chirdeep 0 Report post Posted December 20, 2008 Here’s yet another generic looking cross-between-N81-and-N96 handset from Nokia that’s been designed to be part of their gaming range. The N85 gives the impression that it’s a very capable handset on all fronts with features galore, but allow me to give you a better idea. Form Factor The N85 dual slider may be a bit generic in design for Nokia but it still manages to pull off a chic look and feel. It’s quite sleek and sexy to be more accurate. It has a 2.6-inch OLED display that sports a 240 x 320 pixel, 16 million color resolution. The use of this type of display was a smart idea, because it not only has better colors and sharper tones, but also manages to reduce the consumption of power from the screen. It’s a bit of a problem in direct sunlight though. The display tends to get a bit lost amongst the reflections but not too much. It has a very minimalist look when the front navigation panel and keys are not active. The handset is equipped with Nokia’s Navi-Wheel that can be used for touch sensitive navigation as well as a regular five way-nav pad, a shortcut quick access menu key and rubberized Call Answer and End keys. The open keys although a bit hard under the fingerprint-magnet hard plastic casing are manageable. My issue was with the Menu and Cancel keys. The position is a little too close to the edge and hence they tend to not only be a little harder to press but sometimes a bit difficult to reach. Nothing you can’t get used to though. The pop sliders are both smooth and very responsive for opening and shutting the multimedia and data entry keypads. Once again we see that Nokia could have a made better use of the keypad space and had maybe little larger keys, but there’re no other issues other than just that. The keys are neatly spaced out and comfortable to use. The multimedia keypad that pops out from the top also doubles as games keys and can also be used for zooming for the 5MP AF camera (with dual LEDs for a flash) that’s protected with a smooth sliding lens cover. A micro USB port is located on one side at the top. On the other side at either end are a set of stereo speakers. Volume/zoom control, a key lock slider and the camera’s shutter release are located in between. A standard 3.5mm earphone socket, power key and universal micro USB port for the charger and PC connectivity are also placed here. The N85 is a sturdy looking handset that gives off an air of machismo with a hint of class. If it weren’t for the plastic casing that looks quite bad after usage with fingerprints all over, I’d give it a five out of five on looks alone. Features and Performance Interface A Symbian OS 9.3 with a Series 60 UI coupled with an ARM 11 369 MHz processor makes the N85 a smooth handset for navigation and control. The Accelerometer is quick when it comes to adjusting the screen orientation. However, the sensitivity is a bit too high. Nothing you can’t get used to. Using the Navi-Wheel to get around the menus is bliss and something the super lazy can appreciate. The shortcut menu activated by the dedicated key located near the nav-pad, is handy when you need to access media and such but not much else. The interface, of course, is still something to talk about. Audio and Video There’s nothing much I can say about the music player. The interface is a standard S60 version and it has features and enhancements that include EQ presets and the option for creating your own multiple presets with the aid of the 8 band graphic EQ. Loudness and Stereo Widening options are also available. The quality is quite good with a thumping bass line and adequate stimulation from the highs and the low ranges. I’m personally not a fan of these particular Nokia handsfree earphones so I prefer to use my own. Since it comes with a 3.5 earphone socket built-in as well as a microphone adapter, you’re free to use that too and a headset that suits you best. Other audio features include a voice recorder, an option to download and listen to Podcasts, access to Nokia’s not-yet-active-for-us music store and Visual as well as internet radio. With Visual radio allowing you to get all the radio station frequencies downloaded and saved in a few seconds, it's hassle free. Reception was not too much of an issue either, with the occasional static in certain areas of the city. It’s workable. Internet radio is the best source for any and all kinds of music via the net with access to hundreds of channels from genres and styles that you can very easily search for. Buffering can sometimes get in the way of an uninterrupted spree of music listening. In this case Wi-fi is extremely handy. Nokia has also generously loaded the bundled card with plenty of free music for your enjoyment. The N85 also has an FM transmitter so you can stream music from your handset to your car stereo for playback through the car’s speakers. The quality though is not something I was impressed with. There was too hiss and noise so clarity was an issue most of the time. Nevertheless it’s a good feature to have. Since it also supports Bluetooth 2.0 with an A2DP profile, a good set of Stereo Bt headphones would be great for a much better audio experience. On the OLED display, videos look brilliant with the colors more vibrant and the contrast levels very sharp. I only wish that Nokia managed to incorporate more video codecs into their handsets so conversion wouldn’t be mandatory in most cases. The 8GB card included with the handset is loaded with plenty of the latest music videos as well other videos. You can connect the Video Center section to Video Feed sites like YouTube, Jamster Videos, Reuters etc. to download and stream video clips. A few are already pre-selected from various genres. You can also add more feeds to the list. The best part is you can continue playback of any and all videos from where you stopped. The N85 supports MP3, AAC, eAAC+, WMA, 3GP and MPEG4 and AMR formats for audio and video. The Video and AV out features allow you to hook the handset up to external speakers as well as a TV (wires provided) for either watching videos or just listening to music. Gaming Getting down to the nitty-gritty, the handset’s core feature is gaming. Two things stand out here in this section and both aren’t good. Firstly, the accelerometer works only in one direction, but is thankfully usable on all screens, except the N-Gage Gaming Zone screen which DOES NOT change. It remains in portrait mode and when the ‘games begin’ the orientation changes to the opposite side as the normal screens. It’s quite annoying. The second issue is that there weren’t any preloaded games. For a mobile being marketed as a gaming handset not to have a single game pre-installed is a big No-No in my book. In the N-Gage section a few games have