It may not be a full production, boxed unit, but you won't believe how much detail Rafe has been able to get into in this, his hands-on with Nokia's latest and greatest, the N85. Look out in particular for the comparison photos between the N85 and other recent Nseries handsets - including the N79.
Read on in the full article.
Make no mistake, Nokia packaging all that into such a small device is a MASSIVE improvement over anything before. For my needs, nothing touches the N85. Small, discreet and powerful.
The cat picture comparison is the most impressive example IMHO, the N85's image looks like a printed photo while the other devices look more like computer monitors.
By the way, where ARE the S60 and C keys? 😊
I know they're unlit when not in use, but they don't seem to be visible on any of the photos.
Very cool. Sure hope that Nokias next xenon flash candybar (whenever it arrives) will use OLED and support USB charging.
Yeah, an idea of what keys are available (no pencil key, right?) and possibly a picture of the slider slid in the other direction would have rounded the preview off nicely.
The S60 keys and cancel keys are at the button between the D-pad and send/end keys - right and left respectively. And yes there's no pencil key - the hash key can be used instead.
There's a picture of the upper slide in the gallery linked at the bottom of the articles. However the key illumination was not working properly on this proto (though you can see it in the video attached to the N85 news [linked at bottom of article]). Incidentally this is why it's a first impression article not a preview (let alone a review). We'll revisit much of this once we have production hardware / software - however thought people would appreciate a write up now. 😊
I'll see if I can get a better picture and add it to the article tomorrow (or look here).
First with the E71 and now the N85; Nokia's engineers are impressive as all get out in terms of what they are packing into these devices. Its really pretty amazing.
Makes me wonder what the real jump in tech will look like for them; because in some respects the N85 seems like a play until something bigger comes.
Looks like a nice device and it makes me wonder if Nokia didn't shoot itself in the foot by not making the N96 available earlier. It looks like both phones will be available at the same time and, considering the feature packages and the price difference, the N85 is clearly a much better product.
wow, that AMOLED screen is a huge improvement. look at the screen in the last photo comparing the 4 phones. the theme is the same on the N95 8GB, N78 & N85 but the black on the N85 is truer than the others. this should make for some real good picture and video watching.
can' t wait for the next nokia phone with a 3" AMOLED and wide VGA screen. my pocket is burning so bad right now to get this phone but the lack of xenon kills it for me. take a lot of photos at parties and stuff and it sure comes in handy.
by the way nokia, here's a suggestion, how about incorporating xenon and LED flash into your next flagship phone. that should cover photos and videos. just ma 1 cent 😊).
This will definitely be my next upgrade from Nokia N82, maybe at about 3 months after its initial release where the price will be lower. Can you do a comparative review of this phone and nokia N95 8gb. thanks!
tzer2. Yes. I too believe that the cat here is the deal clincher. However, i will still wait for a xenon one along with the capabilities of n 85. Most of the parties happen in late evenings or night (at least the ones i attend) and i tend to take lot of pics there. Ever since the advent of xenon in my life in the form of n 82, i have stopped carrying my digi cam. Like someone said, the lack of xenon kills it for me but no denying the fact that this gonna be the killer phone of 2009.
Ya sure, hardware will get better as time progresses in this industry. Though n95 was a top spectrum s60 phone for a real long time, and no matter what, at the end of the day n85 shall just be another midrange device with somewhat cliched spec you would typically expect nowadays, but upgrading from n95 or even n95 8gb to...err this junk? Seriously? Fine, Combined fp2 with the new screen, the battery is naturally longer, music quality is probably a touch better; it also includes a few tiny tweaks here and there, at what cost? No pen key / iR port, no more TV remove in the pocket; an arguably inferior and less futureproof overall processing solution in comparison to the older yet more powerful OMAP 2420 platform, so dont expect to try any of those 3d hardware accelerated game ports on one of there; and finally, arguably less stylish look than the likes of n95 8gb, I mean it looks rather too cheap on the side, and not being a fan of n81 design does not help either.
