05 September 2008
Nokia N81 8GB Review
Music Enthusiast's Favourite!
 Well, honestly I didn't expect much, when I knew I would get myself a Nokia N81 8GB.
I was expecting a Mid-Range Smartphone with basic S60 Equipment, something like a nice Toy with huge Storage but nothing special? 8 GB of internal Storage, Navi Wheel and dedicated Gaming Buttons and a dedicated Keylock Button, that pretty much kept my Attention but then? Did it surprise me? .. Read on!
When I unpacked the N81 8GB, I was really surprised of the Weight? Wow, really heavy Phone. 140 Gramm, acording to the Nokia Specifications Sheet!
The Phone itself feels, I hate to say that, but nothing more than cheap. It's sporting the well-known black Nokia glossy Paint, which is Fingerprints Favourite The Joypad is one of the Worst I 've ever had in my Hands. Pushing the Joypad doesn't give any Feedback, it's even hard to know if you have actually pushed the Menu Button for example, it's really hard to notice.
Sometimes the Joypad cracks a Bit, which is another Example of the horrible Material-Quality! If we look under the Screen, we have the Navi-Wheel, which allows you to "rotate" through your Music Collection, Picture/Video Gallery and some other Menus, ipod-style! It takes some Time to get used to how the Rotation works, but if you're into it, you realize yourself using it scrolling through the Gallery etc!Pushing the Navi-Wheel in the usual Way feels good, sometimes you need to push it a bit hard, but it works good and I 'm sure this Navi-Wheel won't brake, ever.
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The Button Army continues: 2 Softkeys, Green Call Button, Red Button, Multimedia Menu Button, Menu Button, C-Button, Play-, Stop- and Prev-/Next-Buttons. In my Opinion, that's definitely too much. Why not make it a double Slider for Example? .. Anyways, the Screen is a 2,4" QVGA Screen (240x320 pixels), in well known Nokia Quality. Everything looks crisp on it and is very readable.
Ah yeah, the Slider .. The Slider was better than the One on N95 on first Sight, but it turned out to be no Samsung-like Slider unfortunately. It's rock-solid when the Slider is closed, but one it's opened, it becomes quite wiggly and wobbly, which I personally HATE more than everything on such expensive Smartphones. There's still a Lot of Improvement to do in Nokia's Slider Department.
If we turn the Phone around, the Backside gives us a Look at the 2 MP Camera, which is pretty annoying, I expected this Device to have at least a 3,2 MP Carl Zeiss Cam, but instead we get a very useless 2 Megapixel Camera for quick Snapshots. If you plan to do Visits, better take your Digital Camera with it.
The Pictures are very blurry, like you have a Curtain in Front of the Lens, Night Shots are clearly dominated by the LED Flash... I just can't be Friends with that Camera .. Another Thing I 'm not really impressed with, is the Surface on the Backside, as it's in the same glossy Quality like the Frontside, which means VERY slippery. Why can't we see some Rubber Parts, for a more grippier Experience?
The Sides of the Nokia N81 8GB are sporting maybe the best Features of this Phone: The N81 has the best Speakers I 've EVER heard on a Phone so far. The Output is very crisp and clear, even on higher Volumes. It's a real Pleasure to have the Music running on it - so PLEASE Nokia give us those Speakers on other Devices as well, we need them!! On the right Side, we see the Cam Button, which starts the Camera Application via long Press.
On the Bottom of the N81 8GB we have the Charging Connector (small One like on all(?) N-Series), and the Micro USB Port, for 2.0-Data Exchanges. Located on Top of the Device is the On-/Off-Button, as well as the 3,5mm AV Connector. Unfortunately the N81 8GB doesn't support TV-Out, so this one is for Headsets only. Something you don't very find very often is the Keylock-Slider.
Slide it to the right Side, locks your Keypad, slide it again unlocks it. Pretty neat Feature, but unfortunately the Combination of left and right Softkey to unlock the Keypad doesn't work. So you're forced to unlock via Keylock-Slider or sliding the Keypad open. Seems like this has changed from the N95 to the N81.
