This past weekend, I took a trip to western VA. As I usually do before my trips, I do backups of my contacts and calendar from my N97 to a USB memory key and again to my N95. It just so happened though that this time, I had this inkling to take the N95. That inkling brought back memories (good and bad) of the Nokia X6 that I used until a beach incident this past summer. I wondered then why I couldn’t get along with just 16GB – and at the same time, I’ve wondered why I need more.
For a long time now, I’ve taken my use of a mobile to be my primary PC. And that means that I tend to keep a lot of files that sometimes might never get used again. For example, I’ve got about 2300 pictures on my N97 – spread between an 8GB microSDHC card and the 32GB of memory inside of it. I’ve also got a ton of MP3s. There are also some documents and other items, but those don’t take up nearly the amount of space that the music and videos take up. And hence me liking the N97, I’ve got space and can do much with it.
Which brings me back to the X6. I never transferred music to that device because I (a) didn’t have a PC to do so and (b) didn’t want to deal with the hassle of managing the same content on the two devices. It was better for me to just rock last.fm via Mobbler and I was normally quite content in doing so.
Pictures were a bit of an issue; those I liked to have kept centralized, but that wasn’t realistic, so I used Ovi Share to upload some things, and the rest I would either count as a loss (eh), or eventually Bluetooth them to the N97. Not bad, but really not much managable.
But, I got along with 16GB and no memory card. I wasn’t really productive – the X6 was like those special pair of shoes that you rocked on certain nights out and kept clean and fresh just for those moments. It worked though, and I liked the option of going back to it. Not having it (again, my fault here) and going to the N95 felt like too much of a drop off – as if I was playing the second-mobile card, but really rocking something that was better used to wash the car.
That’s not to disrespect my N95. The fact that this device is still rolling strong, with a solid battery, and just enough tweaks to keep me productive, is nice. As I prepared for my trip, I just wished that I would have had the more stylish and just-as-capable X6 to work with.
Of those similar devices to come is the Nokia E7. It is similar to the X6 in tone/perception to me. Its got the 16GB of space, no memory card slot, but is at least geared to be a bit more productive (it is classified as a device for business folks, with the applications to match). If my music were in such a state that I could transfer my “ownership” license to a “access on demand because I’ve already purchased it” license, then I’d be really tempted to move in that direct. And yet, I wonder where that would leave me when I wanted to do more with my mobile – as I do with my N97.
Sure, others might not grapple with situations like this because owning more than one mobile seems weird. But, I don’t think that it should be. We should be able to swap devices as needed – as if they were shoes. But, in swapping, have some kind of axis where certain features aren’t totally left behind. That way, the decision to roll with one device or another is just a style decision, not a functional one.
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