The more important thing is that while nokia once again attempted to push out something that tries to improve upon the last generation devices, it can not be denyed that this time improvements are too small in many cases, and even negative in some other areas to justify the cost of the existing last generation flagship Owners would have to pay for the upgrade, assuming they want to; cos even with the updated n85, it will still only be jacks of all trade, beside I can think of many more economic way to burn hard earned cash. And if peps get n85 what Would their reaction be on the next day when nokia push out the true successor of the current flagship? It really pisses me off how nokia is not trying anymore, how long have they got n96 prototype now? Its so long its not hysterical anymore; and now whats the idea putting dual led in the 3 short term higher end devices? I just dont n85 or even n96 as a proper upgrade of n95 8gb, at least getting n96 has got new feature of the tv turner, the former is a bit too boring for my taste as an upgrade.
I hope that usb charging can be disabled, just like some winmo phones AFAIK, otherwise battery life will be seriously reduced (say hello to one charge cicle every time you connect it to the pc.. too bad).
Hello.
Could you tell us something about the position of the internal GPS? I mean on my n95 8gb it takes a long time to connect and sometimes its better to turn the phone over to got a faster sat-fix because the GPS is on the bottom of the phone (!?).
On the n82 of my wife its a LOT faster to connect and I must not turn the phone over 😊
regards
Mike
It does not seem to me like a new phone, but more of the same, with some tweak here and there. For someone who already have an N82 or N95, it give some little things more, and lost a great thing (Xenon Flash from N82). What it�s need is something real new, some more innovation, that Nokia does not want to do! N85 it�s only a money catch, nothing more.:frown:
Bigmike - the GPS aerial is located on the back of the device around the camera area - this should mean notable better reception than the N95 classic. Fairly similar to N982 I would imagine. But have to wait for final hardware.
junchao8 - interesting point about the Infrared (especially in Asian markets), but I think most people will be willing to let that go. The pencil key really is not necessary - you can use the hash key '#' for the same functionality (multiple select in lists etc.).
I see where your coming from the chipset argument, but I think its a debateable advantage at best. Moreover the vast majority of consumers don't care about such things (this ties in with my comment about ultra-power users looking to the I8510).
gregg003 - yes we'll do some comparative reviews once we have some final hardware. For most people the N95 8GB is the current benchmark, but it face competition from N85, N96 I8510 etc.
nj7 and junchao8 - I think whether you regard it as more of the same or a step forward is a matter of personal perspective. As I mentioned in the article it is clearly not like the N95 in this regard. However the screen is one of the things you sue most on a phone so improvement here is very welcome (I would argue probably more so than a camera up step in megapixels). Things like USB charging, tri-band WCDMA are going to be very, very useful for some. Similarly the reduced size means more people will consider it. N82 and N95 users do get FP2 and FM transmitter too + I think its more future proof for future Nokia services (as it runs a more recent version of S60).
I'd be interested to hear what you would consider 'real' innovation?
and finally, generally...
Yes there's always going to be something more impressive around the corner. In 2009 we should see the next generation chipsets coming into play (announcements at 3GSM), but I would imagine the first handset may be on the market towards the middle of the year - that's a long time from now in mobile time.
As a N95 classic fanatic user for 16 months, I must disagree with you that this would be a phone to upgrade too. I chose the N95 because it was leaps and bounds ahead of any phone on the market in terms of what it could do, and have yet to be disappointed.
The N85 not only looks like the N95, but it only has a few new options (radio, USB charger, clearer screen, bigger battery), but what else?
Nokia is in endanger of losing me unless they can bring another phone that whips every other phone in all areas.
I would love to see alll the features of the Samsung i8510 and Nokia N85 in a Nokia, with the N85 Screen thrown in for good measures and the dual slider from the N95, then we are talking an awesome phone.
