Nokia N75 Review

Camera:

Camera interface

The camera quality on the N75 is decent compared to other phones currently available with AT&T particularly the Samsung Sync or the Sony Ericsson w810i. All of the pictures that we took came out decent. While taking a picture you have the option to use the internal or external screen as the viewfinder. Using the internal screen is awkward at best as you have to hold the phone sideways. Starting the camera was fast, there was almost no delay. The N75 gives you the option to auto save to the memory card or you can choose to save each picture as you take it.

Taking video we didn’t have any complaints. Videos are limited to one hour and are taken with up to CIF (352x288) resolution and 15 frames. If the frames were 24, the videos will be of good quality when previewed on a computer but now they are chopping.


Multimedia:

Several file types are supported for listening to music including MP3, M4A, AAC, eAAC+, WMA and has keys on the front of the screen so you can control the music player without having to open the phone – not only change to next/previous song, but also browse your library. It’s fairly easy to set up different play lists and can use the shuffle setting. Interesting is the fact that the music player is the same as on Symbian 9.2 phones, instead on 9.1, which is the version of the N75. It is easier to use and looks better. The speakers are stereo and the sound is clear with no distortion.

Also available is the FM radio, as long as you’re willing to plug in a headset which acts as the antenna. While testing the FM radio, reception was exceptionally clear.

Software:

With 40 MB of internal memory, the N75 doesn’t have the most memory available, but can be expanded up to 2GB with a microSD card. Powered by Symbian S60 3rd Edition means there are endless 3rd party programs available. Pre-installed software applications include a Zip manager, Quick Office, Adobe Reader, eBay, MobiTV, Tetris and 3D Pool Hall. An interesting application is Lifeblog, which shows you on one screen some information from the current day including text messages, emails and notes. You also have the ability to post the information onto your webpage blog.

AT&T also includes applications for Cellular Video and AT&T Music. Cellular Video worked well for us in a 3G area. We experienced very little time buffering the video even though the phone runs on the UMTS portion of 3G. AT&T Music includes MobiRadio, Music ID and Billboard. We had no problem using these features, especially the MobiRadio which we had on for about 4 hours one day. A few times the phone went quiet, but came back within 10-15 seconds each time.