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!
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.
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.
Good Points
- touchscreen + numberpad : potent combination
- pretty good battery life
- comes equipped with QuickOffice
Bad Points
- screen is too small
- ridiculous battery cover
- slow internet speed
[Will be doing this review in parts...and will be adding pictures soon...busy at work...paiseh
btw can someone pls teach me how to take good pictures of mobile phone screens?]
n85 IN BRIEF
*******bad points**********
Read on for a more detailed review.
Box contents
usb charger, usb cable, TV out cable, Music store voucher for 8 songs, 1 free Ngage game, 2-piece earphones, the usual CDs and manual, 8gb microSD card in the phone.
Construction
N85 does not feel light; in fact it feels a heavy. But the truth is the weight is only 120 g which is really very fine. Somehow the construction of the phone is such that the heft is mostly located in the centre of the phone which makes the phone feel heavy in hand when it is not so. The good side of this is it lends a reassuringly feel of quality to the phone as well as makes the user really secure in the fact that the phone will not slip out of the hand easily.
The curved lines of the phone makes it a joy to hold and behold. It also makes for convenience slipping into and removing from a pair of tight pants.
Sliding mechanism. One of my gripes about the N95 is the loose slide. This meant that when i remove the phone from my pants, it slides one way or the other. The N85 does not have this problem. The N85's slide is firm but not overly so. It must however be said that the slide of the multimedia side is a lot stiff than the number pad side. If any side should slide inadvertently or otherwise, i would prefer it be the number pad side since it is more often used. There is hardly any space between the top and bottom panels of the slider.
Horrific front plastic that leads to finger print galore - why can't Nokia use more of the matt plastic that they used for N95? Having said that, i have to say the plastic is of a better quality than that used for N96.
Back plastic is good.
Facing the phone, on your left side is the microSD slot with a cover. It is pretty secure but easily removed but falls short of the high standards of those by Sony Ericsson or Nokia's E90. That notwithstanding, the cover flushes perfectly with the side of the phone but with a subtle notch to allow the nail to easily pry it open.
On the right side are the volume keys, the keypad lock and the camera button. The volume keys are extremely comfortable to depress and they light up when required e.g. when the music player is switched on.
The keypad lock is very springy but it only locks the screen when push all the way to the extreme end. I think this is a smart move: easy to move key makes it easy to use but to prevent accidentally locking, it can only deliver its function when pushed to the extreme end.
The camera key is stiffer (but not overly so) than the previous 2 sets of keys. A judicious decision given potentially how easily the camera key can be activated by mistake when sliding the phone up or down.
The D-pad is a lot stiff than i would like ( i crave for the N95 or E90 ones) but definitely better to use than the mushy N82's. The lower part of the D-pad is a lot stiffer than the other 3 sides. This makes a lot of sense since of the time we tend to use the lower part of the D pad.
Regarding the number pad, it is acceptable. I am in no way crazy about it especially the # and * keys. The keypad is stiff; these two keys are too stiff for my liking but i am adjusting to them.
The rows are separated by plastic rows of a wholly different texture so it was quite easy to figure out the rows by touch. I have surprisingly few mistypes even though i usually type sms without looking at the keypad. I suppose the other reason is that there is a separate dome under each number of the keypad so really we are not moving the entire 'flat keypad' but just activating one dome each time.
The 'headroom' above the top row '1 2 3' is more than sufficient.
On the left and right of the navigation panel are the Call and End buttons. They are definitely better to use than they appear, as are the left and right selection keys. I had a problem with the menu key being located at the bottom of the top slider (since i have been used to the Menu key closer to the middle of the phone) but that was just a matter of getting used to. No biggie.
It's a really nice touch that the relevant keys only light up when they are in use. For example, the left, right, menu and cancel selection keys are only lit when the phone is active.
On the top are the microusb charging slot, the 3.5 mm audio jet and the power button. There is also an eyelet for the lanyard. I completely appreciate the location of these sockets and their location at the top of the phone. The power socket is conspicuously missing -- N95 charges via usb!
