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.

Yayyyy. Week-end is finally here. And I’ve been getting around. I’ve been able to lose a good 6-7 kilos after havinf joined my new company. No, the food isn’t bad. In fact, It is better and healthier compared to a load of junk I was existing on before here. So I’m feeling quite good. And No, I don’t buy my food from my office cafeteria.

Airtel have released this awesome ad which has half of India’s celebrities in it. Amazing. I’ve always had this deep, profound respect for the brand, that is AIRTEL. Whatever products I’ve used of theirs, they’ve always delivered their promises. So I’m looking forward to Airtel Digital TV. Will I change from Tata Sky to Airtel DTH? It these were the only two options, hell yeah! I would Airtel over Tata anyday. But I have choices and good ones at that. My local cable wallah provides an amazing array of 300 odd channels for a lesser price than Tata and Airtel. So he is a serious contender. Lets see what happens.

The guys at the Stock Market have been wondering when the ground will open up and swallow them. There are rumours of one or two well know banking institutions going down in India too. If that happens, India will have to look down a barrel for the next 5 years until there is some hope for economic improvement. Interestingly Dow Jones in the US is back to where it was some 10 years back. With the inflation increasing by the day, and the stock markets tumbling around the world… I am just waiting for it to hit the bottom and start building up towards a sturdier future. So the Economic Boom has ended for the world and consequently in India. Here on, you’ll see private business operators madly getting in line to get a piece of the Indian Market’s Real Estate. Economic Boom… It was good while it lasted.

I’ve also been successful in selling my first item on Ebay. My 4 months old Blackberry Curve 8310. I was in two minds and had just decided that I would keep the phone for the next 6 months when someone bought the phone off me on Ebay! Anyways, the decision is made and I’m looking at a few phones. Blackberry Bold is very tempting but the width and size really puts me off. Blackberry Javelin is gonna take some time for a launch in India and I can’t be without a phone that long. Nokia N96 looks good except for the Symbian Software which really slows down over time. Sony Ericsson haven’t really made any groundbreaking stuff from the last Sony Ericsson K850i I had. Same old same old. So I still haven’t come to a decision on it.

And I went and got a Sony PSP. Thoroughly enjoying it man. I also got a game free with it. NFS Underground Rivals. I’ve been able to listen to music, swap memory cards, view pictures, connect to the wi-fi and most importantly kick some Dodge ass with my Toyola Celica on NFS. Amazing device. Simply Wow…

What a week it has been…Nice!