After yesterday's inadvertent own-goal leaks, Nokia has now officially announced the N86, its latest imaging champion, with 'SLR-like optics'. The N86 features an 8 megapixel camera, plenty of metal detailing, a N96-like kickstand for video watching, AMOLED screen, N-Gage compatibility, 'scratch resistant' glass, GPS, Compass and the usual S60 connectivity specs. More details below, plus hands-on time through the morning.
Read on in the full article.
i've been very happy with the pictures that the n82 had given me. the flash has always been amongst the strongest point that the n82 had over the competitors. hopefully the n86 will surpass it in other areas.
They've removed some minor flaws of the N82 (easily scratched screen, washed-out display, won't stand up on its side), but they've also removed the one major feature that made living with all these minor flaws worthwhile: the xenon flash. Overall, one step forward, two steps back.
Weight 149g? Hahahaha
the phone build looks solid. will definitely wait for a more in depth hands on review. :icon14:
Now Nokia has made it really tough for me (us?)... how will I ever be able to make a choice next June between this, the N97 and the e55. They all look so great and yet, every one involves a compromise...
On a different note: Any idea what this '3 friends online' on the homescreen alludes to that is visible on some promo-shots?
Nemoi wrote:Now Nokia has made it really tough for me (us?)... how will I ever be able to make a choice next June between this, the N97 and the e55. They all look so great and yet, every one involves a compromise...On a different note: Any idea what this '3 friends online' on the homescreen alludes to that is visible on some promo-shots?
Its for Contacts on Ovi.
I will most likely deeply regret making this comment, but here goes.
To the person who commented at 10:32 today, why the laugh at the weight?
As far as I can tell with a weight of 145g that puts it right with all of the other "high end" mobile devices from most makers. The Nokia N97 comes in 5g heavier, the X1 is 13g heavier and the latest iPhone is 12g lighter. My N85 is 128g, and after moving from a N91 (4GB) that weighed in at 160g the difference is noticeable. A phone that comes in between these two would be ideal for many people. So would you care to share your thinking please?
As for my thoughts on the N86 8mp, well Nokia have bowled me over! After the release of the Samsung Omnia HD yesterday I was building myself up for a bit of disappointment in terms of camera centric phone announcements from Nokia at the MWC this year. I will admit to being completely lost at this line at the beginning:
After yesterday's inadvertent own-goal leaks, Nokia has now officially announced the N86 8MP
But that could be explained by the fact that most of the coverage of MWC that I read comes from this website and several others who also do not tend to go in for covering leaks and so on. But my faith has been restored. The lack of Xenon flash is not a total disaster if Nokia's claims with regards to the lens and LED flash can be verified. I will admit to being initially frustrated at not being able to lay my hands on a N82 through my preferred operator here in Finland but am quickly adapting to to the camera/flash set-up on the N82, and after the first 4 days am starting to get some pleasant results.
Obviously we all know that Nokia will issue firmware upgrades that will, I hope, further boost the performance on the N86 8mp as well as my own phone, and that is where I feel this phone will rise above the Samsung Omnia HD and Sony Ericsson Idou, with the help of these firmware updates this phone will continue to lead the way in the camera phone end of the market.
As far as the styling goes, well obviously I love that! 😊 And I like what they have done with the multimedia key, more reminiscent of the N91, just on the "opposite" corner so to speak. The all glass front plate looks great and if the screen on the N82 is anything to go by then this will be fantastic! Out on a frozen snow covered lake this morning with a clear blue sky the screen was still perfectly readable and usable for taking pictures even with the sun shinning directly on it.
A note to Steve, am very eagerly awaiting a full hands on review of this phone, the summer can't get here fast enough.
Since I only recently bought an N82 I'm slightly annoyed but this N86 will cost about twice the price of my N82 when it's released. I'm sorry to see the awful face buttons from the N85 kept, they feel tacky and inaccurate. Everything else looks pretty good. I'm especially liking that great battery life which I wish the N82 had.
As for not going with a Xenon flash I can't help but think that's a mistake. There is so much difference between a night shot with Xenon and without even if it is '3rd generation LED'.
Overall looks like a great phone though and something I wish I could get. Well done Nokia.
Looks like the ideal (only) Nokia candidate to have a shootout with the new Samsung Omnia HD. Both 8 MP, both aspiring to have decent flash. Which one is the beter camera, videorecorder and media player?
Further to my previous post, they have obviously added "real" keys as the whole front is now glass compared to the N82's plastic lower fifth with the "keys" embedded in this so to speak. But can anyone tell where the traditional S60 Menu key is on the N86 8mp? I may be going blind but I can't see it anywhere! The pics show what I assume is the keylock slider on the left side of the phone as you look at it and the camera shutter button and volume keys on the right as you look at it face on. Would it now be what I called the multimedia button in my first post?
Thanks. 😊
Unregistered wrote:As for not going with a Xenon flash I can't help but think that's a mistake. There is so much difference between a night shot with Xenon and without even if it is '3rd generation LED'.
And just how're you gonna keep a Xenon flash on during videos without frying your hand and the phone?
The pics show what I assume is the keylock slider on the left side of the phone as you look at it and the camera shutter button and volume keys on the right as you look at it face on. Would it now be what I called the multimedia button in my first post?
N86 8mp's menu key is the same as N97's. The diagonal long bar. (Personally not a fan of this button design.)
N86 8mp's menu key is the same as N97's. The diagonal long bar. (Personally not a fan of this button design.)
Thank you! So yes what I assumed was the multimedia key then. Must pay more attention in the future! :tongue:
The video shown here seems to be a wide screen video. Any idea if its been shot on a mobile device?
