Nokia N80 Review
An Overview of the Nokia N80, and Responses to
Previous Critiques
December 20, 2006
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A.
Introduction:
After two years of Windows Disatisfaction with a Siemens SX66 (HTC Blue Angel) I decided to go back to a smartphone that runs Symbian. This time around I went with the Nokia N80, running Symbian 9 and S60 version 3. I have used S60 phones before, but only peripherally. This review is therefore not much of a complete review of the N80, rather it is a combination of: my N80 experiences, a few responses to the bad things I heard about the N80, and a small overview of an S60 newbie's experiences
B. My Positive Experiences:
My Experiences basically boil down to several key areas of every day use.
First is iSync compatibility - one of the most important things when you first get the phone. Once I installed a small XML file that helped my mac recognize my phone, everything went without a hitch. No extra (for pay) programs are required to make the N80 work with with your mac - simple and enjoyable setup!
Second experience is WiFi: Let's face it - I am a bit cheap. I will not subscribe to mobile data ($20 per month on Cingular as it stands) because I have 100Mbit connection PC at work, a work issued Blackberry (eek!), and WiFi access at home and work. EDGE is nice but it costs, and 2100 UMTS is not available in the US - so I opt for the free WiFi access points. What I really love about WiFi on the N80, something which was not available in previous WiFi enabled smartphones (looking at you windows!) is the fact that the fact that the phone asks you how you want to connect when you are accessing an application that requires net connectivity - scanning for WLAN (or selecting from a list of trusted WLAN access points) is a great feature. Then - when you are done using the application WLAN automatically turns off!
Next up, the camera. My first cameraphone was the SonyEricsson P800, I've used other camera phones (that I did not own) and I must say that comparatively the N80 does great! It does not have optical zoom, but then again it is not a dedicated camera - optical zoom would make the phone overly bulky! The 3 megapixel resolution and flash is good for anyone who just wants to snap something interesting or funny without wanting to carry a separate camera. After two years without a cameraphone, I think that this is great to get back in the game.
Software-wise, the phone is not too shabby. I really like Active Standby - it gives me all the information I need such as upcoming appointments and access to my most accessed applications. This is something I really enjoyed on Windows Mobile devices that I missed with other smartphones - but with Active Standby - things are alright once again. The applications are customizable, so what you need is there, not what someone else determined is useful.
Finally, the overall build quality of the phone is superb! The phone is really solid! The keypad is easy to type with one hand and, without looking. The screen is bright and very crisp and the loudspeaker is the loudest loudspeaker I've ever had in a phone. Perhaps it is not as loud as those annoying iDEN phones, but it is loud enough to be useful when more than one person need to participate in a conversation.
C. S60 & Nokia Annoyances:
There are a few things that really annoy me about the N80, but they appear to be S60 annoyances more than N80 annoyances.
Lack of plug-in language packs: My N80 came from Hong Kong and it had English and Chinese (Traditional and Simplified) language localizations and input. Most of my contacts are in Greek, and amazingly the chinese N80 was able to read the Greek, but the sorting was way off. Additionally navigating through 300 (or more) contacts) to find the one you are looking for - well this is not pretty. I looked all around, but there was no file that I could install so that the N80 properly supported Greek (input mainly, localization is just a bonus). The only way to get Greek was to flash it to the Greek firmware version - the bummer is that I lose the Chinese! While it is true that I do not speak Chinese (fluently) and thus I don't have as much use for Chinese as I do Greek - the N80 did come with a Chinese/English dictionary that is extremely useful for a student of the language (such as myself). If S60 had plug-in language packs (like UIQ does) this whole situation would have been averted.
After two years of Windows Disatisfaction with a Siemens SX66 (HTC Blue Angel) I decided to go back to a smartphone that runs Symbian. This time around I went with the Nokia N80, running Symbian 9 and S60 version 3. I have used S60 phones before, but only peripherally. This review is therefore not much of a complete review of the N80, rather it is a combination of: my N80 experiences, a few responses to the bad things I heard about the N80, and a small overview of an S60 newbie's experiences
B. My Positive Experiences:
My Experiences basically boil down to several key areas of every day use.
First is iSync compatibility - one of the most important things when you first get the phone. Once I installed a small XML file that helped my mac recognize my phone, everything went without a hitch. No extra (for pay) programs are required to make the N80 work with with your mac - simple and enjoyable setup!
