Ovi Store is a pain to use

It is crazy how laggy, unresponsive and at times plain stupid Ovi store is compared to Apple Apps Store! And this is considering the fact that i use my ipod touch once every month while i use Nokia daily for the last 5 years!

Wake up Nokia developers!

Nokia N86 8MP Part 2: number pad, sides, back, slide mechanism

The number pad of the N86 is one big improvement over that of N85. In many ways it reminds me of Sony Ericsson's number pad. Each key is separated (by quite a bit) from the rest, is largely rectangular with oval ends in shape and the travel is relatively good. It was pretty hard on initial use but with time it got looser and the travel became better.





The sides are sparse of buttons. On the left side of the phone are the two speakers, volume rocker and the camera button. The volume rocker interestingly only has one bump to indicate the Up volume. Initially i thought it was a bad decision but it turns out to work perfectly fine -- now i don't get confused while fiddling the phone when i am on the line as to which is Up or Down button. Good decision.

The camera button is way way way too stiff. I makes me miss my terrific N79 camera button. But again maybe with use the stiffness will lessen.

The speakers seem pretty small and both are on the left side of the phone. The density of the mesh design is pretty high and that makes for a sweet design. Function wise, i don't think the speakers are loud enough (as compared to N95, 5800) but suffices and the treble is way too high. There is however absolute clarity without crackling even at max volume.

On the right side, there is only the keypad lock button -- an utter waste of space since there is a keyguard function in the software. Besides, who could possibly depress the front buttons when they are relatively stiff? I would have prefer the microsd slot to be placed here (YES THERE IS NO MICRO-SD CARD SLOT! This is my second biggest gripe about the phone. Check below for my biggest one!) Give me the N79 micro-sd slot cover design anytime!





I love the plastic used on the back cover. It is almost as comfortable as that on N95 which was velvety.This is almost in line with that so feel the N86 is a treat. On the back are the camera module. The camera lens cover is slightly rubberised so sliding it to reveal the lens is a breeze once you apply a wee bit of pressure.

There is a kickstand. It is active so you can decide what program to be launched with it when you activate the kickstand -- wise decision. Structurally i find the kickstand too flimsy. I also wish that the tilt angle of the stand can be adjusted and perhaps it can be spring released rather than again needing for one to pry it out.






MY BIGGEST GRIPE about the N86 8MP: there is no release button for the battery cover like that of N79/85/95 so you will need to pry the back cover off like some cheap phone. I wonder if it will stand the test of time. I just hope it is covered by Nokia warranty.

On the top are the usual Power button, slot for 3.5 mm headphones and usb slot. This phone charges by usb only and when it is be charged, there is a white LED beside it that lights up -- nice touch.

Nokia N86 8MP: Initial thoughts on front fascia

The heft (149g) aside, holding and touching this latest Nokia phone was a joy. It is so rare for Nokia to produce a Nseries phone that is more beautiful than an Eseries one! Indeed, i might even find this phone to be more eyecandelicious than the Sirocco series! (As an aside, if you are coming off from a light phone like i was with N79, it might take a while - say a day - to get used to the weight.)



The front fascia is essentially hardened dark grey glass with an OLED screen. This slab of lovely glass is framed by dark chrome. My gripe is there is enough room for a 2.8 inch screen (although then the ratio of the screen can't be 16:9 then i suppose). The OLED screen when indoors is as good as N85; but where it shines is outdoors. Legibility outdoors is surprisingly good -- i usually only set it to Level 2 of the brightness of display and it is good enough to read the screen when i am outdoors!

Beneath the screen are the left/right selection keys which are wisely inconspicuous as the material is transparent plastic. Unlike the N85 where these keys are on the same plane as the screen, these buttons are nicely elevated like N82 number pad buttons or the N79's left/right selection keys.



Beneath these buttons are the call/end buttons which are made from the same plastic but are in green and red respectively. These 4 buttons are already a cut above the usual crass quality of Nseries buttons; the Dpad however is another issue altogether. It speaks class: a narrow ridge of chrome serves as the navigation keys while the confirm key is sunken in. The confirm key is made of a material that feels somewhere between glass and plastic. The design of the Dpad makes mistakened presses unlikely. What is really interesting is that the confirm key can hardly be seen as it is sunken but yet the press on it are so assuring. A design marvel indeed!

Unlike the N85/N79 and N82 where the Cancel (C) button is on the same plane as the screen, on the N86, it is raised like the left/right soft keys. The multimedia key (which i like) is now missing from N86.

The menu key is my favourite key design-wise. While it is placed a slight bit lower than the other buttons, it is still easy to feel for and locate without looking. It is tilted 45 degree unlike the other buttons which are either horizontal or vertical. While the other buttons look ordinary, the same can't be said for the menu button. It is metallic with many minute holes: when lights passes through the holes, the effect is beautiful!

