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Sunday, November 11, 2007

Nokia N82: impressions after a week...




**UPDATE 1: The final release of the N82 will not have Navi wheel, so I edited this blog entry to reflect it.**

**UPDATE 2: Nokia came back to me regarding SDHC support. Their answer was:
"The N82 technically DOES support SDHC (SD High Capacity) if it means cards that are 4GB and bigger (FAT32). Due to card availability, we have only verified cards up to 6GB.". Also, the SAR rating for the N82 is 0.62W/kg**

A week ago, I received this late build N82 proto for testing.


Now that it's officially announced, I can finally write this up. The past week has given me adequate time to evaluate this phone pretty thoroughly. So here are my thoughts.

In a nutshell, the N82 is a super fast N95 wrapped up in a candy bar style monobloc body with a xenon flash. That's basically what it is. If you wanna know the nitty gritty details, read on...



The design of the phone, in my opinion, will not win any beauty contests. It looks and feels plasticky. It's quite a feather weight too, feeling just a tad heavier than the N95 8GB (non scientific hand weighing machine). Scientifically, it's 120g.

The front is mostly reflective smoky silver. The earpiece speaker is at the top centre as usual and the front camera (for video calls or crappy pictures) is on its left. The SEND and END buttons are located just below the centre of the phone on either side and positioned just like the N81 where it curves slightly towards the sides of the phone.


The shortcut, menu and cancel buttons live between the send and end buttons on a flat plane while the multi-media button is given special treatment being the lone button that sticks out. The multi-media button is the same as the keypad buttons, much like an N91: thin rectangular blocks. On the N91, they feel sturdy,like they are made of metal and click with a very positive action. Here, they feel like plastic.

Here's a comparison between the N82 and N91 8GB keypads


At the back, the covering is a pearly silver that has a V-shaped pattern repeated all over it. It looks textured but when you touch it, it's actually smooth. There is a camera slider switch that activates the 5MP camera as well as the lens cover, like the original N95. The highlight of this phone is of course, the xenon flash. This is the first phone with xenon flash Nokia has ever made.


On its left are the micro USB port (I'd prefer a mini USB but it's not a deal breaker), micro SD card slot and the charging port.


On its right are two loud-sounding speakers, camera shutter button, picture/video gallery shortcut button and volume up-down/zoom in-out buttons.


On the top lies the power/profile button and a 3.5mm audio port (perfect position for it).


A lonely microphone resides at the bottom of the phone


I know it looks rather good in the pictures, like glass and metal, but in real life, that's not the case. It's looks like a light chunk of plastic, which it is.

Here are some pictures comparing it's thickness against other phones.

N95 8GB vs N82


N73 vs N82


E90 vs N82


Apple iPhone vs N82


N93i vs N82


E61i vs N82


And some pictures of it beside its cousins

N95 8GB with N82


N81 8GB with N82


N93/N93i with N82


N91 8GB and N73 with N82


E61i and E90 with N82


Apple iPhone with N82


And finally, a family shot




This is the first ever Nokia phone with a xenon flash. The camera itself is a 5MP, autofocus, Carl Zeiss Tessar (2.8/5.6) module. It's the same module as the N95/N95-8GB. So we already know how well the camera performs. But let's see what kind of difference the xenon flash makes.

Below are a series of pictures taken by the N82, N95, E90 and just for the heck of it, a 10.5MP Leica D-Lux 3 digital camera. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

These pictures are all taken on auto mode without any zoom.

N82


N95


E90


Leica D-Lux 3


N82


N95


E90


Leica D-Lux 3


N82


N95


E90


Leica D-Lux 3


N82


N95


E90


Leica D-Lex 3


N82


N95


E90


Leica D-Lux 3


N82


N95


E90


Leica D-Lux 3


N82


N95


E90


Leica D-Lux 3


N82


N95


E90


Leica D-Lux 3




Shot with "Close Up Mode" (macro) with flash set to automatic

N82


N95


E90


Leica D-Lux 3


N82


N95


E90


Leica D-Lux 3


N82


N95 (no matter how I tried, I couldn't get the words to be legible)


E90


Leica D-Lux 3



Shot with "Night" mode (no flash)

N82


N95


E90


Leica D-Lux 3


N82


N95


E90


Leica D-Lux 3



And just for reference, here's a video of me walking around my apartment taken with the N82. Camera setting is Automatic.


Here are some full resolution pictures shot with the N82:
http://homepage.mac.com/adam.madmusic/PhotoAlbum101.html

And here are some full resolution N82/N95 comparison shots in a very dark room:
http://homepage.mac.com/adam.madmusic/PhotoAlbum102.html


From the pictures and video, I can say that my N82 PROTOTYPE does better than the N95 in situations that require flash, but not necessarily better in situations that do not. The xenon flash of the N82 simply gives a much more natural tone to pictures. The bluish tint typical of LED flashes is not present. Again, I must emphasize that my unit is a prototype it does not represent consumer versions.



A few things became apparent in the process of taking the pictures:

1) The N95 is painfully slow in doing everything, especially in processing images. The waiting time is easily double, maybe even triple that of the N82's.

2) The position of the N82's END button (right below the shutter button) is very prone to accidental presses during picture taking. I have quit the camera menu many times pressing the END button while pressing the shutter button. Maybe it's just me.


3) The Leica D-Lux 3, which I bought just prior to taking these pictures, is a very nice camera!




Another very talked about feature of the N82 is the automatic screen rotation. It's better than the iPhone in only one respect, and that is: the rotation feature is not limited to a few applications but is available on almost every screen except the desktop, games and "Video Center" menu. That's great. However, the execution leaves a bitter taste.

Why? The screen rotation is a bit hit-and-miss. Sometimes it works fine, and other times it's slow and indecisive, resulting in situations when you get landscape view while holding the phone vertical, and portrait view while holding the phone horizontal. Many times, viewing the phone while lying down creates similar problems. Also, it works in only one vertical axis and one horizontal axis. Watch this video to see what I mean.


Compare this with Apple's superior implementation (2 horizontal axes instead of 1). It has never made any wrong decisions, no matter which position you hold the phone in.


As you can see from the videos, Apple presents internet content in a way where you can see lots of info at a glance and get to it with a tap. Nokia's way leaves you wondering what you are looking at most of the time. For me, the only times where screen rotation is really useful is when viewing web pages and pictures.

Surfing the net is a pain on the N82 (and every other Nokia phone) in the sense that you can only see a tiny bit of a web page at a time, forcing you to scroll up down left right to get to what you want to see.

Yes, I know there is a preview window that pops up to show a "map" of the page you're viewing, but what I want is an Apple-esque solution where I can see and get anywhere in a flash.

Apple leaves Nokia in the dust in this respect, sorry to say. Even on the with the E90's big screen, it's still no match for Apple's web surfing experience.

So is screen rotation on the N82 something to shout about? Not to me.



Regarding the audio quality, it's good, very good. To my trained ears (I produce music for a living), it's as good as the N81 8GB, which to me is slightly tighter than an Apple iPod Video. The 3.5mm earphone jack is great and I think it should come with every phone on the planet. On the N82, the position of this port, in my opinion, is perfect. Its on the top left of the device, staying out of the way when using the phone while listening to music.

Through my AKG K271 Studio headphones, bass is tight, treble is natural and everything is balanced. It definitely has a high quality (for a mobile phone) headphone amplifier inside.

Another thing I love about most N series phones, including this one, is when the phone detects something being plugged into the 3.5mm port, it asks you what type of device it it so that it can give you the best possible output. A nice touch.


The speakers on the N82 are pretty loud. Louder than an N95's, but prone to distortion at higher volumes.



The other aspects of the N82 is similar to the N95 8GB. They run the same software.


Communications protocols are as per N95 8GB, so I'm not going to elaborate further as there is plenty of info out there regarding this.



A few things I feel that is worth mentioning are:

1) The multi-media menu is now different from the original N95. It's the same one found on the N95 8GB. You can't customize it anymore. Instead, 7 sub-menus reside here now (Gallery, Music, Videos, Games, Maps, Internet and contacts). Within these sub-menus are convenient shortcuts that are relevant to each sub-menu. I don't like it. I much prefer the N95's where I can add or take away any function I like. A step backwards for me. But I suspect this is the way Nokia is going in the future.


2) There is A-GPS (Assisted-GPS) now and that improves the user experience by leaps and bounds over the original N95. Satellite fixes from cold starts are extremely quick at less than 30 seconds. Basic navigation features are pre-loaded but features like voice guidance and city guides are payable. Maps are free for download either via network or wifi on the phone itself. Or you could download them onto your PC, then transfer them to your phone with a PC software called Maploader.

Nokia Maps are very nicely rendered indeed. It's a bit more cluttered than my Garmin Nuvi standalone GPS, but no less pleasant to look at. The colour scheme is also very similar to Garmin maps, which is a good thing. The experience is almost as good as a genuine SIRF III one. Very impressive. Here's a little video of it in action:


3) Video Centre now has more content than ever before. Plugins from youtube, Reuters, CNN, Jamster, Sony Pictures...etc keep you *kinda* entertained (not much choice in terms of content), especially when you have a wifi connection. Here's a little video of how it looks:


Again, the execution is nowhere near as elegant as Apple's:


One thing about N series phones that impresses me is this little detail: if you get a call/SMS while watching a video, the sound of the audio fades out and your ringtone fades in you alert you and your video pauses. After you're done talking and return to the video menu, the video resumes from the point that it paused and the sound fades in. It's all very smooth.

Sometimes when you get patchy internet connection and the video gets choppy, the audio doesn't just stutter. It fades in and out. The same thing happens with the Music Player. Not a big deal, but it's these kinds of differences that make a Bentley feel better than a Toyota.

4) It plays Ngage games


5) Search 4.0 is now permanently embedded on the desktop (just like the N95-8GB). I love it. It works just like my Apple OSX Finder. You can find anything on your phone really quickly.

6) Battery life (BP-6MT) is very decent. It still holds 2 bars after taking 40 photos (about 20 with flash), 1/2 hour GPS usage, 100 SMS's, 1 hour's worth of 3G usage, 20 minutes' worth of voice calls and 1 hour of web surfing over wifi.


