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Big in size, big on features, Nokia's N80 and N91 are handphones that...
Rock your world
NOKIA'S latest N-series smartphones are jam-packed with features but could do with a diet.
The latest heavyweights are the N91 music phone which, at 164g, is about 50 per cent heavier than the average candybar phone, and the N80 slider phone that is chunky at 26mm.
They might not be skinny like the Motorola RAZRs but both are great gifts for geeks
N91 ($1,088)
The N91 music phone has good audio quality.
The N91's killer feature is the embedded 4GB hard disk, which lets the phone become a viable alternative to MP3 players such as the iPod nano.
On the top of the sliding front cover are dedicated music playback keys, and the N91 is the only handphone that offers a standard 3.5mm headphone jack.
Can this phone finally replace your iPod?
Only if you really insist on having one device on the road.
The N91's music interface is simple and offers good audio quality, but it has some niggling problems.
First, it sometimes takes a few seconds to start playing the next song.
Has the phone crashed, you wonder.
Then, because the N91 has to double up as a 3G phone (read: power hungry), you will have to recharge it on a daily basis if you listen to several hours of songs a day.
It offers a basic sound equaliser, but other audio enhancements such as 'stereo widening' actually makes the music sound worse.
Also, as the phone contains a sensitive hard disk, users had better not drop it too often.
Now it sounds like this phone is terrible, but far from it.
It offers much computing prowess with the Series 60 operating system.
It allows you to have over 1,000 contacts, open several applications at one go and download thousands of free or commercial software.
The N91 also offers FM radio, a decent 2-megapixel camera and solid metal construction all round.
Plug in a standard USB cable and the phone becomes a portable hard drive for your files.
Even more impressive is how Nokia has squeezed in WiFi capability, which allows you to connect to wireless networks.
With WiFi, you can surf the Internet at much higher speeds than 3G and it is free if you do so at home or at free public hot spots (such as at McDonald's restaurants).
However, Nokia's latest web browser is still clunky and is outclassed by the free Opera phone browser.
N80 ($1,038)
Like the N91, the N80 slider phone has 3G and WiFi connectivity and the powerful Series 60 operating system.
The N80 has a 3-megapixel camera.
However, it is less bulky, allows for proper video-calls and has a 3-megapixel camera that will make many phone camera enthusiasts drool.
Unfortunately, while the image quality is decent for a phone, there is too much lag between the time you press the camera button and the time the shot is actually captured.
Just like the early digicams!
And instead of a hard disk to store data, it uses a miniSD memory card, which has much smaller capacity.
You also need to use a headphone adaptor for your music.
Nevertheless, for the price, the N80 is a better buy than the N91.
The N80 may be thick, but its shorter length makes it comfortable to hold even if your hands are not too big. It also has better keypad response, making it easier to SMS.
Also, the N80 comes in an elegant black cover. |
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Post time 19-5-2006 12:16 PM
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