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Nokia E75: Review

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Introduction:

The Nokia E75 device is considered by many to be the final evolution of the Communicator Series by Nokia. It features a fairly spacious keyboard, a wealth of connectivity options, an impressive software set, and an exterior that gives away nothing of the potential that lies within. The original recipe called for rather large unit, with a side-hinged clamshell design that opened much like a miniature laptop. This layout would result in a spacious keyboard on the inside and a spacious keypad on the outside, making it an absolute joy to use for extended text input. These were all things to be found on the last definite descendant of the Communicator line, the Nokia E90.


Paired with more connectivity options than ever before, the E90 was undeniably the most awe-inspiring device of it's time. Any type of connection you wanted, the device had. It had new tricks up it's sleeves that the old Communicators weren't even capable of if they had wanted to: the same OS that the user interacted with on the inside display was to be found on the external display as well. (The Communicators had a S60 system internally, S40 system externally.) This meant that the phone could adapt to any environment it found itself in. If you needed to read an email but wanted to be discreet about it, the external display would perform this task just as easily as the internal one. Want to send a text message but realize halfway though that a more lengthy reply is needed? Just open up the device and continue using the keyboard.


It is therefore understandable how the E75 is seen as an evolution of the E90. It's "more than meets the eye" approach in design elegantly hides the features packed within. The QWERTY keypad is among the most spacious ever found on a Nokia handset. And, seeing how the E90 is no longer offered, the E75 currently possesses the largest QWERTY keypad found in the E-Series line. The E75 is also offered in the same three color shades as the device it "replaces". (Black, Brown, and Red.)


Where the E75 holds on to it's roots, it also blazes ahead into new, uncharted territory. It's Nokia's first side-slider handset. It's the first E-Series to feature N-Gage capabilities. It features a 3.5mm headset jack, a first for an E-Series device. And it's also the first E-Series handset I've ever encountered with User Data Protection. (UDP: When performing software/firmware updates, user data and programs are unaffected. Without UDP, this information is typically wiped clean.)


So what, then is the E75? Is it a member of the Communicator line, or is it an evolution of those devices into something new? Something... unique? Let's find out.




Hardware:
  • Quad-Band GSM (850/900/1800/1900)
  • Tri-Band WCDMA (850-or-900/1900/2100) (Depends on user's market.)
  • 2.4" QVGA TFT Display (240x320) (16 Million Colors)
  • S60 v3 w/Feature-Pack 2
  • 3.2mp CMOS Camera w/Autofocus
  • VGA Front-Facing Camera
  • BL-4U Li-Ion Battery (1000mAh)
    • 5h 20min GSM Talk-Time
    • 4h 20min WCDMA Talk-Time
    • 9h VOIP via WLAN Talk-Time
    • 25h Continuous Music Playback
  • Bluetooth 2.0
  • WLAN 802.11b/g
  • 100/60kbps GPRS
  • 296/177.6kbps EDGE
  • 384/384kbps WCDMA (3G)
  • 3.6mbps/384kbps Class 6 HSDPA (3.5G)
  • MicroSD Slot (hot-swappable)(4GB Card Included)(Support for 16GB)
  • 50MB Internal Dynamic Memory
  • MicroUSB Connector (Supports Charging)
  • 3.5mm AV-Out/Headset/Headphones/Line-Out Jack
  • 111.8 x 50 (closed) / 80 (open) x 14.4mm Dimensions
  • 139g Weight


As you can tell, very little is left out from the E75. About the only things you might find on a competitor's phone for this same type of consumer would be a touchscreen and/or a larger display. While these things might make or break certain customers, they are not to be found here. In fact, they're not to be found on any E-Series device, at all. Why? Well, it would seem that Nokia has realized these features don't matter much to it's customers. Between stylus and keyboard input for text, most would choose to have the keyboard, especially when lengthy emails are involved. If you're writing an email while walking in an airport terminal or attempting to dial while driving a car, the lack of a touchscreen really begins to make sense here. And where large, high-resolution displays look brilliant for photos and videos, we are talking about a business device here. A sharp, easy-to-read display is more desirable for these consumers, and that's exactly what Nokia delivers.


Compared to most phones that are easily available here in the US (which is the same thing as saying handsets offered directly from carriers), the E75 shines with it's wealth of connectivity options. It's 3.5G connection is lightning fast, even here in the USA where AT&T supposedly limits HSDPA to 1.4mbps. (At least that's what the iPhone 3G supposedly has, leading me to believe that the E75 is able to use it's full bandwith capabilities on AT&T's network.)


Infrared is the first thing that I noticed wasn't on the list. It was a feature built into the E90 and devices as recent as the E71 and E66 that I know of. It's something of a legacy feature, a fall-back in case you encounter a device you need to communicate with that doesn't support any of the newer communication protocols. I found it useful for last-minute essay printing and for messing around with sending documents to an older Handspring Visor.


New this time around, though, is the 3.5mm jack. The E75 is now capable of performing like an N-Series and standing in as an MP3 player. However, that's not the end of the capabilities of this jack. It also features AV-Out, something N-Series devices could always due but E-Series could not. The potential this feature unlocks is nearly endless... if you should be at a meeting and have a computer failure, a powerpoint presentation is still manageable using the E75. Oddly enough, however, the cables necessary to do this are not included with the device. This could be because Nokia wanted to stick with the "standard kit" that an E-Series device comes with, or they didn't feel that the device warranted a real need to come packaged with this cable. (This could also have to do with N-Gage not being pre-installed, something I'll get to later.)





Design:
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Being Nokia's first side-slider design, they deserve a significant amount of congratulations right off the bat. Why? Because of how well executed their attempt was. I have seen a fair amount of side-sliders, all of which have been thick and heavy yet feel cheap and flimsy. The E75 is none of these things. The device is thin with a good share of heft to it, and the slide is smooth and sturdy. Granted, when Nokia released THE definition of what a slider phone should be, aka the E66, it's hard to call the E75 perfect. The silver slide-bar that splits the keyboard in half makes closing the phone a not-so-perfectly-smooth operation if there is any amount of pressure pressed down on the screen. Yet, if this silver piece did not exist, the phone's QWERTY keypad would be the victim of wear-and-tear from the abrasion of the two surfaces rubbing together. It's actually a rather clever idea of Nokia to put that little silver slide piece in there, and I have to commend them on such a simple solution to a problem I've seen affect other side-sliders. (And note that while some other reviews of the E75 call the silver piece "pointless" and request Nokia to remove it, I actually think it's perfectly acceptable in this implementation.)



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Externally, the E75 is similar to many other candybar E-Series S60 handsets. It features the Naviwheel, left and right softkeys, send and end keys, home, backspace, calendar, and email buttons, in addition to a full keypad. Where it differs from other E-Series is it's 4-piece keypad. That is, there is one piece of plastic that flexes to serve as three buttons. (Ie. The 1, 2, and 3 keys are all accessed by pressing on different parts of the same piece of plastic.) This is something previously seen on the Nokia N79 and N78, and the appearance here seems to mimmic that of the N79. Honestly, I feel that the implementation of this was a mistake. While adding a more visually appearing keypad is always a good thing, the fact that this device loses some of it's usability as a result is never a good thing. To reiterate, this is an E-Series business-class device. This device will be in the same type of environment where ThinkPads and steel filing cabinets are used.


Same thing goes for every other key on the front of the device, actually. The Naviwheel is too stiff and doesn't offer enough of a click to confirm a press. The center select button, however, does. But then we get to the other keys such as the backspace/right-soft-key. Once again, Nokia followed through with the one-piece of plastic to span both keys. While this completes the visual theme and any other way of constructing the keys simply would be design suicide, I cannot tell you how many times I've wanted to press the left soft-key and instead pressed the home button, or dial a number but instead open the calendar. It's simply frustrating and I highly dislike it. My solution? Give the phone the same type of keys found on the Nokia N82 and I'd be much happier.


In fact, all of the keys have turned out to be rather... unusual. The QWERTY keypad has flat keys with very little tactile feedback. This makes typing with fingernails an undesirable situation, but typing with fingertips rather awkward. The sensation is similar to that of pressing on a table... the buttons have very little travel, and while there actually is a click, it could be a lot more than it is here. Same with the alphanumeric keypad... texting using those keys often requires editing as not all key presses are registered due to the stiffness of the keys. Sadly, the Naviwheel and volume buttons also are afflicted. Curiously enough though, the camera shutter button is not affected by the same curse!





