Nokia N82 Review

Introduction:

In the middle of November, the new Nokia N82 was announced. Being a 80-series model, it is not among the top-of the-line Nokia phones (90-series), which is logical as its features are very similar to the 9-month old N95. The next high-end model which will be the successor of the N95 (including the 8GB version), is expected to be presented in the first quarter of the 2008, either on CES or 3GSM expos.

The N82 is Nokia’s first cameraphone equipped with a Xenon flash, instead of a standard LED one. This is what Sony Ericsson has been using in its top cameraphones since the K800 and has proved to be the best such technology. Flashes of this type have also appeared in the recently released high-end cameraphones of Samsung (G800) and LG (Viewty).



The Nokia N82 is targeted not only as a high-end cameraphone but as an all-in-one multimedia device. It can also capture high-resolution (VGA) clips, manage audio and video as well as office files, as it is a Symbian 9.2 S60 smartphone.


Design:

Just a look is enough to see that the new N82 is … let’s say different. It doesn’t remind us of any previous Nokia phone, has very different style and design-language as a whole. We may characterize it as hate-it-or-like it style and as a whole it is not among the attractive phones. The entire phone’s body is made of plastic, but unfortunately there is a cheap feeling when using it, although the construction is solid. Still, the weight is pocket-friendly, which has been the idea of the manufacturer.

Model	Dimension (Inches)	Dimension (mm)	Weight (oz)	Weight (Gramms)
Nokia N82	4.40" x 1.97" x 0.68"	112 x 50.2 x 17.3	4.02	114
LG Viewty	4.07" x 2.14" x 0.58"	103.5 x 54.4 x 14.8	3.95	112
Samsung G800	3.97" x 2.00" x 0.74"	101 x 51 x 18.8	4.90	139
Sony Ericsson K850	4.01" x 1.88" x 0.66"	102 x 48 x 17	4.16	118
Nokia N95 8GB	3.89" x 2.08" x 0.82"	99 x 53 x 21	4.51	128

You can compare the Nokia N82 to many other phones, using PhoneArena's Visual Size Compare tool.

In the upper half of the phone are situated the lightning sensor, the QVGA secondary camera, the earpiece and the 2.4” display. Although it is smaller than the huge 2.8” one used in the N95 8GB, it is bigger than the K850’s 2.2” which is a success. Although it is not the brightest one, it is still perfectly readable in any environment, something typical for a contemporary Nokia.



Packing a large display and a keyboard into a body not that huge, isn’t exactly the easiest thing to do, so compromises must be made with both of them. The N82 isn’t huge, the display is large, so the logical conclusion is that its keypad is small. There is some space between it and the display but obviously the technology still does not allow the developers to use it for a larger keypad. As a whole it is not really bad but the numeric buttons are very tiny, and must be pressed with the tip of a finger. Their type is similar to those of the Sony Ericsson K850, but the latter are more convenient to use as they are bigger and with larger space between each.



Untypically for Nokia, the bottom side houses only the microphone and the connectors are moved to the other sides. On the left are the charging connector, the microSD slot (covered with protective door) and the microUSB for connecting the phone to a computer. On the top is the 3.5mm jack, which allows connecting standard headphones and the typical for Nokia power key, while on the right similar to the N95 are: the volume rocker, the gallery shortcut and the shutter key. As they are illuminated, it is easy to find them by looking, but it is not so by touching.




As usual, the camera lens and flash are located on the back side. Next to them is a small slider that opens/closes the lens cover; it is not very comfortable but we prefer it to the bulgy cover used in the Samsung G800 for example.