7) When inputting text, the new positions of the SEND and END keys make it less susceptible to accidental quitting of the text input menu compared with an N95/N95-8GB. For example, on the N95, while tapping out an SMS, when I need to press the cancel key to erase something, I often press the END button and quit the SMS application due to them being right beside each other. It doesn't happen anymore on the N82 as it takes a deliberate effort to go from cancel to END.


8) It's FAST (by Symbian standards of course). It's one of the faster Symbian devices I've used. Slightly faster than the N95-8GB, much much faster than the original N95 and faster than an E90. You can throw anything at it and it will eat it up. Multi-tasking for this guy is a walk in the park. I tried to cripple it by deliberately leaving applications running, within normal usage parameters of course, but it didn't work at all. Maybe I didn't try hard enough.



And a few things that irritate me:

1) The white on silver keypad markings are impossible to see in bright sunlight. Not good.


2) The shortcut/options/exit buttons are now on the same plane as the Menu and cancel buttons (like an N81). This makes it far less tactile to use (see picture above).

3) The centre button of the 5-way rocker switch is awkward to use. Why? It not only functions as the left button on a mouse where it selects what your cursor is pointed to. It also duplicates the function of the 4-way rocker square ring surrounding it. I can actually navigate around the menus without ever touching the square ring. The sides of the centre button move the cursor around. So it gets a bit frustrating when you don't press the sizable centre button right in the middle. Instead of selecting what you want, you end up moving the cursor to somewhere you don't want.

4) The screen is a bit on the small side. At 2.4 inches (QVGA, 16 million colours), it's smaller than the original N95's (2.6 inches). The resolution remains the same for both phones at 240x320 pixels. It makes web surfing on an N82 a slightly less enjoyable. That being said, the screen (TFT with ambient light sensor) is very readable in bright sunlight, like most Nokia S60 phones.

5) The location of the charging port bothers me. I'd much prefer it to be at the bottom of the phone. If you're like me, often using the phone while it's being charged, you'll find the N82 extremely awkward to use while it's charging. The cable just gets in the way of everything.


6) This thing can't stand by itself! I don't about you, but being a phone whose camera is one of its biggest selling point, I can't just put it on a flat surface and shoot! Especially for shooting videos of yourself doing something with your hands (now now, don't be naughty), this ability is absolutely crucial. This very next video (shot handsfree with an N95) is an example of how I can use a phone that can stand by itself (like the N95) in this specific situation, but is impossible to use an N82 for the same scenario:



7) This has nothing to do with the phone, but why does Nokia give us half-baked content? Now we have youtube, but we can only watch what they say we can watch. You can choose from all 25 (wow.) crappy (double wow.) videos. If Apple can give us unrestricted access to youtube content, why can't Nokia, the LARGEST MOBILE PHONE MANUFACTURER IN THE WORLD, do that too and more? Is it because youtube deems Nokia to be uncool? Is is because Apple paid more? Is it because Nokia can't afford to pay youtube?

I don't really care. All I know is that I, and everyone in the world, want content that we can choose, not content that is chosen for us.



Overall, I like the N82, very much. It's got everything an N95 has and more. If only it didn't look and feel so cheap in real life. Even if you have an N95, I feel it would be worth the while to upgrade to the the N82. It's fast. Press a button and there's hardly any lag before something happens, unlike the N95 where it's press a button and then fall asleep waiting.

It's got a xenon flash that makes taking pictures that require flashes much better looking than with LED flashes. Assisted GPS (AGPS) makes navigation very pleasurable. With micro SD cards of capacities up to 8GB available now, you're not missing much by not getting the N95 8GB. Overall, it definitely offers a much better user experience than the original N95.

HSDPA turbo-charges 3G connections and it works great in real life providing broadband-like speedy web surfing. Integrated software on the phone makes creating and sharing content from anywhere a breeze.

Again, my observations are derived from a PROTOTYPE device and may not represent the final consumer version. From experience, the final release is always better.

So what's my conclusion?

Let's put it this way, if I can have only ONE phone today, a phone that can do most things well, it would have to be the Nokia N82.

But dear Mr Nokia, can you please make a device that has the N82's capability to create content and the iPhone's ability to consume content? That would be close to perfection indeed...

218 comments:

1 – 200 of 218   Newer›   Newest»
Captain Beaky said...

great review - thanks! sounds like a great device. I currently own an N73, and Im sick to death of how slow it is, and how unresponsive the camera and gallery was - the N82 sounds like the perfect solution. I WAS going to go for an SE K850i, but I'll think I'll get an N82 after reading your thoughts.

Unknown said...

George:
Hi, I have only 1 gripe to ask you about the CONTACTS applications on the N82 as compared to N73. Is it as fast as E90 (as Im using right now). Fast in other words, is it fast when u select a certain contact and try opening it. My N73 will lag at least 5 to 8 seconds to open a certain contact that has at least 5 numbers, address, etc. How about N82? is it FAST???

chickenbackside said...

George:

Yes it's fast. Upon selecting a contact containing 5 numbers, 2 email addresses, 2 addresses, job title, company, 1 attached photo, 1 attached note and a birth date, it opens immediately. I'd say less than 1/2 a second. Faster than an E90.

Anonymous said...

Am a bit disappointed about the "plasticky feel and look".Is it at least possible to change the cover (does it have express covers)? I currently own a E51 which is imho the best S60 phone, will the N82 be a step back 4 me ?

Anonymous said...

Hi! That's a great review. Anyway, i own a N95 8GB right now, would you reccommend me to change to N82 or stick to my currently phone? How fast is the camera startup time and the processing time? Last but not least, overall, how fast is the whole handsets as compared to N95 8GB? (Give in terms of sec)

Unknown said...

Congratulations! Exclusive information is always a welcome!

Regards,
Nikolay

www.all4smartphone.com

chickenbackside said...

anonymous 1:

The E51 is indeed a very well-made phone. The N82 is not even near that ball park of build-quality. If you're an E series user, features like push mail and VoIP must be important to you. However if you do not need all that, the N82 is functionally one of the most capable phones you can buy.

anonymous 2:

Camera startup and processing time is about the same. So is the overall speed. Unless you always take pictures in very dark conditions, stick to your N95-8GB.

Unknown said...

Have you tried the LG Viewty KU990? How do you think Nokia N82 will compare with that? I am thinking of getting Viewty. Think they are going to be released at the same time.

And I didn't realise! You live in Singapore! Cool! It's exciting that you live in Singapore and got to use N82 first!

:)

chickenbackside said...

ngerng:

Unfortunately, I do not have any experience with LG phones, so I can't comment. Yes, I'm from Singapore! Majullah!

Anonymous said...

Hi, i'm from singapore too! Wonder if you work in nokia?

Anyway, is the N82 going to replace N95 8GB as the flagship model?

And do you know when the phone will go on sale in Singapore?

chickenbackside said...

No, I do not work in Nokia. If I did, I wouldn't be able to have this blog. The N82 and N85-8GB are for different people. In a sense, they are both flagship models. N82 has no 8GB memory, no slider and has a small screen. The N95-8GB has no xenon flash. If you wanna compare, the N95-8GB actually has more going for it.
Sorry, but I dunno the date of availability.

Unknown said...

yo bro, u r making me regret my 2 weeks old n95 8gb, how ?

rgds, raffles :-)

Anonymous said...

If you don't work for Nokia, how come you have a Proto product...not a wise thing to show...someone got in serious trouble for something similar last week in Latin America...Ok if I trace back your IMEI? Thanks.

Anonymous said...

first: Soory for my English. Please write you impression from keys on this phone... are they usefull (good) or notgood :) not only softkeys, keyboard too.

chickenbackside said...

Trace away my friend. If you notice, I posted this a few minutes AFTER they officially announced it. I have full permission from Helsinki to do this provided I do it AFTER they announced it.

I provide music services for Nokia and I ASKED for these phones and I had to prove my worth before they did let me try them.

If I did work for Nokia, I'm sure my reviews would be much less harsh. I'm pretty sure they cringe when they read things like "It looks like a light chunk of plastic, which it is" or "The white on silver keypad markings are impossible to see in bright sunlight. Not good".

chickenbackside said...

The keypad itself is very usable despite how it looks. I make less mistakes with it compared with an N95. What I don't like are the menu/cancel/soft keys because they are on a flat plane. Doesn't feel as good as dedicated keys.

Ralph said...

I very much appreciate your work here. Thank you for all the time and effort you put into this--you must know many of us have benefited.

Thank you.

chickenbackside said...

Appreciate it Ralph. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Hi,
great review.
one question: the display of the N95 very easy breaks if you take the phone to your pocket. On the E61 and also N73 there is the display covered by a plastic shield. Is there also some kind of shield on the N82? or is the tdt display also unshielded like on the N95? Thanks, Wolf.

chickenbackside said...

Yes, there is a shield, much like an E61. Not fragile at all.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for your work!

I am Italian
great blog !!

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much, chickenbackside!

One question: is this device a fingerprint magnet, and if yes - where еxactly?

Tnanks again.

K.

chickenbackside said...

Yeah, it's quite a fingerprint magnet at the front. Wherever you see anything that's reflective silver attracts prints. That means the front of the phone basically.

Anonymous said...

very nice review... ;)
btw, does the external memory support microSDHC? which mean it can store a lot of files more than 8 GB?

thanks.. :D

Anonymous said...

Nice review...but do you think the n82 ist better than the n95 8gb ? To the speakers are they really louder than the ones of the original n95? Much louder like the ones of the n73 with max eq settings ? Sorry for my english

Anonymous said...

Of all the phones you have lined up, which one have you used more of the time? Since you have access to many of them, I would have liked if you did RMAA (http://audio.rightmark.org) audio test too. By the way, nice review.

Anonymous said...

I guess You are the first who wrote a review of this device. I have one question becouse I cannot see a pancil key. Is it there? Or is editing done in other way?

chickenbackside said...

Every morning, I look at all my phones, and I when I pick any phone besides the N82, I always regret before the day ends.