Can you please let me know what video codecs will the N85 support, especially will it support VGA H264 videos, like the N96? If the answer is yes, I think I know which is my future phone (I have an N95 now). Regards!
You mention the flash is about 3 times brighter than the n95 classic, so how much brigther is the xenon flash on the n82?
This is going to sell like hotcakes and I'll be one of those in line (upgrading from N95 classic). The screen is superb, a real leap forward for mobile devices. The main achilles heel with the N95 was battery life and that has now been addressed. Add that to the other software and hardware improvements, all in a smaller and lighter package and it is definitely a worthwhile upgrade.
Do you have any more information on the chipset? Is it the ST8816 that is also found in the N96? And is that really less powerfull then the OMAP 2420?
@ rafe.
I am not contesting the fact that this is a fantastic phone but of course it offers me little to sell off my n 82 for a pittance and invest in it.
A real upgrade probably can be n 96 for me. I will ruffle a lot of feathers here of knowledgable minds but seriously, n 96 apart from having host of features also holds an aspirational value which n 85 doesn't.
A second real upgrade for me would have been a ruggedized phone. I have said this on symbian guru also. Charge me 400 but give me my n 82 in a ruggedized version. Something in the lines of casio boulder. Which enables me to carry it any where, shoot and click any where in any season and enhances its life by atleast 2 years of dirty use.
I will throw my money on it because i see a value here for me. As far as, n 96 is concerned, its actually an upgrade for me in my professional life if it enables me to buy that phone without compromising on any of my spend of any month.
Does the N85 have media keys around the D-pad like on the N81 and N96?
Unregistered wrote:I hope that usb charging can be disabled, just like some winmo phones AFAIK, otherwise battery life will be seriously reduced (say hello to one charge cicle every time you connect it to the pc.. too bad).
I think that you're mistaken. Modern battery technologies last much longer if kept charged, rather than let to drop to very low levels. I have kept my winmo phones connected permanently to USB whenever I'm near a computer and the batteries have still been in top condition 2 years later, lasting longer than my N95 battery did from the start 😉
A agree it's better to top up reguarly to full than draining the battery low, then fully charging. Nice research and articles done at www.batteryuniversity.com
However I think topping up the battery not fully is not a good thing e.g. charging from 70% to 80%. This will waste many cycles...
It really doesn't matter... Batteries will be cheap enough to replace after a year or two cycles. Phone batteries life span is very good compared to laptops.
Is there a missed call indicator, which blinks in dpad like e71
It seems the N85 has the regular old OMAP chipset (with better performance then the Nomadik chipset): http://www.smape.com/en/reviews/nokia/Nokia_N85_N96-comp.html
Top secret Info! You heard it here first. 😉
N85 is a single OMAP TI CPU
CPU Type: ARM 11
CPU Clock Rate: 369 MHz
The same as the one used in the n78, n81 etc.
The n96 CPU is significantly slower in 3D as tested with jbenchmark. The n96 also lags behind in other tasks according to jbenchmark. However the Nomadics STn8815 chip by STMicroelectronics has much better power optimisation. 950mah won't effect the overall experience.
I think a funny thing is happening. All the forum posters are going to be so-so about this phone. But that's because all the forum posters already own a good Nokia smartphone.
I have never owned a symbian phone and have been looking forward to buying one for years. But I want my phone to be perfect. Last time, I opted to get the 6500s over the N81 because of the relative value (3.2m AF camera and metal body v. Symbian with 3.5 mm audio jack) and over the N95 because of two key problems with that phone (price, battery life). Now I get an N95-like device, which supports USB charging, has better battery life, much better sound (according to the mobile-review.com preview, the N85 sound = N81 sound), and more sturdy. I cannot wait for this to come out.
BTW, USB charging really really rocks. I had this feature when I had a Motorola phone. Basically, your phone will always be charged while at work. Once you start using USB Charging, you will see how helpful a feature that is.