2 things phone cams need before they can be as 'good' as even the most basic digi cam.
-xenon flash
-at least 3x optical zoom
and a ccd sensor would be nice too (but yes, unrealistic given size/battery reqs)
*sigh* why only 2.6" screen? must be at least 2.8".
That d-pad, call and end keys, and the soft keys, worry me. They worry me a lot. What is it with Nokia's imaging flagships? Do they have to have awkward form factors (N93) or horrific keypad (N82) or bulk AND horrific d-pad (N86)? I mean, when will they take out an imaging centric phone that is NORMAL in all respects?
Oh, I forgot the 6220 classic 😉
"Standby time: Up to 11.5 hours (3G), 13 hours (GSM) "
Is this a mistake? I sure hope so!
@Dr. tran: It might actually also be Skype. See here:
http://conversations.nokia.com/2009/02/17/skype-to-be-integrated-into-nokia-devices/
The first phone to really go a step beyond the N82. The new lens technology sounds extremely promising, and if the LED light works during video capture, that'd be great. If I were shopping for a new camera phone in a few months time, I'd get this, although I'd miss the N82's candybar form factor.
But at the same time... it's not such a quantum leap over my 10-month-old N82 that I feel the need to upgrade. Still just VGA video recording, even though I find myself making a lot more videos than photos.
My N82 is still functioning perfectly, so I think I'll just try to wait out this generation and go for the successor to the N86. Fully expect 16GB internal memory, optical zoom and higher-resolution video capture for that model -- I can wait for that. I did two years with my E70 before getting the N82, I can do as long with this phone.
It seems sort of wierd that all the nerdy guys posting in this forum still have the ancient N82. Why are the people not comparing the obvious i.e. N85 vs N86 ?
Gotta love that porno kickstand... 🙄
Insane Reindeer wrote:As far as I can tell with a weight of 145g that puts it right with all of the other "high end" mobile devices from most makers. The Nokia N97 comes in 5g heavier, the X1 is 13g heavier and the latest iPhone is 12g lighter.
i think ppl are being little unfair about n86 b/c you getting the best of n85 and n96 with a 8mp camera with improved functionality thrown in for 375euro ,
i paid 500GBp for n96 so n86 is a great bargain
Sorry but I just can't be excited about the N86. The main selling point for me (for a imaging flagship device) is the xenon flash. If I'm going to have a LED flash, I could buy the Omnia HD instead which has far better specs although probably it isnt in the same price range.
Nokia seems to have abandoned Xenon flashes for good, thats very sad.
I soooooooooooo thought that this was finally the phone to replace my N82...
Until I saw that once again, it's yet another Nokia with LED not Xenon.
And forgive me, but I simply cannot possibly see how even the best LED can compete with a true Xenon... as it's not about the light LEVEL (which I still never see LED being able to equal anyway), but about light 'dispersal'.
Xenon is a burst of scattered light, to boost overall light levels.
LED is far too much a targetted, directed source of light, no matter what you do with it.
Exactly WHY, it should be said, it is good for video. But Photography requires SCATTERED, dispersed light.
So just like the very first two posters, Nokia, Nokia, what have you done..?
XENON ommitted..? oh man.
As for the poster that talks about frying your hand with a constant Xenon on for Video...
DOH.
Firstly, the percentage make-up of those using these devices for video, compared to those using them for photography, is MASSIVELY weighted... massively, far far more use these for stills, than video... indeed, asking my friends, they reckon they shoot about 1 video, for every 50 photos they take, if that. Some have never even shot a video at all, in all the time they have owned their phones (but even those who do, video is a tiny percentage of the two - and night video an even smaller mark).
So I am now SICK of Nokia's repeated weighting towards VIDEO, with an LED light.
Quite aside from the fact, that the simple answer to ALL of this, is a True Xenon for Flash Photography, above the lens, with a twin LED arrangement underneath, for Video, if Nokia are so desperate to see this feature included too, or push video so much.
How hard could that be, in "THE" premium, Flagship Photography device on the market, if this is what Nokia want the phone to be.
So me, I'll still stick with my N82.
To Nokia - I'll give it up ANY DAY, once you bring something better than it out.
But you haven't yet... and the N86 doesn't sound like it will either...
It's a shame none of the new devices have hardware 3D acceleration.
Unregistered wrote:2 things phone cams need before they can be as 'good' as even the most basic digi cam.
-xenon flash
-at least 3x optical zoomand a ccd sensor would be nice too (but yes, unrealistic given size/battery reqs)
CCD sensor? Why? Is that down to the urban myth that CCD > CMOS? Totally rubbish ...
Interesting about saying that a Xenon flash is useless for video. Of course it is. Thats why the answer is to fit Xenon for stills and LEDs for video.
What's up with the 70's style porn music in the video.
Is this part of Nokia's cutbacks?
rvirga wrote:Secondly, in we're in 2009, and nothing with T9 as its only input method can be considered "high end" anymore.
Thats rather far off the mark. Being a touchscreen doesn't make it highend, nor does a qwerty.
There are plenty of people who do like highend phones, but still like to use alpha numeric pads.
My personal thoughts are, as this is mainly for photos, why no xenon flash? If so concerned about videos, do like others say and include both xenon and LED.
And why no optical zoom? Yes, it's difficult to squeeze in, will make it heavier and of course bump up the price by some margin.
However, it would really have set it apart from the crowd of increasingly common 8MP phones. Some of which it's already lagging behind (the Samsung with HD recording for one).
As it is, it just looks like a N96/85 clone with an 8MP cam. And fat, genuinely considered ugly, and probably pricey. My guess, �400 + when it actually comes to be released.