On the back is the battery cover and the camera. The battery cover latch is very very well constructed: a simple push at the end of the cover and the cover is easily lifted. Very easy to put it back too. This is much appreciated following my experience with Sony Ericsson's G700 where i had to use my NAILS to pry the cover open!
The camera has a slide to unveil the lens. The tightness of this sliding lens cover is of the right tightness. Beside the camera lens cover is a dual LED flash.
Boot-up Time
From the moment i pressed the power button (roughly just before the vibration) to the appearance of the home screen, it took 25 seconds. For it to detect my phone service provider, another 15 seconds. This to me is pretty fast -- anyone recall the eons that E90 takes to boot up?
Comparison with N95
1. The N95 uses much better material - matte plastic that is extremely comfortable in the hands. By contrast the fingerprint magnet plastic of N85 is quite a nightmare (though much better than N96's or even N81).
2. The side buttons of the N85 is superior in design to those of the N95. In the N85, every button looks like they belong to the entire phone -- similar colour, style, curves, tactility -- unlike on the N95 where certain parts look like some odd ball: silver speakers jutting out against the plum back cover?
3. Battery cover/Lens cover: easily N85 is better designed and asthetically more pleasant. I used to worry about the N95 battery cover's latch and 4 hooks breaking if i did not insert the cover properly or with too much force.
4. Design: N85 has a more cohesive and coherent design but it is a lot more feminine-looking than N95, with all those curves. :) On the other hand, this shade of black on N85 is not the most flattering; the colours of N95 are a lot more attractive.
5. Buttons: In terms of being functional, N95 buttons are better by a million miles in every way one can think of from backlight colours to feedback to ease of feeling without looking. The trade off? N95 navigation buttons are pretty ugly -- i have always thought they look like some confused ribbons with undulating slopes (don't ask me what that means).
6. Speakers: people are going to disagree with me all over the place but much prefer N95's speaker positions. I really dont buy the whole video-in-landscape hence speakers be moved to the right side tale. i like my speakers for music and i listen to my music holding the phone length-wise.
Screen
Outstanding screen quality. Colours are rich and saturated. The last time a screen impressed me this much was the iPhone. However, the iphone felt cold while the N85 feels warm.
Unlike previous screensavers from Nokia which dimmed over time (while showing time), the screen saver on N85 remained lit and was pristinely bright and clear.
User Interface
Phone/Voice Quality
Ringer volume is good as is voice volume and clarity, as expected of Nokia handsets. The N85 is probably second to N95 and 9300. The vibration can be stronger but nonetheless still fine.
One of the features that i enjoy is how the contact's picture is full screen when the call comes in but then decreases to 1/3 the screen size when the answer is being answered.
On my set, there seems to be a bug, when i allowed the phone to read contacts from both the SIM card and the phone memory, the phone periodically rebooted on its own. In fact, there was one night when it rebooted 20 times!
Music Quality
Video Quality
Camera
Not too sure if i see significant difference in quality of pictures between N85 and N95 but for sure the speed of focusing, saving and shot-to-shot is much better in N85. In fact, i think it is much better than N82. Impressively done, Nokia! The camera button is good -- neither too soft (SE G700) nor too firm (e.g. N82) nor too wobbly (E90). The lens cover is excellent too. The position of the camera module is also good, in that your hand is not likely to touch the lens while on the phone (assuming we had accidentally left the cover open). I had this problem while using the Samsung Omnia as the lens was situation too high up and too close to the volume rocker.
With regards to the gallery, it is disappointing that we cannot choose to zoom in/out from the menu anymore; instead we can only do it from the volume rocker keys and the # key (to reset to original viewing size).
If i am not mistaken, the gallery seems to have changed (sorry, i dont have any N series phones with me anymore -- gave my N95 away). I like this new gallery which gives the following categories: captured, months, albums, tag, downloads, all, share online. What is particularly attractive is the slow slideshow as your selection is over that category. After you have made your selection, the usual carousel gallery appears. No major changes there.
Applications