So far, the N86 8MP is really impressing me! I will write more about it soon!

War between N85 and N96

So what does N85 have over N96?
[points with a * means it is very important to me]

1. * a more affordable price tag -- difference of roughly 200 bucks.
2. * better screen: richer contrast
3. * better battery life
4. * better number pad
5. charges by usb
6. lens cover
7. better curves (fits in hand better and * slips in and out of trousers pocket better)
8. not as bad a fingerprint magnet
9. better call/end buttons
10. better volume buttons
11. * fewer bugs
12. sexier colour combination

And what does N96 have over N85?
1. better speakers
2. better video playback
3. has kickstand for watching video
4. * bigger screen
5. better multimedia buttons
6. has tv tuner
7. has microSD card slot and 16 gb drive (N85 has only microSD slot)

For me at least, N96 was never a choice i considered. However, i might think (a lot) about Innov8 though.

N85 review on Mobilearsenal

Bogdan of Mobilearsenal fame has done a masterful review of N85 at

http://mobilearsenal.com/review/nokia_n85_the_hidden_top_model/introduction.html .

As per his other reviews, this one is right on the money and amazingly up-to-date (much faster than GSMarena and Phonearena these days). Do check out his reviews on Nokia N79 , Samsung Innov8 and Omnia too!

N85 -- which are the N*% things about it?

Now that the dust has settle on the hoohah about N85 and its AMOLED screen etc (justifiably so, i should add), what are its area for improvement?

Do email me your thoughts. Meanwhile, here are my suggestions:

1. A cover for the microusb slot.

2. A less stiff D-pad ala E90's.

3. Segmented numberpad instead of one flat piece.

4. A bigger screen and better sunlight legibility.
Clearly there is lots of unused screen area, namely, where the logo N85 sits (top) and where the Nokia logo is (bottom). Also, it's been a while since i had a Nokia phone that has such poor (but not bad) legibility under sunlight. Wonder how the new oled Samsung i770 will turn out.

5. A softer * and # key. i find them particularly hard to depress compared to the other keys.

6. A more responsive Power key.

7. The Menu key (bottom left) ought to be slightly higher.

8. The eyelet for the lanyard ought to be on the right side since most users are right handed. (all right, this is highly debatable)

9. The keys on the top slide ought to have better tactile feedback and more defined delineation. I must submit that it is pretty tough to do this as the N85 is pretty narrow breadth.

10. Aesthetics aside, maybe the bottom speaker ought to be located at the base of the phone and not the right side to prevent the sound from being blocked when the phone is held.

N85 -- programs i can't live without on it

If only i could work in Nokia and dictate the programs that they must install on their phones. Till then, allow me to list the programs which are absolutely essential:

1. Tracker. This is my ultimate 'homescreen' utility. The customisation possibilities are tremendous and all the things that i need (applications, bookmarks, documents) are at my finger tips.

2. MoneyManager2. With all due respect to Handy Expense and its suite of programs, i really do not need something that complicated. I just need a finance program that allows me to key in the amount of money that i have spent, categorise as necessary, show how much i have spent for the month (and when the next month starts, just move on to a new month).

*** plus, it does not insist on being used on only ONE IMEI; as i move from N95 to N95 8gb to E90 to N82 to N85, i stay faithful to this program *** This program is large unheralded but Highly Recommended. 

3. Opera Mini. No introduction needed, it's simply the best mobile browser.

4. Font Magnifier. With S60 FP2, there are more options than before to adjust font sizes in messages and menu. But it's just not enough -- i like all the font sizes to be customisable; i want to be able to change font sizes by even 1% and not just 'small, medium, large'. Font magnifier allows me to do it. 

Caveat: it is not compatible with Opera Mini which crashes...so it's kinda catch-22 for me now. And according to their response to my query, they do not intend to do anything about this problem at this point in time.

5. Dr Jukka's Y-browser. Excellent file manager with lots of options. Unfortunately it cannot access Nokia's private directory which means i cannot alter the Notes.

6. MSN. no explanation needed.

7. Wldsets. Nuggest size piece of info, quick to load too.

8. Screenshot.

9. Dedit. Free editor

10. MobiOffice. Cheaper than Quickoffice and somehow seems better to me.

11. Calculator. This is the more advanced version from Nokialabs...similar to the S40 version i think. How i wish S60 could implement the good features of S40 e.g. the 'copy to calendar' function when one reads an sms.

12. DivX player. Nokia's native player is still too limiting. Coming from Omnia and resisting the urge to buy Innov8, the DivX player is my stopgap measure. One more thing, it is MUCH louder than Nokia's native video player too.

13. Google Maps.