been selected for playing but I would have had to purchase the game to play all levels since they were just try and buy. I received a test handset without any activation codes included for games but according to Nokia though, you as a consumer, will receive a voucher to activate ONE game but you'll have to purchase codes for the other 14 games. But you can at least play the trials up to a certain level without interruption. Nokia could have included a few full .SIS or Java games for this 'Gaming' handset'. The two middle keys on the second keypad, as I mentioned, function as gaming keys, but it’s possible that some might find them a bit small to use. It’ll take a few minutes getting used to though. The handset does support Java games as well as .SIS formats. However, you may not be able to play most in landscape with the dedicated gaming keys. Having played N-Gage games on other handsets I can assuredly tell you that the N85 will deliver in this context as a gaming handset. You can also play and upload your scores onto the N-Gage Arena online. Misc. Features The N85, as I mentioned in the beginning is a very loaded handset. With all the regular features that include a Calculator, Alarm, Calendar etc. and Quick Office that allows you to read but not edit files without purchasing the license. The converter and Zip application are also present. There are quite a few Try and Buy applications you can download and use for a limited time via Nokia’s Catalogue Download section including games, apps, themes, wallpapers etc. The standard S60 Utilities like 3D Tones, Voice Commands Bluetooth Switcher, Text to speech and message reader are also present. Connectivity There’re plenty of connectivity options that the N85 brings to the table. It offers Wi-fi, Stereo Bluetooth and USB 2.0 connectivity (for PC Sync etc that can also be used via Bluetooth), EDGE/GPRS and is even 3G ready. The handset comes with plenty of applications and features to makes the best use out of these options. Nokia’s Home Media application allows you set up any media devices at your home that are Wi-fi ready for streaming purposes. You can access My Nokia, as well as share images online via Vox or Nokia’s M-blog and of course send emails by configuring your personal accounts and you can also download and configure Mail for Exchange on the handset. Search is also available for content on the handset as well as online via Google, Yahoo! or Live Search. The browser is of course unchanged and works just fine so no problem here. GPS Nokia Maps 2.0 together with the N85’s internal GPS receiver and A-GPS support enhances the appeal of the handset. That’s nothing new with Nokia so there’s not much to talk about here. Like most other Nokia handsets you’ll get three months free time worth of Live navigation after which you’ll have to purchase the license. It actually doesn’t take too long starting up and picking up satellite signals in most outdoor areas. Geo-Tagging is also supported with the help of the camera. Nokia’s N85 is equipped with a 5 megapixel auto-focus camera with a Carl Zeiss lens and dual LED flashes. There're plenty of settings and features to choose from – Scene modes, red eye reduction, Exposure settings, effects and White Balance. Nokia’s latest edition to the features menus is the ability to customize this tool bar as per your requirement. Images can also be edited in post processing which is entertaining as you can add effects, frames, icons etc. Pictures look quite good in daylight conditions with most details remaining clearly visible. The camera functions very well with a 2 second start up and quick access to settings. Videos also look quite good. What I did have a problem with was the fact that the LEDs refused to come on in Video mode with either the Night settings activated or the Video Light on. I’m willing to concede that it was a glitch with just this one handset though; hopefully there won’t be an issue in a boxed handset bought off the shelf. Hopefully. Battery This is where the handset turned out to be quite a disappointment. On a single full charge, with the battery saver mode active I got just a little over one full day’s usage. This was just with average usage like I would use any other handset a few calls, messages, few minutes worth of gaming, net surfing, camera usage and almost 6 minutes worth of video. Talk time clocked in approximately 2 hours and 35 minutes which is really a downer. On the plus side the handset charges through USB so you don’t have to lug the rather huge charger around, just the microUSB cable. That’s another thing. You won’t be able to use most of the standard Nokia chargers as this one uses a micro USB port like only a few other handsets. The Bottom Line The MRP of the Nokia N85 is a little bit of a shocker at Rs. 27, 299. However, according to our sources the street price - I’m sure will be more to your liking if you’re considering a purchase - is Rs. 23, 600 (approx.). This puts the whole thing in a new perspective. It’d be a truly great product and well worth the price considering the freebies included on the bundled 8GB card. The handset on the whole is definitely worth a consideration as a full function device, just keep in mind the battery life, the slight issue with the placement of some of the keys and of course the fact that only one game can be played in entirety. Specs - Nokia N85 Network GSM 850/900/1800/1900, EDGE, 3G Physical 103 x 50 x 16 mm, 128g Display 240 x 320, 16m colors,OLED, 2.6 inch Memory 85MB internal, microSD external (8GB included) Media MP3, AAC, WMA, WAV, MP4, AMR, 3GP, MPEG4, Voice Recorder, Visual and FM radio, Video Center, FM Transmitter Camera 5 megapixel, AF, LED Xenon Connectivity USB v2.0, Bluetooth with A2DP, Wi-Fi, TV Out, GPS (A-GPS) Battery 360 hrs standby, 2 hrs 35 mins talktime Street Price Rs. 23,600 Source : Tech2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Honest 836 Report post Posted December 20, 2008 Its really a nice review my dear Chirdeep. Thanks for the same. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mufaddal 678 Report post Posted December 20, 2008 I had this phone for trial purpose ....the phone is a cosmetic improvemnt over n95 with a tad bit of new features....but there seems to b a flaw (atleast in few units)the front keymat(set of keys surrounding dpad) is glued to the body of the phone....in my unit I cud see it seperatin ....which raises my concern over long term usage ....not only this unit but I found many early adopters having this problem after few days of hard usage ....worst part is defect like this aren't covered under warranty .... So my advice just check the keymat of the phone properly before buying even if the phone is boxed packed Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