You don't need the pencil key to do editing. Pressing the "#"key and 4-way rocker switch together enables you to highlight text and the copy function is immediately placed on the left option key. Pressing the "*" key will reveal a menu that enables you to cut or copy and pressing it again will reveal the same menu but with a paste option instead. If you want to copy from the SMS menu and paste in the notes menu for example, under option in the notes menu, the paste option will be revealed.

Yes the N82 speakers are louder than the N95-8GB's in terms of volume, but defintiely not in terms of quality.

Anonymous said...

Good review, think the N82 is gonna be my new phone.

Anyway, there was a question about if the phone support microSDHC, which means 8gb of storage, does it?

Anonymous said...

When will this be available in the US?

bem69 said...

Great review, so it has some good features, but doesn't look as good as the N95 8GB. What do you think of the SE K850i vs the N82? Any thoughts?

chickenbackside said...

I'm waiting for the answer from Nokia regarding micro SDHC support. Once I know, I'll post it here and updatemy blog entry,so look out for it. Should be in a few days.

I have no idea about availability in the US. Here in Singapore, it'll be available some time in December.

I agree that theN95-8GB is a much better looking phone. The thing that makes this thing so nice to use is the amount of RAM available. It's pretty snappy for a Symbian device.

On paper the K850i looks as capable or even more capable than the N82 with it's LED light for videos. But look closer and you will see that it only has 40MB of built-in memory. How much of it is available, I don't know. So you can expect it to be much slower than the N82. Also don't forget, the battery is a 930mAH unit. N82's is a 1050mAH unit.

So if you think the 3 LED's for video is worth the sacrifice of speed and battery life, or if you hate the N82 form factor, get the K850i.

That's my take anyway.

Anonymous said...

Something about the sound is the sound good as n91 and whats about the audio signal is it strong enough for big headphones? And what must I to get a trial phone from nokia ? THX

chickenbackside said...

Again, sound is a very subjective thing. It is definitely as "good" as an N91. Putting on my sound engineer ears, I would say it's better than an N91.
Whether it's strong enough to drive a big pair of headphones depends on the impedence of your headphones. Some are easy to drive while others aren't.
How to you get a trial phone? Well, I suppose it's a combination of luck and ability.

bosch said...

Sounds a really good phone encompassing good usefull features. However, how can Nokia get simple design issues so wrong such as the charging socket. Like the reviewer uses his phone whilst charging even I would realise that the charging socket on the side would interfere with the user! Also Nokia have a knack of making their buttons look too plasticky. Something Sony Ericsson seem to avoid. Perhaps the consumer version will be different...

bem69 said...

Hey thanks for your brief comparison with the K850i and N82. That helps a lot. So basically, N82 wins for being the fastest phone because of its internal memory. And I'm sure the video quality is better on the N82 too right?

Thanks anyway

chickenbackside said...

bem69: It wins by a lot having 3 times the amount of memory. Video quality should be comparable I guess. I've never tried taking a video at night with a K850i so I can't comment. My guess would be for very dark scenes, a video shot with a K850i with less than 2m between the camera and subject, there will be more visibility than with an N82. But it will have the typical blue tint that LED's possess, just like an N93. Other than that, both devices should be similar in video taking under low lighting conditions.

Junyong Chong said...

Thanks for the review.

Haven't read a nice review before in my life so far. =)

bem69 said...

I see, thanks for your thoughts. I've been eyeing the K850i myself, but this seems to be the better option. Too bad it doesn't come in black heheh.

vinipuh said...

hi.finaly I got a place where I found the most of information. really. so, thank you very much for the time you spend (but it was an exclusive chance fot you and apparently, you enjoyed).
still, I have some questions:

1* is there a way to disable the mouse function of the center button?

2*how about the ascelometter, can it be disabled from settings?

3*I had a n73 which I offered to my brother. and the screen was really anoing, coz very fragile. so I had to use a transparen-plastic safe case, whitch made the phone..."bigger" (I'm french :-)
so, if I buy THE n82, will I be able to use it whithout any external protection?

that's all, for instance.thanks.

plankgatan said...

hello..can you please tell me how the battery life was/is (talktime)

im a proud owner of a k850, (with amazing talktime)....so i dont want realy bad battery life

chickenbackside said...

Vinipuh:
1) No there is no way to make the sides of the centre button not function as the mouse.
2) Yes, the acelerometer can be disabled
3) Yes, the screen is tough. I've dropped it quite a few times, very seriously, and it's still fine.

chickenbackside said...

plankgatan:
Here's the official specs for the battery-

Battery: Nokia Battery (BP-6MT) 1050mAh
Talk time: up to 190 min (WCDMA), up to 260 min (GSM)
Stand-by time: up to 210 hours (WCDMA), up to 225 hours (GSM)
Still images: up to 290 pictures (with flash)
Video capture: up to 110 minutes (VGA, 30 fps)
Video call: up to 120 minutes
Video playback: up to 200 minutes (VGA, 30 fps)
Music playback: up to 10 hours (offline mode)

I have not tested exclusively the talk time of the N82, but it FEELS like it's good. Not as good as an E series, but much better than an N95.

My experiences are "It still holds 2 bars after taking 40 photos (about 20 with flash), 1/2 hour GPS usage, 100 SMS's, 1 hour's worth of 3G usage, 20 minutes' worth of voice calls and 1 hour of web surfing over wifi."

How is that compared with the K850, I have no idea. Perhaps you can do the same test as I did and compare? Please share it here if you do!

Anonymous said...

Hi i have a n95 vanilla, but i use my n73 purely on battery life, i want to get a new phone, i think i like this n82. Can you tell me what phone is best for everyday use? once the novelty has run etc. i am after a phone which i can be careless of not charging but is fast with good camera

chickenbackside said...

ash:
If you look at 5MP camera class, there is basically the SE K850i, Nokia N95-8GB and N82. K850i has LED's for low light video taking but only has 40MB of RAM, so it will be slow. Battery spec is also lower than Nokia's. I don't think you can be careless with any of these phones in terms of forgetting to charge them everyday. It is to be expected of a device that has an auto focus camera, GPS, music/video playback, wifi...

Between the N95-8GB and the N82, one has 8GB of built-in memory, bigger screen and a cool slider form factor. The other has removable media that supports 8GB for sure and probably beyond and more RAM but has a smaller screen and less impressive candy bar shape.

So it all depends on your personal preferences.

chickenbackside said...

Ok guys, here's the answer I got back from someone in Nokia regarding SDHC support:

"The N82 technically DOES support SDHC (SD High Capacity) if it means cards that are 4GB and bigger (FAT32).

Due to card availability, we have only verified cards up to 6GB."

Anonymous said...

guys guys,,,java based phones are allways faster then symbian based phones..so k850 is much faster then crappy N95 (original) and probably faster then n82.

its ONE thing i HATE with n82..I CANT FU###NG STAND BY IT SELF..i use my k850 on the ground many times...BAD BAD NOKIA

OK..can i use n82 2-3 days whitout charge it if i use GSM and maybe 20-30 pics ????? (i can take 50 pictures with k850, and still good battery)

ps..N82 is the best Nokia phone i seen...N95(original) is a piece of crap compared to this

Anonymous said...

So.. N82 RAM > N95-8GB RAM ?

Could you please tell us exactly how much RAM each one has.. ?

And good job on the review btw.. :)

chickenbackside said...

I apologise for the wrong info. The N95-8GB has the same amount of RAM as the N82. 128MB and 95MB available after a fresh reboot.

In any case, the N82 FEELS slightly faster than the N95-8GB. I don't know the reason. MAYBE the 8GB of built-in memory takes a lot longer to scan? I don't know.

Anonymous said...

I thought that SE K850i has lower video capturing resolution? If I am not mistaken, it is near QVGA.

fuigo said...

Great review! Thanks... Could you please shed some light on how it syncs with your iSync? Do you experience any difficulties at all? Thanks!

chickenbackside said...

Actually, I have not used iSync on the N82. The iSync plugin of the N82 is not released yet. It will be in due course.
Because I have many Symbian Nokia phones, I choose one that can sync with iSync (E90), sync them, then simply use this function called "Switch" to transfer any info you want between any Symbian Nokia phone. All of mine have this function.
You can download the appropriate pluins from here:

http://europe.nokia.com/A4299040

Anonymous said...

Yes want to answer one question the n95 8gb is slower because of the huge 8 gigs. The n82 will be even a little bit slower with a 4 gig sdhc card but is it not a huge difference.

Anonymous said...

thanks for the great review! am looking for a phone that supports multilingual emails and websites, namely mandarin and japanese. do you happen to know if n82 allows that? the rumour is that e51 supports that but i prefer a lower sar reading phone......

chickenbackside said...

mimi:
I just tried it on both devices. On both the E51 and N82, a webpage that contains English, Chinese and Japanese text appear with no problems. Japanese or Chinese only webpages load perfectly.
However, text input will be a problem. According to someone who works in Nokia, you can either get English-Chinese or English-Japanese phones for inputting text. Chinese-Japanese do not mix.
So for viewing webpages in all 3 languages, no problem. For replying email in all 3 languages, no go.

Anonymous said...

Do you still have this phone????????? The Nokia N82 8GB?????? I am trying to just get 1 track off of it, they dont sell this phone in the US yet. There is a song on that phone, that is by Maroon 5 and its called LET IT GO! Can you please send it to me?

mydebbers@comcast.net

Anonymous said...

Great info, thanks. Could you tell me how the audio quality (MP3, WMA, or FM) of the N82 compares to the E51?

Thanks

Anonymous said...

Thank you! Are both english-mandarin and english-japanese phones available in singapore? do you know when the phones will be released here?

chickenbackside said...

deb:
There's no such thing as the N82-8GB. Who knows in a few months? The song on that phone is from the Maroon 5 CD I bought from a record store. You could just get it just as easily.

roblow:
I have not tested the E51's sound quality with the same set of earphones as the N82. But from experience, N series phones sound better than E series phones. To use a decent pair of headphones on the E51, you will need an adaptor, which in itself already colours the music.

mimi:
English-Chinese definitely available. I'll have to get back to you regarding the English-japanese availability. Phones will be released very soon. Can't give an exact date, but real soon.

chickenbackside said...

mimi:
Got the answer. English-Japanese phones are not available in Singapore. Technically the English-Japanese software can be flashed onto any phone, but you can't get it done here.

