Nokia N82 smartphone

Nokia has boosted its N series with its most heavily-featured candybar yet. With a five-megapixel Carl Zeiss-lensed, xenon flash equipped camera and GPS, it’s comparable to the N95 and one of the best cameraphones around. Even if it’s not the prettiest. Working on the principle that you shouldn’t judge a book by the cover, …

[Ralph B]

Product Difference?

I'm not sure I understand why Nokia developed the N82 AND the N95. They seem to have roughly the same feature list and roughly the same packaging. Can someone put me right on why Nokia needed to produce two models here instead of just one?

[Bad Beaver]

@ Ralph B

Ralph, the N95 is a slider. Some people prefer them.

Otherwise... plastic case?! Again, this is why the N-Series puts the NO in NOKIA. So it's the same as the N95 made to look like a SonyEricsson. "Come look at my 400 quid handset, but don't touch it, it feels like more like 10 quid..."

[Mark Cross]

The slider

They've got rid of the slider. I have a N73 and I must admit the buttons are a turn-off and I didn't go for the N95 because of the slider and the problems I had read about on the net.

[Bryan]

Margin

They can't just go drop the price of the N95 so the N82 is their more affordable consumer model...targeting different demographics and the like.

[Ash]

@Ralph B

Easy. I don't want the N95 as it's too big for the slide form-factor for me.

I do, however, want the N82 because it does everything the N95 does in a layout which I like.

That's one more sale for Nokia, and i'm willing to bet i'm not the only one who thinks that way.

[Anonymous Coward]

Product difference

The only difference is the shape (and they give you a lens cover like the first N95 but not the N95 8GB). I guess some people fear dangerous innovations like slider phones. But since this seems to be an O2 exclusive in the UK (please tell me if I'm wrong), it's probably also a case of creating a new phone for the sake of creating an exclusive and getting money off a gullible network.

[Kevin Bailey]

GPS

It has GPS built-in - so that is a definite new feature.

[Mark Lynch]

Great phone

I bought one of these a month ago and really love it. I had abandoned Nokia for SE for many years but this phone has won me back. Personally I love the looks - it's all shiny and metal like. The keys are a tad small it's true, if you've fat fingers this isn't for you. As for playing games I'd say it's as good/better than other phones and playing games in landscape over the Tv-out is a cool option.

One thing the review missed is the uPnP music options. If you have a uPnP compatible device in your home (your PC, console etc) you can use your phone as a remote control which is handy - or you can stream the stuff across to the device, but this is a little slow to respond - maybe 5-10 seconds after pressing play you hear the music.

Oh, and the lenscover has never opened on me by accident and i keep it in my pocket all the time.

[W]

Re: Product Difference?

Moving parts * pocket fluff = More to go wrong.

I would always go for a an equivalently specced, (ahem) 'candybar' configuration over a slider, flip, twist, clamshell.

[David H]

Try asking Sony Ericsson

Sony Ericsson market what are essentially very similar phones in numerous different casings (metal, plastic, candybar, slider, etc.) and sell them at different price points to different groups of users (high-flying executives, fashion-conscious young people, etc.). Nokia are presumably doing the same with the N82, which must be notably cheaper to manufacture compared with the N95's metal case that also has sliding bits.

[bluesxman]

RE: Product Difference?

A quick glance at the Nokia site leads me to conclude that the N95 is a "slide" type phone whereas the N82 is of the "candy-bar" type.

So, yeah, no difference at all there...

[Steve Sutton]

iPhone-like motion sensor technology

...because of course, we all know that it was Apple who invented this!

+++NO_CARRIER:Connection reset by sarcasm.

[Mike Hartley]

Am I sad 'cos I like it?

I actually like the look of this phone - yeah it's got some retro elements but that's what makes it look good to me.

In many ways I think it's a better looking phone that the N95

Mine is the white coat next to the nice men in the van with the padded rubber walls.

[Mark Lynch]

@Bad Beaver

I know what you're saying about plastic and the N series. I don't like the N95 nor the N80 especially just for that horrible might break feel they have. The N82 is very solid though and I'm pretty sure it's got a metal frame, feels like that to me or something very hard anyway, very similar to what SE do with their phones - mainly plastic but a tough outer rim which is handy when you drop them.

[Risky]

Hang on

Where's the unboxing vid?

..coat... easy... no need to push me, I'm going

[Iain Gilbert]

@GPS

The N95 has GPS - not that it works very well on my G/f's silver (1st gen) N95.

I just got a Nokia 6300 which has a stainless steel case and it's far nice to use than the N95. Why doesn't Nokia use steel on it's most expensive phones?

[James]

Anyone dropped this in saltwater yet?

I was collecting oysters and my Nokia 6110 Navigator (newly purchased at full retail ) fell out of my pocket - splash. I dried it as I have done sucessfully in the past with Nokia phones but the screen is now a pixellated rainbow and it is stuffed.

I'm back using a Nokia brick which can be washed and dried and used again... perhaps a Nokia rep will take pity on me and demo me the N82? I can torture test 'em and write a review :)

[e-mail]

[Andy Hards]

Good looking phone

I'm getting it because I like the looks, don't want a slider and because the N95 8gig doesn't have a removable memory card which I want. As my network doesn't have it I will buy it and threaten to leave unless they give me a nice discount on my current contract. Worked for my missus who now pays a tenner a month for a tariff which used to cost her 25. Anyone know where I can get one cheap? Got the N73 which is ok but has been dropped too many times now and is a bit f&£@ed now.

[John]

soft-buttons

what is it with the space between the soft-buttons and the screen? Why can't Nokia put the brand above the screen?

[Ash]

@James

Rinse it through again. Pure water is an insulator; it's impurities which cause it to become a conductor. Let it dry afterwards and it might be ok.

[James Dunmore]

Snooze

But like all Nokia "Smart" phones (like my current 6120) can you change the default alarm snooze time from 5 mins, to a setting of your choice !!!!!

Hehee - sounds simple, but really annoying that you can't (yet on the old nokia OS's this is a default feature!)