More features than you can shake a stick at - at a price (Nokia N80)

Member Name: andycris3107

Product:	Nokia N80
Date:	07/08/06 (1606 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Amazing screen, 3.2mp camera, WiFi connection, series 60 platform

Disadvantages: Short battery life, under powered WiFi radio, unintuitive setup, occassionally buggy software.

I remember a few years ago reviewing the first batch of 3G mobile phones as they came to market. they were big, they ate batteries, and the overall quality was questionable.

How things have changed!

It's almost as if those guys at Nokia got together over a beer to debate just how much they could get into a standard sized mobile phone and just kept going until they ran out of possibilities.

What they ended up with was the Nokia N80. A device that has everything you could imagine frome a mobile phone, and then some.

Just a little before those first 3G handsets hit the shelves Nokia came out with the 7650. The first Series 60 sliding handset which eventually became the prototype for the N80.

BUILD QUALITY
The design of the handset is solid and well thought out. It's polished metal front gives it a feel of quality, though this has the side effect of attracting sticky fingerprints. The phone itself sits comfortably in the palm though those used to a slim pocket friendly piece may find this a little on the large side. In real terms the handset is slightly smaller than the 6680 though just a little thicker.

The slider is smooth and of the non-click type; not to everyones liking though this still feels solid.
A negative side effect of this arrangement however is that the positioning of the power on button at the top of the phone tends to result in the unintentional opening of the slider when pressed. (This is required to lock the keypad when in the closed position).

USEABILITY.
Using the phone is as easy as with all previous Seris 60 devices, and those used to the standard nokia menu will have few problems.
Those more used to non Nokia models may find this a little complex as the increased functionality of the series 60 software makes for a more complex menu system made up of icons and folders.
Thankfully the basic functions such as address book and call handling features are given priority and are easily accessible with a single click.
Later versions of the series 60 platform include a handy shortcut menu on the main screen which is customisable to allow access to 6 applications of your choice without the need to plod through the menu system. The other hot keys too are customiseable allowing for easier access to your favourite features.
A noticeable addition to the N80 is the multimedia key which is essentially a shortcut to a sub-menu of shortcut keys for use with the joypad.
All in all this leads to a high degree of customisation though with so many options it can be a struggle to remember just where everything is.

One area where Nokia could perhaps spend a little more time is in the settings and configuration layout of the menu system. Even for an experienced series 60 user such as myself this area seemed overly complex in certain areas and configuring a specific area of the phone could become frustrating if you can't find the option relevant to the feature you wish to edit.

MULTIMEDIA
The big difference with the N80 is the screen quality which is nothing short of amazing. Watching movies or viewing images is very satisfying on such a magnificent screen.

Taking photos with the 3.2mp camera once again blurs the gap between phone and camera as the phone is used in a horizontal position for this purpose with the shutter button just where you would expect it if it were a dedicated camera. The resulting images are of excellent quality, though a little annoying is the

sound of the shutter a full second or so before the shot is actually taken. Another annoyance is the abundance of blurred images where the subject has moved mid shot. More worthy of mention though is the options menu which allow for colour, contrast and sharpness adjustments prior to taking the shot as well as chosing the shot type such as portrait, landscape, night shot etc. The front of the phone has a handy - if somewhat fragile - macro switch for close up shots

and of course a built in flash with red-eye reduction.
With an inbuilt photo editing option your snaps can be edited, framed, or reworked right on the phone. Additionally the video feature too has it's own dedicated editor built-in, allowing for full video editing on the device - though the MP4 capture is not the best quality.
Overall the camera is of excellent quality though a little pixcelated in darker shots.
The included slide show feature allows for easy access to images and movies in panoramic mode and is smooth and easy to operate.

Viewing of movies - either filmed with the camera or converted from dvd - is again a doddle with the bundled real player software which allows for normal or full screen view in normal or panoramic mode.

Using the N80 as an MP3 player is far more rewarding than you may imagine, with access to tracks and playlists organised by artist, albumn, genre or composer. And a good interface to bring these together. The bundled software allows for easy conversion into Nokias own music format though MP3 or WMA are
just as acceptable. The supplied headphones with volume control are more than adequate, as too is the built in speaker which won't give full base sound but is remarkably acceptable nevertheless.