Anonymous said...

i just wanted to say; great review! i ordered n82 today. i should have it by the end of the week. i cant wait to get it

Ben said...

Will the N82's GPS function work in the US? For free?

Capone said...

Hi there. I got a N73 and it's pretty ok, except i can't stand the load times any more. is the N82 a wise choice, considering it has the same screen size, autonomy etc? Does its extra capabilities worth it to change my phone? Thanks in anticipation:)

chickenbackside said...

capone:
What the N82 definitely has over the N73 is speed. Lots of it. It's one of the fastest S60 phones around. Also consider there is wifi, GPS (one that's actually very usable), 5MP camera with xenon flash, 3.5G...etc.

I would consider the N73 to be a last generation phone. I have no doubt you will be happy with an N82 if you're looking for an upgrade. So far, I've had no problems with it. It has remained stable and withstood multiple serious drops.

Anonymous said...

Hi Chickenbackside, I have just traded in my 3wks old N95-8GB for N82 this morning, although it has not officially launched in Singapore yet. I managed to get it from a retail shop (with local warranty of course).

Reason for change: Bulkiness and slider form of N95-8GB dictates the decision for me as I am more of a candy-bar person.

Anyway, the lens cover, xenon flash and candy-bar form attracted me to change it though my N95-8GB was still very new.

Initially impression is N82 feels more robust in my hand and definitely make me feel more confident that this phone can last for quite some time (in terms of features and built quality).

Don't mistaken that N95-8GB is lousy...it's quality is also very good, except that I don't think I like slider and don't think it can last longer than a candy phone.

In summary, it's a N95 featured phone in a small candy-bar package with good built quality.

- Silveratenza

Anonymous said...

By the way, forgotten to mention to you that your site is getting more and more comprehensive on mobile reviews...keep up the good work!

It's really one of a kind I can find as your reviews are honest and true-to-life experience which is helpful for us to choose the correct phone.

None of other sites had done these or near to yours...:)

-Silveratenza

chickenbackside said...

Congrats Silveratenza. Use your new phone in good health!

Anonymous said...

Review OK. But personally in my opinion Nokia goes to nowhere constructing such "Monster" phones ;))

Anonymous said...

this is quite incredible for me.

looking online for a good N82 review then bump into your blog! Great review! was even more stunned to know that we live in the same Opposition estate from your pics!! haha!

Ben said...

Does anyone here know where to get the AT&T/Cingular network settings for an N82 to work fully (texting, internet, etc.) in the U.S.?

chickenbackside said...

Ahhh, my fellow opposition, left wing comrade, haha. Great little corner of Singapore, isn't it?

Anonymous said...

I have spent the last 2 days trying to make a decision between the N95 8gb & the N82. With a great help from this site and actually having both phones in my hands I went with the N95 8gb. For me the main reason that swung my decision was the main navigation button with the center select button in the middle. On the N80 I was constantly pressing the select button when trying to move the mouse cursor and vise versa. The button sits on the same plane as the other function buttons to the right and left making it very difficult to control. The N95 8gb same controls were very smooth and I didn't once have a miss key. I have large fingers and at the end of the day the N95 felt better to me. Even though I wanted the N82 so bad I knew that I would not be happy in the long run. Please take your time to make a good decision. I really thank the people for the information here as it was one of the best sources I found.

Anonymous said...

That's just great.
Everyone says how good is this phone, but I can only dream about it...

So good, but why is everyting good so expensive:(?

Anonymous said...

Very good review.

Being using nokia 3230 then upgrade to N70 and now N73.

Nearly bought N95, but I think N95 is not a good camera phone.

Again,thanks for the review.

:)

chickenbackside said...

Han:
The camera quality of the N95 and N82 are pretty similar, except for pictures that require flash. With the xenon flash, there's no more blue-ish hue.
If you're looking for a much better camera than the N95, at this point of time, I don't think there is any camera phone out there that's good enough for your requirements.
If you're looking at a Swiss Army knife type mobile phone, then the N82 fits the bill.

Anonymous said...

Hi! Great review.
I'm trying to find out what the calendar is like in the N82. Is it possible to see both the whole month and - at the same time - the first 3-4 appointments for the highlighted day? I've seen this on the Nokia 6233, but for example the 6110 Navigator only shows a small triangle on the dates of the months that have appointments, and then you have to open the day to see the appointments.

Anonymous said...

Hi,

Awesome review! There's one more bit of info that will help me decide on whether to get the N82 or the N95 8GB - Could you tell me, when you record video in the dark on the N95 or the N82 - does the LED/Xenon flash come on?

crustoner said...

Hey Chickenbackside, thanks for posting such a thorough and informative review. I am looking to replace my iphone. I left it in a cab in Tel Aviv, sad, I know. Rather than buy an unlocked iphone at a dodgy shop, I am seriously looking at the N82. I really like the web surfing on the iphone, and your review has made me uneasy about the N82 in that regard.
The camera and flash option on the N82 seem far better than the iphone, but will the GPS work in the US?
Finally, the screen on the iphone is really hard to beat. I just really didn't like the email features and not being able to copy & paste on the iphone.
Any thoughts?

chickenbackside said...

Anonymous:
Yes, in month view, your appointments for the day appear in a bubble at the top of the screen.

Undecided:
Nope. No light is available during video recording, unless you count the red LED that tells people you're filming them.

Greg:
Sorry to hear about your iPhone. I have one too and used it for about 4 days before I gave up and used it like an iPod Touch.

The iPhone's web browsing experience pretty much leaves any mobile phone in the dust. So if surfing via wifi/GPRS is all you're concerned about, stick with the iPhone.

Other than that, the N82 has the lead over the iPhone in terms of functionality. Things that the iPhone cannot do that the N82 can that are important to me:
1) video calls
2) cut, copy, paste across different applications
3) receive MMS
4) DVD resolution video recording
5) camera with enough resolution to capture text on documents
6) 3.5mm headphone jack that allows me to use any headphone I want
7) Ngage hame support
8) huge number of Symbian applications although it's a matter of time before Apple catches up
9) effective built-in GPS with FREE maps
10) Apple's implementation of Google Maps cannot touch Symbian's. It can link up with your built-in GPS and show you where you're driving with satellite pictures as you move. Like a helicopter flying above you filming you as you drive
11) xenon flash

Other than that, the Apple is much more pleasurable to use.

Anonymous said...

Hellooo! :D
Nice review made for N82!
Well, i got a question to ask.
Which phone would you recommend me, K850i / N95 8GB / N82 ?

Anonymous said...

I can se that you have I great taste when it comes to cars. Saab 9-3 is great =)

crustoner said...

CBS: Thanks for your response. I think I'm going to give the N82 a shot. There are other problems I had with my iphone. It wasn't a great phone frankly. The Bluetooth link up in my car was very spotty, and worked more poorly than my previous Razor for example in the same car (BMW 06). I had started to miss text messages, but that could have been an AT&T issue. I liked the novelty of the visual voicemail feature, but like the ichat, it was just a novelty. If I hate the N82, then I'll pick up the next gen iphone with 3G etc in June, which I hear is when they'll release it in the US. I bet it'll be sooner though! The interface on the iphone will be hard to beat though. And that screen....the N82 is the same price as the iphone was upon it's release, I just hope all the features are supported here in the states. I'll let you know.

chickenbackside said...

:D:
It really depends on your preference. All 3 are capable phones. I would pick the N82 simply becos I prefer the Nokia S60 3.1 GUI and the no nonsense design philosophy of the N82. But really, they all fine phones.

Anonymous:
Thanks! Saabs suffer from a bad rep but, touch wood, so far it's been perfect (4 tear old car).

Greg:
Vehicle bluetooth protocols are notorious for being out of date, hence sometimes, older phones work better. So, I'd say don't put your eggs in this basket.
I cannot imagine any manufacturer coming close to Apple's phone GUI. Despite not having a hardware keyboard, I'm actually faster texting on an iPhone than an alpha numeric keypad with T9. That's Apple's strength. Ever since I touched an Apple computer 8 years ago, I have not owned a single Windows computer. But I have 6 Apple computers.
Don't expect too much in terms of GUI from the N82. It's typical Symbian S60. Click click click click click. But, in terms of function, it smokes the iPhone like an M3 smokes a Suzuki Jimney.
Do share when you get the 3G iPhone! I for one will be in the queue too...

Anonymous said...

Hello again.

Is there any features to use the xenon flash as torch light just like se.

I'll get N82 next year, or should I wait for another good camera phone coming out (if any)?

Again, a very good review. :)

chickenbackside said...

Han:
No, there is no option to use the xenon light as a torchlight.
I'd say if you feel that this phone suits yours needs, then go ahead and get it. I doubt there will be any better camera phone by any brand in the near future. So look at LG, SE, Samsung and Nokia and see which one you like and go for it.
Judging from Nokia's recent announcements, I think they will have a new product line soon with a touch interface and sexier form factors, but hardware should remain pretty much the same. Won't be so soon though.

Anonymous said...

i would like to ask the speaker volume on the n82..both speakers are on the same side did that effect the ringtone and volume? 2nd question is what nokia remote headsets work for this phone... i read in another review that the n95 3.5mm headset remote isn't compatible with the n82 3.5mm jack...

thanks for replying

chickenbackside said...

ho:
The position of the speakers are just fine. They don't affect anything. In fact I like it cos I use the GPS a lot and having the speakers face upwards when the phone is in landscape mode gives the best possible sound spread. Watching movies in landscape mode, you can actually hear stereo. The sounds actually pan from left to right.
As you know, my unit is a prototype and I didn't receive anything but the phone and battery. I use my N95 charger, headphone remote, TV out cable on the N82 and they all work just fine. To be specific, the headphone remote I used is the AD-43.

Anonymous said...

i really found your Review useful, thanks for trying u did a great job and i loved it. But there is one thing that im asking.. Is there any sort of nokia N82 8GB that would be great in black colour.
Thanks again

chickenbackside said...

Abtif:
There is no N82 8GB model as of now. But as we can all see from Nokia's phone evolution pattern, you can certainly expect to see one after some time.

