Nokia N82 review – needed refresh from N95

• Introduction

The N82 and the N81 were long-leaked before released but the news that really excited the mobile community was the inclusion of a Xenon flash. Not that it was something new, as the Sony Ericsson K810 already had it.

The real excitement might have been that it was an upgrade of the N95 in terms of features. The N95 at the time was the most advanced pone released by Nokia and still is very admired. Having a N95 with a Xenon flash is something that many wanted, as the N95 has a breakthrough camera, and adding better flash to it would just improve the ability of night image capture.

When the N82 was released, there was a great admiration on its appearance especially as it was in the candybar form factor and it's quite shiny.

In itself, the N82 seems like an upgrade of the N73, you can feel that it has the candybar form and small keys, but it also fits in the N8x class quite well: the N80 had an impressive 3 megapixel camera at its time. In features it's more of an upgrade of the N95: same software, more power, the Xenon flash, and obviously different form factor.

Sony Ericsson posed a challenge to Nokia's N95 with its K850i, but Nokia surely erased it off the map with its N82. Nokia has enforced strong marketing: we can remember about Stavros, the position art master/genius; the Urbanista Diaries also impressed consumers of the potentials of the phone.

The Share on Ovi campaign just contributes to the marketing line-up, providing just another reason of why to buy the N82.

The N82 will work in the same frequencies of its predecessors such as N80 and N73. It's Quadband, supporting GSM 850, 900, 1800, and 1900. Its 3G network uses the WCDMA band. However only the N73 and N82 work in NAM markets.

Full specifications:

General

Operating Frequency

* WCDMA2100 (HSDPA), EGSM900, GSM850/1800/1900 MHz (EGPRS)
* Automatic switching between bands and modes

Dimensions

* Volume: 90 cc
* Weight: 114 g
* Length (max): 112 mm
* Width (max): 50.2 mm
* Thickness (max): 17.3 mm

Memory Functions

* Up to 100MB internal dynamic memory* for messages, ringing tones, images, video clips, calendar notes, to-do list and applications
* Hot swappable microSD memory card slot

* Dynamic memory means that the available memory is shared between dynamic memory functions. When any of these functions is used, there is less available memory for other functions which are also dependent on dynamic memory.

Power Management*

* Battery: Nokia Battery (BP-6MT) 1050mAh
* Talk time: up to 190 min (WCDMA), up to 260 min (GSM)
* Stand-by time: up to 210 hours (WCDMA), up to 225 hours (GSM)
* Still images: up to 290 pictures (with flash)
* Video capture: up to 110 minutes (VGA, 30 fps)
* Video call: up to 120 minutes
* Video playback: up to 200 minutes (VGA, 30 fps)
* Music playback: up to 10 hours (offline mode)

* Operation times may vary depending on radio access technology used, operator network configuration and usage.

Display

* 2.4" LCD QVGA (240 x 320 pixels) TFT color display with up to 16.7 million colors

User Interface

* Operating system:Symbian OS
* User Interface: S60 3rd edition
* Automatic screen rotation

Call Management

* Logs: keeps lists of your dialed, received, and missed calls
* Voice dialing (with Speaker independent name dialing (SIND)) and voice commands
* Nokia Push to talk (PoC)

Messaging

* E-mail (SMTP, IMAP4, POP3), MMS, SMS

Data Transfer*

* WCDMA HSDPA 2100 MHz with simultaneous voice and packet data (PS max speed DL/UL= 3.6Mbps/384kbps, CS max speed 64kbps)
* Dual Transfer Mode (DTM) support for simultaneous voice and packet data connection in GSM/EDGE networks. Simple class A, multi slot class 11, max speed DL/UL: 177.6/118.4 kbits/s
* EGPRS class B, multi slot class 32, max speed DL/UL= 296 / 177.6 kbits/s
* GPRS class B, multi slot class 32, max speed DL/UL= 107 / 64.2 kbits/s

*Actual achieved speeds may vary depending on network support.

