Nokia N85 Ultimate Review

We’ve been anticipating the latest pair of Nokia N-series handsets, the N79 and N85, ever since we first caught sight of them in August. Now, with the October 31st release of the N85 almost upon us, it’s time to take a closer and more in-depth look at this new multimedia powerhouse from Nokia. Although it’s billed as the replacement to the flawed N81, its feature set and slimline, modern design actually makes it the perfect choice for anyone wanting a new style N95.
The N85 is a dual-slider mobile phone, just the like the N95, but is considerably more compact than that perennially popular mobile phone. It sits slightly above its sister handset the N79 in the Nokia range, but the N96 aces it with slightly higher spec. However, given the N96’s higher price, there are many who won’t be willing to splash out and that’s where the N85 really comes into its own. Of course, it couldn’t be called cheap, but there’s no denying it’s very good value.
Inside the stylish case you’ll find just about every top range feature, plus the introduction of several new ones to the N-series range, including a state-of-the-art OLED screen just like those found on the beautiful Nokia Arte range. So let’s examine the latest N-series and see just how it lines up against the rest of the range and its competitors.

N-Series Equals Multimedia Excellence

N-series mobile phones have always been about music, pictures, games and video, and Nokia even promote these handsets as ‘multimedia computers’ rather than mobile phones. As more handsets are added, so their ability grows and arguably, this latest set are not only the best Nokia have ever produced, but possibly the best on the market today.

Nokia N85 with the N-Series Trademark; a Brilliant Camera.

It wouldn’t be an N-series without it! The Nokia N85 features a Carl Zeiss lensed camera rated at 5 megapixels. The autofocus and dual LED flash assist you in taking the best pictures possible no matter the conditions and you can also record video at 30fps too. The lens has an active cover, which activates the camera software when flicked open, and is mounted on the rear panel rather than beneath the slide. Around the front, you’ll see a secondary lens for video calls.

Dedicated to Music.

The N85’s music player will be familiar to any users of Symbian software, and the performance is excellent. A set of dedicated keys enhance the experience and there is direct access to the Nokia Music Store to expand your collection and a simple USB connection to copy music across to your phone from your computer. A 3.5mm jack plug socket lets you use your own headphones too.

Crystal Clear Video.

Aside from shooting and playing back your own videos, the N85 also plays a variety of video file formats. The addition of a TV-Out socket allows you to watch your stored videos on a compatible TV screen too.

N-Gage Gaming.

The Nokia N85 is an impressive gaming device as it features Nokia’s excellent N-Gage gaming service. Some 15 pre-installed demos are included along with a code to activate one of the games for free. Not only is the gorgeous screen ideal for playing games, but the gaming keys which come alive when you access N-Gage make playing far more enjoyable.

Style and Innovation.

One of the keys areas of improvement in the latest Nokia N-series phones is their styling. Previous models were best described as ‘challenging’ in the looks department, as they were more functional than outright attractive. However, the N79 and N85 are both great looking phones, with the N85’s dual-slider case coming out on top.

Dual Slide Design

Just like the N95, the slide panel on the N85 goes both ways; slide it up and the keypad is revealed, slide it down and a set of media keys come into action. These keys are not fixed function ones however, they change according to the application which is running, for example if you’re about to play an N-Gage game, they show gaming controls only.

Size and Weight Improvments.

Despite the N85’s wealth of features, it’s a very compact mobile phone. Measuring 5mm thinner than the N95, its dimensions are 103×50x16 and the weight is an acceptable 125 grams. Most importantly, these figures improve on many of its competitors.

Latest Screen Technology.

The traditional LCD TFT screen found on most mobile phones has been replaced with an OLED screen on the N85, a system which is only now becoming viable for portable devices. An OLED screen offers many benefits over an LCD, giving better performance in terms of colour and contrast, whilst reducing power consumption. This is the future on today’s mobile phone.

Enjoy Your Music Everywhere.

Another new feature for mobile phones is the FM Transmitter. This clever feature lets you send your music stored on the N85 over FM radio waves to be picked up on any nearby radio tuned to the correct frequency. This means you can enjoy your music in the car without cabling or having to bring lots of CDs!

Intuitive Navigation.

The N85 has a standard D-pad for selecting icons in the menu system, but also employs a touch sensitive ‘navi-wheel’ approach for faster navigation. If you’ve ever used an Apple iPod, then you’ll know exactly what to expect; you just run your finger around the edge of the D-pad and the onscreen cursor moves accordingly.