Anonymous said...

to chickenbackside...

does the automatic screen rotation really bad??? can it be disabled???
can the body be replaced indo a different color???

chickenbackside said...

leaderone:
Screen rotation is ok once you get the hang of it. The trick is, you have to not tilt the phone too much. Keeping it at 90 degs in every plane will ensure the screen rorarion works properly.
Yes, the screen rotation can be disabled if you wish.
No, there is no factory option for a different coloured casing.

Anonymous said...

Hi..I am looking to buy a new Nokia N82.I currently am using a Nokia N93i.Could you tell if there is an 8GB version of the N82 due out soon,perhaps latest by February of 2008?

chickenbackside said...

j:
As of now, there is no such news. The N95 took almost 1 whole year to evolve into the 8GB model. So, maybe you could gauge for yourself.

Anonymous said...

N82 is very stable phone right out of the box, so far it has satisfied my expectation in terms of features, stability and battery life. My only gripe is they replaced the blue led with white. I was under the impression like most of its predecessor, the blue led was kind of a signature trait of Nokia phones. And as for people inquiring about 8gb model, micro sd 8gig card is coming out next year. I would prefer a phone with interchangeable memory cards than the ones built in.

Anonymous said...

thanks for the truely amazing and eye-opening review chickenbackside.

and can u tell me if the n82,s screen size is ok or suitable for watching videos and movie?

Anonymous said...

Could you open orkut youtube using the in-built browser?

Anonymous said...

Hi, great review. Thanks for posting that. Just one quick question... You didn't mention much about media controls. I currently have the original N95 and I like the fact that I can stop/start my music quickly and easily without having to navigate any menus. How does the N82 compare in this aspect?

I really like the N95 but I'm so sick of the incredibly sluggish camera and the bad quality night pictures. I'm hoping the N82 is the answer to my prayers.

Anonymous said...

Could anyone anser me if close this ambient light sensor with finger is screen became brighter or no?

Anonymous said...

Personally, I would be a little dissapointed in a 8G model, all that would do is jack up the price and slow the phone down. I think it is essential for Nokia to release a Black model though, the current color is a little "feminine" for my likings (the backside anyways).

But my main question for you is: After all of your use of the N82 up until now, I'm curious to see how the device scratches, not just the screen but the metallic face? I've heard bad things about the G800 which has a metal casing as well and I'm hesitant to get a phone that will just get all scratched up or will have to be submerged in a case.

I would also like to know if the GPS would work in Canada, I know you've been asked this before and haven't really answered, so this question I guess would be directed towards anyone who lives in North America and has actually used the GPS - Does it work?

Thanx (good review btw)

chickenbackside said...

s@n@d:
I find the screen s bit small for watching videos. It'll do in a pinch I guess.

Anonymous 1:
No, you can't watch youtube videos with the built-in browser. You will need a 3rd party solution like Emtube.

Joehead:
Functionally, you can control media just fine with the D pad on an N82. I don't miss the dedicated media keys at all. In fact, I seldom use them even on the N95. You will definitely enjoy the N82's snappy interface and xenon flash.

Zack:
The device is quite hardy. It holds up to my abuse pretty well. And I ABUSE my phones. Most of the N82 is made of plastic. There's really nothing much to rub off. That being said, the brushed metal finish surrounding the camera lens is already starting to wear out. But bear in mind, I chuck the phone around without any casing. I don't think my treatment of it is normal.

I don't not see any reason why the GPS wouldn't work in Canada or anywhere in the world. I'm in Japan right now, and I got a satellite fix within 10 seconds upon switching on the GPS.

Tom said...

Fantastic review, very thorough! I've been looking for an 'all-in-one' solution in a phone for quite some time now, and think the N82 might be the answer.

Basically I use my phone as a my main music player, and have always used Sony Ericcson W series phones in the past (currently the W850i) - but am increasingly dissatified with the sound quality (using Mp3 at 192kbps). I know that Nokia have brought out the new Music Xpress range with a dedicated audio chip to improve sound quality.. how does the N82 compare the the Xpress phones and the to any of the SE W series?

Also what is the music software interface like? I assume you can add album art and the like, but is it easy to use? (even without dedicated function keys). Also have you tried listening to music through stereo bluetooth headphones?

Sorry for all the questions, but it's rare to find a mobile phone reviewer who also knows a lot about good music and audio quality so I'm very interested in your opinions.

Cheers

Tom

chickenbackside said...

Tom:
The N82 is indeed an "all-in-one" type of device. How does the N82 stack up to the Xpress? Well, the overall tone is similar (clean and nice), but the N82 does not have as much volume as the Xpress. I can't comment on the SE W series as I do not have one on hand to test side by side.

The software interface works well for me. Ipod-ish. Yes you can add album art very easily. I used the N95 with dedicated hardware keys for a year and I honestly don't miss them. It's really a personal thing. Some people can't do without them.

Yes, I did a Nokia BH-604 review in November. The playback device was an N82. To me, it's irrelevant. Bluetooth audio is crap. The protocol simply does not have enough bandwidth for streaming music. It crosses the line of "unacceptability" in terms of music playback quality.

But yeah, bluetooth headphones work just fine with it.

Look at the N82 as a device that can do everything, not necessarily well for everything, but mostly, and you'll get the picture.

Tom said...

Thanks for the (promt) reply. That does offer me reassurance about the quality of the phone. I'm not too worried about volume (will nearly always be using ear-bud style headphones so playing loud is not an issue). I just can't understand it when people seem to want to use their phones as portable stereos and expect loud booming speakers!

By all accounts the Xpress phones beat the SE W series hands down in terms of sound quality (SE haven't upgraded the actual hardware, only the interfacing software, in their W series since it first began, so although it looks better it doesn't sound any better, which seems pointless for a 'Walkman range'.)

As long as the interface is fairly simple that's fine by me. I take your point about stereo bluetooth, I've always suspected that to be the case but have never had a chance to prove it, so I'll take your word for it. I assume there's some sort of wired remote control headphones you could use, to control the music functions, so that you don't have to reach into your pocket every time you want to change a track?

Anyway, I'm glad I've finally stumbled across a phone which fulfils all my requirements, and does so to a good standard by all accounts.

Cheers again, and HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

Tom

chickenbackside said...

Tom:
Yeah, with my Shure E5C's, anything more than 40% volume is painful. But most people don't use in-ear earphones, and hence need a lot more amplification.

I'm not sure what the sales package comes with, but I can use my N95 remote paired with any earphones I like. No need to reach into pocket or bag or anything.

To me, this is really the very first convergent device that is functionally decent. I've used so many in the past, but this is the one that I would actually buy myself.

Anonymous said...

hi,
really impressed with your review,
have you ever tried the SE Walkman Series? if yes, is the sound quality of the phone better than the SE Walkman???? coz i'm really confused between N82 and w960i and the only pro for w960i is that its a walkman phone.......
please help.......

chickenbackside said...

Prathamesh:
Sorry, I don't have one at hand for a side by side comparison unfortunately. Anyone else has?

Anonymous said...

Another question for you Mr. Chickenbackside

With all the use of your N82 up until now, can you comment on the dust under the screen?
I have a SE right now and they have a foam layer around their screens to prevent this but my old motorola I had previously had dust under the screen and it drove me crazy. I believe I've read elsewhere that there has been dust under the screen. So Mr. Chickenman, could you please grab your N82 and take a look at its display?

Also, I know you have done music services for them so you occasionally get information before us. I was wondering if you could hint anything about a "Black" version? Maybe at CES or 3GSM? I just don't wanna buy one and then regret it.

And my last question, is for a wired headset, can the 3.5mm headphone jack support a wired headset or just bluetooth?

Kind Regards
Zak

chickenbackside said...

Zak:
No need Mr chickenbackside. Just chickenbackside will do. The title "Mr" simply does not suit the name "chickenbackside".
Dust under the screen? What dust? As far as I can tell from mine, there's not a single speck so far. Also bear in mind that I abuse my phone much more than people usually do.
Regarding the "black" version, I honestly have not heard anything about it. Judging by the N95 timeline, it won't be released so soon anyway. Besides, I like the idea of removable memory and even if there was an 8GB model in the future, it will not matter a single bit to me.
It 3.5mm jack can support a wired headset, TV out (component RCA) or "music stand". Bluetooth audio is supported by the phone itself. It's got nothing to do with the 3.5mm jack.

Anonymous said...

hi there!
First to the author: thank you for the effort in this awesome test, almost everything I needed to know is explained, good and bad points.

It's really a huge improvement compared to the other tests I see where people only show tons of pictures (so what?!?) of the phone without telling what it can do well and what it can't.


Anyway, I do have a question. I am used to the SEk800 phone for a long time. I recently tried the E65 but there was some horrible feature in the multimedia items browser: items could not be browsed by folder.

I mean, opening the "pictures" or "videos" would always show every item in the memory card, although they were all organised in folders like "my girlfriend", "my friends", "summer 07", etc.

I returned it right after. I have more than 2gigs of pictures organised in folders in my memory card and the nokia wasn't able to let me browse them by folder.

Was this changed in the N82? Can you actually, let's imagine, create 2 separate folders in the pictures container and only browse 1 specific folder?

This is the last question I need an answer for before buying the N82. ;)

greetings from Switzerland

Anonymous said...

hi again
whats the difference in batery life when compared with n95 8 gb and n82
coz n95 8gb has 1200mAh battrey while n82 has 1050mAh, do reply

Greg said...

Fantastic review! I'm thinkng of picking one of these up soon here in the U.S.

One quick question as I (and most other Americans) have not used a S60 phone before: Am I able to turn off the 3G radio on the phone? 2100MHz is not one of the frequencies used here in the U.S., and I would like to be able to turn it off to save battery.

Thanks!

chickenbackside said...

antonio:
Yes, it is possible to organise your pictures properly. You can make as many different folders as you like and out whatever you want in them. All you have to do is follow Nokia's file organisation structure. Should take no time at all to organise all your photos in a way that will show properly on the phone.

Anonymous:
From my experience, they're about the same. The bigger screen of the N95-8GB offsets any advantage the bigger battery might have.

Greg:
Yes you can. Under "Network", you can choose "Dual Mode", "UMTS" or "GSM".

Anonymous said...

