Rafe Blandford sees the upcoming Nokia N80 'slider' as a solid echo of the original 7650. Lots of interesting technology insights in his detailed N80 hands-on preview.
Read on in the full article.
The end of the beginning?
I'd just like to state that the N80 is in no way, shape or form whatsoever trying to cash in on the phenomenal success of the Samsung D500 & D600.
Is it really coming out Q1 2006?
Well its meant to be. I suspect if will late Q1 / early Q2.
Excellent preview, Rafe 😊
One thing, though -
"With quad band GSM (850/900/1800/1900) and dual band WCDMA (1900/2100) radios, it will work almost anywhere in the world. The dual band WCDMA means the N80 will almost certainly be making an appearance in the USA (on Cingular) which up until recently has had few S60 devices widely available."
Are you sure it's Dual Band WCDMA? From the announcement, current nokia specifications pages at http://www.nokia.com/n80, and the FCC approval of the N80-3, it seems that instead of dualband WCDMA, there will be two versions, each with one WCDMA band.
(i.e. the North American version will have GSM (850/900/1800/1900) and WCDMA 1900 while the Europe/Asia version will have GSM (850/900/1800/1900) and WCDMA 2100)
I am currently a happy 6620 owner. I will gladly wait for the N80. Althought I am wondering if Singular is going to disable the WiFi or any of the other features of the N80. This is the only phone I am willing to renew my contract with Cingular to. I am currently on a much better but non renewable AT&T Wireless plan.
- Kiteless (U.S.A.)
Kiteless - Yes it looks like you may be right (having just done some checking). Its either one WCDMA band or the other. I recall a big deal being made out of the fact it had two bands, but evidently while it does have two bands its not at the same time (apologies for this - not the easiest thing to test). I will updte the article to reflect this. Simaraly I've been asked about Bluetooth 2.0 - this is accurate as far as I know both from people at NMC and the Symbian.com phone page. The specification don't mention a version. It does have EDR (enhanced data rate) and A2DP as there a S60 3rd Edition thing.
Very nice review and interesting device !
Do you know if the browser supports gmail in full javascript mode ?
(much better than the html degraded mode found on other smartphones)
Thanks !
Can you confirm that the N80 will be taking MiniSD cards? The Nokia website's compare feature suggests that it might be MMC mobile that's all...
That does look good!, I still think they should have released the '7650i' though as it was a much nicer phone to look at, also i've yet to use a better joystick on any phone since.
Maj wrote:Can you confirm that the N80 will be taking MiniSD cards? The Nokia website's compare feature suggests that it might be MMC mobile that's all...
If you look at the N80 spec page they confirm that it's MiniSD.
Good choice.... 18 months too late though.
UA
Since Nokia changed their minds about InfraRed and about memory cards I was wondering if they also changed their minds about removing dial-up data call support...... Rafe can you please check if the only type of connection allowed is packed-data? Thanks.
UA
Would it be possible that Nokia adds by a software update autofocus afterwards? Or does it need hardware modifications as well? Thanks! Otherwise it seems to be a good phone allthough a bit heavy.
NBH wrote:Would it be possible that Nokia adds by a software update autofocus afterwards? Or does it need hardware modifications as well?
I would say it needs hardware.... you need to move the lens to change the focus!
UA
Should be no problem from now on:
http://m.gmail.com
Are the phones in Ebay, the N80�s in this case... Are they real versions of the cell or are they demos... In case they are demos, will they fail i I purchase one?
Thanks
They are stolen prototypes or, more likely, just scams (nothing to sell, but just want to take your money).
I have to say that I have used other Nokia Proto-type devices with this new screen resolution. It really is a massive improvement. I will be waiting for this device in particular though as it has the 3MP camera. I am a bit disappointed to see that it does not have Auto focus. At first I thought that it might be down to the hardware needing more room but then the Sony E K750I has it so why does this device not have it.
I worked with the 7650 and have to say that this device really does look like the mature educated successor and want one.