Formidable Features and Power.

The final blow against the competition is just how much power and how many features Nokia have managed to squeeze inside the N85. You will be hard pressed to think of a feature the N85 doesn’t have that you’ll miss.

A Symbian Operating System.

The latest v9.3 Symbian operating system is fast and capable. With Feature Pack II installed it really comes alive beneath your fingertips, with plenty of colour, style and cool animations to make it look sleek and modern. The N85 also has direct access to Nokia Downloads!, where a wide variety of applications are ready to customise your phone.

Memory and Battery Life.

Here are two more improvements over the Nokia N95. The N85 has a MicroSD card slot ready for a card up to 8GB in size, thus instead of a fixed amount with no opportunity to increase or swap, here you can have several cards with different files always on hand. The OLED screen has caused a marked improvement on the N85’s battery life too, it’s now quoted as having a standby of 363 hours and a talktime of nearly 7 hours. Nokia even suggest 25 hours of music playback is possible. Another distinct advantage the N85 has over many other Nokia’s is the presence of a mini-USB charging socket, so no more multiple chargers when traveling!

Built-in GPS.

The GPS system inside the N85 features Assisted GPS for faster location times and geo-tagging of your pictures. The Nokia Maps service is excellent and a three-month trial is included in the package, but you’ll have to pay for voice guidance once this time is up.

Huge Connection Choice.

Naturally, the N85 is a 3G mobile phone and supports 3.6Mbps HSDPA, but it also has EDGE and GPRS to back it up. If you’re at home or have access to a wireless hotspot, you can take advantage of a speedy Wi-Fi connection too. If the wired headphones don’t suit you, then the A2DP Bluetooth allows cable-free sound.

Summary of the Nokia N85

It’s hard to find anything to fault with the latest N-series mobile phones, the N85 especially. The N95 we all know and love was hardly the best looking or most compact handset available, but there was no denying its technological competence. Now, the N85 improves in every area where the N95 was less successful and in doing so has become one of the most desirable mobiles available today, and we have no hesitation recommending it.

Nokia N96 after the Successs of N95

Nokia is coming up with another one in N-Series N96

Connectivity

As the N95, the N96 has a built-in GPS receiver and comes with the Nokia Maps application. Nokia are touting the assisted GPS feature as one of the major pluses of the N96 handset.
It still features the Nokia Web Browser with Mini Map, and also has an RSS reader for catching up with website content feeds.
The other range of connectivity, including Wi-Fi and USB 2, remain pretty much the same on both models.

Storage

The N96 comes with a very decent 16GB of storage memory plus a hot swappable microSD memory card slot, compared to the N95’s 4GB memory card slot, so plenty more room for multimedia.

Worth it?

Simply comparing specifications on virtual paper surely won’t do Nokia’s N96 justice. The handset certainly looks the business, and there are some obvious improvements hiding amongst the acronyms and numbers.

Nokia N96 Internet, Video & TV

“In 2007, the Nokia N95 became an icon of convergence of Internet and mobility. With over 7 million units sold to date, the Nokia N95 has changed the way people use their mobile device. The Nokia N96 we introduced builds on the success of the Nokia N95, further enhancing the experience,” says Jonas Geust, who oversees Nokia’s Explore category. “Through the power of the Internet, video and TV are becoming even more prevalent in people’s lives. With its large, bright screen, and a range of high-speed connectivity options and the enhanced Nokia Video Center, the new Nokia N96 is a personal window to entertainment.”