I am planing to buy a smart phone. I want to know the battery life of this phone. How strong it is when compared to N95 classic.

I read about battery analysis in this review. But I am unable to judge it. Could you please elaborate it? I mean, How frequently you have charged it during your evaluation.
With moderate usage will it come for a day or two?

Thanks.

chickenbackside said...

Anonymous:
The battery is quite decent for a device that can do so many things. Compared with the N95 classic, it's MUCH better. Easily 2 days of usage without charging with "moderate" usage.
Perhaps my other blog entry can give you a better idea:
http://meandmyphones.blogspot.com/2007/11/nokia-n82-battery-drain-test.html

Anonymous said...

Did u hear about the n82 in black ? is it official ? and if it is can u please tell me when well it be released . and if u get it plz send some pictures of it on this e-mail: (alssindi_jr@hotmail.com)
thanks ..

Brandon said...

I agree with you about the built-in browser's poor usability and wanted to say that I'm using Opera Mobile for S60 now and it's much faster (although nowhere as nice to use as the iPhone's). It lacks the quick zooming in and out that Opera Mini has, but their Small Screen Rendering technology makes things easier to deal with.

Also, there are shortcut keys for page up/page down! Scrolling in the built-in browser with the d-pad key was a royal pain.

chickenbackside said...

alssindi:
I cannot comment on that.

brandon:
Thanks for the tip. I'll check out Opera Mobile for sure...

Anonymous said...

is it true that there will be a black version of n82?

Anonymous said...

Yea, cumon "Chickenbackside," you dont actually have to "leak" information that would get you in trouble.

We all know you get Nokia info before it becomes public, so if you had to "Guess," do you think they would release a black one and if so, when?

This is just your personal opinion and would have nothing to actually do with the truth. :)

chickenbackside said...

Guys guys, just look at the N95.

By the way, there are already pictures of black N82's circulating around the internet!

Anonymous said...

to chickenbackside:

i've seen those black n82's.. but it's not real,those are edited versions

K C Yap said...

Hi, CBS, aka Barney :)

What a coincidence! I was Googling the W960i vs N82, as I'm considering either of these to complement or even replace my 838Pro, and ended up at your blog.

What are your thoughts on the W960 compared to the N82?

Thanks

Anonymous said...

I have to agree with myla0410, those are all photoshopped versions that are circulating around, none of which are real. And, CES is here and there has been no announcement... There is even a website taking pre-orders for black n82's with an "expected" arrival date of mid feb, Soo.. would you think it would be announced at 3gsm?

Cumon Chickenbackside Spill the Beans!!!!

chickenbackside said...

Again guys: look at the N95.

KC (which KC are you by the way?):
The W960i looks really interesting. Touchscreen, especially, is a big draw for me. Battery life seems good, not not fantastic. But other than that, the rest of the phone seems to be mediocore.

The specs simply cannot match up. No 5MP cam (3.2MP), no GPS (and the N82 one really works!), no HSDPA, no quadband GSM, slower processor (220 vs 332mhz), no accelerometer, no 3.5mm headphone jack, only one speaker...

Also, 8GB of built-in memory is already not a selling point as you can buy 8GB cards easily and 12 GB cards have already been announced and will be available soon.

Function wise, the W960i is no match for the N82. Simple as that. But it sure looks a hell of a lot better than the N82.

K C Yap said...

Barney, I'm torque_cog not subzero, though I also know him. You showed me your snail just after you installed in and also demo'd your Nuvi 360 to me.

OK, you've just convinced me enough that it should be the N82 over the W960i. My concern over N-series was the many comments about it slowing down and crashing as you use them.

What I like is the GPS, although I'm using a BT GPSr and Axim X30 in car, with my 838Pro as backup. The idea of having it as part of phone is especially useful when I'm not in car.

I had some problems with the maps not loading with a proto version from a friend working in Nokia.

The camera IQ was impressive for a phone, though I have very low expectations of such cameras, preferring to use a proper digicam. It's more for those instances when I don't have my Lumix FZ8 with me.

chickenbackside said...

KC:
I remember you vaguely. Anyway, hi again.

I know N series has reputation of slowing down and crashing. But that was then. The current generation of N series phones has so far proved to be extremely robust. Honestly. I've not had any problems with my N82 or N95-8GB, unlike the N73 and even the N95. So I don't think it's an issue now.

About the maps not being able to load, I can't comment on that as my experience is the opposite. Mine worked perfectly.

I know phone cams are crap compared with real cams, but I cannot go back to non 5MP and non xenon flashed cam phones after this. The power that you have in one little phone is just amazing. Even for that one single occasion that you need to take macro shots of some documents, it's already worth it.

Anyway, for people who are confused. My real name is Adam, my blog and forum nick is chickenbackside, and Barney is the nickname of my ex-car which somehow applies to me aka Adam aka chickenbackside.

K C Yap said...

CBS, thats very reassuring to hear about the stability of the N82/95-8GB.

Yes, I was very impressed by the quality of the half eaten bowl of laksa that I shot (flash on). All the details came right out! An you have a point about using it to take an image of a document in an emergency.

What's your new ride? Sorry for OT.

chickenbackside said...

KC:
Haha, there's no OT here. It's my blog, so can OT all we want.

The new ride? It's the puke coloured Saab you see further up this page...

K C Yap said...

I always have a soft spot for Saabs, my first car was the old 900S. There's something about its design that makes it special.

Anonymous said...

Its already been said but this is an awesome review, detailed, thorough fair, prompt. I've been googling n82 reviews for the last couple of days and nothing compares to this for detail. Thank you so much for all your effort. The discussion thread and extra comments are fab. Thanks again.

Soul Warrior said...

Hi CBS,
Just wanted to say that since the past month i was really confused ,which phone to buy and then i read your review.N82 is surely going to be my next phone.Have a simple question.Are the keys really that bad?

chickenbackside said...

David:
Thanks for your encouragement.

Rahul:
The keypad feels average. Nothing like the feel of the keypads of an E51 or N93, but nothing unacceptable.

However, as a keypad, it is definitely EFFECTIVE. I find myself making much less mistakes than any other keypad. It is very tactile. The very individual keys and wide spacing between them is the key to its effectiveness.

The keypad is much better than an N73. I prefer it to the N95 even. But the E51 has a better keypad.

It's hard to tell without actually using one for some time. People get turned off by it even after testing it in a shop, but really, you have to use it for a while to see that it's actually very easy to live with.

myla0410 said...

I've seen some n82's with silver drop-like or something at the back near the camera lens but some n82's doesn't have anything like that..

http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/7950/05012008086ih4.jpg

and

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w181/guaykarchng/N82-Back.jpg

are those two different from one another?

K C Yap said...

Myla, those are the tabs for the tear off plastic protecting the case part.

chickenbackside said...

Yup, KC's right. It's simply a tab for tearing off the plastic protector that ships with the phone.

Photo 1 is with protector.

Photo 2 is how the phone looks like after you tear off the protector.

Anonymous said...

=> Myla Rose

N82 has 2 color theme. 1 is white where u see the silver stardust-like rear color theme.
The other is grey which is the dull color theme. I bought both. 1 for my GF and me.

Thanks for KC's review. I didnt make the wrong choice. w960i was my other choice but i gave up after my collegue beat it to me and i tried. The UIQ is lag.
With N82 it a breeze. Camera is comparable with Sony compact camera with Infra-red feedback for accurate auto-focus. Best phone so far after my N70.

Michael

Unknown said...

Hi Chickenbackside,

I'm currently using a Nokia e65 & am quite satisfied with its overall performance. However it is time to upgrade & the N82 seems to be a good fit. I just wanted to know if two features currently available in the e-65 1)VOIP-push to talk & 2)push mail/e-mail synchronization are provided on N82. Not that I use these too often, but if not then it does give a feeling of losing candy & it hurts especially whilst upgrading your handset! Please advise. Thanks.

Shane Desmond

chickenbackside said...

Shane:
1) VOIP on the N82 is available via a 3rd party software called Fring

2) POP and IMAP email protocols are supported natively on the N82, as you might already know. But push mail is not natively supported. Unless you subscribed to a push email service, I find it better to pull email.

Anonymous said...

Hi!

At the moment I use SE W800 and there you can use LED flash as torch light. Does anyone know, if there is any software, that you can use xenon flash as torch light? I am also wonder, if N95 8gb has autorotate UI?

Thanks.
Bye

chickenbackside said...

No, there is no way to make the xenon light function as a torch light. My N95-8GB does not have auto screen rotate out of the box.

Anonymous said...

Thanks chickenbackside for quick answer. As you said, you have many phones. I have this option on my SE W800 and this feature (use the light as a torch light) is very good. Which other phones (N95 8gb or others) do have this option?

And thanks again.
Bye

K C Yap said...

Just got myself an N82 last night. I got the titanium backing instead of the white one. I think it looks better with the rest of the body.

Got it all scyn'd with my Outlook calendar and contacts.

One thing which I'm missing from my 838Pro and other WM pda phones... a profile manager. PhoneAlarm in WM allows my to automatically switch profile at defined times, and most important of all, based on calendar events. So when I have a meeting, it automatically switches to Meeting profile.

Is there something similar in the Symbian world for this?

Thanks

chickenbackside said...

anonymous:
The only phones I've come across that can use it's LED flash as a torch/video recording light are the N93 and N93i.

KC:
WM sure has Symbian beat in these respects. I have not come across anything like that in the Symbian world.

Anonymous said...

Hi Chickenbackside,

Very nice review, Nokia must be paying you well.

My question is regarding a black version of the N82. There are lots of photoshopped images of this online but none of them are real.

So my question is, do you think a black one will be released at the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona in a couple weeks? What are your thoughts, and also, I noticed you had been asked this question before and you said: look at the n95...

Well, the N95 black edition came with a more memory, more battery life, more ram, and a bigger screen. Do you think they will make improvements? I don't necessarily want a more memory or more ram, but I wouldn't mind a slightly bigger screen :D..

Once again, thank you for your generous review

K C Yap said...

CBS, PhoneAlarm is a godsend to me. I don't have to worry about the phone going off in a meeting or in the middle of the night! The whole profile switching is so seamless. Now, I'm really having to go back to the good old days of remembering to switch profiles when I go into meetings and at night.