Like many Nokai phones the N80 comes with a built in radio, which in this case has the visual radio service bundled also. You do need the headphones attached in order to obtain reception but the clarity is superb and the speaker can be activated if you want to share your music with your friends.
Strangely however despite several attempts I have yet to see the visual radio service in action.

More of interest to me however is the use of the device for web radio. Using WiFi and the Real player I was able to connecte happilly to the likes of BBC radio.

CONNECTIVITY
A striking feature of the N80 is it's new safari based web browser which makes full use of the exceptional screen quality by allowing for full screen web pages which are easily readable and a wonderful change from other mobile browsers. Additionally the RSS feed application is simple and effective and a great way to read snippets on the move.

Of course using the browser requires an internet connection, and it's here that the N80 excels. In addition to standard GPRS connection the N80 sports 3G connectivity, bluetooth, infrared and of course the famed 802.11g wifi connection.
Use of all of these is really quite a doddle. 3G takes over when on the move and when available, this of course turns to GPRS when not. Standard bluetooth connectivity is a breeze and connecting to a PC or headset is so easy it's hardly worth a mention.
Wifi connections though can take a little more time to master. Un-encrypted connections are simple enough though those with WEP require you to enter this on every connection unless you have preconfigured this in the settings menu - which in itself is a little unintuitive and may require some patience. Once connected though the possibilities are endless and I was able to easilly stream BBC radio to the phone and browse the web at warp-like speeds.
A downside however of having so many radios in one device is the limited spaace to put them, which in turn results in a reduced range. WiFi only seems stable within 15 metres or so of a hotspot which is a shame as this can be somewhat limiting.


APPLICATIONS
As a series 60 device the possibilities are endless. Already the number of applications available defies belief; from dictionaries and translators to stock marked analysis and pretty much everything in between.
The N80 goes one step further, relying on the series 60 3rd edition software with increased functionality.
Bundled with the phone then are a host of ready to use applications to give you a taster of the possibilites.
Standard now on all series 60 devices is the PIM application set that allows for synchronisation with MS outlook or other mail products to track your address book, calendar, tasks and emails. Add to this the new PUSH mail system and the device can now synchronise seamlessly with a corporate mail system running MS exchange server. Additionally Imap and Pop mail is also supported and set up of my own gmail account, though a little testing was finally achieved.
Other apps tried and tested are the lifeblog - excellent for tracking all of your activity, the converter and calculator apps, and finally the remarkable quick office.
One app that certainly singles out series 60 phones from the rest is the GPS option as provided by TomTom or Route 66. Add a bluethooth receiver, install the software onto a micro SD card and away you go. Unfortunately however the 3rd edition platform is not currently supported by TomTom, rendering my rather expensive purchase useless, however a new release is expected soon which should resolve this issue. Thankfully and somewhat strangely the version 7 of route 66 released some time ago is fully compatible.


THE PHONE
Of course all of this builds only on the fact that this is really first and foremost a telephone.
Useability in this area is typically Nokia; easy and straight to the point.
With both voice and video the making, receiving, and overall handling of calls is simple and straight forward.
My one gripe in this area is the occasional loss of signal strength; though I should point out that this was rare.
Of more concern though was the battery life, which in normal operation is more than adequate. you should expect several days out of a single charge if you only wish to make and receive calls and occasionally use the features. Begin to use the wifi, bluetooth and other features though and you can almost see the battery charge indicator falling. For this reason the device is shipped with an extra battery - though this is of little consolation if you find yourself cut short.


CONCLUSION
This is a pioneering device which will no doubt lead the market in terms of features and quality for a while at least.
The array of features and possibilities is endless though this does come at a price; the short battery life is a shame, as too is the decission by Nokia to use a non standard charger - rendering my spaghetti mountain of Nokia chargers useless.
Throughout all of the tests above the phone performed admirably, though on occasion the device did suffer from bugs and unprompted reboots. Which I would hope Nokia will resolve in future software releases. The menu system, though good could be a little more intuitive, especially in the settings area where you risk losing yourself in maze of features.

Ultimately if you are a person on the move who likes to stay connected in every way possible then this phone is for you. The array of applications available

and incredible flexibility make this a first choice business phone. If however you merely wish to make calls and take the occasional snap, then perhaps this

has more than you need. The only remaining question has to be 'what next?' Where can Nokia go from here? I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Summary: A taste of the future in an incredibly small package - though this comes at a price.

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