Nokia N82, anyone?

[Thad E Ginathom]

The N82 'keys' are a stupid design mistake, when it could have had a decent 'normal' keypad.

They are noticably less convenient and easy to use, but not disastrously so. I can live with it. The four-way selector and central button (what to call them?) are also badly designed, and the easiest key to press is the multi-media 'gallery-thingy' key, which stands proud of everything else. Nokia must be 'proud' I don't think anyone else will be!

Generally I'm not a big phone user, but I wanted a camera in my pocket at all times. So I figured this as a camera with a phone attached! That is why I bought it.

The GPS is good enough to have got me un-lost in Chennai a couple of times. The street detail is pretty good. I've never tried it for talking navigational directions, I think the screen is probably too small for that, and it would need some sort of mount which I don't have.

The sound quality is good and clear. This is very important to me as my hearing is neither. Haven't tried it for music, as yet, don't really have a demand for that; have a Cowon for those occasional train/plain trips. My British-Bird-Song ring tone sounds good!

The camera is good, and the video surprising good. (I can't get used to having to hold the camera upright for video: is there any software that can flip a video, like flipping a photo?).

It is plastic: it would be a lot nice if it were metal. Mrs T got a 6500, and it feels so good in the hand compared to plastic. Survived me dropping it concrete quite well, too!

I have never before had other than a cheap, basic phone, no camera, nothing --- this is my first expensive phone. No, I'm not a heavy user, and yes, there are criticisms, but, on the whole I'm happy. Better be; I need it to last some years to justify the price!

The software that comes with it is crap, but that is probably the same as has come with the several generations of Nokia phone since I bought my last one some time back. I don't care about time-line blogs, or what ever its called --- I just want to be able to manage the phone; contacts, text messages and stuff. And it doesn't do it :(

There's some third party Oxygen software, but I haven't been able to make the agent run on the N82.

If I were buying again I'd take a longer look at the N95 --- but I'd probably still decide that it is too big and heavy for my pocket.

[MC Mayank]

maybe some of the folks looking at this phone should wait for the black version.. Wonder if its gonna be as slippery as the current one

[vasudeva]

IMHO, N82 still fares poorly compared with N95. I bought a N95 in 7/07. In 2/08, I wanted to buy a phone for my wife. I wanted N82 but the keypad does not seem comfortable. What did I buy: another N95.

[karanraheja]

N82 would have looked better in black ! Few of my friends were complaining about its buttons for msg ing. N82 users any comments??

[hondadude]

Originally Posted by vasudeva

IMHO, N82 still fares poorly compared with N95. I bought a N95 in 7/07. In 2/08, I wanted to buy a phone for my wife. I wanted N82 but the keypad does not seem comfortable. What did I buy: another N95.

Did you mean N95 or N95 8GB. If it is the former, there is no competition. N82 is significantly better not just from the camera and xenon flash perspective but also the fact that N82 has 128 MB internal RAM which is same as N95 8GB but significantly better than N95. Ofcourse, it all depends on the usage. For a person who is a lot into SMS etc, N82 would be a lousy choice.

[vasudeva]

I meant N95 plain. I have used it for 8 months now, liked the look of N82 in print and web, but when I went to buy it, I could not take the small keys. For me, camera on a mobile is of little use except in emergencies. For photography, I would rather have a proper digital camera.

[F50]

Originally Posted by karanraheja

N82 would have looked better in black ! Few of my friends were complaining about its buttons for msg ing. N82 users any comments??

I dont understand why people assume that the keypad is small and thats why there will be a lot of problem. Obviously, when you are looking at it for the first time it will appear smaller than your current phone. But it hardly takes time to set your hands on it. Its like getting used to a new car, it takes us few meters to get used to it similarly it will take few smses to get used to it. There are flaws in everything. If the features of N82 are good and very much useful then I think one can adjust to the keypads.

Disclaimer: People with avg. finger size will find it very easy and ones with not they will also get used to it.

[navin]

Originally Posted by karanraheja

Few of my friends were complaining about its buttons for msg ing. N82 users any comments??

My wife uses a N73. Since she takes a lot of pictures with her phone I figured an upgrade to the N82 would be nice. She tried the N82 for one night, did not like the buttons and went back to the N73. Now we wait for Sony's G900 to comeout.

[vasudeva]

I think that even a 5MP camera on a mobile phone is no competition to a 5MP regular digital camera. If only Canon also had a phone on their cameras. If I have to take photos, I would carry my Canon rather than rely on N95 or even a N82 (since it is claimed to take better pics).