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Entirely from an aesthetic point of view, the keys on the E75 are beautiful. The alphanumeric keypad looks almost as if it had no moving parts at all (ahem), and the illumination is flawless. In low-light conditions, the key illumination does bleed a bit into the cracks a bit, but it's not a spoiler of the look the phone is trying to pull off by any means.


The QWERTY keypad features matte keys that set them apart from the rest of the keys on the phone. It's almost as if they appear different from everything else on the phone because they serve a unique purpose. They have a very business-oriented appearance to them, especially with their flat, square keys. They remind me of the keys found on the HP netbooks (and newer laptops) which is definitely not a bad thing. On my model, they shift colors depending on the angle of the light from a deep red to almost a burgundy-brown. I frequently have picked the E75 up off a table merely to inspect this phenomenon as it intrigues me.

Unfortunately, the illumination on this keypad is rather poor. The backlighting actually does close to nothing unless it's being used in a truly dark environment... and by that I mean a closed room with all the lights off. Until that point is reached the lighting can be seen to be uneven at best, with LED's locatable under the "T" and "U" keys. However, in the true dark it's as if the lighting somehow becomes more even, and these two bright-sports aren't a nuisance anymore.





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Straying away from the buttons on the E75, the rest of the device is actually quite appealing. The choice of colors (red, sand, and black) are all quite appropriate for the environments they will be serving. The silver-gray body on all of them is a nice compliment to the color trims, as is the stainless steel textured back. As a unit, the entire phone is properly sized, easy to hold to the ear, and comfortable. I did find the earpiece to be located a bit too high on the phone for my liking, requiring an unusual placement on my ear. Also, the heft of the device, while great for messaging, seemed a bit much for long phone calls. I often found myself trying to prop the elbow of my phone-holding arm while on lengthy phone calls, something I cannot remember doing with the featherweight N82.


The light sensor and front-facing camera are integrated neatly, but I still wish that they could have been built in to the rest of the phone face just a bit better. Wishful thinking, I suppose. On the rear, the only two things to be found are the loudspeaker and 3.2mp camera. The loudspeaker is something I have yet to wrap my mind around. On one hand, it can be quite loud without becoming distorted, and all the audio it can pump out is always crystal clear. On the other, if the phone is placed face-up on a table, the speaker is partially muted. Pick it up and hold it in your hand, and the way I hold the handset just so happens to place a finger right over the speaker. That's actually convenient a lot of the time, because then the audio alerts for various items are physically muted while I can feel the phone vibrating or visually notice the flashing Naviwheel.


Sides of the phone house the 3.5mm jack, charging jack, microUSB port, MicroSD slot, volume rocker, shutter key, and lanyard loop. I wish that the volume rocker had a bit more tactile feel to it, but it's something I've gotten used to with time. The shutter button I am a very big fan of, in part because of the excellent camera which I won't get into here. The camera placement, however, I gladly applaud. All of the writing aligns such that the phone is held exactly like a digital camera and operated nearly identical to one. (This took my partner in the Teach the Technophobe challenge by surprise, actually.) While not exactly sculpted to look like a digital camera, the E71 at least gives the appearance of a phone who's camera means serious business.


The lanyard loop is self explanatory, as are the microUSB and MicroSD on the other side. (I will note, however, that they are covered by some rather stiff rubber which actually keeps them closed quite well, even though I'd have preferred to see a plastic door like the N82 or E90.) Moving to the top of the device, it has the 3.5mm jack, which cannot be described any more than being perfect.




Usage:

I decided to write this section a bit differently than normal, with bullets of thoughts as opposed to paragraphs, thinking it might better represent the time I've spent with the E75. It'd also give me the chance to come back at a future point, and update with any new findings or conclusions I might have made.

  • Nokia changed the icons! They're now the OVI icons... which basically means that they're similar to the standard S60 icons, but with more vibrant colors. It's a nice touch... and addresses one of my main complaints about the E-Series devices: their UI's are usually so boring!
  • I want to meet the person who decided to hide the Media folder (which itself contains the Radio, Music Player, Music Store, Video Centre, Camera, Podcasting, Share Online, Recorder, and Realplayer applications) inside of the Applications folder. And then I want to punch them in the face! It took me quite some time to find the Music Player, and I was impatient to start using the 3.5mm jack with standard headphones!
  • The phone lost two accelerometer features with the firmware update... one was "ignore call on tap" and the other was "silence phone on flip" or something like that. They were hidden in the settings for the "Sensors". I'm not saying I was ever going to use these features (probably not), but it would have been nice to see them stay.
  • The LCD is really nice. And I mean really nice. The viewing angle is super wide, and the colors and white balance are amazing. Do I miss the E90's wide high-resolution screen? ...not really.
  • I'm not sure why but the keys surrounding the Naviwheel seem to be slanted towards one another. This is something you only notice when the light is reflecting off of them just right, and it's enough to drive me slightly mad. If the goal was to continue the one-piece horizontal theme of the dialpad, why did they decide to slant only a few keys?
  • The Naviwheel's breathing light goes off when on a phone call. This means in the dark, your face pulsates white. Not exactly a useful thing to point out, but it is amusing.
  • I cannot tell you how annoying it is to use the left-soft-key. Half the time I accidentally press the home button and end up where I have to open up the task manager to get back to where I was. That's just a bother to no end. Nokia seems to have noticed this, because from the home screen, the left-soft-key and home key do the same thing oddly enough.
  • The QWERTY keypad takes some time to get used to. So far I've never used the right shift key even once. It's probably a habit I've learned from my E71. Also, I constantly find myself reaching past the silver bar to the left with my right thumb (or the opposite with my left) to hit keys. I almost feel as if I'm doing something "wrong" by doing this, but once again it's just a habit from the E71's smaller keypad.
  • Special characters such as ß are accessible by holding the "Chr" key and then the "S" key on the keyboard. I came across this by accident. The E71 way of doing this is to press the "Chr" key and then the "S" key. It didn't require holding the first key. Oh well.
  • The fact that the "1" (also the "Q" key) and the "!" (also the "A" key) are so close, and blue, I often push the wrong one, delete it, then press it again, delete it, try one more time, before I realize that I'm pressing the wrong button. It's quite annoying but it's something that would be solved with time.
  • I'm beginning to like the "*" key being the bluetooth toggle key. If only the "end" key worked to change profiles from any screen, I'd be happy. (What was wrong with the dedicated power button, Nokia?)
  • The camera takes really nice pictures. Oh, and video too.
  • Red is a very good color for this phone. It matches a lot of red things I have, actually! From the red writing on the shirt I'm wearing now to my flannel pajamas to cherries to just about anything. It also complements sand-colored things in addition to jeans, lots of foods, and notebooks.
  • I somehow keep forgetting about the 3.5mm headset jack. I would love to have an AV-Out cable to test emails on a television. Unfortunately, I have neither that cable nor a television (yet), so I cannot test this out. I'd also want a bluetooth keyboard, now that I really think about it, and I don't have one of those.
  • It's sometimes hard to wipe the grease off of the phone's screen. I hate letting people borrow my phone.
  • Battery life is absent! Nokia, where have you gone with my hours of entertainment?! Seriously! E62 could survive for days before even losing one bar of battery. And that's with it's bluetooth turned on. E90 followed in the same path, but with bluetooth on there was a definite hit to battery life. E71 and E66 are somewhere between those other two. But now we have the E71. Even though it is packed with a fairly substantial battery, you'd be lucky to receive Nokia's battery statistics. After about 6 hours on standby, I received a phone call and after two hours (it was a long one), my phone began to beep at me to tell me it had switched to powersaver mode and was on the last bar of battery. Keep in mind that it reported battery status as being full prior to the phone call. Either 1.) The battery status is a little wonky or 2.) The E75 is quite weak when it comes to phone calls. I'm going to experiment with shutting off high-speed data access and see if I receive a better battery lifespan with the expense of slightly-poorer sound quality.
  • I once put the phone on full-volume while listening to internet radio, wondering why it was so quiet. I then picked up the phone and realized it had been sitting on a pillow and the speaker grille had been blocked.
  • Why are there texture points around the "5" key on the alphanumeric keypad? It's not like it'll help you text without looking at the keypad for crying out loud.
  • The Naviwheel stiffness is annoying. I never know if it registered my clicks or not.
  • N-Gage functionality! I can now play all of the games I had loved to play on the N85 and N82. It's a bit weird though, and the stiff Naviwheel is especially irksome here.
  • OTA updates?! Since when did these come out?! Just press "*#0000#", then press "Options", "Check for Update" and then you're done. The E75 has UDP so you don't even need a computer to truly gain all of the potential from this phone anymore!
  • Using the secondary camera is nice. I am once again back to sending video messages to friends while driving about... much safer than texting. (I hope.) It's at least more amusing I'm told.
  • I really like the new icons. They help the screen "pop" like I remember the N85 doing. (Except this isn't an AMOLED screen... just a TFT one.)
  • Periods of extended typing (see previous posts composed and submitted entirely on the E75) actually isn't all that bad! The typing sensation is certainly weird but it's certainly manageable and doesn't leave your hands feeling cramped like the E71 occasionally does.
  • Cell phone reception seems a bit spottier than the E71... I can't prove this, but it's just a feeling.