Connectivity:
The N81 gives us a wide Range of Connectivity Features, which are already explained on the Specifications Sheet. The only missing Thing is HSDPA (3,5G), but this is only available in bigger Cities here, which I 'm no Part off, so I didn't miss this very much. WLAN IEEE802.11 b/g with UPnP, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP, Micro USB 2.0 and 8 Gigabyte of internal Storage means a LOT of Possibilities, which I 'm very thankfull.
You're able to store Loads of Music and Videos on the Device and listen to it over and over again, via the A+ Speakers or the packed Nokia Music Headset HS-45 with remote control AD-54. The Remote, an Addition which is very welcome gives full Music Player Control with Media Keys, Volume Buttons, and of course a Call Button - No Questions left, this Device is fully oriented on Music!
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Software:
Symbian V9.2 S60 3rd Edition, Feature Pack 1, a fully packed Software Experience. Even the worst Phone gets an Open-Source Touch and can be personalized like Hell with Symbian, that's what I love about it hehe .. There is nothing groundbreaking, except of the Navi-Wheel Support I mentioned earlier and a new Text-to-Speech Feature, which reads your SMS. Sounds quite funny in Reality, I had a hard Time understanding what the Voice was telling me.
But anyways, this could be a handy Feature, once its properly improved! Well known Functions like the Multimedia Menu (new one unfortunately), Nokia Maps (without built-in GPS Receiver), N-Gage, Music Store are all available - Plus, after Software Update to the latest V20.0.056, the N81 is the first Device to sport the awesome Menu Transitions, which look really fance, but unfortunately slowing the whole Menu Browsing down. Decide on your own, but I had a Fun Time watching at those Transitions!
A little Downside on the Software Side maybe, is the Music Player, which can't be closed, like on the Nokia N76. I don't know why, but on the other Hand, with around 90 MB RAM after Startup, this won't ever trouble you!
Conclusion:
The Nokia N81 8GB, a Device causing both, Hate and Joy in my Opinion. I love my Phone to be an Allrounder, which the N81 8GB clearly is not. If you are a Music Enthusiast and traveling a Lot, this Phone is the One you have waiting for. The excellent Stereo Speakers, located on both, the left and the right Side, will make your Music Experiences one of a Kind, as I have never heard such good Speakers before, even on louder Volumes.
The packed Headset and Remote are completing the Music Awesomeness, dedicated Media Keys on the Headset-Remote, as well on the Joypad, are clearly speaking for themselves. 8GB of internal Memory gives LOTS of Space for your Music and Videos, even for longer Trips, you'll have more than enough Tunes to hear - and in Case you have not, hop in the Music Store and get some more!
But on the other Hand, there are some Things I was not so satisfied with. The Material Choice could have been much much better, the Plastic feels very cheap, also the Slider could be much much better on such an expensive Phone.
The Camera is for quick Snapshots only, don't expect any spectacular Shots, those 2 Megapixel Cam-Standards as soon as possible, 3,2 MP Carl Zeiss, if not a 5 Megapixel Cam already. What I 'm personally missing as well is the left-/right Softkey Combination to lock/unlock the Keypad. This was one of the most-used Combination on my N95 - not even the dedicated Keylock-Slider could replace that. The Pencil Key is also one missed Feature, but I truly doubt we'll ever see that usefull little Helper again!
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The N81 - a Music Power Tool with some Downsides, bad Material Quality and even worse Cam, but with Loads of Connectivity, Software and Gaming Qualities. I 'll give that black Piece of Sexyness 5/10 Points, there was enough Room to do something better in my Opinion!
SF Review: Nokia N81 8GB - Music Enthusiast's Favourite!
Originally posted: 03.09.2008
Last Updated: 05.09.2008
Author: Michael Hell
Copyright: Symbian Freak 2008; all rights reserved
Of Course a big big Thank You to WOM World for giving me the Opportunity to trial the N81 8GB!!
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