Second experience is WiFi: Let's face it - I am a bit cheap. I will not subscribe to mobile data ($20 per month on Cingular as it stands) because I have 100Mbit connection PC at work, a work issued Blackberry (eek!), and WiFi access at home and work. EDGE is nice but it costs, and 2100 UMTS is not available in the US - so I opt for the free WiFi access points. What I really love about WiFi on the N80, something which was not available in previous WiFi enabled smartphones (looking at you windows!) is the fact that the fact that the phone asks you how you want to connect when you are accessing an application that requires net connectivity - scanning for WLAN (or selecting from a list of trusted WLAN access points) is a great feature. Then - when you are done using the application WLAN automatically turns off!
Next up, the camera. My first cameraphone was the SonyEricsson P800, I've used other camera phones (that I did not own) and I must say that comparatively the N80 does great! It does not have optical zoom, but then again it is not a dedicated camera - optical zoom would make the phone overly bulky! The 3 megapixel resolution and flash is good for anyone who just wants to snap something interesting or funny without wanting to carry a separate camera. After two years without a cameraphone, I think that this is great to get back in the game.
Software-wise, the phone is not too shabby. I really like Active Standby - it gives me all the information I need such as upcoming appointments and access to my most accessed applications. This is something I really enjoyed on Windows Mobile devices that I missed with other smartphones - but with Active Standby - things are alright once again. The applications are customizable, so what you need is there, not what someone else determined is useful.
Finally, the overall build quality of the phone is superb! The phone is really solid! The keypad is easy to type with one hand and, without looking. The screen is bright and very crisp and the loudspeaker is the loudest loudspeaker I've ever had in a phone. Perhaps it is not as loud as those annoying iDEN phones, but it is loud enough to be useful when more than one person need to participate in a conversation.
C. S60 & Nokia Annoyances:
There are a few things that really annoy me about the N80, but they appear to be S60 annoyances more than N80 annoyances.
Lack of plug-in language packs: My N80 came from Hong Kong and it had English and Chinese (Traditional and Simplified) language localizations and input. Most of my contacts are in Greek, and amazingly the chinese N80 was able to read the Greek, but the sorting was way off. Additionally navigating through 300 (or more) contacts) to find the one you are looking for - well this is not pretty. I looked all around, but there was no file that I could install so that the N80 properly supported Greek (input mainly, localization is just a bonus). The only way to get Greek was to flash it to the Greek firmware version - the bummer is that I lose the Chinese! While it is true that I do not speak Chinese (fluently) and thus I don't have as much use for Chinese as I do Greek - the N80 did come with a Chinese/English dictionary that is extremely useful for a student of the language (such as myself). If S60 had plug-in language packs (like UIQ does) this whole situation would have been averted.
No mac support for software and poor iSync integration:
My N80 came with Lifeblog, Software Updater and the
Nokia Utilities - but they are all for Windows XP! I
really like Lifeblog regardless of the fact that I do
not publish anything. Software updater is pretty cool,
I used it to flash my software to Greek, and probably
will use it to update to the "internet edition" version
of the firmware that is coming out. Finally, the Nokia
utilities provide nice backup and software installation
mechanisms, among other things. None of these softwares
are useful on my Mac! Lastly, SyncML seems to have a
problem, so all day events do not show up on my Active
Standby Screen on the day they are happening, they show
up the day before and they are in the following format:
DD/MM/YY 00:00-23:59 Event_name_here - not very useful
Software installation & video Glitches: When I install software, through the desktop interface, it appears that the software is installed and the installer file remains taking up unnecessary space. As as result, after all installations I need to manually remove the installer files. In terms of video glitches, sometimes the image on the screen breaks up when someone calls - as a result I can't really tell who is calling. This I think is a firmware issue that will be fixed with a small upgrade - but it is useful to mention.
D. Problem Resolution:
This section is also known as "Managing your Expectations." I read many comments on various forums before I purchased the N80. These are some of my responses and comments to what people have said in regards to the N80.
The N80 is slow: Yes the N80 is slow, but bearable. I did not expect it to be a speed daemon.
The N80 is bulky: I completely disagree. Compared to other phones this is a slender phone. Don't get me wrong, it's not a RAZR, but it definitely is not the brick that people make it out to be.
