Ewan continues his idiosyncratic look at Nokia's new OLED-screened Nseries for the masses, the N85. In this third part, he looks at multimedia, focussing(!) on the camera, multimedia playback and some interesting UI notes and toys along the way.
Read on in the full article.
So what is the better device? The N85 or the N96? I also was considering the E71. I had a N73 a while back and an E61.... I am familiar with Nokia S60. This is quickly turning into the most difficult time I have ever had choosing a cell phone.
My personal choice is N96. I tried both for 2 days and I found N96 has a lot better D-pads, better camera, bigger screen (worse quality than N85 but no mean bad screen), (a lot)better speakers and OK battery life. I usually buy phones consider from gaming first so my choice goes to N96.
I know what winter sun 😊 is like up there in Scotland and, sorry, but that's no way to test that OLED screen in sunlight! Down here in Cape Town its high summer with clear blue sky and my N85's screen is totally 100% blank in full sun. Taking photos is completely hit and miss and I'm back to guessing who's calling when I answer. It's really bad but I'm prepared to forgive it because it's so truelly gorgeous indoors. I've used it to watch a couple of full length movies, something that I've tried on every S60 phone I've had, and the N85 excels. It's smooth and colourful and deep. The screen is quite small but its easy on the eyes.
I'm loving the FM transmitter and find that playing music and navigating at the same time in my car is a well integrated blast. I wish my calls would be routed through my car radio too. It could still use the phone's mic for that as it does if you use a regular headset or if you use TV out. I tried using the phones loudspeaker while busy with a call thinking that that might go through the FM transmitter but no such luck.
Sorry. Just thought I'd add that, while I agree with Ewan regarding the loudspeaker quality for music playback, they're actually rather good for movie audio playback. In a quiet place with the volume turned down or at full volume soundtracks and dialog are excellent and beat my best expectations
i heared that it takes ages to zoom in a picture while browsing the images library,,is that true ,,thanks
Unregistered wrote:i heared that it takes ages to zoom in a picture while browsing the images library,,is that true ,,thanks
I must say that it has been really quick to do everything so far, faster than my N82. But I've been finding bugs all over the place. I'm hoping that they will be addressed with the next firmware update. The web browser is the worst of them. It gets stuck all the time or just closes while loading pages. Thank god for Opera Mini! Text input doesn't always work, ie sometimes needs a restart. Sometimes while watching a video it will spontaneously start showing some evidently randomly chosen other video. And many others. I have Firmware v11,047
Is your phone a NAM? Where was it made?
I am pretty disappointed with this device. And the fact that I chose it to renew my plan on is even worse. The build quality it terrible, it creaks all over, dpad and surrounds feels cheap and the slider feels lousy too. It looks like quality has been compromised by choosing to make it so thin (for such a feature packed slider). I took it back and they said it's how the device is built. Shame on you Nokia.
It seems that the reviews on the N85 seem to be all over the map with build quality. Is it where the phone was made? Is it a specific model? I heard that the NAM version may have resolved some build issues... At this point in time I can't decide on the N85 or N96. I have also given the E71 some thought but it doesn't hit the multimedia area's like I would like.
Unregistered wrote:It seems that the reviews on the N85 seem to be all over the map with build quality. Is it where the phone was made? Is it a specific model? I heard that the NAM version may have resolved some build issues... At this point in time I can't decide on the N85 or N96. I have also given the E71 some thought but it doesn't hit the multimedia area's like I would like.
I was also choosing my current phone....from may!!!
In the beginning I was waiting for N96, then after a long time I thought of E90, then Xperia X1, then (May God forgive me) C905 and in the end I took N96.
I love the N85, it is a great step forward from my N95 and is certainly a viable (if not better) alternative to the N96. The build quality, however, is something you really need to check out before buying one. It varies from device to device so much! I had a China model that was squeaky all over the place and had a terrible "hardness" to the main face buttons. I since have had two Finland models and while both a lot more sturdy (the Finland model's charger is a lot nicer too!), one is certainly miles ahead of the other in terms of how squeaky it is. Give the phone a good once over before putting down the cash, if possible. Ask for a different one if it's not perfect!
I think it will be hard to try before I buy. I live in the LA area of California USA. I don't think there are many options for getting a good price and the ability to feel the phone before I buy it. It will most likely come from a small asian wireless store somewhere. I could get the best price online but that makes it a crap shoot as places like New Egg and Amazon are not going to even tell me if I am getting one from Asian or Finland
no complaints here. I ordered direct from Nokia, I live in the states and the N85 NAM has fabulous build quality. It has its flaws, but after using it for about 2 weeks, the phone is really growing on me and I like it better than the n95.
Someone please answer this basic question for me - What is the NAM version about?
