Nokia N82 Review
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I have spent more than 3 weeks with a Nokia N82. This review is a summary of my personal experience with the device over this period of time. This smartphone is one of the fastest symbian phone i have ever used.Multi tasking is awesome and battery life seems good.
Here are the box contents
Form Factor and Display
This is one phone which is as solid as a brick. No rattling sounds from the body.Its so firmly packed and its feels great to use it though its slightly huge.The body is in plastic but it does not look cheap , its actually a good fit in the palm. The phone weighs about 114g and is pretty decent when you take into account the features of the phone. Display is a 240×320 screen with 16 million colors. Its usable in most places even in the Sun.
The display of the n82 is good enough but still small compared to the phones such as the E61i. But I hate the width of the E61i.I would say the display can be a bit bigger.
Keypad
This is one of the most controversial features of the phone.At first I thought that keypad will be difficult to use but I couldn’t complain.Feedback is ok and there is enough spacing between the keys.
There are dedicated volume control keys which also work as camera zoom keys.There is a dedicated camera key as well. There is also a Gallery key between the clear and right nav keys. Some users might find the key interfering with their usage of the nav keys.
Camera
This is one the best phone Cameras from Nokia i have seen . You can capture photos which have a resolution of 2592 x 1944 pixels or 5 Mega Pixels. This is simply brilliant. Do I need to carry my digicam anymore ? Auto focus is great and Carl Zeiss optics too. Plenty of modes to choose from. Im still exploring the Camera. Video recording in MP4 is great with VGA Quality. We will be writing a exclusive story about the N82 Camera as its the best Mobile phone Camera out there in the market.
There a lens cover which mite prevent the dust from entering.This is the first Nokia Camera phone with an inbuilt Xenon Flash so , this means that you can take photos even in areas of low light or even for that matter you can capture a frame in complete darkness.
The phone Cant stand on its base when placed on any surface .. which is a let down for people who try a lot of self photography
GPS
Maps in Action
Route Being Displayed
The GPS Receiver din work indoors but on the road and on the terrace it was fun using the receiver. I used the Nokia Maps application to find routes in Chennai and the software was pretty decent package. The routes and mapping information are from Navteq which Nokia bought recently.So the map data seems to be reliable. Even the route distance calculation seems kinda reasonable.
I also used the Location Tagger App that Nokia Beta Labs has released. I geotagged the photos and uploaded them to Flickr via Shozu.
The Google Maps for S60 uses the inbuilt GPS pretty smoothly and the greatest part is that the dot of your location moves are you are moving / traveling
Mobile web browsing
Mobile browsers are getting really better these days. This phone is not any exception except for the 240×320 screen.Hope they can make the screen a bit bigger considering the phones form factor.Most web sites open up. You can browse using wifi or gprs/edge.The screen rotate feature is super cool for mobile browsing.
Messaging and Email
SMS is simple and clean. For email uou need to goto messages and then mailboxes to add the email accounts.
T9 is cool and another improvement in this version of S60 is that recently used Symbols stackup cleanly. Its a pretty useful feature.
The Conversations App first failed to work but then it started working. Looks like its not fully compatible with he N82 though. Made the phone restart a couple of times.
Media Music and Video
The 3.5 mm stereo out is something we have been longing for. The audio quality is not as good as an Ipod but its really good for a mobile phone. No skipped beats or distortions. I loved listening to music on the accompanying stereo headset. The phone comes with stereo speakers on the right. There was some distortion at high volumes in the speaker. Its pretty loud. FM Radio lets you tune in to the local radio stations.
MP4 , 3gp and real video is supported. Full screen playback is cool. Coming to the audio, the music player is nicely organized and let you play tracks even from a playlist.I managed to dump over 200 songs on my memory card and never got bored when I was traveling as the music kept me happy.
TV Out
This is certainly one interesting feature and impressive one too.
Imagine being able to see your phone screen on a large plasma TV or even a 21 inch TV.