Imaging

Imaging and Video

* Up to 5 megapixel (2592 x 1944 pixels) camera, Carl Zeiss Optics: Tessar™ lens, MPEG-4 VGA video capture of up to 30 fps
* Direct connection to compatible TV via TV-out or wireless LAN/UPnP
* Front camera, CIF (352 x 288 pixels) sensor for video telephony
* Video call and video sharing support (WCDMA network services)
* Integrated xenon flash
* Slideshow from gallery
* One-click upload of photos & videos to web
* Nokia XpressPrint: direct printing via USB (PictBridge), Bluetooth connectivity (BPP), and WLAN (UPnP) or via online printing

Mobile Video

* Video resolutions: up to VGA (640 x 480 pixels) at 30 fps
* Recording indicator
* Audio recording: AAC (AMR for MMS)
* Digital video stabilization
* Video file format .mp4 (default), .3gp (for MMS)
* White balance, scene and color tone setting
* Zoom: Digital up to 10x (VGA up to 4x)
* Front camera: CIF (352 x 288 pixels) sensor for video telephony
* On-device video editing

Mobile Photography

* Image resolution: up to 5 megapixels (2592 x 1944 pixels)
* Auto focus
* Amber colored auto focus assist light and recording indicator
* Still image file format: JPEG/EXIF
* Auto exposure - center weighted
* Exposure compensation: +2 ~ -2EV at 0.5 step
* White balance: automatic, sunny, cloudy, incandescent, fluorescent
* Scene: automatic, user, close-up, portrait, landscape, sports, night, night portrait
* Color tone: normal, sepia, black & white, negative, vivid
* Zoom: digital up to 20x (5 megapixel up to 6x)
* Xenon flash
* On-device photo editing

Camera Specifications

* Sensor: CMOS, 5 megapixel (2592 x 1944)
* Carl Zeiss Optics: Tessar™ lens
* F number/Aperture: F2.8
* Focal length 5.6 mm
* Focus range 10 cm ~ infinity
* Macro focus distance 10-50 cm

Music

Music Features

* Digital music player - supports MP3/AAC/eAAC/eAAC+/WMA/M4A with playlists
* OMA DRM 2.0/1.0 & WMDRM support for music
* Integrated stereo hands-free speaker
* Stereo FM radio (87.5-108MHz) with Visual Radio support
* Nokia Stereo Headset HS-43 in-box
* Bluetooth wireless technology 2.0 with A2DP Stereo audio

Explore

Navigation

* Integrated Assisted Global Positioning System (A-GPS)
* Pre-installed Nokia Maps application and free downloadable maps*

* The service is available free of charge, although any data transferred over the network will incur charges from your network operator. To check the availability and cost of the service, contact your network operator or service provider.

E-mail

* Easy-to-use e-mail client with attachment support for images, videos, music and documents
* Compatible with Nokia Wireless Keyboard SU-8W (sold separately)

Browsing

* Full web browser support (HTML)

Digital home

* Play video, music and photos on home media network - compatible TV, stereo and PC over WLAN/UPnP

Java Applications

* Java MIDP 2.0, CLDC 1.1 (Connected Limited Device Configuration (J2ME))
* Over-the-air download of Java-based applications and games

Other Applications

* Personal Information Management (PIM)
* Advanced S60 PIM features including calendar, contacts, to-do list, and PIM printing
* Settings wizard for easy configuration of e-mail, push to talk and video sharing
* Data transfer application for transfer of PIM information from other compatible Nokia devices
* WLAN wizard

Connectivity

* Integrated WLAN (802.11 b/g) and UPnP
* Bluetooth wireless technology with A2DP stereo audio
* USB 2.0 via Micro USB interface and mass storage class support to support drag and drop functionality
* 3.5 mm stereo headphone plug (Nokia AV Connector) and TV out support (PAL/NTSC)
* Nokia Nseries PC Suite connectivity with USB, and Bluetooth wireless technology
* Local synchronization of contacts and calendar to a compatible PC using compatible connection
* Remote over-the-air synchronization
* Send and receive images, video clips, graphics, and business cards via Bluetooth wireless technology

Video

Video Features

* Video player - supports MPEG4, AVC/H.264, H.264, H.263, RV
* OMA DRM 2.0/1.0 & WMDRM support for video
* Resolution: MPEG4 VGA @ up to 30 fps scaled to QVGA on device or VGA in TV-out mode
* Transfer your videos from compatible PC: Windows Media Player, USB mass-storage file transfer or Nokia Nseries PC Suite using full-speed USB 2.0 connectivity

Video Center

* Pre-configured video services and dynamic expansion with new services
* Video podcasting: find, subscribe, download, view with mobile device

RealPlayer media player

* Full-screen video playback to view downloaded, streamed or recorded video clips
* Supported video formats: MPEG-4, H.264/AVC, H.263/3GPP, RealVideo 8/9/10

Source: Nokia

• Presentation

Contents of the retail package:

• Nokia N82
• Nokia Battery BP-6MT
• Nokia Travel Charger AC-5
• Nokia Music Headset HS-43
• Nokia Connectivity Cable CA-101
• Nokia Video Connectivity Cable CA-75U (TV-out cable)
• Nokia 2GB microSD Card MU-37

• Getting Started manual

• User Manual

The N82's box doesn't feature any special eye-candy as the ones who are used to NSeries boxes will find the exact same look on it and basic layout. Nokia seems to have forgotten that to appeal to some users, refreshments on a box's design is important, especially if it's going to be showcased in a shop.

