The Two Day Review: Nokia N81 2GB

Okay, so I’ve been carrying around a Nokia N81 (2GB expandable memory version) for a couple of days. It’s small, it’s sleek, and it’s a Nokia smartphone – so it must be a winner, right?

Inside: firsthand impressions of the “phone that feels like a Chinese toy that kills small children due to excessive lead contamination.” According to IntoMobile, anyway.

A two day review of the Nokia N81 2GB.

1. Build quality could definitely be better. Hitting some of the buttons on certain areas makes the phone, for want of a better word, creak. The back cover also tends to make squeaking noises when any sort of pressure is placed on it. As for the slide – on my N81 it’s slightly loose, but the slider spring motion is really satisfying.

2. It’s heavy. Noticeably heavier than the original N95 – 4.9 ounces vs 4.2.

3. Activities that are normally processor-intensive on other Nokia phones (scrolling through menus and opening up applications) are super quick on the N81, thanks to a faster cpu

4. The N81′s sound quality is quite amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a better set of speakers on a phone before.

5. The navi-wheel is, for the most part, annoying. I find that it’s very hard to get any kind of consistent movement when scrolling around music playlists, unlike those iPod click wheels. It’s not so bad when browsing the Gallery or Multimedia menu though.

6. Gaming. I have a couple games on the phone, and none of them make use of the dedicated buttons nor do they let you change the default keymapping. This isn’t exactly a problem with the N81 specifically, it’s more of a complaint to game programmers, but it’s really annoying that I have these nice buttons and they’re useless. Also, being able to change into landscape mode without having to use rotateMe or some other application would be nice. Can someone tell me why the N95 has the accelerometer and the N81 doesn’t?

7. Okay, the keypad is a little hit-or-miss. Hitting the call/end keys, which have been thoughtfully squished onto the sides is a chore. And I have pretty thin fingers too. I imagine someone with somewhat pudgy fingers having a nightmare with the keypad.

On the other hand, the dedicated music buttons don’t interfere with normal phone operation and are quite handy, in stark contrast to the N95′s dedicated music slide mode. And the new multimedia key gets a thumbs up for speed and placement.

8. One small subtle feature – the dedicated keys light up and function as zoom in/zoom out buttons in the Gallery. It’s surprisingly intuitive combined with the navi-wheel in Gallery mode.

That’s it for now. Expect a full review with the next week or two.

Sexiness: Nokia N82 Phone Hands-On (first impressions)

Right now I’m sitting in a hotel room graciously provided by WOMWorld (sponsored by Nokia!), holding a Nokia N82 also graciously provided by WOMWorld. Alas, I’m only borrowing it for the duration of the trip, but it’s long enough to answer some burning questions about Nokia’s latest and greatest candy bar.

Anyway, a special thanks to Donna and Lucy for hooking me up and getting me out here. (here being Florida)

Some quick first impressions of the N82 phone.

Tomorrow we’ll be hitting up the Nokia Star Sync event in Miami for some lip-syncing? karaoke? singing? fun. Come join us at the Bayside Marketplace and you just might walk away with some sweet prizes.

So, without any further ado (note that a lot of comparisons are against the original N95, because that’s what I had on hand):

-Build quality: for the most part, pretty solid. The front of the N82 uses some shiny plastic that’s made to look metallic, the sides are the same as the N81, and the back is more plastic but with a glossy surface. But it still manages to feel heavy and all in all, it’s a well built device.

-Menus are faster and more responsive than ever. The gallery still lags. Boot-up time was much faster compared to the (original) N95.

-The stereo speakers are clearer, but also lower in volume than the N95. Same goes with the loudspeaker.

-The camera. Pretty sick (that’s the good sick), and faster too. Post-processing has been improved to only a couple seconds per shot, and the picture quality looks superb. (see upcoming entry for a photo shootout between the N82 vs. N95 vs. FujiFilm z5)

-No navi-wheel. Even though it looks similar to the N81, the N82 I tested didn’t have the functionality or settings for it.

-The multimedia key has been randomly squished between the right soft key and the C (delete) button. Might be a little annoying for people with big fingers. Nokia also moved the Call/End buttons to the sides but these are surprisingly easy to press.

-The N82 ships with Snakes, and two N-gage demos: Fifa 07 and Asphalt 3, the latter of which looked good but was easily one of the most boring games I’ve ever played on a cell phone.

-USB connector. It’s an odd, almost alien UFO shaped port that I have never seen in this universe.

-Screen rotation sensor. Works as advertised. No flashy animated screen rotations, it just blinks and switches from portrait to landscape and vice versa. Nice touch.

The Vertu Ascent Ti Reviewed (but not by me)

Thanks to alert reader Rick for this one: Head on over to Sybarites, a site dedicated to reviewing the finer things in life – which is a nice way of saying the things you’ll *probably* never see in your lifetime, unless you make it as a famous rapper or something – for their exclusive review of the Vertu Ascent Ti.