Having said that, I'm really impressed by the integration that Nokia has put into the PC Suite App. It really makes managing various files much easier.

Having been using non-numeric key pad phones since the 9310 followed by WM phones, this is a journey of re-discovering the different paradigms of data entry and navigation.

chickenbackside said...

Jeff:
About the black phone, I can't comment.

About "Nokia must be paying you very well", I wish. Try not paid at all. I just get phones to fiddle with for a while. Maybe Nokia should start paying me. But that would take away objectivity, wouldn't it? I guess I'm destined to be poor.

KC:
The funny thing is, I have never used PC Suite in my life. I am an Apple user, so PC Suite doesn't work for me.

I know exactly how you're feeling adapting to alpha numeric keypads. I have not used any non-qwerty phone from Nokia 9110 to the Palm Treo 680. That's a long time. Although I manage fine now, gimme QWERTY any time.

K C Yap said...

I'm a Mac fan myself, though for office use, I'm stuck on Windoze...

Yup, once you use a QWERTY keyboard, tiny numeric keys are tough. I wanted something initially as a weekend phone over my 838Pro, since it was a bit too chunky for weekend wear. Going through a list of different phones, I ended up between two symbian phones, the W960i and the N82 because I needed to sync up my calendar and contacts. What blew me away were the picture quality of the N82, esp with flash.

So I'm on a getting to know it state now.

Anonymous said...

first of all Its most comprehesive review I have ever come accros on net about n82....I want to ask 2 questions:
1)Is there navi key avilable on n-82 like n-81?
2)Is there any scope of new version of n-82 with optical zoom in near future? like samsungs D800.

chickenbackside said...

KC:
At least you have access to a Windows machine. In my industry, most of my peers use Macs too. At home I have 6 Macs, but no Windows computer. Think I'll have to install Windows on one of my Macs.

There are good and bad about the N82, but so far, I've found it to be a very capable device.

I'm taking a break from it for a while to use E series phones. I already miss it.

Anonynous:
1) No navi key available like the N81.
2) Not likely to have optical zoom.

Anonymous said...

Can you confirm that there will be a black N82 with optical zoom? I also want release dates

Samir

Anonymous said...

WHaaaaaaaaaaa

A black N82 w/ optical zoom?!?!??! are you guys serious? when does that come out and how much will it cost!! (ppl who bought the regular n82 are retarted haha)

chickenbackside said...

Huh? I never said there was going to be a black N82 with optical zoom. In fact I said whatever the next update of the N82, whether black or pink or turqoise, is NOT likely to have optical zoom.

Anonymous said...

Hi CBS, thanks for a great blog!

I currently have an N91 and so far haven't found a phone to compare in terms of style, features and most importantly build quality. I tried the N95 8G and its build quality was relatively very poor. It seems that N series build quality is going down as they try and cram as many gizmos into newer devices. What do you think? How does the N82 compare? I tried the keypad for a moment in a store? Did you get used to it?

chickenbackside said...

ram:
They certainly don't make 'em like they used to. The N91 is made more like an E series phone. Metal all over. No current N series even comes close. However, functionally speaking, they're pretty much king of the hill. Yes, I did eventually get used to the keypad. It doesn't feel good, but it's pretty effective.

Anonymous said...

cbs, yep E series are pretty solid. Shame about the D-pad. The joystick on the older N series was MUCH better. When will you get your hands on an E66 tester?

Anonymous said...

Hello CBS,

My question for you is about the Black N82,
Mobilecityonline is already taking pre-orders for black N82's so I just don't understand why you can't comment on it? Intomobile.com has already confirmed that there will be a black and a white version so once again, why can't you comment?
I heard rumors that the black one will have an 8 megapixel cam w/ optical zoom and will be made for the US. Is this true?

BTW - very informative review!! I loved it (besides info on a black version)

Anonymous said...

Theres lots of info. on this on the net. Apparently Nokia have confirmed that more colours will be available Q1 2008 including a black one and a white one (with standard silver front) But some of the pics. are photoshop fakes. I think the websites taking orders are advanced orders for when it is released.

Anonymous said...

Hey Guys,

Yea.. still no "real" word or live pics of the N82 black edition... I also haven't heard about optical zoom although that would be sweet. So CBS, I assume you still can't comment on a black version?
But I have another question you might be able to answer. Do you know if yo can change the keypad lighting colors like the new Nokia Prism?

Thanks, Zak

chickenbackside said...

Ram:
I was looking forward to the new E series proto too. But unfortunately, my E series contact has moved on to another job and I doubt it'll be as easy to get protos as before. Sad.

Alfonso:
Yes, the white ones are already available. It's nothing more than a white cover. I can't comment on black one at this point of time. But 8 megapixel and optical zoom? Not likely.

Zak:
Anything's possible with enough money and expertise. Remember the old Nokia phones where people went crazy with the huge range of covers and keypad backlighting? Officially, there is no such option for the N82.

Anonymous said...

Can you comment on a black version yet?

Anonymous said...

How good it's loud speaker are? Are they too soft?

chickenbackside said...

charlie:
No comment.

Anonymous:
The speakers are not soft. However, the sound quality is shrill. Not very good for enjoying music with, but perfectly acceptable as a speakerphone and general purpose usage.

Unknown said...

Hey chickenbackside.
First of all excellent review. Thorough and very informative.
Secondly, although I can see this might seem redundant after the above post, can u comment in a little more detail about the speakers of the n82 ? More specifically, how do the speakers compare to those of the n73 M.E ? I'm currently using this phone and find the speaker sound is very nice, both in terms of sound quality and volume. In fact I would'nt even have thought of changing phones, had there not been a great number of software and hardware glitches that keep popping up on the n73. On a similar note, have you encountered any such problems with the n82 uptill now? You know, such as hanging or crashing?
Anyways thanks a lot and once again great review.

Anonymous said...

Chickenbackside,

Brilliant review, mate.

As you have both an iPhone and N82, I am interested to read that you would choose the N82 as your daily phone. I have an iPhone (hacked and unlocked to work on T-mobile in the UK - officially it's only O2 here). I love the iPhone's GUI, touch screen and web browser. I hate that I can't do something as simple as copy and paste. The camera is basic and there's no video recorder or GPS.

I'm very tempted by the N82 for its functionality but I do use the web a lot. My reading of your comments suggests that I would be very frustrated with the N82 browser. Would running Opera be a more acceptable solution given the screen size?

I also receive a lot of e-mails and send a fair number daily from the iPhone. In your opinion is e-mail better, same or worse on the N82?

Many thanks for taking the time to answer all our questions. You've a great blog.

chickenbackside said...

owais:
Speakers on the N73 do sound a bit better. Loudness is about the same, but the N82's speakers tend to distort more easily and they do sound more shrill. Other than that, there is nothing on the N82 that is inferior to the N73. The new generation of S60 software is very robust in my experience. Hanging or crashing simply does not happen to me, although some cases have been reported sporadically. But these cases are in the minority and they are usually linked to incompatible 3rd party software. The N82 is simply a league up from the N73 in terms of function and OS stability and especially, SPEED. I am confident that you will like it.


UK-Lad:
Running Opera is a lot better than using the default web browser, but predictably, it's still far away from the iPhone's Safari interface. Objectively speaking, there is virtually nothing out there that can come close to the iPhone's web browsing experience, except the N810, which is not a phone.

Receiving and sending emails on the N82 is quite painless too. Again, the interface is nowhere near as elegant or nice as the iPhone.

If things like taking fantastic pics, video recording, VoIP, 3.5G connection speed, tonnes of 3rd party software, ability to edit/view Office documents, Ngage games, video calls, very effective GPS...etc is not important to you, I suggest you keep your iPhone and enjoy it.

For me, the iPhone's lack of function is simply not acceptable as I use everything I'ved mentioned and more every single day. Everytime I use my iPhone, I end up having to go home in the middle of the day to swap to a more functional phone.

But that's just me.

Anonymous said...

HI
is this phone louder than the nokia n73?
Also are they going to release a black version if yes when?
Great reveiw please reply
Thanks
aj_adnan8@yahoo.co.uk

Anonymous said...

Thanks. I've got an N82 on its way - you get a 14-day trial here with O2 so I figure I'll be able to make a decision in that time period. Probably the things I feel I would really miss from the iPhone are the screen and browser. But, like you, I value the functionality that I can't get with the iPhone.

I'll let you know what I think once I've had a few days to play with it.

Thanks.

K C Yap said...

I've had the N82 for about 2weeks now, and am enjoying it. The GPS works wonderfully and the camera's quality is more than I can hope for in a phone.

One thing which I just realised after looking at the specs again. It says the camera has a 20X digital zoom, and 5 megapixels up to 6X. In the camera Settings, there is an option for extended zoom.

I tried a zoom with with extended zoom set to Off, and the image size is the same as the picture taken without the zoom. Image quality definitely went down.

Can someone help me understand this? Isn't digital zoom all the same?

chickenbackside said...

adnan:
If you're talking about the speakers, I just replied it in the post above yours. No comment on the "black version".

UK-Lad:
Good luck mate. Hope you can get used to the Symbian interface.

KC:
You got me there!

Anonymous said...

the n82 black version

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2360/2246132466_ac5befd993_o.jpg

from
http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_n82_black_version_pops_up-news-427.php

Anonymous said...

Hello there chickenbackside, I'm sick and tired of carrying 3 devices everytime i go to a party and i've decided that i should go after a multimedia device and I've currently nailed down either the N95 8GB or the N82. From wad you said earlier on, "Every morning, I look at all my phones, and I when I pick any phone besides the N82, I always regret before the day ends." Why do u regret taking the N95 8GB out for the day? Does the N95 8GB have some sort of con or fault that u just cannot withstand? Have u tried downloading the DivX player onto either ur N82 N95 8GB? Do they work well enough to display the movies downloaded? Thanks in advance!
Cheers! Happy CNY!

chickenbackside said...

