24 February 2008

Another Opinion
Nokia N82 User Review!

Thanks to an incredible opportunity from Womworld, I got the chance to trial the Nokia N82 for 2 weeks. From reading other people’s reviews, I was excited to get my hands on this device.

There were some very good points, but also some bad points in the reviews I read. I shall keep an open mind during this review, and will comment on my observations and experiences.

During the trial, I’ll be deciding whether or not to buy the N82 myself. But judging from what I’ve read and heard, it will be a smart move to buy this baby.

Unfortunately, I was unable to find a version of Screenshot that functions on the N82 without signing the application.

First Impressions

Well the delivery has just arrived!!!! I opened the box to reveal the N82 in its silvery glory. It’s actually bigger than I imagined it would be, but at the same time it seemed lighter than the N95. Now the fun starts!

*click to enlarge

Package Contents

Aside from the device itself, all the usual suspects were there....battery, headset, USB cable, TV out cable, data cd and the ubiquitous user manuals. The sales packages will of course differ from region to region and some packages include the 2GB Nokia MicroSD card. Those regions that include a memory card have the maps for the corresponding region loaded on the card, along with a 90 navigation licence for that region.

Form Factor & Build Quality

For the N82, Nokia chose to go back to the candybar design. I for one love the candybar design. Everything you need is there on the device. You don’t need to fiddle with sliders. It also cuts down on complaints on dodgy wobbly sliders that plagued the N95. The N82 is robust and tidy. Some have reported that the entire skin of the device is scratch proof. However, from the trial handset I received, this is clearly not the case as the screen cover, back cover and silver skin were clearly buffed and lightly scratched from everyday use.

Display & User Interface

The trial device came with the latest firmware V11.0.117. The N82’s operating system is S60 3rd Edition FP1. Being a previous N95 owner/user, I’m used to the Feature Pack 1 interface. Nokia elected to use the new menu and icon layout that’s used in the N95 V20.xxx firmware. This removes the Themes application icon, so the only way to change the theme is to go in through the phone’s settings. So far, I have yet to come across a theme which actually has and uses the Theme Effects option. It also reorganises the icons, grouping similar programs and features into folders for “easier access”.

The new Multimedia Menu is there too. I’ve found this to be very attractive. It lacks the customisation of the N95-1’s menu, but that doesn’t bother me, as I never really used the menu on the N95. The increased amount of ram makes the device seem much faster that the N95-1. And I can imagine that with future firmware updates, the speed of the device will change again (hopefully for the better). The display is a 2.4 inch 16 million colour display with a QVGA (320 by 240) resolution.

The size and pixel density of the screen makes the interface, images, videos and games appear crystal clear. The only downfall of the screen is that it’s a little dimmer than the screen on the N95, even at maximum brightness. I found the automatic screen rotation to be very responsive. I like the fact that it does not rotate the stand-by screen.

Keypad & D-Pad

The keypad certainly takes some getting used to. The keys are small, but surprisingly easy to use. A lot of people have complained about the lack of the pencil key. Nokia have provided an alternative to it, which is good and useful. The disadvantage of this alternative is that fact that programs created that already have mappings on the pencil key need to be re-written for the new key mappings. Contrary to other reviews and forum posts, I actually do like the D Pad. It is springy and responsive. But over time, I can see it becoming very loose.

The positioning of the multimedia button is a little ill-thought. For those with large thumbs, the button will be inadvertently pressed while attempting to press the Right Selection Key. But again, that is something that we have to get used to.

Speakers, Music & Multimedia

In my opinion, the position of the speakers is not the best. During normal use, the bottom speaker will be blocked by fellow right-handed people (maybe they designed it with “Lefties” in mind). The official line is that the speakers are “positioned for optimum use during multimedia playback in landscape mode”. The speakers seem somewhat quieter than those on the N95, and are prone to slight distortion in the higher and lower frequencies at max volume.The music player is exactly the same as the one on the N95, but it is a robust player with built in EQ, Loudness and Stereo Widening, and of course the basic Visualizations.

The headset supplied is basic but effective. The earphones provide good frequency and bass response. It does lack the controls that the N95 headset had, so all controlling of the music player is done on the N82. But we are gaining in the fact that we don’t have to take our headsets apart to change the battery in the controls.

Imaging & video

The camera is top quality. In low light conditions the camera and Xenon flash function just as well as any other commercially available digital camera. Publishing your pictures to your blog or photostream is as simple as ever, and is simplified even more using the updated ShareOnline 3.0. The video recording and playback is just as excellent as the N95. The TV-Out feature works perfectly. Both picture and audio are outputted with excellent quality. This of course depends on the screen you are connecting to.

Maps

The pre-installed Nokia Maps application is the latest official build of Nokia Maps. It has the same functionality as the N95 Nokia Maps. GPS Lock seems to be much quicker on the N82. The longest I’ve had to wait for a full lock is about 45 seconds. The Nokia Maps 2.0 beta works brilliantly. Any existing navigation licence will be valid with the new application, and should transfer over seamlessly.

The new Maps program is very stable for a beta version. It is easier to navigate with, and easier to search for points of interest and addresses, as they have included a search box in the application main screen. One thing that appears to be missing from the Maps 2.0 application is the “satellite status” info. It’s kind of annoying when you are trying to find out how your gps fix is coming along and the info isn’t there. The new maps finally have my estate!!!!

N-Gage

The N-gage Preview comes pre-installed, with the same 2 demos (FIFA 07 and Asphalt 3). These run very smooth thanks to the increased ram. All we have to do is wait for Nokia to fully release N-Gage. Or at least officially extend First Access to the N82. I did however install the first access program. It installed and worked fine, and actually seemed more responsive and very smooth. By installing First Access, you will lose your N-Gage Preview, but uninstalling all components of First Access using Application Manager will revert the N-Gage app back to the pre-installed preview.

Browsing & Wi-Fi

Browsing is the same as the N95. The Safari web browser is incredibly versatile. The only problem I encountered is that the homepage of my network (3 Ireland) refuses to load. 3 Ireland are incredibly secured with most TCP/IP communication ports closed behind their firewall. Of course 3 Ireland’s excuse is “you are having this problem because you are using an unsupported phone. You will have to wait until that

handset is supported and on the market and provided by 3”. And when I asked when that will be, I get “we currently do not have a date for the release of this handset on our network, neither can I confirm or deny that this phone will be supported”. The funny thing is, the N95 uses the same platform as the N82, yet it worked perfectly and brought up “Planet 3” without any complaints. When I changed over to 3 Ireland, the N95 wasn’t available on the network, so the excuse of “unsupported device” really doesn’t hold much water.

The WiFi seems very responsive and so far I have had no problems connecting to my wireless router, or my neighbour’s routers. Home media networking is as it was on the N95.

Connectivity

The phone employs the new MicroUSB interface (yet another cable coming out of my pc). Data transfers through the cable are fast and stable. Nokia have decided to remove the IrDA interface, as it now out of fashion. The phone fully supports Bluetooth 2.0 with full support for A2DP. I still have yet to find a Bluetooth dongle and pc application that supports A2DP though.

Final Thoughts: A truly enjoyable experience was had while trialling this device and in writing this review. The sad thing is, with SymbianSigned the way it is these days, I was unable to get a new certificate to sign applications to use on the phone. Let’s hope the re-open the Opening Signing process again very soon.

Yes, the phone has its bad points, but the good points outweigh the bad. I would have no problem spending money to buy this phone. And I would certainly recommend it. People who already have the N95 will not gain too much if they decide to add the N82 to their collection. But anyone who has not experienced the technological prowess of either device will have a great time with the N82