Also the rotate screen feature works even when in TV mode. Even Ngage gaming works !! You can also play audio and video files via the TV and utilize the full power of your television / music system
You need to use the 3.5 mm jackon the top of the phone to connect the tv out cable.
Gaming
This phone has a Dual CPU and a 3D Graphics HW Accelerator. It has 2 Ngage game demos Asphalt and Fifa07. Asphalt was a good experience. Fifa – God save me with the controls, could not figure out. But the graphics quality was great for a mobile phone.
Accelerometer – auto-rotate
Awesome Experience.. Senses if phone is held upright or horizontal and rotates the screen automatically. But personally I turned off the auto rotate feature and find it useful when browsing the web
Connectivity
WLAN
I did not have any issues connecting to wlan networks . The biggest problem was entering the network security keys. I figured out how to use the phones clipboard feature so it made life easier.You can even check the Transmission power , current download and upload speed , total bytes sent and received.
Bluetooth
Din have any issues pairing with other devices.
Software , Applications , Performance and Memory
I have loaded most of the free popular software applications on this phone including gmail for mobile , google maps,shozu, jaiku,handy taskman , youtube , location tagger etc.This phone dint hang often or did not cry for memory primarily due to the almost 90 MB of RAM available at most times. This is super cool when you compare the nasty memory problems i faced with the E61i which is also based on the S60 V3 platform.
Performance wise,this is one of the fastest Symbian phones out in the market. Multi Tasking it really cool. I have mobile browser open – in the mean while i get an SMS and I answer a call. I open the Camera lens cover and click and pic and then upload to shozu. After this I open the gmail app to chk mail and finally I surprised to see that the browser is still alive.
The hotswappable memory card slot is easy to use and by default the N82 ships with a 2GB microSD card which is great. You can upgrade upto 4GB says Nokia but I think upto 8GB is possible. The handset has about 100mb of inbuilt memory.
Battery
The phone comes with a 1050 mAh BP-6MT 3.7V which is charged using a 2.0mm connector. Heavy use means that I would last a day. Moderate use means about 2–3 days. Minimal use means that it should last about 3–4 days on a single charge. By heavy use , i mean frequent usage of wifi , gprs ,bluetooth. Audio playback via speakers or headphones.Running memory intensive applications like Games. Using the Camera with Flash might drain your battery the fastest.
Conclusion
This phone combines the Multimedia features of the Nseries – Top notch Camera, music player and some of the features of the Eseries like mailing ,sophisticated web browsing, Wireless LAN.This phone is feature packed and has something in store for every kind of mobile user be it a student, professional,geek. Its currently the hottest supermodel in the NSeries bandwagon and the best Cameraphone available in the market. If you hear about the price , it would be surprising – About Rs.22,000 . Its really worth every penny if you want to enjoy any of the features I have mentioned above.
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Hi Varun,
Nice review, in the world of 3 4 pages of reviews, this one was a refreshing.
Hi Varun,
thanks for your review – for me it is specially interesting to see the quality of maps in India.
Right now I am in Tiruvannamalai, my native place is Sweden.
I have a garmin nuvi 200, ie a regular car GPS, but it is difficult to get good maps over India, that’s why I look into the Nokia.
I have some questions – if you have time;
1. Nokia Maps: according to Nokia, their maps cover the main cities, ie Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Bangalore etc, but what happens outside the city?
Does it show a general road map with highways, (like the garmin world map) or is it totally blank?
2. the google mobile map is dependent on constant data download trough the network – you can’t save those maps?
Cheers/
Peter
Hi Peter,
Looks like you want some detailed maps of rural india..
Its quite good in the cities as the data is provided by NavTeq
I think its blank beyond city limits . Have tried only once. Will try again and let you know.
Im not sure if you can save the maps from Google mobile maps.
Hi Varun
Thanks a lot for your review… I was wondering whether we’ll be able to use Maps in India… You’ ve cleared all my doubts about it by putting a snapshot of Google maps on your phone. I am also from Chennai… I was planning to buy an N82 if maps application worked in Bangalore and Chennai. I can now go for it…
Thank a lot man
By the way how do you install Google Maps on your mobile…
Varun, I need to know details about the clarity when you are using TV Out. Can you watch a movie stored in your phone in clarity as good as DVD, provided the content is DVD ripped? Please let me know…
Lol man.
