two operating systems.
So the areas, where Symbian now has an upper hand as compared to Android,
Better Widgets:
The widget quality on Belle devices has got great boost with Belle FP1 adding as many as 20 new widgets. Also quality wise widgets on Symbian devices have more to offer. For example Symbian widgets take less space on the homescreen and important widgets like Social and E-mail are scrollable. So yu can just check the current mails or feeds without even opening the application. While Android widgets are not scrollable and you have to open the application to check more items.
Dolby digital Plus:
This is great feature for any operating system and great news for Symbian device owners with Belle FP1 compatible devices. Yes Belle FP1 brings Dolby digital plus to 603,700, 701 and 808 pureview. So you basically can enjoy Dolby surround sound with any headphones as the Dolby digital plus ability is inbuilt into the Symbian devices. Major advantage, if you compare even a low range 603 to even a high range Android like SGS II.
Check the video for more about Belle Feature Pack 1,
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=M_nF0r28Vdk]
RAM requirements:
This is really a major strength of Symbian Belle. Check the above screenshot of N8 and SGSII. The N8 even with all the apps like Mail, Social (Facebook & Twitter),Weather widget has got as much as 104 MB free RAM out of total 250 MB (RAM) . Compare that to Android devices having 500 MB RAM. I have seen as less as 70-80 MB RAM left for running applications in those Android devices. That gives you true picture. Android can’t support true multitasking because it is so much resource intensive.
Processing power requirements:
Symbian belle makes phones running on single core processor clocked at 680 Mhz very smooth. For example N8.This is very surprising in the times when we need dual core and processors clocked at 1.2 GHz for Androids to run them smooth.viz SGS2. That is sufficient to show how efficient Symbian is as an OS. Please follow the link below to see N8 with belle in action. It is also worth noting that low speced Android phones are not that smooth in operations, and Symbian belle phones in the same price range can beat them easily.
http://www.gsmarena.com/new_belle_rom_for_nokia_n8_leaks_see_the_changes_on_video-news-3540.php
Power consumption:
This is where Symbian belle beats Android hands down.As Android needs more processing power to run the OS smoothly.It takes big toll on battery level of the device.We have heard a lot about how android users need to carry chargers with them,and charge it twice sometimes thrice in a day.
True & live Multitasking:
This is one area where even, Android’s latest ICS( Ice cream sandwich) can’t hold a lamp to Symbian Belle. Symbian always had true multitasking,with Belle it goes one step ahead and becomes live multitasking with live app tiles!! Android still only supports only a fixed number of apps while multitasking, and freezes others.
Now some areas where Android is still better than Symbian belle,
Screen resolution:
Though E6 has proved that Symbian can support resolution other than 640×360, but still Nokia has not come up with other devices with better resolution.Even 808 Pureview is coming with the same nHD resolution although with Nokia’s CBD (Clear Black Display) it looks fab and gives awesome outdoor visibility as well.
Better apps eco system:
Though it is not related to OS directly but apps eco system and quality wise, Android is better than Symbian.The number of app at Android market are nearly 300000. Symbian also has impressive numbers of around 110000. A comparison by “Allaboutsymbian” shows that all the top paid and free apps are also available in “Nokia store”.But if you compare the quality then as the apps of Android get more frequent updates than Symbian, quality wise some of Android apps are better than Symbian.
Please let us know what you think about this comparison !!