Anonymous:
Happy CNY to you too!
2 reasons why I prefer the N82 to N95-8GB. First is the xenon flash. This is going to make a huge difference in the quality of the pictures you take, ESPECIALLY during parties. As I often have to take macro shots of documents in very low lighting condition, the N95-8GB can only give me white wash. I can't even see a single word when I take close up pictures with the N95-8GB's LED flash. The N82 on the other hand, gives me focused, perfectly clear pictures, even in PICTH BLACK conditions.
Secondly, for some reason, the N82's GPS takes less time to achieve a GPS satellite lock than the N95-8GB. This is very important to me. When I suddenly decide to use GPS, the thing I appreciate most is lightning fast satellite fix. The N82 with AGPS activated is certainly very very quick in that department.
Sorry I have not installed the DiVX player, so I can't comment on that one.

Anonymous said...

As promised, some initial thoughts on the N82. I've had it a couple of days and it's a mixture of delight and frustration.

- Delight at the camera - excellent.

- Love Nokia Maps. It's fast to find satellites and holds a signal really well. Better than my Navman (a few years' old) SatNav. In my car with a heated front windscreen the Navman wouldn't work without a separate aerial. The N82 not only works through the heated front windscreen, it also works almost anywhere in the front of the car - on the passenger seat; inside a recessed dashboard that doesn't have a view of the sky; etc. I'm very impressed.

- WiFi is fine

- 3G gives a far better remote data experience than Edge on my iPhone.

BUT...

- I hate the keyboard! Returning to typing on number pad entry/predictive text is painful after the iPhone QWERTY keyboard. True I waste time on the iPhone with its suggested words and correcting mistakes but the N82's weakness is the difficult to read legends under the keys. Whoever thought that white on silver was a great way to display text needs an eye test. Even though it's backlit I struggle to maintain speed. That and the small keys.

- The S60 browser. I've been spoiled by the iPhone browser experience. The S60 browser comes in a poor second in comparison,

E-mail: writing e-mails is easier for me on the iPhone. I find the only acceptable way of using (particularly browsing) e-mails on the N82 is to forward everything to my Google Mail account and read them in the mobile version of GMail on the S60 browser. Easier to reply from there, too, rather than the built-in e-mail.

My N82 arrived flawed - the faceplate around the screen was raised on one side above the green call key, so it's being replaced. I still have another ten days or so to test the device before deciding on whether to keep it.

I really do love having nearly everything in one mobile but I would then have to accept serious compromises on the typing side. As I type a lot of texts and like to reply to some e-mails from my mobile I'm leaning towards rejecting the N82. I'm going to practice my typing on the N82 keyboard to see if I can grow to love it (well, find it acceptable). But I do consider it a backward step for me.

Also, I know, with a little patience, that the S60 touch screen isn't too far away and that there will be more touch mobiles soon. Apple may also yet come out with the iPhone they should have delivered with a decent camera, GPS, etc.

BUT I WANT IT ALL NOW! AGHHHHHH!

Decisions, decisions...

Anonymous said...

chickenbackside:
Regarding the N95 8GB, not even the large screen can make up to the slow gps lock time? Does the N82's D-pad feel cheap, it does in photos but is it really cheap in person? Wad about the Apple Iphone?
Once again, thanks alot!

chickenbackside said...

UK-Lad:
Nothing surprising right? I'm sure you expected it all. I understand perfectly your frustration with alpha numeric keypads. I used QWERTY's for qbout 10 years and only quite recently switched back to alpha numeric keypads, and there have been many times that I wanted to smash my alpha numeric keypad phones on the floor.

But give it some time, you will soon see that each has their own advantages. There is no way that a QWERTY keypad is as fast as an alpha numeric one when using one-handed. Get used to the T9 and and texting is pretty much as fast as a QWERTY keypad.

Interface is limited by screen size, so you can never expect it to be as nice looking or pleasant as an iPhone.

I actually find email on the N82 just fine. Sure the iPhone's is prettier, but I don't really see a huge difference in terms of function.

From what I can see, the compromises are all screen size and related. All of which you have seen coming. Function wise, the iPhone is pretty far behind...


Anonymous:
Nope, not even the N95-8GB's screen size. That's just me. I'm not really seeing a lot more with the N95-8GB's screen as compare with the N82's. Plus the N82's screen looks better to me being not so blur looking.

The thing I dislike most about the N82 is the D pad. It's not a matter of feeling cheap. I have issues with the sides of the broad centre button being able to move the mouse around, making it rather imprecise.

The iPhone is a totally different thing altogether. It has no keypad and you type its screen. Functionally, the iPhone is nowhere near as capable as an N82. But it is king in terms of media/internet content consumption. So it really depends on which type of user you are.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for all your help...
I just have these final set of questions lol, hope u can help me one more time. Thanks!
Do u find the screen of the N95 8GB pixelated?
Is the display on the N82 more crisp as compared to the N95 8GB side by side?
Like u said in the sound quality test between the N91 N82 and the IPOD, the N82 loses out only because of it's softer volume, but audio quality wise, in your opinion is it good enough to replace an IPOD?
And lol the last question, can i know whether after long term usage with your N95 8GB, does the lack of the camera lens outer cover really affect the camera's picture quality as dust might collect? Will the outer lens collect dust? And have you scratched your lens or something?

Thanks alot chickenbackside, appreciate it! Cheers!

chickenbackside said...

Anonymous:
1) I won't say it's pixelated. Just not as sharp. The N82's display is definitely more crisp than the N95-8GB's.

2) Audio quality wise, I feel it's definitely good enough to replace an iPod. If you're used to listening to high volumes with your iPod, then I'd suggest you get a pair of earphones that are easy to drive.

In any case, you have to remember that an iPod only plays music/video. An N82 has to do alot more energy sapping things like HSDPA, wifi, xenon flash...etc, so if you're one who listens you your iPod all the time, you'd better not expect too much from the battery.

3) As far as I can see from my N95-8GB, there is no dust collected under the lens. I use it far less now, so maybe I'm not in a position to answer that accurately. Yes, without a lens cover, the lens will inevitably get scratched unless you use a case and are very very careful with it. When the lens get scratched, obviously the pictures will be affected.

Again, on mine, it hasn't happened.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for all the help chickenbackside...Gonna get the N82 if the black one is a US only version, if not gonna wait for the black one :)
Thanks alot..Have a happy new year and a prosperous year ahead!

Anonymous said...

Regarding the phone not standing for taking pictures.

It's possible to use the SD slot cover to stabalise the phone. Youhave to be a bit careful, but you can get it free standing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hz3X1NxOTA&feature=related

Unknown said...

Hi,

I haven't had time to read the forum yet. Will be reading it tomorrow.

Can I ask a question? Do you know if the black N82 will come out?

I am not sure if I should wait for the black one or get the white one.

Thanks so much!

Unknown said...

Hi chickenbackside,

Great review - particularly like the video demonstrating the N82's fall-over-ability!

I have just upgraded to an old N95, and enjoy using it - but find the battery life a real annoyance.

I haven't had chance to update the firmwear yet (which I've heard improves it) but having looked at both, would you say the N82 offers better battery life than the N95?

Thanks

Unknown said...

Hi great review. I also currently own an n82 but I've had my eye on the apple iPhone for a while for the music and because it looks realy cool. Is the n82 a better phone?

Unknown said...

Could you get back 2 me on waynesmyspace@gmail.com thanks I would realy appreciate it.

Roz said...

I am so glad I ran into your blog!! After reading your extremely comprehensive and thorough review, I went from wanting the N95 8GB to ordering the N82 Black the very same day! I can't wait! Thanks so much for all you went through to review these phones!

Anonymous said...

NOKIA N91 blog

Anonymous said...

Nokia N81 Preview blog at mobile zone blog

Anonymous said...

I just bought this phone after trying the N95 8G. I didn't like the weight and rubbish slider on that so here I am.

For those that complain about the keypad, looks etc - it's all down to personal preference. It looks fabulous and the keypad is much better than my previous Luna and N95 8G. However, I don't find that it's any quicker than the latter.

Get this phone, you will love it.

d280488 said...

I`ve a problem whenever I play music in Music Player and Open Camera for clicking a pic the phone hangs nothing opens up neither menu or any application.

d280488 said...

n your info convenced me to buy N 82
superb reveiw
great work

bfmstg said...

hi CBS,

good review on the N82. thanks for the details on the set and i finally bought a brand new Black N82 yesterday. limited stocks as the sales staff mentioned nokia trying to clear the white versin before official launched of black version.

love it so much that i let my wife had it first.....=) maybe getting another one for own use.

cheers

Anonymous said...

very clear and depth explanation

Anonymous said...

Great review... but suddenly Nokia has increased the SAR values to 1.35 W/Kg :S

Anonymous said...

it's great to read about the capabilities of n82. but have you ever tried of using IM or chatting your friends using n82. how about voice chat using n82's wifi features?

Anonymous said...

Thank you for your informative review. It has certainly helped make up my mind and choose the N 81 over the N 95

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Anonymous said...

Hi there from Taiwan! A few words--

Wow. I have never seen a review as good as yours. That was really good. Keep it up.

A comment on the photo quality of the N82 (and N95). There is a known problem with very aggressive jpg compression on the N82. 5MP is a lot but not when they compress so highly. A lot of the blurry spots very likely had detail that was washed out on compression. Plants (leaves, grass) and other highly detailed objects are destroyed by the compression. Obviously colors starting off as wrong or noise can't be fixed by lowering the compression, but being able to choose the compression level is a sorely, sorely lacking feature. It's funny because it's a way of improving the camera by doing less "work", but they don't have it (yet?).

BTW--Your Leica is nice. Very nice pictures in many different lighting conditions.

Anonymous said...

One question. Is it possible to use the N82 as a WiFi base station? I.e. use the 3G connection as the internet connection and then allow another device to connect over the WiFi connection to access the internet? That would be a great feature. Maybe an iPod Touch--N82 combo could be a winner this way?

Anonymous said...

Yes it's possible. This app allows you to share your internet connection over WiFi (and as you suggested, with an iPod Touch!).

Anonymous said...

Yeah, honestly, Nokia sucks for not thinking of putting in a choice of amount of compression for the N82. They tease with great specs and a great xenon flash, but it really is a waste in many conditions if they're going to just compress that all away and leave you with compression artifacts and blurry spots.

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