Conclusion:
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With so much packed within, yet so many new design features, I return to my original question at the start of this review. Is the E75 a descendant of the Communicator line? My answer is... no. It's more like an E52 with a side-slide built in. It doesn't feature the truly roomy keyboard of the E90, nor the gargantuan display. It's as if the E75 was designed with a different type of consumer in mind. It wasn't made to go on business trips or edit word documents any more than that cherry was designed to serve as dinner. It was designed to be used in a technology-laden environment, where a spare charger was never more than a few yards away. The name of the E75 game is to have all the features and all the hardware, but slip easily into one's pocket without so much of a fuss.


A student, then, perhaps? With it's 3.5mm plug, N-Gage support, and trendy design, I would agree that would be a suitable fit. I myself would fall into that category... owning an E-Series but wishing it had very specific N-Series features. The E75 is like a crossover, a vehicle made to serve two different environments but never making it clear which one it wishes to associate most with. The fact that it gets comments on it's looks says nothing, as Nokia has managed to tweak E-Series devices into being designer phones as was proven with the E71. But it's the features, usage-hindering-design, and a build quality that is just not quite up to par with full-flanked E-Series devices.


Perhaps it is the perfect device. Paired with more functional buttons I should very much pin it as being so. I already see it as a step up from my E71 merely in terms of the software it comes with. It really has all the features I would like to have in a form factor I don't actually mind, if not for the annoying buttons. The presentation of the whole thing, from suitcase to the phone itself, is phenomenal. Yet as I try and summarize this flawed-yet-perfect device I'm left with the same feeling that the N86 gave me: Everything I want is right here on this device sitting next to me, but the couple of flaws it has leads me to believe that I'm better off waiting with my E71 than replacing it with an E75.


As for you? It depends really. The E75 is part rock-solid camera, part bulletproof messaging device. Oddly enough it got the first thing right, but the latter has a few quirks to adjust to. If you're looking at the E-Series line right now and deciding which one is "the best"... the E75 wins hands-down. At least until the E72 is out. But I'm not so sure about the E72... as it doesn't seem to have any hand-me-downs from the Communicator Series. The E75 on the other hand, has a few reminders here and there of where it learned it's best tricks: the massive do-it-all E90.

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Nokia N85 Review - Beauty is on the inside.


Introduction--------------------------------
What is the N85 supposed to succeed? I can't quite place my finger on it. It's design would suggest it's a descendant of the original N-Series flagship devices, meaning it's come after the N96 which came after the N95. But while much of it's form-factor design would suggest such a lineage, it's other styling cues seem to suggest a different lineage.

For example, the N96 is nearly identical in terms of hardware to the N95. Only the exterior appearance and the multimedia buttons have endured significant changes to deem notice. Where, then does the N85 fit in? It's been graced with a small footprint, OLED display, and styling to suggest it belongs to a different family. The N81 device seems to be right about there, as both do not feature a massive screen as found on the N96, and both are aimed towards portable gamers who like a full-featured phone.

Is the N85 a descendant of the N81? Is it, truthfully, a more capable version of the N81? I wish I could ask the designers of the N85 to figure out exactly what was going on in their heads when they created it.











Unboxing--------------------------------
Without going into my green segment in regards to Nokia, I feel that notice is deserved for the packaging of the N85. I mean, the box for the N85 is small... smaller than the N82 that I owned! Just take a look!
Alright, so the box isn't that much smaller than the N82. But noticeably so... I mean, just picking up the N82's box gives this feeling of... emptiness. Like, there should be substance in there, but there isn't. It's just not dense. The N85's box, however, feels like it's loaded. With what? Let's dig in.
Look at all of the steps just to finally view some of the kit! This is the first box I've encountered from Nokia which has a slim slip-cover cardboard piece on top of the actual box containing everything. And judging by the way that the actual box has left room for carrier branding while the slip cover has not, I'd say that one could easily expect a carrier-issued N85 to consist of only the box. Oh well... bit of a shame, considering how the N85's slip-cover does quite a good job of marketing the device in itself.

Of course, I'm off-track here. At this point, we're presented with the N85 itself, and the BL-5K Li-ion battery pack. This battery, in reference to the N82's, is about a millimeter thinner, but is wider and longer in exchange. So I'd make a guess that in terms of capacity... it's about the same? Not sure, really. Let's not dabble on the battery... let's inspect the device quickly. I really couldn't resist turning over the device in my hand for a few minutes before I even had turned it on, and so I'm sure anyone who opens their own personal N85 will be tempted to do the same. I felt like I had just opened the box to the greatest N-Series device ever to be created, and was waiting for the "wow"-factor to hit me.


Of course, by this point, you'll have noticed the large amount of glossy surfaces to be found on the N85. These aren't pinched-edges detailing the corners like might be found on the N96 or a BMW Z4, but rather invokes the flowing curves of the N93 or Dodge Viper. And as such, the design almost seems to have gone backwards... it seems everywhere that one looks they can see that that contour lines and edge lines are pronounced and sharp. On the N85... they're not.
But in terms of the function... the slide works quite well, and seems to feature metal rails upon which the slide works, which is a welcome sight due to it's reliability and smoothness of operation. When sliding the display down to reveal the multimedia keys, it seems to require more force than for the keypad, and "pops" with a sudden abruptness which is at once pleasing to hear and at the same time not brutal or harsh in any way. Time to keep rummaging in the box.

Underneath the top tray is the usual method of packaging for N-Series devices... essentially organized, intuitive chaos. There's all of the cables, manuals, and they're all "thrown-in" yet neat at the same time. No point explaining this further, it's time to take everything out for a closer look.

A lot of paper, it would seem, was used in the N85's packaging. Green lovers do not fret, the N85 is still only recently released, and will soon see reduction in paperwork I'm sure when the N85 NAM edition is released. As is, this is the generic, unlocked, direct from Nokia N85-1, which is internationally-bound and has no set language upon which to cater with. As such, there is a copy of the manual in English, as well as what I'm presuming to be Finnish (or maybe Swedish), a software DVD, and an N-Gage pamphlet written in multiple languages that has an activation code written on the back to unlock an N-Gage game to be used on the N85. Time to move on past this stuff... none of which I used except the N-Gage voucher.

Time for the cables! Nokia should be congratulated for always including all of the essentials and then some with it's N-Series devices. AV-Out, USB, Headphone Remote, Headphones, and AC-Charger are all included here. When really, Nokia only needed to include the USB cable and AC adapter to keep the masses happy, they have included things which I'd be otherwise forced to buy to do the things I deem required of my handsets.
The AV-Cable works exactly as you'd expect it to work... it seems different than most AV-Out cables, in the sense that a standard cable won't work with the N85, yet the bundled one will, so if you should happen to require AV-Out, be sure to pack the cable. Also, the USB cable is essentially a slightly tweaked Mini-USB cable, with Nokia's own proprietary connector on the end. Now, I know many people might be a bit annoyed by this change made to the plug, however I for one am quite thrilled. Nokia's USB cable "feels" superior in quality to your average Mini-USB cable, it's transfer rates seem higher (tweaked?), and the built-on clip for winding the cable up is so simple yet useful that I have to wonder why others don't do the same thing.
The remote for the N85 is quite high-quality too. I remember my N93's bundled headphones/remote... essentially headphones with a build-in microphone and "remote" which allowed one to answer calls received as well as change volume levels. Not really useful for multimedia playback. With the N85, they've fixed this, and the remote can actually manipulate the playback of multimedia. The bundled headphones looked high-quality as well, however I never bothered testing them. When I want to enjoy quality audio, I always use my Sony sound-isolating earbuds. My N82's headphones looked quite similar to the N85's, and that would imply that they too would allow too much outside noise in, have to be turned up loud to be usable, and in doing so audio would be distorted and not enjoyable. So I decided to pass on even touching the headphones.