Shame about the auto-focus though
Butla
I have only one gripe I can find so far with this phone. How the heck can you do any real input w/o a qwerty keyboard or stylus for handwritting recognition? Anyone have any idea? Oh yeah, I don't want to lug a foldable keyboard everywhere with me, but I would take the virtual laser keyboard (hope it will be compatible with this phone)
Can you post pictures of the camera shots taken using this phone in day and night mode ?
The N80 will probably be my next phone
however, i am very concerned about its battery life
I am currently using the 6630 and i am quite happy with it
Except for the battery life, which on light usage cannot even last a full day
With the N80 having more extensive functions, camera flash, 3G etc
I dont understand why Nokia would choose an even weaker battery - 820mAh, compared to the 970 mAh for the 6630
I do not want to end up with a phone that can only last half a day!
Hi,
Ive just purchaced a N70, after leaving my Samsung D500. Great phone, although some applications (eg. Camera/Messages) are a little slow to load up(maybe a couple of seconds longer than they should), esp when compared to other phones. Has this been improved on the N80?
Thanks
Nokia N80 phone SMS; picture messaging; SMS distribution list Supports?
Nokia N80 phone release date in india ?
If I travel to Japan & Korea a lot does that mean that I should buy the Asian version of the phone with WCDMA 2100? Thanks.
Only CDMA/CDMA2000 phones work in South Korea (no GSM or WCDMA phones, because - as far as is my experience - there are no GSM or WCDMA networks in South Korea). So, you need a local (Korean) phone. At the Seoul airport you can rent CDMA phones where you can often use your own GSM/WCDMA SIM card (even if CDMA phones in general do not use SIM cards).
All WCDMA phones (like the N80) are 2100MHz band phones and they will work in Japan at least on the Vodafone KK network (in principle they should also work on NTT DoCoMo's FOMA network, which is also WCDMA, but DoCoMo doesn't seem to support roaming like that).
The N80 looks great, but how many features will work in Addis Ababa? And above all outside of Addis?
Thanks
i'm currently using an N90 and it does not have any vibrations. i intend to get N80 but does it have vibrations?
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news guys but in the recent FCC approval of the WCDMA 2100 version of the N80 it looks as though the phone will only be bluetooth 1.2 compliant and not bluetooth 2.0 as previously stated. This is based on page 80 of the N80 User's Manual. Verbatim it states that:
"This device is compliant with Bluetooth Specification 1.2
supporting the following profiles: Basic Printing Profile,
Generic Access Profile, Serial Port Profile, Dial-up
Networking Profile, Headset Profile, Handsfree Profile,
Generic Object Exchange Profile, Object Push Profile, File
Transfer Profile, Basic Imaging Profile, SIM Access profile,
and Human Interface Device Profile. To ensure
interoperability between other devices supporting
Bluetooth technology, use Nokia approved enhancements
for this model. Check with the manufacturers of other
devices to determine their compatibility with this device."
BTW for US users, Cingular will more than likely disable most of this phones bluetooth functionality, so an unlocked N80 is the only way to go.
If you'd like to view the users manual yourself, the follow this link:
https://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/oet/forms/blobs/retrieve.cgi?attachment_id=611213&native_or_pdf=pdf
Hmm interesting one on Bluetooth - bit of a shame, but it does show that specs can change. Though of course there is still the possibility that things can change. Bit strange too considering the N70 is Bluetooth 2.0 - http://qualweb.bluetooth.org/Template2.cfm?LinkQualified=QualifiedProducts&Details=Yes&ProductID=2735
:con?
Well the only glimmer of hope that I see is that the bluetooth 1.2 specs are based on the 2100 WCDMA Europe/Asia Version of the N80. Maybe nokia will get some sense or realize their mistake in time for the US launch (1900 WCDMA). Furthermore, Nokia just showcased 3 new bluetooth headsets at CES 2006 yesterday, all of which I believe are bluetooth 2.0 compliant. So it would only make sense to me that if the new headsets they release are 2.0 compliant that their new phones should be also. But I guess we'll just have to wait and see what the final release looks like to know for sure.