25 November 2008

"Doing what’s right!"
Nokia N85 - The Review

Wrapping it up

The call telephony component of the phone is at the highest level, quite typical for Nokia phones. The loudspeaker delivers a crisp and clear sound, and the microphone does a great job at ensuring that during conversations the speaker can be heard too.

One of the main functions of the N85 is, of course, the music player. There’s no need for worries here, as it performs flawlessly and supports a wide range of formats. I only wish it could’ve had more volume levels, as many 3rd party audio apps doesn’t limit the user by only 10 pre-set levels.

The podcasts application, which is now accessible from the music player, is something I came to use very often. While it’s nothing new, I can only praise it and it’s simplicity in use. This app allows for a quick and easy overview of all subscribed podcasts, and the downloading of any new episodes happen effortlessly.

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From the music player or from the corresponding application it’s possible to activate the FM transmitter that beams any audio tracks to your FM radio receiver in the direct vicinity. The user can set the fervency, however the signal strength is quite weak and the static is still noticeable even at very short ranges, nevertheless it’s a great and quite usable extra to have in your phone.

From audio quality standpoint the N85 easily goes on par with the likes of iPod, unless of course you’re using the provided earphones, which are still quite bad. That’s definitely not true for the also in-the-box remote controller, the same you can find bundled with the N95 8Gb. It suits well with the phone’s design and has easy to operate keys, and the only downer I could find is the hard to use key block switch.

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Doing things better

In the end, the N85 does its job, and does it well, just don't expect anything mind blowing. It rightfully delivers at nearly all aspects, while the setbacks in form of a weaker hardware will not affect most of the buyers. The pros over similar Nseries phones I discussed about during the course of the review were the compact size, improved battery life and gorgeous looking screen.

The cons that might put off potential buyers include: fingerprint magnet design, the small d-pad, and lastly, no 3d accelerator built in. The Nokia N85 is definitely not a complete N95 copycat, it's something in between the old and familiar, and something freshly exciting and yet unexplored. Without a shame, the N85 can be called an all-in-one device, which isn't really a big surprise, given the high public demand for diverse and functional phones.

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What strikes me the most is that all what Nokia skilfully accomplished in the N85 should’ve been done like this a lot earlier. There’re some definitely positive highlights of this phone, but none of them are truly ground breaking new.

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But the one thing that brings this Nokia product above other competitors is what it packs for the amount of money asked. In the next few months, the N85 will lose its fresh appeal and hit the real price marker that will propel it as the best looking all in one solution for the mass market.

And that’s when the true small-scale revolution will happen. In a few words, the N85 is staying, and it’s staying for a long time.

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