The N82 has a plastic feel. The materials used and the weight (114g) make it feel like a toy, and in terms of ergonomics, it ain't my favourite.

The keys are tiny, but the space between them makes typing possible like any other normal keypad, the fingers just have to adapt to it, in my case I just had to turn my fingers in a different angle, and I would feel no difference.

The backlighting of they keys is done badly, it's not constant and in some places it just fades without making sense. This steals the beauty of the phone and the ability to press the correct key. The side keys for the camera controls are lit well, but the up-down buttons should have bumps on them to recognize which is which. The camera button is too far way from the edge, as the speaker is in its place, your index finger will have to be slightly stretched in order to press the camera button. Not very complicated, but Nokia could just have left the button where it should be and relocate the speaker.

The speakers themselves are badly positioned, and activating loudspeaker on calls while you are driving isn't very convenient, as their sound direction seems unilateral, and the last thing you want to do is to get your hands off the wheel to position the phone in order for the sound to project to your ears.

The shiny material in the front cover of the phone complicates the use of the device in direct sunlight, as the sun's reflection blinds the eye.

The memory card slot is well placed so it's easy to insert and remove memory cards, and there is no need for long fingernails in order to open the slot.

Fingerprints haven't been a problem, even though there is a glossy surface. The phone's back cover is made of a different material, very glittery with white lines flowing through, which add a sense of style to it.

The battery lasted more than expected, although when UMTS is selected the battery drains in hours. In Offline mode with the Maps application on navigation mode, the battery can last up to 5 hours. Nokia surely needs to improve their battery management. People usually don't travel for this long, but when it comes to me, my trips can last up to 18 hours driving, (with frequent resting stops) and I need the GPS to keep running, although I do have a car charger with me (this does not come in the retail package).

The device comes with a 2-year free navigation licence. I updated the Maps application to Maps v2.0 Beta, and I lost the licence. I tried updating the licence manager, but it would fail the installation, as the date was always wrong. Special thanks to Davina Martin from Fleishman-Hillard for the help on sorting this out. After consistent tries, I managed to install the licence manager and the navigation was working again.

• Software

The Nokia N82 uses the Symbian OS9.2 with S60 v3.1 Feature Pack 1. This is a clear upgrade from the N73 and N80 which used Symbian OS9.1 with S60 v3. This was obviously a very much needed upgrade, not only as it adds new services, but supports new and faster hardware.

To support this Operating System and hardware, there is a Dual ARM 11 CPU running at 332MHz and 128MB SDRAM with 90MB usable. The components sit on the Texas Instruments OMAP 2420 chip, the same used in the N95 which supports and, in this case, features a 3D Hardware accelerator, which is necessary to record at 30fps at 640x480 resolution, but also improves the games' speed, especially the recently-released NGage platform. These hardware components play a crucial role in graphical performance as you can see below in the screenshots, which compare the N82's SPMark results with the N81's result. SPMark is a benchmark utility which tests the graphical speed possible in a phone, and the N81 doesn't have the same time of chip as the N82, therefore it's almost 6 times less powerful in that field, although it supports NGage games, which contain breathtaking graphics.

Although in terms of features the N82 is better than the N95, it has a much smaller screen at only 2.4”, while the N95 has a 2.6” display. Strangely, the brightness of the N82's display is much less than the N95 and N81 under the same light conditions. The resolution continues to be QVGA (240x320 pixels).

Nokia has started to make use of the accelerometer including auto-rotation in it, although it is not available on the standby screen or task switcher. It helps to use the N82's Maps in landscape mode (as well as other programs), but you cannot keep it that way, if the phone turns, it goes back to portrait mode. There are no sensitivity settings, so here RotateMe by Samir is much better. Hopefully a new firmware version will add settings to the auto-rotation script, and users will be again in control of their own phone.

Unlike the N95, the N82 comes with automatic keyguard, and it only works in standby mode. The lock switch which is available on the N81 could be really useful in this device, as well as many others.

We have reviewed the Symbian OS9.2 with S60 v3 Feature Pack 1 when we reviewed other NSeries devices, so there is no use on going into detail about that.

Share Online v2.0 was included in the software, where you can manually set up your upload server, but to use Share on Ovi, you have to download the latest version of Share Online, which doesn't give the same possibility of manual server setup.