What's up here? Notice the plug type on the N85's AC adapter. First tell-tale sign of the N85 I received not being targeted for the US market: WOM World, responsible for hooking me up with the N85 over the winter holidays to test out, send along this super-handy universal power adapter. Those looking for an N85 in the States should be sure to either pick up a power adapter, a charger with US prongs on it, or wait and find a NAM version of the N85.
That said, I just wanted to pause in my review to thank WOM World for hooking me up with this N85 (and the E66 before it, and the E71 before that) to test out. And thanks yet again for including the power adapter because, while I do have one somewhere, I'm once again amazed by the quality of service I've received from Nokia and all of it's loyal fans.










Design--------------------------------
It's high-time I take this device apart piece by piece from a design perspective. Naturally, I have already turned on and used the device for nearly two weeks, but that said I still feel obligated to go over the exterior details of the device. So beginning with the top, we're confronted with Nokia's proprietary Mini-USB port, a 3.5mm (standard) stereo jack (also the AV-Out), and the power/profile-change button. To the right there's also a loop for attaching a wristband or phone charm, if one should happen to wish to do so. It's placed in a location I would think handy for attaching the device to a lanyard for hanging around the neck. It is a rather capable multimedia computer, so having it handy seems like a natural thing to do.

On the bottom there's... nothing. So let's move it along.


On the right hand side of the device, you're presented with many features. The stereo speakers, for instance, are placed in what appears to be as close to the corners of the device as possible, in order to create the best possible stereo effect, I'd assume. Also, the shutter button (with the usual two-stage press like that found on digital camera to first focus and then take the shot), keyguard toggle switch, and volume rocker key. Let's flip it over.


The left-hand side of the device is bare. There's the memory card slot, yet all of the ports that might be found on side, such as that on the N82 (USB and charging), have been moved to the top of the device. And to touch on that, the USB port is now also the charging port... good job Nokia! It makes things neater.



And, of course, on the back is the 5mp, Carl Zeiss-optics camera covered by a neat-and tidy lens cover slide.


A brief discussion on the design of the phone is due right about now... I've been holding off until now. The phone, while for all appearances, seems quite curvy, feels quite flat in the hand. It feels solid, hefty, dense, like it is literally stuffed to the brim with hardware. That would seem quite accurate, judging by it's impressive hardware set for it's diminutive size. That said... I'm not sure about the glossiness. I'm attracted to the N96 due to it's fusion of matte and glossy surfaces, and the N85 is straying towards appearing completely glossy. Which would be fine if the device was made nearly entirely of metal and glass such as the E66 or E71, however the N85 is plastic and... plastic.
The black and mocha color scheme is quite attractive. Weird, considering I just said I prefer steel and glass. Originally I wasn't set on the N85's color scheme, but given some time... I've grown to like it. It looks grown-up. It looks... professional. It allows me to look past the fact that it's made mostly of plastic pieces and to judge it for what it's worth, not what it's made of. I can hold it, and immediately I get the same feeling of heft as if it were made of metal and glass, and that's a feeling I like.
The way that Nokia has decided to selectively illuminate keys on the N85 when necessary is a welcome addition. For example, the Multimedia keys have Play/Pause, Stop, Forward, and Back keys. But, with a small change, the keys can become Zoom-In, Zoom-Out keys. Or, two gaming keys, which appear to be marked Square and Circle.
The keys directly below the screen are also illuminated to be visible... something not as well implemented as on the E66, due in part to their non-perfect illumination and... slightly cheaper feeling. It appears as if the keys should be touch-sensitive, not just standard tactile push-down keys. Yet, that's exactly what they are, is standard buttons. Can you say "let-down"?
Also, the display seems to appear to be looking for the "seamless fusion of steel and glass" that I babbled on so much in my review of the E66. Especially in regards to the display and the keys. Yet, due to the fact that the keys below the display have to be raised, this effect is lost, and only the attempt is left glaring on the face of the device. A handsome attempt, but it's lost.
Lastly, on design, I want to compliment the implementation of an OLED screen on the N85. Just look at the viewing angle!!!:
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There is no change in hue or contrast when viewing the display at any angle! This is absolutely amazing! Colors are stunning, sharp, and beautiful, and if truly has to be seen for one to know the difference. The themes built into the N85 stock are bright and colorful... they remind me of the UI Sony used to build into their MP3 players, which didn't really catch on but was absolute eye candy. If Nokia can release these themes, transitions and all, to other S60 phones, then I'll quit complaining about S60's aged appearance. Because with the N85, they've really managed to finally kick a phone to the forefront of modern appealing design, from hardware to software. True, hardware design could use a bit of a sprucing here and there, but overall, the design has infiltrated every aspect of the device, and I'm saying goodbye to this device with a sinking feeling that the next one won't have the same degree of attention to the UI.











Usage--------------------------------
The N85 is a full-featured device, and as such, I asked WOM World to supply me with it for the exact hope that I might be able to take it with me on my holiday trip to Mexico. The device got held up in shipping to the point where the easy possibility of another couple of days' delay might have put me without the device on a trip where the the device would truly be able to get a thorough shakedown. Thankfully, that didn't happen, and so I was able to give the device a thorough testing in both Image Capture, Video Capture, MP3 Playback, Video Playback, and eventually Image Playback once I had returned home. So, here goes, each with it's own separate section.

Image Capture
While packing for my trip, I had the thought that, being an avid fan of my Nokia N82 when I had it, I shouldn't even bother packing my bulky Kodak Z812 camera, and should rather pack a Nokia handset to capture moments from my trip. The N85, being a flagship device of Nokia, should have at least the same quality as the N82, xenon flash excluded of course. My paltry 5GB music collection would leave plenty of room left on the MicroSD card on which to store a wealth of pictures and videos I captured along my trip, and so memory limits were of no concern to me. A few test pictures around the house were what convinced me of my true logic:
Armed with this confidence, I set off with N85 in pocket, a camera not quite as "quality" as the N82 I had owned, but surely worth exchanging the Kodak for. (Which I no longer know why I should even keep it any longer.) Five short days later, and I returned, with quite a few pictures from every sort of real-world scenario one might expect this camera to perform under. Here's a brief selection:
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As you can tell from the images... low-light imagery isn't a strong-point of the N85. It's dual-LED flash really ought to have been swapped out for a xenon-based one, but perhaps the trade-off wasn't quite as bad as it might've been. I usually prefer to deactivate flash in low-light situations anyway, so the main problem here is a high level of noise in low-light situations. Apart from that, provided enough light, the N85's camera sensor functioned excellently, and I'm truly happy I decided to opt out of bringing a standalone digital camera.
Ironically, however, very high levels of light are also where the N85 becomes nearly worthless. And by high levels of light, I mean outdoors in the sun. The OLED screen is not reflective, but rather becomes literally washed out in the sun. You can attempt to shield it from the sun, but the sheer amount of light all around will make even that a pointless attempt. It really becomes a literal point-and-shoot camera... on occasion I had to just point the N85 in the general direction I wanted, take the shot, and move on, hoping I had captured the subject I wanted.


Video Capture
I was given one opportunity to record a video I thought would be a good example of what the N85 is capable of, and here it is, a taxi ride:
A lot of video quality is lost in the conversion to be playable on this website, but as you can tell from the audio, conversations can be picked up easily and clearly even in as noisy an environment as a fairly noisy highway. Not stereo sound recording, but good nevertheless. Definitely nowhere near the atrocious audio found on the i-Mobile 902, for comparison's sake, but at the same time not quite as full-featured as the N93.