Compared to previous phones in the Vertu line, the Ascent Ti actually has a very impressive feature set: 3G, 3 megapixel camera with autofocus and flash, 4 gigabytes of internal storage, stereo speakers, and access to the “Vertu Fortress”, an underground bunker that can store your personal information. It’s also handmade with a nice, hearty mix of sapphire glass, leather, and titanium.

Oh yeah, you also get a complimentary year of Vertu Concierge service.

The handcrafted Vertu Ascent Ti.

Nokia N76 Phone

The Nseries line is known for fully-featured mobile phones that just happen to ignore normal size restraints. Handsets such as the N90, N93, and N80 set the bar with impressive feature sets but took some criticism for being just way too BIG.

With the N76, Nokia’s aiming to get into the thin market, one that’s been long dominated by the RAZR. Touted as a music smartphone, the N76 combines the Symbian operating system with stereo speakers and a 2 megapixel camera in a device that’s actually thinner than the RAZR.

First, a big thanks to WOMWORLD for providing the N76 pictured here. You too can demo new Nokia devices by signing up for their Nseries trial program! The only requirements are an established blog or forum membership. Or you can just be famous like me. Just kidding.

The N76 is Nokia’s seventh Nseries flip phone, and at 13.7 mm, it’s also the thinnest of the set. In terms of weight, it’s got some heft. (115 grams – about 4 ounces) The profile is a definite advantage – the phone slips easily into a pocket, but it’s also heavy enough so that you just know when you’re carrying it around.
Nokia really crammed everything together into the N76. Having a thin phone this densely packed means you’ll have to go through some minor inconveniences – such as removing the entire back cover if you want to change the battery or SIM card. The N76′s method of securing the SIM card is also a little weird – you need to pull out a little yellow cradle that is not connected to the N76 is any way. So don’t drop it in a sewer or something.
Aside from that, the N76 is built like a champ. It doesn’t have that plasticky feeling you get with less expensive phones (N75, 5300).
I found the camera to take, well, pretty average pictures. The 2 megapixel CMOS sensor isn’t going to knock anybody’s socks off – colors are a little muted, and there’s definitely some noise (first picture was not taken by the N76 camera):

What WAS surprising was the lack of any real “post-processing” lag that occurs after taking a picture. Total lag time: about 1-2 seconds after hitting the shutter button. Compare that to the N95 which has a lag of about 6-7 seconds, which would be pretty unacceptable if it were an actual digital camera. The bottom line is that the N76 can take some pretty quick shots if the need arises.

Nokia is marketing the N76 as a music phone, but the handset is actually rather hit-or-miss in this area. I liked the dedicated music buttons and the ability to move through menus and playlists with the flip completely closed. Instead of having raised buttons, Nokia opted to keep them flat and slightly less tactile than normal, so you won’t have a random-keypress-that-started-playing-my-embarrassing-music type of moment. The stereo speakers were okay, but spaced too close together to really get any kind of benefit from stereo sound. However, music sounded excellent with a pair of normal headphones.
Nokia oddly neglected to put in one “small” feature into its slim music phone: A2DP (the Bluetooth profile that allows stereo sound). This was a major oversight considering almost every self-proclaimed “music phone” these days comes standard with the Bluetooth profile.
A more minor “Huh?” problem occurred with the placement of the headphone jack – it’s located at the top of the phone, which means the flip can’t open all the way if something’s plugged in.
You also can’t quit the Music player application once you’ve opened it. I’m not quite sure why, although the N75 has the same problem.
Sound quality and signal strength were very Nokia-ish – that is to say, very good. Voices came across clearly. I did have an issue with the N76′s loudspeaker – the maximum volume was much lower than what I would’ve liked.

The BL-4B battery is rated for up to 3 hours of talk time, and my informal estimate was around three and a half hours of talk time. The battery lasted over 8 hours with the music player continually cranking out random songs, which was a nice surprise.
Summary
In the end, the Nokia N76 isn’t the greatest music phone out there with the lack of A2DP and some other minor bugs, but it’s still a well-built, lightweight flip phone.
The Good
Slim profile
Camera takes really quick pictures
Build quality
The Bad
No A2DP (on a music phone?)
Can’t fully open flip when headphones are plugged in
Maximum battery life could be better

iPhone vs. Nokia N95 vs. Ocean, iPhone wins?

An Associated Press writer “reviewed” the iPhone, N95, and Ocean (Helio) – all at the same time. The result is the article titled “Review: Apple’s IPhone Takes Other Luxury Cell Phones to School”.

The bottom line of the guy’s argument is that the iPhone is incredibly easy to use, while the N95′s user interface is horrendous. And any mention of the Ocean seems to have been done as an afterthought. Actually, why the Ocean is even included in the review is beyond me. I definitely wouldn’t call it a luxury phone.