Detailed Product Description

Nokia N95
The Nokia N95 brings a range of multimedia ingredients together, such as a fantastic display, outstanding photo and video capability and high-speed connectivity, making it the ultimate multimedia computer, " said Anssi Vanjoki, Executive Vice President, Multimedia, Nokia.
The N95 is Nokia's first HSDPA (3.5G) device, but also boasts Wi-Fi, WCDMA, quad-band GSM, Bluetooth (including A2DP), IrDA and USB 2.0 connectivity (via mini USB connector). Other hardware features include a 5 megapixel camera, a built in GPS, TV-Out,3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio, a MicroSD memory card slot and 150MB of internal memory.
The N95 is a category 6 HSPDA device which means it is up to 10 times faster that WCDMA (3G). Clearly HSDPA support is required at a network level, but many networks have already begun their testing or roll out periods. The faster connection speeds make downloading media (such as podcasts via the in built Podcast application) more palatable and should also improve latency/round trip times. Wi-Fi, WCDMA (3G) connectivity, together with quad band GSM and EDGE are also supported. Bluetooth 2.0, IrDA and USB make up the local connectivity options
The 5.0 megapixel camera uses Carl Zeiss Optics with autofocus and digital zoom with a dedicated 2 stage capture button on the side of the phone. Video capture at near DVD quality is also supported. On the side of the device there are several buttons dedicated to camera usage. This allows the device to be held in a similar way to a traditional camera with the screen, in landscape mode, used as the view finder and the shutter button on bottom right hand side of the device (top right when phone is held horizontally). On the rear of the device, next to the camera is the slide switch, which is used to open the lens aperture and activate camera mode. Although it is difficult to judge the image quality at this stage the evidence we saw suggest that the N95 is one of the most capable camera phones available.

N Series Nokia Phone Reviews

Nokia has been preparing to launch its N-series for a long time. The N-series phone from Nokia offers the features of a business phone with entertaining functions, combining most of the functions of both in a phone.
Nokia first brought out the N70 to be the direct descendant of Nokia 6680. The only difference is the internal memory capacity, which is 30MB in case of N70, with an add-on option of a 64 M-byte MMC card. The phone has, which appears a 2 mega pixel camera, with a resolution of 1600x1200 pixels, having a 20x digital zoom. The weight of the N70 is 126 grams, and it measures 108.8x53x21.8 mm. It is a 3G phone, which also works with GSM. The flash in N70 works up to 1.5 meters, and it has a built-in anti-red eye effect. The camera shoots with 6 modes - portrait, landscape, sports, and others. The phone also features video recording. It has WAP 2.0, GPRS class 10, Fast WCDMA, EDGE, supporting high speed data transfer.

Nokia N90

The Nokia N90 is a clamshell phone, designed with the same kind of idea as Nokia 6260. The Nokia N90 has a rotational external screen, and when it is turned to its side, it would get you in camera mode. The camera module of the phone is situated on the upper side, and is a separate rotational module, having its degree of freedom. The Nokia N90 uses glass optics by Carl Zeiss, and the 2 mega pixel camera has a resolution of 352x288 pixels. The phone features a video and still picture editor, and allows a two way video call by using the video capture facility in the device. The Carl Zeiss optics used in the camera, produces bright, clear, crisp images, which can be edited, viewed, shared or printed by the user.The N90 measures 112x51x24 mm and the weighs 173 grams. The external screen of the phone doubles up as a viewfinder when closed. The internal screen measures 2 inches diagonally, with a resolution of 352x416 pixels, and 262K colour. As regards the internal memory, N90 has 31 MB of storage available, with a RS-MMC slot.

Nokia N91

The Nokia N91 comes equipped as the first company smartphone, having a 4 GB hard drive. The hard drive in the phone makes it a music player supporting mp3, m4a, AAC, and WMA formats. It also supports separate folders, playlists, etc. The body of Nokia N91 is made of stainless steel, similar to Nokia 8800. The dimension of the phone is 113.1x55.2x22 mm, weighing 160 grams. The phone features music recording from a linear input, and also supports a micro-phone and FM-Radio. It has 30 MB of internal memory, to be used for the main applications and functions, with the possibility of storing multimedia files on the hard drive. The device supports Bluetooth, and WiFi, which allows the user to download large files. All the N-series models support USB 2.0 interface connector, which provides high speed connectivity with a PC.

Nokia N75 The second device within the introduction is the new Nokia N75. The first ever slim-clamshell for the company and the newest clamshell within the series. It has a 2.0 Mpixel camera, EDGE, UMTS and QVGA resolution display of 2.4". The looks do show some familiarity with the RAZR brand from Motorola. The picture below shows this quite clearly.

Nokia N75

Nokia N95 The biggest introduction will be around the new Nokia N95. The new device rumoured to have the name N83 is the first ever device from Nokia with HSDPA connectivity up to 3.6 mbps, GPS and 5.0 Carl Zeiss Mpixel camera with 20x digital zoom, autofocus and mechanical shutter. Furthermore it contains WLAN, 3D speakers, mini-USB connector, 3.5 mm mini-jack connector, dedicated music buttons, MicroSD memory card slot, QVGA resolution display of 2.6", 160 MB of internal storage, Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR support, uPnP support, infrared, UMTS, GPRS and EDGE. Check out the pictures of the new top model within the N-series range below (The pictures show the N95 covered with a transparent protection cover). The new two-direction slider will give the user a complete video and imaging experience using the new high speed connectivity options as HSDPA and WLAN. Next to this the new camera will be top in the current market including the LG KG920.