Email on S60 should be advanced as it's a smartphone, but you have to enter all settings manually, which sends it behind S40 5^th edition, which can retrieve settings automatically on some email services. You can read more about the S40 5^th edition on the Nokia 8800 Arte review.

One of the many extra programs that you can install on the N82 are the Nokia Sports Tracker and Nokia Location Tagger. Both make use of the GPS and add functionality to the phone. The latter application is included in the latest firmware, but if you cannot update, you can install the Geotagging application manually, it's less than 100kB.

The Sports Tracker I installed didn't make use of the maps of South Africa which were installed for Nokia Maps, so all I saw was a grey background, and a blue line which is my trail. Nokia made a poor use of the keys here. To zoom in and out on Nokia Maps, '*' and '#' are used respectively, while here you use '5' and '0' respectively, this is a bad example of convergence.

The program itself is full of features, especially of statistics. Besides all the numbers and graphs, there are smart settings which can improve you exercise tracking. The program should be included with Nokia Maps and not only used for working out, but also for car trips. In the version I was using there was no use of the accelerometer for accurate step tracking such as in the Activity Monitor or in the newly released Step Counter, the phone was still in the car, but it was registering steps as the car moved.

In general there is low use of the accelerometer, we can only wait for developers to release their programs, as Nokia will only theirs when S60 Touch UI is shipped.

When using the internet, the automatic access point retrieval helped me in Mozambique, I wasn't aware of the settings for GPRS, but the phone automatically retrieved them.

On the settings, the HSDPA setting has disappeared, we cannot disable it any longer. When there is UMTS coverage, the phone will automatically select either 3G or 3.5G depending on the signal. The same had happened to the N95, and I don't understand why.

The pencil key has caused discussion and many miss it. I got well used to the '#' key even though I had a 6600 for 3 years and currently have a N95 for about half a year and was very used to the pencil key. Not having the pencil key didn't complicate my work, the '#' is perfectly suitable to the job.

The firmware on my trial N82 was 11.0.117 and it had no Flash Lite 3 support, only Flash Lite 2.0, which means that the default web browser could not play YouTube videos. The latest v20.0.062 firmware supports Flash Lite 3 and includes Geotagging.

• Connectivity

The connectivity powers of the N82 are such of a Nokia flagship device. Not being a N9x didn't mean that it would have reduced capabilities, but the N82 proves to be a device enough for a multimedia user, and a businessman.

Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP provides high quality audio transmission to Bluetooth headsets, while transmitting data to up to 6 devices at the same time at speeds up to 2.1mbps.

There is no Infrared, and I doubt that upcoming phones will feature it as there is little or almost no use to it. Eventually Bluetooth and NFC will take over.

Wireless LAN module is useful to connect to hotspots for internet, although the battery drains quiet fast while using WLAN or regularly searching for access points. If kept at 10mW the battery will last considerably longer. At this signal power, the connection quality will be terrible, so WLAN is a component which Nokia needs to improve battery management.

The N82 supports 802.11b/g with WEP, WPA and WPA2 encryptions.

In terms of network support, there is CSD, HSCSD, GPRS, EGRPS or EDGE, WCDMA, and HSDPA.

When it comes to calls the N82 lasts 4.3 hours in GSM calls and 3.16 hours in 3G calls, according to Nokia. Quality-wise, the calls are exceptionally clear through the ear-speaker and earphones, but through the loudspeaker there could have been an improvement. The speaker positioning plays a role in the direction of the sound, and it affects the quality.

There isn't a internal massive storage, therefore I didn't find the need to test data transfer speed. The USB port can be used for mass storage, PC Suite, Multimedia player, and PictBridge. For the little I transferred, I only used Bluetooth as it was fast enough. Remember that the N82 takes memory cards up to 8GB and more, although more than 8GB should be released next year.

The 3.5mm jack can be connected to the TV-out cable, headset, music stand, or just the earphones or headphones. When on TV-out mode, the resolution on connected display is QVGA. Even though there is a 3D hardware accelerator, Nokia didn't improve the TV-out resolution. It's definitely not suitable for large displays. I connected it to my car's 7” headrest monitor to make use of the GPS, and there could have been more detail if the resolution was larger.

• Camera

The camera was definitely the main focus of the phone. The first thing I tested when I got the device was the Xenon flash, and it did amaze me. The K810 had it but there wasn't as much hype about it, so I never took interest in it.

The N82 possesses a 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens, and it's capable of capturing images at 2592x1944 pixels and record video at 30fps at 640x480 pixels.