While I’d totally agree that the Symbian UI isn’t even close to Apple’s interface, I can’t help but feel that comparing the iPhone and N95 is like comparing Apples to Oranges. It’s like putting Tiger Woods next to Roger Federer and saying that one is the better athlete.

I consider the iPhone a winner in terms of style and usability, but not features. The N95 is no looker but manages to pack 3G, A2DP, an open operating system (Symbian), video recording, and GPS – all features missing from the iPhone – into a device that’s unlocked for use with any GSM provider.

Lots of First Impressions for Friday

The Nokia Flagship Store lies at the heart of New York City, somewhere around 57th and 5th and surrounded by Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co., and Nike Town stores. It’s blue, it’s small, and it’s probably the only store to have its own bouncer.

But inside is a treasure trove of Nokia phones (okay, maybe 10 phones repeated like 20 times each) for your browsing pleasure.

So here we go, my first impressions – Nokia Flagship Store edition:

Nokia N75: more plasticky, thicker, and lighter than I expected. I was always wondering how Amazon could possibly sell this phone for -$19.99 with a 2-year agreement. It’s not necessarily a bad phone, and the inside is quite classy-looking. It just doesn’t have that heft or expensive feel of the N76.

Nokia N95: Out of four N95s I checked, 2 of them had loose sliders. I don’t think this is a very isolated problem.

Nokia E65: Has a very satisfying slider, one that you won’t hestiate to snap open and shut without a moment’s hesitation. Unlike my N95, which I can’t even slide open full speed for fear of breaking something. Tapered edges are definitely not my thing though.

Nokia 6126: The “press-to-open” button is a real gimmick, yet I could not stop myself from pushing the button over and over. I must’ve done this at least 20 times. The flip is attached to a spring, so the closing motion locks it in place until you’re ready to open it. Nothing else really impressive about the phone though.

Nokia E61i: Looks better than the E61, as well as being smaller and thinner. Buttons are awfully squishy which made typing a little annoying. Sometimes you can’t really tell if you’re pushing a button due to the amount of resistance behind the keys and the fact that there’s no solid click feeling (like the Samsung Blackjack keyboard, for example). With smaller, more tactile buttons (and maybe shorten the width a little bit), the E61i would be a winner.

Nokia 5300 XpressMusic: Looks and feels like a cell phone for kids.

Nokia N71: Nokia’s first Nseries flip phone. Although the N71 is so old now that I didn’t expect it in the Nokia Flagship Store.

Vertu Phones: Sure, the Vertu line has its own floor, but the handsets look rather…ordinary. They definitely do not look like thousand-dollar phones.

Missing: There were quite a few Nokia phones missing, especially from the Nseries line: the N90, N91, N93, N93i, and L’amour collection models among them.

20 Minutes with the Nokia N76 (First Impressions)

Thanks to WOMWorld’s Trial Program, I now have a shiny red N76 at my command, at least for the next 2 weeks anyway.

If you’re a blogger (or a pretty well-known forum power user), you can sign up for the program and get the chance to test out/trial some newer Nseries phones. Check it out.

And now for my initial impressions of the Nokia N76. Full review coming soon.

My first impressions of the Nokia N76 phone: sleek and sweet.

- The N76 is definitely much thinner than expected. It’s a tad bit slimmer than your typical RAZR V3 phone. It’s also noticeably longer than the RAZR.

- I like the weight. It’s heavy enough that it feels solid and has a nice heft, but light enough so that it’s not a burden in your pocket. (the N80 is almost .7 ounces heavier)

- Build quality is excellent. The N76 feels like a million bucks – you don’t get that plastic feel associated with cheaper phones.

- I’d have to call this Nokia’s “densest” phone ever created – removing the back cover exposes the entire back housing, which is so tightly packed that Nokia barely found space to insert a SIM card.

- Speaking of which, the process of removing the SIM card is a little odd – you have to pull a yellow tag which is connected to a small piece that holds the SIM card. Problem is the piece is completely removable (it’s not connected to the phone in any way). Losing one of these would not be fun.

- The flip opens and closes with a firm click. It’s also pretty tight in terms of movement – you can’t flip open the N76 with one hand very easily.

- Music sound quality is good, but the stereo speakers are not quite on par with the N95′s.

- There’s almost zero lag (post-processing?) after taking a picture. Wow. That’s unheard of on any other Nokia phone I’ve used.

- You can’t exit the Music Player. This has got to be a bug.

- The N76 keypad is responsive and provides pretty good feedback even though the buttons aren’t raised. On the flip side, it’s also easily smudged and covered with fingerprints. Can’t win ‘em all.

- That idle mode blinking blue light is inobtrusively hidden by the mirrored surface (front flip), in contrast to the N80 where it was in-your-face and just flat out annoying.

- The dedicated music buttons are actually useful, since they also control the camera options as well as the music player when the flip’s closed.