MP3 Playback
On the way to Mexico, I relied upon my Apple iPod Touch for music playback. This is because I was unsure of the N85's battery capacity, and didn't want to ruin any chances I might get to take a picture should the need arise and I find my battery dead. This is the one problem with all everything-in-one devices, is the ever-present possibility of a battery giving out when you need it most. Fortunately, battery life turned out to be surprisingly much greater than expected, so my return from Mexico back to the States used the N85 as my audio player nearly exclusively.
What I found, with my Sony sound-isolating earbuds, was that audio playback was superb. Once in a while, when not playing any audio, random noises would be audible, such as white noise when selecting a menu which would then vanish a second or two later. Not annoying, and actually kind of useful, as it would remind me to select another song to listen to. The device, once the display was slid to multimedia mode, became quite a competent MP3 player. The N82 suffered from it's non-centered stereo jack (not really a problem exactly so much as a styling problem), coupled with no multimedia keys. The N85 (and presumably, the N95 and N96 which I have yet to test) solves this problem, by giving you instant access to playback controls no matter what else you might be doing on the phone.
Browsing playlists and such is a bit lackluster, but comparable to Apple's iPod, without Coverflow of course. That said, the N85 features- surprise!- a Naviwheel!
Suddenly, the navigation ring can be used similar to Apple's scroll wheel. This feature is turned off by default, and I can sort of see why... it's not a polished system, in that it works most of the time. The other bit of the time it's not glitching up or anything annoying, it's just not registering my finger. So, at best, I can say that this is a feature Nokia might polish up in a future firmware update, but I'd be just as apathetic about it if they didn't, because I preferred searching for songs using the keypad or just scrolling with buttons.
Essentially... the N85 is quite a competent MP3 player. I'm quite happy with my experiences with it, and between a new iPod and the N85 (pretending it couldn't make phone calls), I'd easily grab the N85.

Video Playback
Here's where I found the first problem with the OLED in low light conditions. Well, that's not really fair. Low light has nothing to do with it, but rather the technology of OLED in displaying certain colors. As a test, I loaded on an MP4 version of Iron Man onto the N85, and watched the movie in segments throughout the trip. To my annoyance and surprise, the N85 couldn't display dark colors well at all. For example, much of the beginning of the movie takes place in a dark cave, where the background is discernible to be essentially random contours of black and dark brown rock. On the N85, this became "off" on the OLED. (Off being black... that's how OLED's have such high contrast ratios.) So instead of being in a cave, I was watching the main character in what appeared to be a perfectly pitch black environment.
I immediately blamed poor encoding, however after reviewing the same scene on both my laptop and iPod Touch, it's a flaw of either the video decoder built into the N85, or the screen itself. Sad, considering how much I love the display in dark environments, to learn that it struggles to reproduce said environments on it's screen. But wait, there's more:
The picture really doesn't to justice, but can you tell how blueish hued the white Google page is on the N85 as compared to the iPod Touch? White on the N85's OLED is quite blue, actually... this picture really doesn't show that. My first time turning on the N85 I though that perhaps the screen had a brief warm-up period... but that is not the case, it seems. I'm going to have to say that for the screen size here, the color problems involving shades of black-to-white aren't really enough to sway me away from everything else... that said, let's move on.

Image Playback
The N85 has a rather neat image browser. First, you can press the silver key on the keypad to browse the images and videos in a rather... unorthodox manner. Or you can go to the photo browser via the main menu. That's what I preferred to do. From there you are presented categories on which to view photos captured. (Captured, Months, Albums, Tags, Downloads, All, Share online) You merely select which method upon which you want your photos organized, and then start browsing. A bit difficult to explain, but it's basically the same as any other N-Series device out there once you get past this initial organization selection screen.










Build Quality--------------------------------
When I first held the N85 in my hand, my impression was of a tightly packaged high-quality plastic case with sturdy electronics on the inside. And while I can't comment on the inside, I can comment on body integrity, and here's where my biggest problem with the N85 comes in. It squeaks when I squeeze it. The slide shifts when you hold it, and when the phone vibrates, the bottom and top parts of the phone vibrate even more, creating the most non-discreet vibrate alert ever. That combined with one of the strongest vibrations in a Nokia phone ever really doesn't help much. The piece of mocha plastic around the top of the back, around the camera piece, has a lot of flex in it when I merely touch it. The battery cover feels cheap, and I don't know what to make of it.
You know what? None of that really matters. Because I'm willing to look beyond those faults. My original N82 had one of the two stereo speakers die on me, and Nokia replaced it free of charge. My second one did the same just before I traded it away for an E90, yet I decided I wasn't bothered by it. My N82, with time, developed a squeak in it's navigation ring and when I squeezed it. Even still, it never felt as cheap as the N85's faults I just described, yet I still can't say that the problems with the N85 bothered me. That is, until this happened:
The entire bottom section on the display completely came off when I pulled the N85 out of my pocket. Apparently the only thing that holds it on is some cheap glue. Now, Nokia, I baby my phones. I've never owned a case for any of my phones because even the ones that I manage to wind up liking long enough to own for more than six months look just as new as the day I bought them. But this is simply too far... that bottom piece already looks like it barely fits the design, and I'm wondering if this happens because the N85 was destined for touch-sensitive keys versus the tactile kind, and this was all put together last minute. I'm willing to look past this issue temporarily, assume I was given a faulty unit, or that perhaps the previous tester was a little rough on this petite handset. I pressed the piece back on, hoping there was enough adhesive, and sure enough, the piece stayed on well enough. I've heard reports of other users experiencing hard-to-press buttons on their N85, or having their buttons fall off just like I did. I've also heard that the NAM version of the N85 addresses this keypad... something which I have no idea how they'd accomplish.
Ultimately... I'm left with a sinking feeling about the N85. I really badly wanted it to be the device which I'd obtain for my own. That's half of why I wanted so badly to test the N85. Yet, I have the device sitting next to me, and when I pick it up and set it down, I hear a rattle. I pick it back up and feel the looseness of the display as it shifts under my thumb. I unlock the keypad and see the uneven illumination in all of the keys. And then as I toggle around the navigation ring, I see the corners of the singular button under the display lift up, and bleed light onto the table. Why, Nokia, have you done this? I just tried out your E66, and was reassured of the quality you can bestow into any handset. Why have you forsaken the N85? It was the device of 2008, and now I fear that the N97 may fall into place behind the N85, meaning I will wait till the E-Series devices manage multimedia and switch to them with their first-class build and body integrity.
I'm quite speechless with the N85. It still wows my friends, all of whom own iPhones or high-end Sony Ericsson handsets, yet ever since that day when the keys fell off, I've never been able to look at this N85 the same. It's almost like a dirty little secret, one which you'd have to experience to understand.








Conclusion--------------------------------
You'll have noted that I ended on a rather depressing note. The N85 is probably going to be the last device from Nokia which was aimed at someone like me. Someone who would rather have a phone when he wants a phone. No touchscreen nonsense, and I'll pass on that slide-out keyboard as well. The E-Series devices have the build quality which the N85 should have had. Perhaps that's why the N85 is lacking much marketing, while I keep seeing E71 advertisements everywhere, is Nokia would rather have people focus on it's upcoming N97, which hopefully will have build quality equal to it's E-Series line.
Ultimately, would I buy one? I wish I could, but right now I can't afford one. I just traded my E90 for another N82 (I originally had an N82, traded that for an E90, and decided another N82 would be better), and that's a trade I very much am happy with. The N82 has all of the features I want, a form I want, and no body-integrity issues. Sure, the speaker might give out in not too long, but that's a risk I'm willing to take. If I could trade my N82 for an N85, would I? I'm having trouble saying yes. The N85 has a slightly larger screen, but the N82's works when and where I want it to. So I'd have to say no.
Howabout a different comparison? Would I rather have my iPhone (first gen, sorry for being old), or the N85? That's easy, I'd take the N85. Better camera, more appealing UI (in my opinion), better software, just as good multimedia playback (except for the display distortions listed earlier), and a great web browser that I find better than the iPhone.
Ultimately... I like the N85. Supposedly the N85 NAM (N85-2? Or maybe N85-3?) will address build quality, and that will be a handset I will gladly take another look at. If build quality was addressed, and the OLED issues ironed out, I'd snap one up. But I'd still rather get a candybar version... so if you're listening, Nokia, howabout making a thin N82 with the N85's display?

Should you buy one? Depends. Would you rather deal with a slight cheap feeling in order to have the latest and greatest non-touchscreen phone from Nokia? If so, then by all means, pull the trigger. The N85 is limited only by what is visible. You truly have to look beyond what you see in order to realize what great potential it has.

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Nokia E71: Final Review

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UPDATE 20NOV2008: Camera can focus, and to do so one pushes the "T" key, waits for the focus to acquire a lock, then presses the center select button to take a picture. Quality of photos is massively improved in regards to sharpness and clarity, although a slight blueish tint remains. So please note that when reading.


