Nokia N81 8GB

Nokia’s largely popular gaming phone N-Gage finally got a successor in the form of N81. N-Gage was a largely popular device but Nokia did not develop similar devices to capitalize of a relatively smaller cellphone gaming market.But seems like Nokia has learnt the lesson and brought out Nokia N81 with the new N-Gage platform which promises to combine multimedia and entertainment together to make a killer combination.

Nokia N81 8GB specifications:

• Dimensions : 102 x 50 x 17.9 mm
• Weight : 140g
• Display : 2.4″ QVGA ,16M colors
• 8GB internal memory,96MB RAM
• GPRS,HSCSD,EDGE,3G
• WiFi 802.11b/g
• IR,Bluetooth with A2DP
• 2MP Camera
• Symbian OS 9.2, Series 60 v3.1 UI
• Approx price: 600$

Overview and Design

The dimensions of the phone are not small by any means and the bulky weight is another major factor to consider before buying this phone.The build quality of the phone is excellent and the slider also looks solid. The phone also features two dedicated gaming buttons as expected which are located on a plate which also holds the earpiece located on top of display.The front VGA camera is located on the top right side of display.The D-pad is a bit of disappointment as it is cramped for space.The Navi scroll key is nice to way with a hard center press button.A silver key acts as a dedicated multimedia key.

Display and Keypad

The keypad is hidden beneath the slider and is very flat in nature.The demarcations between the keys is negligible making it a smooth flowing keypad.The keys are big enough but not ergonomic making it tough to key in text which will disappoint SMS junkies. The backlighting on the keypad and on the phone in general is very good and you won’t find any problems when using the phone in complete darkness also.

The display is a big 2.4″ QVGA screen which supports 16M colors. The display quality as expected is superb and the picture and video quality is amazing.There are no questions about its visibility is even bright sunshine.The display is just amazing and it flawless and will give very tough competition to new phones even from Nokia itself and has set a new benchmark!

Interface and Gaming

The N81 is equipped with Symbian 9.2 OS with Feature Pack 1. Although Feature Pack 3 is the latest version but FP1 is by no means underarmed.It offers a variety of improvements like multiple alarms,blue circles to indicate running apps and increment of voice memo to a cool 1 hour.The huge 96MB RAM on the device is a boon for multitasking.The fast 369Mhz processor makes the performance of the phone snappy.

Coming to the most talked about aspect of this phone: Gaming.The N81 has three preinstalled games which are FIFA07, Asphalt 3 and Space Impact Light.All the games belong to the new new N-Gage platform.The dedicated gaming keys come in handy while playing the game.Its fun to play the games and you also have the option to buy games from Nokia which will definitely be enriched in graphics as well as gameplay.

Music Player and Camera

The music player is exactly similar to older Symbian S60v3 based devices.But what makes it different is the Navi wheel which gives the navigation a whole new dimension not seen before.It is now fun to browse tracks through music player.The player supports wide variety of audio formats.The player also features a A2DP profile for listening to your favorite tracks via a wireless bluetooth headset.The audio quality is good on the device and when paired with good pair of earphones it will surely rock!

The camera is another disappointment of this phone.Bundling a 2MP in such a great device was a first mistake by Nokia in itself.Neither the player features an autofocus nor a powerful Xenon flash found in Nokia N82.The interface of the camera is similar to Nokia N95.Landscape mode is the default mode due to the placement of dedicated camera key.The software has many options to play around with like white balance,ISO,grid lines etc.No macro made due to lack of autofocus.The pictures turn out below average as expected but the camera can still be used casually.

Pros:

• Excellent Display
• Gaming device
• 8GB storage
• 3.5 mm audio jack
• Great Navi wheel
• Good sound quality
• WiFi enabled
• Fast performer

Cons:

• Bulky and bit large
• Below average camera
• Average keypad

Final Thoughts

Nokia N81 is surely a step forward towards bringing gaming to cellphones in a big way.The phone manages to get almost everything right except the camera and keypad.The bulky weight might also concern a few users.The excellent display will leave you spellbound.The touch sensitive Navi wheel is another strong point and adds new functionality to the device.8GB storage is good enough to store your music collection as well as few movies.To sum it up it is a very good buy but a better camera would have taken it to bigger heights.

My Rating: 7/10