The slider is loose: The slides is indeed a bit loose. If you put it in your pocket with a wallet, or other such item) the phone will come loose. This being the case, I've never had any misdialing accidents.
There isn't enough memory: This is quite true. While the OS can multitask, there isn't enough memory in the phone to run a ton of apps at the same time. A utility such as TaskMan will come in handy to kill one application in order to start another. Nokia tried to put everything but the kitchen sink in this device, so it is understandable that some things might suffer. This is really Nokia's fault for raising expectations by calling their N and E series phones multimedia computers
The camera stinks: The camera does not stink! It is a 3.2 megapixel camera. While it is not completely 100% point-and-shoot it does capture some pretty beautiful photos! You don't have to be still like a statue in order to take beautiful photos with the N80. The phone was not built to be a camera. It is meant to be a phone with a camera, and I think that this is an important distinction.
The battery stinks: Again, Nokia really dug a big hole for themselves with this one by naming their N and E series phones multimedia computers, instead of calling them phones. The battery life isn't bad at all! In GSM mode, with some WiFi usage, my phone lasts me anywhere between three to four days on a single charge! By naming the device a multimedia computer, you give people carte-blanche to abuse the phone by being on WiFi or 3G data all the time running the phone's 800mAh battery to the ground. The battery is not bad - if you manage your expectations.
E. Conclusion:
Overall, I love this phone! I don't think I've been this happy with a phone since I got my SonyEricsson P800 almost four years ago. I recommend this phone whole heartedly for anyone who is thinking of purchasing it. Despite some small problems (like memory, and lack of full mac support), it is a great solid phone with a good camera on it. The consumer just needs to manage their expectations of the phone, and then they will be all set.
Software installation & video Glitches: When I install software, through the desktop interface, it appears that the software is installed and the installer file remains taking up unnecessary space. As as result, after all installations I need to manually remove the installer files. In terms of video glitches, sometimes the image on the screen breaks up when someone calls - as a result I can't really tell who is calling. This I think is a firmware issue that will be fixed with a small upgrade - but it is useful to mention.
D. Problem Resolution:
This section is also known as "Managing your Expectations." I read many comments on various forums before I purchased the N80. These are some of my responses and comments to what people have said in regards to the N80.
The N80 is slow: Yes the N80 is slow, but bearable. I did not expect it to be a speed daemon.
The N80 is bulky: I completely disagree. Compared to other phones this is a slender phone. Don't get me wrong, it's not a RAZR, but it definitely is not the brick that people make it out to be.
The slider is loose: The slides is indeed a bit loose. If you put it in your pocket with a wallet, or other such item) the phone will come loose. This being the case, I've never had any misdialing accidents.
There isn't enough memory: This is quite true. While the OS can multitask, there isn't enough memory in the phone to run a ton of apps at the same time. A utility such as TaskMan will come in handy to kill one application in order to start another. Nokia tried to put everything but the kitchen sink in this device, so it is understandable that some things might suffer. This is really Nokia's fault for raising expectations by calling their N and E series phones multimedia computers
The camera stinks: The camera does not stink! It is a 3.2 megapixel camera. While it is not completely 100% point-and-shoot it does capture some pretty beautiful photos! You don't have to be still like a statue in order to take beautiful photos with the N80. The phone was not built to be a camera. It is meant to be a phone with a camera, and I think that this is an important distinction.
The battery stinks: Again, Nokia really dug a big hole for themselves with this one by naming their N and E series phones multimedia computers, instead of calling them phones. The battery life isn't bad at all! In GSM mode, with some WiFi usage, my phone lasts me anywhere between three to four days on a single charge! By naming the device a multimedia computer, you give people carte-blanche to abuse the phone by being on WiFi or 3G data all the time running the phone's 800mAh battery to the ground. The battery is not bad - if you manage your expectations.
E. Conclusion:
Overall, I love this phone! I don't think I've been this happy with a phone since I got my SonyEricsson P800 almost four years ago. I recommend this phone whole heartedly for anyone who is thinking of purchasing it. Despite some small problems (like memory, and lack of full mac support), it is a great solid phone with a good camera on it. The consumer just needs to manage their expectations of the phone, and then they will be all set.