Mine comes from Nokia here in Cape Town, so I suppose it comes from Europe somewhere (EMEA). I was also worried about build quality before I got it but must say that, after a week and a half with it, it has no creaks and grinds and feels solid in the hand. The slider has the tiniest bit of play when open but not enough to concern me. If anything its a little too hard to slide down to get to the multimedia keys. The main buttons are a little stiff, too, but I've quickly gotten used to them. Biggest problem for me is that the photo capture key has no clearly defined stopper points for focus and then shutter. Feels kinda rubbery. Enjoying this phone immensely
Ewan, what's your view on the graphics chip debate wrt the N85?
NAM = North american Market.
I am weighing up the N85 as a possible N95 replacementm but I am not convinced. I may well end up with a 6600 Slide, I will miss the WiFi but that is all I will miss.
Unregistered wrote:I may well end up with a 6600 Slide, I will miss the WiFi but that is all I will miss.
I posted earlier about being disappointed with my N85. I am in Australia and the phone has only been out for a few weeks here. Most N Series here are now made in China (my N82, N78 and N85 were) while my N95 8Gb was made in South Korea. I put some tape behind the slide at each end to stop the wobble and that pretty much works but nothing can really stop the creaks and cheap feeling of the front controls.
malerocks wrote:6600 slide is not a symbian phone or even a smart phone. Its a regular Nokia feature phone. Are you sure you want to do that - especially after using a smartphone?
Yes. I will miss WiFi but that's all I'll miss.
I disagree about iphone / ipod touch controls being better for the music player. finding the song I want in a few clicks is way faster than scrolling and scrolling, ad inifinitum. I carry a ton of music with me, so I really need to filter down music to find what I want.
Here are some interesting notes:
The microphone on the n85 is behind the screen, so when shooting video make sure to slide the screen to expose the media buttons, and the mic will be aiming your subject. That is a huge step forward from the n95's mic that aimed to the side.
on the flip side
I've noticed that the n85 (nam) doesn't respond well to manually adjusting camera controls. Setting the iso to low (for less noise, but you have to hold it steadier) will not increase the amount the shutter is opened, like it does on the N95. so i've found dark pictures are worse than the n95... which is crazy since the dual led flash should be a big help.
The feature pack 2 has also affected how zooming works too look at pics on the phone. the pic will zoom, but not refresh the resolution as quick as the n95.
I'd recommend nokia's image exchage as a photo viewer. Just zoom out a click and you can skim though many images quickly
Over the past 3 years or so, I had own numerous N series phones:-
N90, N73, N70, N80E, N95, N95/8GB,N82, N96, N79 & N85.
I would not touch on the earlier N series models like the 90, 70 & 80 as there are already obsolete in my opinion.
In my opinon, the N85 is the best all in one phone.
You cannot find much glaring flaws in the N85.
One must bear in mind that there is no such thing as the best phone in the world. Every phone has its pros & cons so to speak.
I would even go as far to say that is better than the N96.
N96's battery is weak & built-quality not up to par.
In many ways is too similar to the N95/8GB but N95/8GB's battery & built-quality are much better.
Also I find that the N96 is rather bulky for a mobile phone.
N82 very similar to the N85 but the key pad is not as practical as the N85.
As for the N85, the size & weight feel just right in my hand and the cost factor is reasonable.
The only problem (a common one with OLED screen) I have is the OLED screen which is a complete washout under sun. For indoor use, it beats the 16M TFT screen flat.
I have never like the N7x series. I find that the N73 too laggy in every way & the N79's call & end keys too small.
I have a 6220C as well and I dare say that it has most if not all of the N series phone's functions. This phone has a lot of substance in it apart from the design and cheap plastic casing.
Last but not least, there is no denying that over the years Nokia has slowly but surely improved the N series.
I was very pleased with my n85 for about 2 weeks.Then the navi wheel stopped working and i noticed there was a little crack right under the navi wheel .I called nokia and i have to rma it.
Which is great but is this going to happen again.I found a few posts on the net with people reporting the same problem.Does nokia need to beef up the n85 and do a recall.
N85: same vertical crack for mine after 1.5 months...
I've got mine from HK. Tomorrow going to fix it.
And I've seen Nokia Care for call sound dropping to a whisper and back to normal few weeks ago. I've seen Nokia care TWICE for same problem as first time they weren't able to fix it.
AAAnd is crackling and wobbling when typing a message...
VERY poor built quality for those money....
I have N95, should I keep it, or get N85 or get 5800XPRESS MUSIC ?
Your review is very good. Than you for it.
But I am really disapointed with the sample pictures in this review, they look horrible!. It is really the N85 camera so bad?
If so my next mobile wont be the N85. I am fine with my N82 Xenon flash device.