All three devices will run on Symbian v9.1 and Series 60 Third Edition. This means that the new N-series will have the current Symbian possibilities and options available. We expect that the N95 will run on Symbian v9.2. The release of Symbian v9.2 has been initiated some weeks ago and HSDPA is only supported by Symbian v9.2, so it is possible that one of the new devices runs on Symbian v9.2. However there is no confirmation about that at this stage.

New Nokia N-series introduction during Open Studio event next tuesday

Nokia will introduce three new N-series devices during the Open Studio event in New York next tuesday. The new devices will contain specifications like a 10 GB harddisk, 5.0 Mpixel camera, slim design and HSDPA.
Nokia will introduce three new N-series devices next tuesday during the Open Studio event in New York. The new devices will contain specifications like a 10 GB harddisk, 5.0 Mpixel camera, slim design and HSDPA. A complete overview of the devices is given below in relation to the available information currently spreading the web

The Nokia N-series handsets have received praises from most of the mobile users across the world ever since they have been introduced in the market. These advanced technology gadgets come with all the high-end and multimedia features that allow the users to enjoy world-class entertainment in their hands. To grab the attention of the youngsters and music lovers, these handsets come with high-quality music player and FM radio with RDS technology. They also come with business-oriented features that are very useful to the business users to make their work easy and fast. Besides communication features, all the Nokia N-series mobile phones come with entertainment features like power-packed digital camera, video player, embedded and downloadable games besides high-speed Internet connectivity.Some of the Nokia N series mobile phones are the Nokia N95, Nokia N95 8GB, Nokia N73, Nokia N96 and N85.Among these, one of the most admirable phones is the Nokia N95 is a slim and stylish mobile phone that comes with unparalleled navigational ease. This latest technology phone comes with a wide screen of 2.6 inches bright and colourful display and has a microSD (TransFlash) to expand its external memory up to 8 GB. To transfer data at a high-speed, this fascinating phone comes preloaded with all the seamless features besides messaging and browsing options. The users of this phone can capture the perfect and clear images with the help of its powerful digital camera of 5.0 mega pixels that comes with all the user-friendly options and modes. Its Dual ARM 11 332 MHz CPU processor offers seamless mobile solutions to the users. To please the demands of all kinds of users, this mobile phone also comes with Built-in GPS receiver, office document viewer, voice dial/memo, standard battery, Push to talk and 3.5 mm audio output jack etc.One more N-series mobile phone from Nokia is the Nokia N95 8GB mobile phone that has become the favourite one for most of the mobile users as it comes with fascinating looks and advanced technology features. The users of this amazing phone can enjoy with its powerful digital camera of 5.0 mega pixels. It comes with all the modern options and allows the users to capture the most valuable moments of their lives. This GSM-enabled phone comes embedded with an internal memory of 8 GB that allows the users to save large number of data on their phone. The MP3/AAC/AAC+/eAAC+/WMA player and Stereo FM Radio offer high and digital quality sound to the users. It has a TFT display of 2.8 inches that comes with smooth and sensitive keypad which allows the users to navigate the phone with ease.Another talk-of-the town, the Nokia N73 mobile phone, grabs the attention of the mobile users across the world with its excellent performance and exemplary features. This slim and highly durable mobile phone comes preloaded with all the advanced technology features and has a camera of 3.2 mega pixels that offers an exceptional resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels and comes along with Carl Zeiss optics, autofocus, video(CIF), flash and a secondary VGA video call camera for making video calls. The users can enjoy their free time by listening to their favourite music on this phone as it comes with an MP3/AAC/MPEG4 player and stereo FM radio. The built-in GPS receiver helps the users to locate the exact place where they are. Sharing messages, data transmission and high-speed Internet connectivity come easy with GPRS, EDGE, Bluetooth, HSCSD, 3G, USB, Infrared port, SMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging, WAP 2.0/xHTML and HTML browser.If you are looking for the latest and advanced technology mobile phone at an affordable price, without any second thought you can go for any one of the Nokia N Series mobile phones depending on your needs, budget and priorities.