Review without to note that the keyboard is crappy? or does the small-sized keys makes you happy? =S
the feel of the keypad is a bit different from the traditional nokia phones.. but i just got used to it after a couple of days
Great review, I have the N82 for about one week now. GPS and maps are great here in Thailand, also up-country.
@Fritz – GPS on N82 is so cool
hi,
do you get charged for using gps while international roaming or does the phone work like a gps receiver only.
Hey,
Was just browsing throught the sites for the review of the n82 & i must say that your review has been pretty impressive…I have been waiting for a phone like this from nokia for a couple of years now…i am planning to buy this phone soon…Hope it doesn’t hang though..& the review was awesome…Thanks for the info about this phone…its surprising that not many people know about this phone though…maybe nokia didn’t give too much priority to this phone…every one is like the n95 is the best & if u ask about n82…hardly do people know about it…what a shame…:)
Hi Ronnie,
thanks for the comments !
N82 is pretty popular here ..
Which country are you from ?
Dude i am from india…mumbai to be precise…its just that i have seen people talk a hell let about n958gb & the n81(to be honest didn’t like the n81)….but if i ask someone about n82…they have no clue about this phone or they don’t know about its features….what i meant to say was this phone certainly deserves better credit than the n81 ATLEAST…:)
@Ronnie – Right now they might not have because N82 is slowly penetrating in India, same happned with N95, when it was launched officially there was not much talk, but the moment N82 gets to common people, you will definitely hear great things about it!!!
Oh i do hope so…because it certainly deserves credit for such a handset…:).Cheers man…u just made it simpler for me to buy a phone…
@Ronnie you are most welcome
I have been using the N82 for some time now and i dont carry my digicam now
@ronnie you mite like this
http://www.fonearena.com/blog/2008/03/03/nokia-n82-vs-n95-the-5-mega-pixel-camera-phone-battle.html
Thanks man…i hope it last for a long time too…coz i will be jumping from nokia 6600 to n82… [:P]
Hey varun!
Thax a lot for such a nice review. Its worthy for all who is planning to buy n82. I m planning to get it in 1 or 2 days. Please clearify some points for me:
1. Does the camesa flash is auto or can we switch it off?
2. What are the extra softwares/applications provided with n82 other then those in 3rd edition mobiles?
3. Which video formats can we play on tv screen with tv output lack. Does it support avi (smart movie format)?
4. Is its screen size is smaller then n95?
hi…
nice review…shrt n sweet..vry precise
i jst hav 1 query..
rt nw m confused btwn n95 vs n82..
wnt 2 buy one of them..
plz advice..
thx..
cheers
jigar
Btw…does anyone know whether the n82 black has been released yet?
Its not yet come to india .. the black version .. we will update users once we spot a black n82
so there r others also who r confused between n82 an n 95 like me
but reading the above article i feel n95 is better than n82 except for the screen size
Dude nice review. Cut your nails though, can see a lot of shit stuck under them.
gr8 review man bt can U enlighten me abt its video player etc….coz i have a n 73 vid smart movie software……wht is its compatability??……also how is the inbuilt video player??……duz the pc suit have a video converter??
Hi Guys…….
First of all – a very good intro of the phone……….. Thanx Varun.
The features are excellent… the shape is perfect…
Anybody knows whether N82 Black is available in India or more precisely in Chandigarh or Amritsar ??????
Also wanna kno ur opinions on the following:-
If u r to buy a N-series…. Which will u prefer N78 or N82 and why????