Well this is it. I have to return my E71 probably about Tuesday/Wednesday of this week, so I've finally gotten some good pictures taken of it as well as a final-thoughts review in mind to which I am now going to write. To sum things up... this is, in my opinion, the best business-oriented device out there in regards to design. Just like the original blackberries were the device-to-have back in their day, in terms of their functional design, the Nokia E71 is as functional as it is good looking. And in this case, there's a lot of good looking stuff to enjoy. All of the beautiful, stainless steel and slick feeling aspects of this handset just scream "I'm beautiful and I know it.


For example, just look at the beautiful screen. It's covered behind a solid piece of glass... the idea of a near gapless presentation of glass and stainless steel is well implemented here, and there's much to like. I very much like how the glass covering goes beyond just the physical boundaries of the usable screen. It's similar to the iPhone or iPod touch, and gives the feeling of a more durable design and one-piece construction compared to having only the bare minimum hardware and pieces. I didn't have the guts to give it the same scratch test as I gave my iPod Touch by attempting to scratch the surface with a key, but it gave me the same feeling of scratch resistance. So although I personally put my devices in my jean pockets without a case or anything else (I never put anything else in the same pocket and treat all my devices quite well), I would have no issue telling others that they couldn't do the same.




That said, this keyboard might end up becoming a problem if someone else does jam multiple items into their pockets. I'm not sure how this keyboard was molded and painted. I have a feeling that abrasion might rub off many useful labels. This would be a big concern if it wasn't for my previous encounters with Nokia's repair team which leads me to believe that the keyboard could easily be replaced for very little to no extra money. Same with the frame- Nokia's repair facility seems to have no end to what they're capable of fixing or replacing.
Usability of the keyboard is excellent, of course. Not nearly as roomy as my E62, but after a little bit of a warm-up, quite usable. I have to say that the tradeoff between button-spacing and keeping the phone's dimensions manageable was worth it, and I would definitely choose the E71 over a roomier alternative. The rubberized keys feel... "good". That's the best way to describe them. It's like the T-Mobile Sidekick 2 (aka Danger Hiptop 2), which I found it's keys to be more attractive to use than the original Sidekick or even the 3rd version of the model. They had great tactile response, and always seemed to invite my fingers to type something on them. Something like that really stands out to me, since at that point I had neither texting nor even service on that phone... I had it just to have it.
Back to the E71 though... the keyboard is great. Not as roomy as might be perfectly comfortable, but more usable than first impressions might lead you to believe. It does require repeated usage, as switching to another device and then back will lead you to have lose your typing edge. The secret here is how easy it is to type using one hand. This phone is actually quite easy to use one-handed, while walking, and it's not too sluggish doing this either. It feels much more natural to walk across campus with only one hand typing and the other hand free. Allows the phone to be held higher, less awkwardly, and give you better peripheral vision of what's going on around you. So kudos to Nokia for that.



Even the back speaks of a seamless design. The pattern of squares on the stainless steel battery cover is a nice touch to spiff up the phone. It reminds me of the lid-designs HP puts on many of their new laptops, but in this case it interacts with light and reflections in a way that I've never come across before. It's a good thing they didn't go art-design like HP, though, because that would ruin much of the business appeal of this phone.
Next to talk about is that 3.2mp camera up there. I'm having a hard time figuring out why the E71 would be the phone Nokia would decide to chuck a camera on. I mean, I can understand the E61i having a camera... it's a response to consumers other than the strict business market who wanted a phone. So they basically just mildly updated the E61 and threw a camera in there. But the E71 is an entirely new handset that's way more than just skin deep. In addition to  it's snazzy new design, it also features a GPS, front-facing camera, easily-accessible memory card, and more. But how is this supposed to be a business phone when rumor has it that most business places ban camera phones? Is one simply supposed to leave this at the front security desk? I'm confused about this bit, but I'm willing to ignore it for sake of simplicity.




As you can see, though, picture taking is a very straightforward and... dare I say it... design oriented process. There is very few icons to muck-up the very large screen with their presence. And so all that's left is a very large preview of the image to be taken. The "traditional" camera-function menus can still be accessed by pressing the left soft-key, bringing up the set of icons on the right edge of the screen as most users of S60 devices will be used to. The problem is once you have made all of your settings modifications, you have to wait about 5 seconds for the menu icons to disappear, allowing you to take the picture. That's because the center/select button is also the shutter button and the menu select button. So press the center button while the menus are still up and instead of taking a picture, you'll be back changing settings again.
Another problem I noticed is the severe lack of a usable macro function. The device is supposed to have autofocus, but so far I have yet to see it actually do anything useful. While in photo mode, the focus brackets do appear onscreen, however they fail to do the typical focusing procedure, blinking while the focus is acquired and then turning green once locked on the subject, ready to snap the image. Instead the picture is just taken. Blurry unless far away. It's a bit of an annoyance, and an especial annoyance for one coming from as stellar camera phones as the Nokia N93, i-Mobile 902, and the Nokia N82.




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In terms of other features around the side of the device, the new location for the MicroSD card is a move in the right direction. The rubberized cover stays closed solidly, which is good because I always end up with rubber covers that have learned to pop open through repeated use. The USB port is covered by the same piece of rubber, and opens the same way. Other that that, not much to speak of on the left side of the device.
On the other side, we're confronted with easy to use volume controls (the E62 I owned had volume controls that were terrible to use), with a special key in the center which, when held, turns on the voice dialing feature, and a 2.55mm stereo headset jack. I'll touch on the voice dialing feature briefly and say... it actually works. And it works quite well. I've had many phones with voice dialing, most of which required a certain amount of "programming" in order to work with my voice. This one's worked the first time, flawlessly, without any problems at all. I like that, but not enough to use it regularly, especially without a bluetooth headset and car to drive since that would be the most useful time to use it.





The battery Nokia choose to use is quite large and very much up to the job. I never ran into one situation in which my battery had dropped even a bar from full, and I'm the type that charge my phone every night since I use all of the features a lot everyday. Battery life was similar to that of my E62, really, which basically means noticeable enough to stand out from my N82, which already has a stellar battery life. Not much more to continue with besides noting that the E71 has the exact same battery as the E90, so I'm curious to find out which uses the battery more efficiently for all of the types of things I do.





I like Nokia's new take on SIM card insertion. Keep it simple seems to be the underlying theme. Don't make it difficult and attempt to hide the SIM card out of view like Sony Ericsson seems to do, but rather display the SIM card while at the same time holding it securely. I remember how Nokia used to use a plastic pivoting tray for the SIM card, which seemed to me, at the time, to be a great solution to holding the SIM card. But having seem how the E71 accomplishes SIM card insertion, I have to change my mind. There's less fragile circuitry exposed with this new method, and displaying the SIM card is still a feature.





Other than that... the circuity is very basic. It seems that Nokia has basically exposed the back of the circuity, probably covered with a thin sticker, but basically exposed anyway. I kind of like seeing this... lets me know that Nokia didn't give the phone any extra fluff, and used up all of the space available within the frame of the phone.





And as you can see from this picture, the battery really is large in comparison to the rest of the phone. And you can also see how the phone appears to be mostly unibody construction out of steel (?). I'm a big fan of this solid build.





Finally, it's time to move on to software. The S60, as you might guess, is one of my favorite cell phone operating systems of all time. It's reliable, solid, middle-of-the-bunch aesthetically pleasing, and well featured. It doesn't require a touchscreen, which I have a bit of a thing against, yet could easily support one as Nokia develops future handsets. It also has a very good home screen, displaying more useful information than an iPhone but without all the chaotic clutter of a Windows Mobile handset. Same comes to application support... it has less programs than found for a Windows Mobile device, yet the implementation of the applications is much better on a S60 device than even an iPhone in most cases. It's basic applications, including a calendar, are excellent. It also supports VOIP on a better level than Windows Mobile or the iPhone (which barely does at all).
The only problems with S60 are it's occasional sluggishness. Also, to many unfamiliar with the system, the shortcuts don't make themselves apparent for quite some time. Also, it appears like every other cell phone to users of Windows Mobile or Palm OS devices (who consider themselves to be the "true" smartphone users). That's part of what I find in the beauty of a S60 device. The way it can blend in with other phones with a superior design, yet best the rest when it comes to actual feature capabilities.





As you can see, themes are quite simple to setup and personalize. While it occasionally isn't the most visually appealing, a custom wallpaper is possible for the home screen.




