The last week flew by like crazy mainly because I was very busy at work. I now have a shiny new Nokia N85. The Information Security guys decided to ease their policies a little bit by allowing managers and above to use Camera Phones. Now, people around me know that I am a Sony Ericsson & Blackberry Lover and a Nokia Hater. I had just come out of a Blackberry 8310 Curve and I was somewhat bored of the interface - The device however is as stable as a giant rock. I had two options- Sony Ericsson or a Nokia. Samsung Innov8 was way too expensive and IMHO, Samsungs and LGs are crappy korean machines claiming to be mobile phones. Before the Blackberry Curve, I had used a Sony Ericsson K850i and I had more or less used the latest sony interface. So I finally decided to go and experiment on a Nokia Device after 6 long years of Nokia Abstinence.
Why Nokia N85?
Well, the guys at Nokia decided that they had to come out with a smaller, faster and bug-free variation of the Nokia N96 and out popped the N85. Compared to the Nokia N96, the N85 has longer battery life, fewer bugs, better music features, smaller in size, built more solidly and had a faster processor. Ofcourse the Nokia N85 does not support web TV but being in India, thats a distant dream.
What do I think of Nokia’s Latest?
Design & Ergonomics - 6/10
Blackberry had really scored in this area with the bevelled keys and it got any damn thing done with its easy to hold features. Sony Ericsson exceeds expections on this quarter because of great feedback to its normal and touchscreen keys. Nokia N85’s keys feel rigid and on the first day of my use, my thumbs got kinda sore. Also, the location of the keys feel awkward to use from a user experience Point of View.
Interface - 7/10
Again, I expected something different out this new breed of Nokia but I felt I went back to using my old Nokia 6600. Not a lot seems to have changed really. Some people might like this familiar interface but I’m a guy who changes phones because I get bored of the interfaces and this really shortens the N85’s Lifecycle in my pocket.
Camera - 9/10
I’ve used a Sony K850i and the images that this phone produces exceeds the quality of the Sony K850i. Simply Awesome. Crystal Clear Images. The range of features to aid photo capture the way you want it really work in this phone.
I am attaching a picture I took in macro mode on my Nokia N85.
Arrow - My Favourite Apparel Brand
Software/Applications - 8/10
I’ve subscribed to Mosh Updates and there are plenty of software available to do pretty much anything you want with this device. And most importantly, they get updated very very frequently.
I am an avid Zedge User and there are tons of free themes, ringtones, videos that you could download to your PC and transfer to your mobile device and enjoy. A very nice site.
Music - 8/10
Sony would probably get a 9.5 but Nokias have come a looooong way in the music department. The quality of a good music file sounds simply awesome on this N85. Still, I am forced to use Sony In-Ear Noise Canceling Earphones to derive this quality from the Nokia N85, but I am way impressed.
Gaming - 9/10
Nokia gets a 9 here because no other company seems to have realized the importance of gaming on their phones as Nokia has with its N-Gage Gaming Capabilities. Very Nice Games and Gaming on the N85.
GPS - To be updated
Strangely Airtel seems to be delaying my EDGE/GPRS Add-On for over a week. So I’ve not really used Nokia Maps. I’ll update this section when I start using GPS.
Tags: Blackberry, Blackberry 8310 Curve, LGs, Nokia N85, Samsung Innov8, Samsungs, Sony Ericsson, Sony Ericsson K850i
Tags: Blackberry, Blackberry 8310 Curve, LGs, Nokia N85, Samsung Innov8, Samsungs, Sony Ericsson, Sony Ericsson K850i
November 10th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
Nice Review. A couple of points though.
1. The camera is good, no doubt, but look over a few articles on the Nokia blog. The N82 camera simply blows it out of the water, when it comes to night mode photos. Xenon tells. The macro mode should be good nevertheless though. Check out my Macro-mode gallery on Picasa, you’ll see what I mean.
2. For using the GPS, you really don’t need a data connection. Get Nokia Map Loader, transfer the India map data to your phone, and you should be good to go, without a data connection required.
3. The N85/N82 etc are entertainment phones, not intended for business. Don’t expect bleeding edge business features here.
Case in point, I’d have rather gone for a tried and tested N82, rather than an N85. I share your sentiment on the N96 though. It sucks, period.
November 11th, 2008 at 12:58 am
Hey UT,
1) About the camera features, I did consider the Nokia N82 and with the Xenon Flash et all but that was it. I wanted great music, with great gaming and a good camera. The Night Mode is no doubt fantastic on the N82, but I’d rather have an all-rounder device than buy a phone only because of its Xenon Flash Feature.
2) I am a Nokia Virgin here and the last Nokia I used was before they had invented the G of the GPS. One doubt that I have here is that even if I do the maps from Nokia Maps, the GPS still needs EDGE/GPRS to go on GPS right? Correct me if I am wrong.
3) My main considerations when going in for a phone are the looks to at least a certain extent. The N82 looks a brick, has tiny keypad buttons(reminding me of Sony P910i), and looks as though it came straight out of an Industrial Era. Though, I am in cognizance of its heavy duty features, the N85’s piano black elegance got me.
The More applications I keep downloading and using the more I am liking this device.
November 17th, 2008 at 10:18 am
To answer your questions in the order you’ve asked them: -
1) Who said the N82 is JUST a camera phone? I’m connected to A2DP stereo right now as I’m typing this, and its more than above average. As far as gaming goes, the N82 was one of the first phones to support the NGage platform.
2) You’re partly correct. The n85 has an inbuilt GPS chip, most likely located under the zero key. So, it only has to connect to the network for assisted GPS (A-GPS) which they advertise. I think it just makes the location more precise. You know what, try Google maps instead, better maps coverage, plus it uses Triangulation to find your current location. In this case though, you’ll need a Network connection everytime.
3)I prefer candybar phones to the slides and stuff. The keys being small is something that put me off before I bought it, but surprisingly, they’re awesome. Maybe, if I come down to Chennai, you could give the N82 a run..
And point noted about your comments on my blog. Will reply when I get the time. Looks like I rubbed a raw nerve by not ’supporting’ the Blackberry there.