Nokia N81

Remember with N-Gaged and IPhone ?? I think Nokia N81 is combination of the them. N81 Key Features :

• Massive storage space (8GB version)
• N81 with Expandable Memory
• N81 8GB with 8 Gbytes of Internal flash Memory
• Symbian OS 9.2 S60 3.1 UI
• Wi-Fi support
• Unique gaming experience with the new N-Gage platform and dedicated gaming keys above the display
• Brilliant 2.4" 16M-color QVGA display
• 2 Megapixel Camera with 20 x Digital Zoom & Flash
• 3.5 mm audio jack
• Touch sensitive Navi wheel
• Dedicated music keys and hardware keypad lock switch
• 3G with video calls
• Nice multimedia menu

Disadvantage

• Mediocre camera
• Awkward D-pad
• Hefty weight
• Uncomfortable keypad
• No HSDPA

There are two versions of the handset - standard and 8GB. The standard version features a memory card slot, the other has none but offers the exciting 8GB of onboard memory. We are looking at the Nokia N81 8GB but all of it holds true for the standard Nokia N81 as well. Therefore, from now on we are going to simply call it Nokia N81.

When we speak about phones, a 2.4" inch display is well worth a praise. With N81 and the N-Gage gaming experience it offers, the 2.4" display with 16M colors and QVGA resolution seems the spot-on choice. The display on Nokia N81 has great sunlight legibility, incredible picture quality and is large enough for everyone to see. You can hardly want any more even in this price range.

The N81's other focus is gaming. Games can be played in portrait or landscape mode, making full use of the fantastic 16.7 million colour display. The N81's secret is that it includes support for Nokia's NGage series of games. The choice of games is excellent and the quality of the 3D graphics is exceptional. If you're serious about games, then this is seriously highly recommended.

Symbian

Nokia N81 is running on Symbian 9.2 OS and uses the well known S60 3rd edition graphic user interface. The improved Feature Pack 1 is no news anymore, as all recent Nokia smartphones are equipped with it. Among the strong points of the FP1 is the availability of multiple alarms, as well as the voice memo limit increase to a whole hour. Furthermore, it displays blue circles on running applications' icons to remind you to turn them off when you don't need them any more. No one wants used up RAM to slow down their smartphone. All that said, we need to mention that Nokia N81 is armed with the fastest Nokia processor to date (ARM 11, 369 MHz). The same CPU powers the Nokia 6120 Classic and Nokia 5700. Navigating the menus is very fast. All the commands are executed in an instant, which greatly contributes to the impression N81 leaves.

Camera

It's astonishing that Nokia has decided to integrate a 2 megapixel fixed focus camera into the Nokia N81, instead of trying to close the gap in the three megapixel race. But let's leave our frustration aside and continue the camera test.

The camera interface looks identical to the one found in the Finnish multimedia flagship Nokia N95. The camera options are shown with small icons near the lower end of the screen. These can be hidden to make full use of the display as a viewfinder. The main camera only shoots in landscape mode which is easily explainable by the position of the dedicated camera key. Besides, it feels far more natural to take pictures this way. Camera settings are identical to the one on Nokia N95 with one nice addition - grid lines can now be added to the viewfinder. You can use them to help compose your snapshots like a pro - the photography rule-of-thirds is that you should place your main subject either along these lines or at the points where they intersect. The rule-of-thirds also applies to landscape shots. There you should have the sky occupying either one third or two thirds of the frame. The other change made goes without saying - macro mode is not present due to the lack of autofocus on Nokia N81. Luckily the customizable ISO settings, white balance and scene modes are still present. Finally we need to mention that the dedicated camera button could be a bit bigger and easier to press. As it is with this phone, you either need to look at it or spend a few seconds finding it with your fingertips.

The image quality of Nokia N81 is just what you would expect from a 2 megapixel Nokia camera - slightly below average for that pixel count. We were full of high expectations at first, as the display showed great previews of the pictures taken. However, when they were downloaded a whole bunch of flaws became visible. The noise levels are acceptable, but the photos in general look somewhat as watercolor paitings. You can also seen some strange color blotches in the shadow areas.

The N81 has an offline mode, switching off all transceivers but allowing the use of the other features of the device. It is the default profile if you start the handset without a SIM card. The offline mode allows full access to the functions of the phone that do not require cellular network coverage.

Much to our disappointment, the touch sensitive Navi wheel functionality cannot be used for browsing the menu. We do find the Navi wheel a brilliant navigation solution. Pity, Nokia developers decided to limit its functionality to the gallery, music player and multimedia menu only. The Navi wheel is really fast and fun way of finding your way around menus. The only flaw it has is that it probably makes the D-pad confirmation center even tougher to press without changing your selection.

The Nokia N81 & Nokia N81 8GB work over quad band technology with WCDMA which allows the user to enjoy worldwide network coverage on their new handset. The phones are 3G mobile phones which provide the user with multi tasking capabilities & the phones support WLAN technology. The user can enjoy wireless connection to compatible devices using a Bluetooth® connection between devices. The user can transfer files or data including photos, videos 7 music files using Bluetooth® Wireless technology or a USB cabled connection. The user will find their new handset provides high speed transfers with the help of the built in Edge technology. The user can enjoy a mobile Internet experience on their handset as both phones come with a Nokia browser complete with mini map. The phones come with a variety of messaging services which allow the user to stay in contact with others quickly & easily. The user can send & receive text messages, multimedia messages containing photos or video & emails complete with attachments. The messaging services are all easily accessible from the phones main menu & the user can enjoy sharing messages between all compatible messaging contacts. These phones have been designed with the user in mind & the user will fully enjoy their new mobile experience with one of these beautiful handsets as their companion.

If you are gamers and camera isn't an important thing then go ahead, N81 Is the best for you.