GPS certainly shines on the E71. Once the Nokia Maps application started, it took only about 10-20 seconds for the device to get a satellite lock. It utilizes aGPS to obtain a faster fix, and this works wonders. Once a fix it acquired, all the other features of Nokia Maps really shine. As far as GPS programs on a phone go, this piece of software is above the rest on a level I cannot even begin to describe. Google Maps on iPods and iPhones cannot do justice to the navigation features available on this device. Maps are either stored offline on a memory card prior to using the application, or are downloaded over-the-air from the maps server using WiFi or the cellular network.
Voice navigation is a standout feature of Nokia Maps as well... voices for lots of languages are available, which really stands out to me. Because that means that in addition to an intuitive application, they've also made it accessible on a global level. If you want to find a gas station nearby, just type in gas. If you want to browse for stuff, you can do that too. Satellite imagery is possible, if you want that as well. A night-mode which makes all of the screen become darker and the colors change to reduce glare is a feature added in. In short, this navigation system simply works... and it's beautiful how well it all functions.
Returning back to how it works on the E71... it's amazing that Nokia built in as great of a GPS receiver into as thin a device as this is. Where did they find the space? How did they make it so good at acquiring a fast GPS fix? I don't know but I love them for it.




Nokia Sports Tracker is quite an amazing piece of software. That said, there's not much to talk about it... it tracks your progress in physical activity, plotting your fastest, slowest, highest elevation, and lowest elevation points on your journey when you view the run online. But it is quite buggy. For example, that above picture shows when I had started Sports Tracker with the (not so smart) idea of tracking how fast I could take my motorcycle to. I pulled out of the parking structure, turned east, went about 5 miles, then turned south onto the freeway when the program decided to stop recording data points. This is a frequent problem, and I can only blame it on the program's beta status being responsible for this bug. It's free, though, so I'm fine with dealing with it.





Another piece of software that I like to call "experimental" is the We:Offset application. Installed on your phone, it allows you to input your CO2 emitting activities such as travel by airplane or car manually, or having the program automatically detect such travels. It then basically tells you how much you've harmed the environment, and gives you an option to donate to an environmental cause which will offset your emissions.
Now, I admire Nokia's noble intentions for this piece of software. However, I can't imagine anyone actually downloading and installing this program on their handset of their own accord. Preinstalled, I can see this program only being used by a handful... especially here states-side, where the prices given for offsetting my environmental damage is presented in euros. It's a great program, but I really think that Nokia should be putting more effort elsewhere... like offering a lifetime warranty for Nokia Maps or at least reducing the costs for the various available licenses.




In terms of Media, the E71 is lackluster. It's design exterior certainly doesn't lead me to expect a boring media browser. I expected a more animated and aesthetically pleasing browser as found on the latest N-Series devices. That would have been a feature I wished Nokia had installed.




I'm glad, though, that Nokia did put a familiar MP3/Audio player in the E71. It's the same I had in my Nokia N82, and I'm happy to find it here. Gone is the awkward E62's MP3 player, while new is the much more feature packed and streamlined player. It even supports album art, which is a bit difficult to setup, considering a direct export out of iTunes will not automatically attach the image to the MP3 file.









In conclusion... I'm left wondering who this device was exactly targeted for. Nokia seems to have hit all the bases required in a device of this type, yet didn't hit exactly all of them with the same approach that might have thrown this device into one category over another. While it's attractive exterior might attract the design conscious, it's bland media browsing leaves a fair amount to be sought. And while the phone seems as solid as a chunk of steel, it certainly wasn't made for the outdoor explorer with it's lacking camera and what may end up being damage-prone keys.
What I'm left feeling is that this is a business phone... but only for someone working in the right field of work. Design is valued, as are features. But an obsession with design isn't really the necessary bit here... which makes me believe that it could easily find itself in the pockets of mobile professionals, or at least cubicle dwellers who do much of their work away from their desk yet don't rely on their phone to do everything. Because, let's admit, with a stereo jack on the side of a handset, audio playback isn't really a big attraction. I'm glad Nokia at least kept the jack a 2.5mm one, because someone using a nice pair of headphones with a device like this would simply be ridiculous.

So to chop that down... this is a very solid handset, with great features, but many of the appealing design aspects are lost further into the handset's software, which left me slightly disappointed.

My next review will be of the Nokia E90... the E71's older and larger brother, and hopefully I will figure out if these new E-Series devices are actually targeted more at individual power users as opposed to business consumers.
1 comment Tags: review, nokia, e61, e62, e61i, e90, n82, e71 …

Nokia E71: Initial Review

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Introduction

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I'd be lying if I said that the E71 is as good if not better than it's older brother the E62 if I didn't write my review on it. That's because I remember my favorite feature of the E62 to be it's excellent typing. In fact, I wrote a handful of complete and submission worthy essays on the E62, usually within an hour of their due. A last-second scramble for my phone, typing dedicatedly for half an hour, and then dashing to the library to print them out via an infrared connection directly to the printer.

 

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So with the older brother's past in mind, know this review is being written directly on the E71 itself. With all of my personal gadgetry, why would I choose to write about the E71 directly on the device itself? For the same reasons that a businessman might purchase one- to  write portions of text on. Granted, they probably won't write a multi-page piece on it like I am now, but they will edit and revise pre-existing documents in addition to composing emails.

And so we begin a dissection of a phone with multiple potential users. Which is conflicting, considering how the device is designated an E-Series when it has many N-Series features built in. Let's start.

 

 

Hardware

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It's nearly unavoidable to not make the comparison to a Blackberry. Especially here, on-campus, where most students have only the trendiest and most cool brand names engraved in their minds... aka Apple, Motorola and Blackberry in regards to cell phones. Where Nokias were at one time seen everywhere, they're no longer the cool brand name they once were. (I will conclude further upon this idea nearer to the end.)

So with comments very lacking in terms of explicit praise, I wonder if that's a bad thing. Because to me, having owned and used a Blackberry for a while and eventually deciding it wasn't all that great, having my phone likened to a Blackberry is a little bit of a slap in the face. I don't want a Blackberry. I want something better. I feel as if my phone is being labeled an uninspired knock-off. And as an Industrial Design major, that kind of careless comment cuts straight to the bone.

 

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But I do have to step back from my fight and acknowledge that this does look like a Blackberry. A very sexy Blackberry... like the Pearl but with a full keyboard (that's a big plus in my book) and a thinner and more sturdy casing. (I don't have a Blackberry nor it's specs on hand, so this is from memory of what it "felt" like.) A Samsung Blackjack comes to mind too, although I have to say that one of my instructors in my design studio works for Samsung, passed by my desk many times today, and not once ever made a comment about the E71. They did, however, take an interest in my N82 when I've left it out on my desk. So this means that from a design perspective, it's perfectly neutral. It neither attracts attention without an outside factor nor repulses it in a manner to demand it. Perfect for the business place.

 

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In fact, the stainless steel body seems like it can belong anywhere. In an executive's pocket, a student's desk, or a world traveller's bag. In the hand it radiates a sense of build quality I wish my own N82 was blessed with. A squeeze from any selection of two points elicits no sound at all... no creaking, squeeking, cracking, or stressing. Very well made. And where Apple likes to endow it's portable electronics with a glossy back that attracts fingerprints and scratches like no other material on earth, my test E71 shows no fingerprints or scratches on the back. And while the iPhone and iPod Touch have been graced with a glass surface on the front, the plastic (?) surface over the LCD on the Nokia seems to be just as resilient to abrasion. Granted, I have not taken my keys to it like I did on my iPod, but I wouldn't be too worried if I accidentally put an E71 in the same pocket as my keys. That's the kind of confidence the build quality inspires.

 

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Moving on to feature-hardware, this phone is equipped with a 3.2MP camera with Auto Focus and an LED illumination flash. Plain and simple, this camera will not be winning any awards in the competitive high-end camera phone category. My N82 walks all over the picture quality of the E71. But that's a good thing. You see, the bluish-tinted pictures aren'm meant to score highly. They're supposed to capture a moment decently well. The participants of a meeting or a whiteboard flow-chart, for example. Or maybe that perfect day out at the golf course. Whatever it might be, it can do the job well enough. That said, a camera on a business device is risky. Many workplaces do not allow it. Workplace trade secrets are more at risk than ever, it would seem. But I beg to differ. I had a wristwatch camera up until last year... old technology even by that point. Yet merely for the sake of doing it, I was able to walk away from a math test with every problem and diagram stored as images on my wrist. Thoroughly worthless quality at 320 x 240 resolution images, I never bothered to reassemble the test back home. But the idea that I could do what I wasn't supposed to do because I was using something nobofy expected to encounter is what has stuck with me from that exercise. And I feel IT departments must too, because nearly every Windows Mobile device out there has a camera, as do a large percentage of Blackberries and other smartphones. So Nokia's decision to put a camera in this phone is a real plus, especially considering the keyboard.

