15 January 2006
Nokia N76 Hands On
Nokia's (IMPRESSIVE) Strike back on RAZR!
It was an impressive first look .. a RAZR-lookalike Symbian Smartphone, Stylish, Useful and Sexy .. I had a little time to sit down and analyze it.. ..and here's my report, another Symbian Freak Exclusive!
The first look - one of the finest toys ever ..
On the unofficial press release on Sunday Evening, we had the opportunity to get our eyes exclusively on the black edition (the red one next day) and the first thing came in my mind: Girl's Phone!?.. The N76 looks stylish with it's mirror touch (don't forget to polish all the time!), a nice external screen (1.36 inch color display (160 x 128 pixels) TFT with up to 262,144 colors), dedicated mp3 player buttons .. all what a phone needs so far ..
But that's not all.. If you have a closer look you will see something.. "NEW!?" YES! Mini-USB 2.0 and 3,5mm Audio Jack!! FINALLY.. it was about time Nokia, it definitely was about time! .. turning the device around gives you a look on the zoom/volume buttons on the side, camera button and the cam/gallery switch button ..
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*click to enlarge |
Open Sesame - Hello Mr. RAZR Clone
Open up the unexpected slim screen gives you a look on the keypad.. which is, without a doubt a RAZR-lookalike. But I think it's needed to make the phone that slim (13.7 mm). Overall the buttons are good to push, not too hard, not too soft. Only bad thing is the position of the C- and the Pencil-Button. I hit the keypad more than those keys ..
The Screen is a bright 2.4 inch QVGA (240 x 320 pixels) TFT with up to 16 million colors. nothing to complain about that, still I’d like a little bigger one, 2,6" at least would be really nice. Above the screen are the light indicator and the second cam for video calls!
Connectivity, Storage, and some other Stuff
The BIGGEST Improvement to other Nokia N-Series Devices is definitely the possibility of Mini-USB and the 3,5mm Audio Jack.. I just love that, it's so much easier now .. no more Pop-Port!! HOORAYY!! Bluetooth 2.0 is also on board, which are the basics to have on a phone!.. 3G is also on board, unfortunately no WLAN!
The N76 has 26 MB free Memory on Board, not that much if you ask me.. Also it supports MicroSD (OH COME ON!) up to 2 Gigs Storage.. So this means another Card to buy I guess it's cause of space problems
Cam/Pictures.. Good job Nokia!
As i already said.. The Main Camera provides 2 megapixel (1600x1200 pixels), videos are recorded up to QVGA at 15 fps recorded in mp4, which is kind of a standard nowadays.. Cam looks nice, comparable to N70/E70, the Flash is a little too bright for closer shots IMO but still better than the crappy N93i flash.. Unfortunately i didn't get that much good shots to provide, i had it only for one evening and my room wasn't in such a good light.. I hope you can see a bit of it's quality, I’ll upload them in the next few days!
The 2nd cam is a CIF (384 x 320) cam, dedicated for the video calls, no big thing, but does its job!
One thing that is fascinating about the N76 is that you're able to preview your pictures LANDSCAPE on the external screen, shot the picture, open the phone and watch it on the main screen! This is really useful for snapshots, no need to open the phone anymore!
Another nice feature is the direct upload feature.. shoot your picture/video, upload - done! Unfortunately i wasn't able to try that yet .. sorry guys, next time! Also I’ve heard that the package comes with Adobe Photoshop Album Starter Edition to edit your pictures on the PC .. nice package if you ask me ..
It's all about the Music ..
Nokia undoubtedly concentrated on music .. Hit the Music Buttons under the external screen, that's it! Quite easy! you're able to control the basic features directly on the little screen .. They didn't do many improvements on the Media Player, why? Cause it's one of the best anyway .. supports MP3/ AAC/ eAAC/ eAAC+/ WMA with play lists and equalizer with a very nice sound on the built-in speakers, in fact one of the best sounds i ever listened too! But with only 26 MB you HAVE to use a microSD card ..
If you're to listen to your mp3s, just jump to the built-in FM-Radio! a cool thing when it comes to listen to your news in my opinion ..
Download and play WMDRM protected music - I’ve read that on the Nokia Homepage, i have to find out what exactly that means .. honestly I have no idea
Again Symbian OS S60 3rd Edition!
Unfortunately the N76 runs on 3rd edition again! That means again, no fully moddable phone .. BUT we have again the Safari Browser built in (LANDSCAPE BROWSING INCLUDED)! Also why not read PDF Files, or watch documents or excel files!? one of the good things you get with this device! But still no access to system folders!
The Battery is not a Joke .. It's UNDER it!
Reading through the Technical Specifications i saw one thing, i didn't know if i wanna laugh or cry: Nokia Battery (BL-4B) 700mAh included!
ARE YOU KIDDIN NOKIA!?? This Battery won't last 1 day on 3G, I bet my last pair of boxer shorts on it!
Talk time: up to 120 minutes (3G) / up to 165 minutes (GSM)
It is IMPOSSIBLE to handle such a phone .. It’s necessary to have a charger with you all day or maybe 2nd battery pack, otherwise you will simply run out of power ..
One last Thing: The N76 is one of the most stabile phones I’ve EVER seen .. dunno if I’m allowed to talk about it yet, but there's some stuff you will hear in some days
Positive Impressions:
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- Slim, stylish Design
- Dedicated Music Keys
- USABLE external screen
- MINI-USB 2.0 and 3,5mm Audio Jack!
- Cool Keypad Design
- Cam Preview on the External Screen
- Mp3 Playback is controllable via music keys
- SMS are readable on the External Screen
- Landscape Browsing via Safari
- Built in FM-Radio
Negative Points:
- Terrible Battery
- Too bright Flash (!?)
- S60 3rd Edition
- MicroSD Support
- Only 26 MB internal Memory
Conclusion:
The N76 is gonna be Nokia's next Bestseller! It’s slim design with the stylish mirror finish looks really sexy, but overall it's a fully functional Smartphone with a nice 2 MP Cam !
The Music Functions, combined with the 3,5mm Audio Jack makin this device to a full mp3 player too .. which is completely controllable with the dedicated music buttons!
Unfortunately .. like all Nokia Phones, this thing has one big big lack: Battery ! ... It is a unbelievable move from Nokia that they put such a ridiculous battery in this Smartphone
This is the next Bestseller .. i have no doubts Ladies and Gentleman! Especially I hope that this device get's more ladies on to the symbian world too, some already go crazy about that design
Exclusive Hands on Review from the CES Event in Las Vegas - Pictures are all shot by me, if you want them full size, feel free to PM/mail me --
Copy those Pictures ONLY with link to symbian-freak.com!!
SF Review: N76 - Nokia's (IMPRESSIVE) Strike back on RAZR!
Originally posted: 14.01.2007
Last Updated: 14.01.2007
Author: Michael Hell (AKA BeerBong)
Copyright: Symbian Freak 2007; all rights reserved
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