Of course, one can get used to the keypad of N82, but then it is not the only phone in the market and customers have a choice. I found the keypad hard like N91 (another phone I liked but did not ever buy because of the small keypad and the hardness).

[hondadude]

Originally Posted by vasudeva

I meant N95 plain. I have used it for 8 months now, liked the look of N82 in print and web, but when I went to buy it, I could not take the small keys. For me, camera on a mobile is of little use except in emergencies. For photography, I would rather have a proper digital camera.

To each their own I guess but if phone is being used for a lot of other purposes than just a phone, then N82 is better than vanilla N95. The sheer availability of 128MB RAM makes all the difference in the ability to open and use multiple apps at the same time.

The only disadvantage of N82 is small keys which I have been able to live with because I rarely send SMS. This however is a showstopper feature for quite a few folks.

As an aside, IMO the best camera is the one that can be carried at all times. Since I carry my phone with me everywhere, I found that I have been able to take all those pictures that I would never would have because I don't carry a digicam with me at all times. For a planned photo shoot, I have my DSLR with me anyways.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by F50

I dont understand why people assume that the keypad is small and thats why there will be a lot of problem.

I don't think the keypad is small: it is the keys that are. Not from assumption, but from experience, I think it is stupid design, but, as I said, I have learnt to live with it.

Originally Posted by vasudeva

I think that even a 5MP camera on a mobile phone is no competition to a 5MP regular digital camera.

Undoubtedly. My Canon S2IS is only 5MP, but there is no comparison in the photo quality. There is also the short-focal-length lens with no optical zoom: fine for taking pictures of people nearby, or views, but of little use for photographing smaller things further off*. In this respect, of course, I am spoilt by my Canon's 12x optical zoom which makes it great for snapping a single bird in a tree. The time lags are longer on the N82 too, between snaps, and the time taken to focus.

The S2 does not fit in a pocket, and a separate camera, even if smaller, would just get left at home: I wanted to make sure there was a camera in my pocket on every trip, so a camera phone was my obvious choice. A more serious photographer would remember to pocket that proper camera.

In comparison to most stuff I've seen photographed on a camera-phone, the N82's camera is certainly good, and the flash seems very able.



*there is a macro setting, and I did manage a couple of pretty fair flower photos with it.

[shajufx]

I checked the N82, its much better than any previous generations of Nokia smartphones. Small keys do not matter much for a person who values different applications to be at its best. I never use the SMS facility, because my voice call is cheaper than SMS anywhere in India even while roaming. I am waiting for the black version, which is expected soon !! N 82 is a pain for Reality show freaks, trust me, they have to vote for contestants everyday !!

[MC Mayank]

@MODS: Maybe we can re title this thread as a N82 vs. N95 discussion.. there seem to be a lot of comparison queries...

Some questions for the n95 8 gig users
1. Is the GPS really as bad as some of the reviews say it is?
2. Did you have to pay extra for voice navigation?

If I get the phone from Singapore, would I need to buy the maps for India separately?
3. Is there a TV out like in the N82?
4. Is the video recording as good as the N82? Ram said that the videos are unbelievable on the n82.. did they do something extra on the n82 to make the video recording better?

[unknown]

Originally Posted by MC Mayank

Some questions for the n95 8 gig users
1. Is the GPS really as bad as some of the reviews say it is?
2. Did you have to pay extra for voice navigation?

If I get the phone from Singapore, would I need to buy the maps for India separately?
3. Is there a TV out like in the N82?
4. Is the video recording as good as the N82? Ram said that the videos are unbelievable on the n82.. did they do something extra on the n82 to make the video recording better?

1) It's quite good + you'll have big screen not like small screen on N82.
2) Yes you've to, but first 3 months are free.
Nope you can download it from the nokia site for free.
3) Yup.
4) Hmm.. Both devices can record videos in VGA format(640x480) & 30 Frames p/s, so how can N82 record better videos ?

[unknown]

Originally Posted by MC Mayank

Some questions for the n95 8 gig users
1. Is the GPS really as bad as some of the reviews say it is?
2. Did you have to pay extra for voice navigation?

If I get the phone from Singapore, would I need to buy the maps for India separately?
3. Is there a TV out like in the N82?
4. Is the video recording as good as the N82? Ram said that the videos are unbelievable on the n82.. did they do something extra on the n82 to make the video recording better?

1) It's quite good + you'll have big screen not like small screen of N82.
2) Yes you've to, but first 3 months are free.
Nope you can download it from the nokia site for free.
3) Yup.
4) Hmm.. Both devices can record videos in VGA format(640x480) & 30 Frames p/s, so how can N82 record better videos ?