You're probably asking yourself, "How does the keyboard relate to the camera?" It's a stretch, I won't lie, but I believe that this product doesn't have it's sights set on the full-blown office workplace. The keyboard is a joy to use after you warm up to it and cut your nails, but the E62 takes the cake for typability here. It's easier to type on than the E71 with it's spaced-out keys. That said, I just picked up my iPod Touch and couldn't use the keyboard for beans. Nokia really has a winner here. And I'm going to stick my neck out a bit and say what's under the hood of this handset is where things really pay off.

 

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Where the E62 (notorious for it's lagginess and Cingular's unwillingness to fix it) used to slow down with massive amounts of text, such as this review, the E71 plows on unaffected. Multitasking is an actual feature of this phone, not just a potential hickup. And the Global Race 3D racing game runs actually quite well. That said, I wish that this phone had been equipped with an accelerometer to use while gaming. Hang on, that's a stupid thing to say. Gaming on a business phone? Why bother. I mean really. I barely play games on my N82, and that's a far more capable gaming handset. So nevermind gaming, actually.

Let's move on to calls. I once had a Nokia 3650, which I deemed to have the set the bar for voice quality. Sure, triband GSM was a bit lacking in some areas, but the combination of an ergonomically easy handset to hold for long periods of time was a real positive for that phone. Paired with voice quality which made me feel as if the other caller was sitting next to me, and the standard for voice quality is set. Now, I have yet to find a Motorola handset than can offer this level of call quality. Their thin flip-handsets are never pleasant to hold against the head, and I feel as if I'm talking to someone through a plywood board. And the feeling against my ear is roughly the same as turning the same plywood board on-edge and then pressing that against my ear. Mmm... Lovely.

So with the golden standard set by a Nokia phone of quite a long time ago, surely the standard has been bested countless times by Nokia itself, right? Wrong. Not even Nokia has made a handset more comfortable to use as a phone than the 3650 they themselves are responsible for. Blame it on the technology back in that day requiring such a large case or a design who's quirks were responsible for it's success despite all odds. The fact remains that no phone I have ever used has come near to the 3650. Phones, have come close, and quite close at that, but none have topped it.

With that in mind, where does the E71 stand? Well, calls seemed to exhibit the same voice quality known to Nokia's Symbian handsets, but the fact that I was pressing a thin slab of steel to my head remains. the microphone did it's job well, picking up my voice clearly according to those I called and doing a good job at filtering out the occasionally noisy ambient noise around me. So in terms of the gadgetry, this handset has everything needed (and probably more) to top the 3650. But while Nokia had at least graced the E71 with a curved edge near to the headphone, it doesn't do as good of a job as I might hope for.

 

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But let's be honest, I have unlimited texting for a reason. How important is calling to me personally? We'll find out in the coming week, as the phone is used by me everyday.

In the next week I hope to determine who exactly this device should be aimed at. I mean sure, it's an E-series device. But I think that iit might be aimed for something betweem the actual office and the regular power user. A graduate student, perhaps? Well... I'm living on campus. Only one way to answer my questions... Go find answers myself.

So, readers, hang tight while I give this phone a thorough running on top of the couple days I've used it so far. I will be back with more.

2 comments Tags: ipod, review, nokia, touch, n82, itouch, e71 …

Nokia N82 Comments

Here's a quick little video with some comments on my Nokia N82. Things to note:

8-second GPS Signal Acquisition.
Non-Functioning Voice-Nav.
Front-Facing Camera.
Gallery Application.
Nokia's Customer Care.
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iPhone 3G

This phone came out a while ago. And if there are any readers of my blog (which I seriously doubt)... they might be wondering why a phone snob such as myself has not yet even dropped mention of this cutting-edge device. The reason is simple... I can't.

That's because if I were to compare my phone (Nokia N82) to the iPhone 3G, the comparisons would be of unimportant details to what each phone was actually designed to do. Lemme reiterate that. It wouldn't solve anything.

Where the N82 fits my requirements, and that of everybody I personally know, as a phone, it falls apart where, say, a business user might be requiring a mobile device. I need a camera (and an excellent one at that), WiFi, and Bluetooth in my phone just to start things out. Sounds awfully similar to a business user... who also needs WiFi and Bluetooth but in many cases is required NOT to have a camera.

The iPhone barely shines in this no-camera arena... it's camera is of subpar quality compared to the N82, and while usable, requires proper lighting and space (since there's no focus) in order to take pictures. This makes it hard to Industrial Espionage to take place.

Also, the iPhone features an excellent browser. While I believe that the N82 has a better browser, it lacks the finger-driven touchscreen which is, even in comparison to my computer, my preferred manner of browsing the web. (A thought occurred to me the other day... the iPod Touch was, perhaps, the ultimate internet tablet device ever created.)

But where the iPhone falls apart is where I require it not to... all of the features built into the iPhone are there only to make using the phone a better experience. The touchscreen is not there as a feature, it's there as the system to use the phone. The accelerometer is not there to make certain applications function better, it's there to make certain applications function differently and make them more tangible. The GPS is not there as a feature to be utilized by software, it's there because in the original iPhone, GSM tower triangulation was not accurate enough.

And where the new iPhone features 3G browsing, the N82 already featured it. Where the iPhone 3G's high-speed data will work in the USA and not Europe, the vice-versa is true for the N82. But where I would rather find a source for WiFi, the average iPhone 3G user would rather use their internet wherever they are.

Post a comment Tags: apple, nokia, iphone, 3g, n82

Blessed with an N82 Once More

My N82 returned from Nokia!

Sorry Nokia, I take back everything I was complaining about. Not only did you no-questions-asked accept my N82 to be repaired, but you tried to fix it relentlessly.

Then, when it turned out not to be fixable, you did the unthinkable. You sent me a new N82!!!!

There's a reason I chose your N82 over the iPhone. While you had a long turnaround time, you sent me a brand spanking new device. Not refurbished, not used, but brand new. You even sent me the 2GB MiniSD card that comes preinstalled in the N82 like mine had. You didn't sent it in a fancy box, or give me any of the other extras. But you did sent it via next-day shipping. No stickers like I asked for, but who cares?


Noname(4)Noname(3)Noname(2)Noname



And while I'm at it, I gave Nokia Sports Tracker a try. And I have to say, I really like it. Here's the return part of my bike ride to Terra Linda.

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Random Pictures from the N82

The N82 has left Portland today. It will return... hopefully before Thursday of next week. But if it doesn't... so be it. It'll be back before graduation.

I took the phone, basically reset, to school today... and forgot to offload these, so I quickly put them on my computer. Here they are now.

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My Love Affair with Nokia

It dawned upon me today that I've been missing calls for no apparent reason at all. That when I've been on louspeaker my calls have become skewed. And then I stumbled upon it by accident... one of the two stereo speakers on my N82 hasn't been working. The one that has been working just so happens to be on the spot where my palm rests on the side of the phone. So it's been getting muffled.

Now I baby my phone like non other. No water, no shocks. It once fell two feet onto the carpet and I nearly cried. (I know, I'm a phone nut.)

I called Nokia to say that my phone had developed this odd problem, and I wasn't sure of what had happened. The guy did a run on my IMEI code to make sure it was a North American model (which was nerve-racking, because I couldn't remember if it was). It was, and the problem was covered under warranty! When's the last time... let alone the first time... you heard of Apple doing the same thing! Nokia just said, "Yeah, that's odd. Lemme see it, I'll fix it."

Now that's a company that stands behind their products. That shows that they have a high standard of quality and service. I'm impressed because of how easy and painless it was to get this phone in. And although the fact that the speaker gave up the ghost is a bit of an annoyance, Nokia's service department really just made my day.


Anyway, time to head into work with my one-speaker N82. Then I'll probably send it in on Monday.

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Smart Car

Mini Smart Car
Mini Smart Car

Photo taken with the N82's Macro function. Pretty nice, I think, but there's a lot of artifacts in the image when you look at it close.

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