Tell me some differences b\w these two instead of the 5MP camera and flash….??????
hey manav dont compare n82 wit n78…
n82 if far more superior…only thing wht n78 has is FP2 with navi key..
n only 3mp cam..where as n82 had 5mp..
n most imp n82 has xenon..
so the choice is quite simple..
if u wnt to compare 82 den do it wit n95…not wit n78..
n ya the black n82 is available in mumbai since almost a month now…
cheers
jigs
Hi
Am planning to buy new cell. But am confused which cell shud i buy, 1st came to mind was n82 but after seeing its keypad i feel it will be very uncomfortable or will give problem in future. then was n77 which is not yet out in market and next is n95(1) for camera and big screen . I am very confused can u help me in buying my new cell. I am looking out for good look , good pic quality, good audio and last but not the least big screen. Pls suggest me correct nokia model.plsssss
I’m planning to get a Nokia N82 in China. Do you know of any problems ie. clones, odd ones with different features..etc. I may encounter?
Hi Varun,
I asked you about the TV Out clarity… Does N82 produce the 640 x 480 clarity on TV, Suppose if I am having a movie in my mobile in this resolution, will I be able to watch it on TV with the same DVD clare resolution?
Please reply
Hey dude,
I wanted to know if the navi wheel feature is present on this one, like the one on the N81. if no, are there any chances of activating it with a firmware upgrade in the near future?
@Arjun
no wheel feature on this phone
@Guru
It gives VGA output on TV
Hi again,
Any idea on how to get a consolidated list of the phone numbers stored on the phone as well as the SIM. My brother got the phone and he has stored a few numbers on the phone and a few on the SIM card, but he is not able to access both in a single list. Any solution?
hai…
i want to know the video capture ability of n 82 and also about its clarity,when it would be connected and viewed through pc.
its VGA quality so u can expect to see 640×480pixel video on the screen
i’m new here; be gentle if i make protocol errors.
i see one can output to tv via the 3.5 earphone plug. very nice.
is there a way to plug in an external keyboard too? this would be excellent!
thanx for any and all suggestions,
roger
i’m new here; be gentle if i make protocol errors.
with the n82, i see one can output to tv via the 3.5 earphone plug. very nice.
is there a way to plug in an external keyboard too? this would be great.
thanx.
Hey Varun.. thanx 4 da gr8 review. Can u pls tel me whether N82 is goin to be updated b4 diwali. m planning to buy the same..
N82 black edition is available at stores .. N85 is coming soon but not for diwali.
Once N85 comes to the market . N82 might be gone .
Thanks guys……..it was a great review……..
and after reading ur problems and there solutions, i have decided to buy N-82…….Would be buying it on 9th of this month………….i am excited to buy a handset like this……….In simple words “Fully Loaded”……….
@Sam
its a perfect phone and a decent battery
just a bit bulky
Hi
i m having n82 silver screen just 6 moths old and there is a crack in its front body what to do
should i change its body..
please reply soon in my ID
thanks and regards
amit kala
India
Wat is itz price now???
Wat is itz price now???
im in karnataka
Hi Varun,
Can u help me in choosing N82 or N85, which is better option?
Awaiting ur reply
Dear Varun, I’m planning to buy a new phone this Jan, a bit difficult to choose between N82 & N85, can u help me regarding the same, Also is there any other difference in N85 apart from 8 GB memory & software upgradation, pls revert.
Hi all, happy newyear!
I’m regularly switching phones and now have the N82. Due to the regular switching I like to have my contacts on my SIM card, but I somehow cannot send SMS messages to my SIM contacts. It seems that I have to copy the contacts to my phone memory. Does anyone know of a way to send SMS messages to SIM contacts, without having to copy the contacts to phone memory?
Hi
i am from pakistan and i want to know that the gps of n82 works in pakistan? Thanks you all
hi friend..
nice review of our mobile.
i mean even i have nokia N82 black
dude i hv a problem.
nokia has it’s nokia maps preloaded at the start.
dude how to download map of different cities or countries.
im INDIAN.
dude in that map loader it’s telling somthin im not understanding.
Can you plz mail me the complete steps from start of how to install in my mobile and how to find free navigation and everythin
i’ll be waiting for your suggestions.
Plz mail me on nikriendz@gmail.com
cheers!!