Nokia N85 smartphone
Puts in a big-hitting performance
Review While there’s been much talk of touchscreen operation coming to its N series, Nokia continues to roll out conventional additions to its high-end smartphone range that don’t demand the spotlight but which still put in a big-stage feature performance.
The N85 slots into the N line-up just below the flagship N96, and there’s a distinct family resemblance to it. In fact, the N85 is the natural successor to Nokia’s highly popular N95, packing a similar list of features into a slimmer, more compact sliderphone package.
Nokia's N85: flagship features
Running the Symbian S60 operating system, the N85 has much of the top-line gadgetry of the N96 - minus its 16GB memory and UK-irrelevant DVB-H mobile TV tuner. Among its headline features are A-GPS, 3.6Mb/s HSDPA 3G, Wi-Fi, a 5Mp camera and N-Game gaming. And Nokia has introduced an FM transmitter, enabling track playback over the car radio, iTrip style.
The N85 closely follows the design template of the N96, including the two-way-slider mechanism that reveals a conventional numberpad as the front panel’s pushed up, and a set of media player controls when the screen slides the other way.
It’s a marginally smaller and thinner than the N96, with its 103 x 50 x 16 mm body acceptably proportioned for the amount of gear stuffed inside. At 128g, it feels substantial in the hand and pocket, and the build feels pretty sturdy, despite the plastic panelling. Its rounded edges make it comfortable to handle, while the slider action feels firm enough so it doesn’t accidentally open in your pocket. A sprung slider lock on the side prevents accidental button pressing too.
The navpad also works like an iPod clickwheel
The reduced width translates into a smaller screen: it has a 2.6in, 320 x 240 display against the N96’s 2.8-incher – though it’s still larger than those of most mobiles. It’s a 16m-colour OLED display, providing clear and bright viewing.
COMMENTS
@Tony
Thankyou - I didn't see that - some further in depth battery tests would be welcome though, My Nokia n95 gives me 2 days if I dont touch it, it gives me less than half a day if the radio is on (whether actually playing or not), about 5 hours of constant music playback, about 3 hours solid internet browsing (3G) and much less with WiFi.
Nokia seem to completely overlook battery life.
@ Steve Sutton
Quote: "...and boast about some bloke who designed their lens (yeah, whatever - I don't care if Ronald McDonald designed the lens, as long as the pictures are ok!)..."
I doubt that Nokia are actually getting Carl Zeiss to personally design their lenses for them. Not when you consider that the guy has been dead for more than 120 years.
EPIC FAIL.
Flash and media button (@ Joe K)
Absolutely agree with that one mate - It utterly baffles me that people put 5+ MP cameras in phones, and boast about some bloke who designed their lens (yeah, whatever - I don't care if Ronald McDonald designed the lens, as long as the pictures are ok!), and then some shitty flash which means photos taken in low light conditions are blurry and dark - often, indoor photos will have a very yellow tint too!
Dear Nokia - The Xenon flash was the killer app on the N82, without which I would not have upgraded. I read this article and was considering upgrading to the N85 (especially because of the FM transmitter, which I've been trying to buy separately for my N82), but the lack of xenon flash means I will not buy it. You fail!
Oh, and one more thing - please, for the love of god remove the sucky media/gallery/whatever it is called button - it makes me want to throw my phone at the wall/out the window/at the nearest Nokia designer/etc... on an almost daily basis, when it activates, despite my not intending it to!
(Thumbs down for the phone, not the article!)
The rights to many N85 functions may be auctioned in Hong Kong next June
As I see it, they can only sell that to which they own the rights. It is my understanding that certain patent rights, (which may, or of course, may not, impinge upon some of their geographic markets), are going to be auctioned in Hong Kong next June. If indeed that turns out to be correct, they should worry about that as surely they would not wish to become a hostage to the fortunes of, say, a new upstart Chinese or Indian wireless phone manufacturer; would they?
