Nokia N80
December 25th, 2005 - Posted in Nokia
The Nokia N80 smart multimedia device is the first 3G world phone with EGSM 850/900/1800/1900 and WCDMA 2100 for Europe, Africa and APAC regions, EGSM 850/900/1800/1900 and WCDMA 1900 for Americas region and EGSM 850/900/1800/1900 for China market. A three-megapixel digital camera, email, MP3 player, personal organizer, game console and WLAN connectivity, makes the N80 Nokia’s most advanced all-in-one device yet.
Introduction
With a slide form factor the Nokia N80 is reminiscent of the first S60 smartphone, the 7650. However, appearances are deceptive because three years of development have resulted in a phone several generations more advanced.
Design
The N80 is pleasing to the eye and is finished in a mixture of chrome and metal, similar in feel and looks to the N70, which gives the whole device a substantial feel. The N80 will be available in two versions – silver and black, both are constructed of similar materials, but the black version has the advantage of hiding smudges and fingerprints more than the silver version.
In the hand, in slide closed mode, the phone at 95.4 x 50 x 23.4 mm is essentially the smallest Nokia S60 phone yet. As a slider it is a few mm thicker than a monoblock such as the 6680, but this is hardly noticeable. It is bigger and heavier (134g) that the other modern S60 Slider, the Samsung D720, but that is a reflection of the extra functionality found in the N80.
The slide mechanism itself is a soft slide, similar to the camera slide on the N70, which because it lacks the snap feel of spring-assisted slides, may not be to everyones taste. With all the major control keys accessible in slide closed mode (a notable improvement over the 7650) there is very little need to open the slide except when writing messages or inputting other data. The result of this is that the N80 looks and feels much more like a regular phone.
The tactile feedback and ease of use of the control keys are excellent, although the proximity of the softkeys, control pad and calls keys may cause trouble for those with large fingers. The number keypad is not as good, the demo models having a slightly spongy feel, and (as with other sliders) the first row of keys is a little obscured by the top of the phone. On the plus side, the keys are large and well distributed, which should provide for some fast input speeds. Furthermore the usual issue with slide down key pads giving an unbalanced feel when in use is countered by the major portion of the weight of the phone being in the slide down portion.
The screen resolution, at 352 x 416 pixels and with 262,144 colours, is crisp and bright. This is the best screen I have seen on a mobile device, and it outdoes the impressive QVGA screens found on the N92 and N71.