Interestingly, in previous Nokia phones with autofocus, the LED white flash would help to focus, but here you have a true autofocus assist lamp. On Automatic mode, the Xenon flash will fire for a fraction of a second twice, and will light up pretty much anything around it. It feels as a true digital camera, but the Xenon flash won't work in video mode. It appears that it can only be activated for fractions of a second, although cars have Xenon lamps for their headlights which can remain on for hours, but are probably differently composed.

In video mode we have to content ourselves with a small red LED, which signals video recording.

The close-up mode on the N82 feels better than on the N95, although both have a focal length of 5.6mm and a macro focus distance of 10-50cm (There is a mistake on Forum Nokia N82 device specifications about the focal length, which is not 43mm but 5.6mm). If you read Devin Balentina's N82 review, he believes that Nokia used a new image processing algorithm, the reason for the improvement on the N82's capturing.

With these kinds of cameras, more active plug-ins are required. The geotagging plug-in only works if the application is running, and it's not called by the camera application. The only true breakthrough program in the latest NSeries is Share on Ovi.

One of the biggest disadvantages on the N82's camera is the lack of optical zoom. Digital zoom damages the image's quality as it only multiplies the pixels. The lack of flash where recording videos is also noticeable.

Camera tests to follow in an upcoming post.

• Sound

As I said previously in the review, the N82's speakers are badly placed. Having both on the same side is senseless, the loudness is lost, and the stereo quality is also lost. Having speakers on both sides can propagate sound better, but then again, the N82 isn't focused on music, although every S60 v3.1 with Feature Pack 1 performs very satisfactorily in Music playback.

The inclusion of the 3.5mm jack has become standard in the latest NSeries, and very helpful as NSeries are multimedia computers, rather than one-job phones.

The audio controller that connects to the earphones is poor in features, there are few unlabelled keys on it, and no music buttons, unlike on the N95 or on the N81. It was a rather strange decision from Nokia.

The music player is divided in several categories such as: All Music; Artists; Albums; Genres; Playlists. You can even add album art from the phone itself, and when playing music, the different visualizations can keep you entertained. There are the usual options for loudness and stereo widening, which increases the volume output from the speakers, but their sound output is low compared to other NSeries.

• Extras

The 2-year free navigation licence let us expect a good navigator in the box. This is included but it's better to upgrade to Nokia Maps v2.0. No licence code is included in the box, but it has to be activated from the internet.

Sometimes this doesn't work if the time isn't synchronised with the server, or if you don't have internet access. This measure surely stops piracy but a better system is needed for ease-of-use. Features such as online search are a great bonus for navigation.

The GPS hardware itself is rather problematic. Nokia chose an AGPS IC from Texas Instruments instead of the reliable Sirf Star III. For AGPS (Assisted GPS) to work, internet connection is necessary. With it, a lock can be achieved under 15 seconds. Without it, it can take around 5 minutes, especially because it seems that the N82 didn't save a GPS cache location, everytime I wanted to retrieve my position, I had to wait for a lock. It's truly incredible how long it can differentiate having internet or not for positioning. In Mozambique there are many areas without network, so I couldn't geotag some of my pictures as I couldn't get a GPS lock.

Nokia should change their GPS IC choice in order to benefit consumers. There is no word of when this will happen or if it will happen at all.

A car suction mount should be included in the retail package in order for consumers to easily use the N82's GPS. There is no use of it if it is not visible to the driver, as voice guidances aren't enough. The FM transmitter in the upcoming N78 should improve GPS guidance as the commands can be transferred to the car's speakers.

There should be an option on Nokia Maps to switch off the backlight in case the phone is connected to an external display on the car. Nokia has to think ahead as per usage of their phones.

A great strategy of the Nokia Maps is RTTI and use of satellite images. Real Time Traffic Information (RTTI) does exactly what it's called, while satellite images makes trips fun, as it provides bird's-eye view of the position.

• Conclusion

The N82 delivers what every other great NSeries has: tons of features and a balance between style and ergonomics. The N82 feels rather pointed at style than ergonomics and its features make it seem like it's the N95 reincarnated or refreshed.

This time a refresh of the N95 is welcome for consumers to benefit from the same features, but in a different perspective. It's definitely a worthy device that doesn't have something all new S60 devices usually have: tons of bugs. Initial smartphones when released always have software faults, but the N82 seems to be built in a way that it will capture consumers' hearts at the first glance.

Advantages: 5 megapixel camera; Xenon flash; HSDPA; Symbian OS9.2 on S60 v3.1 Feature Pack 1; 3.5mm jack; GPS; WLAN.

Disadvantages: Material shines at sunlight and reduces visibility; keys are too small; feels cheap, like a toy.

Rating: 9.2/10

So...Is there anything that I missed that you would like to know, or if not, please do provide your comments on the review, and on the phone, if you own one.