N-power in your hand

The N85 comes with the usual high-end specs: a 5-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss & Tessar optics, Nokia Maps, WiFi, 3G connectivity with ultra-fast HSDPA data transfer and also features 15 N-Gage titles—you get the activation code for one game of your choice, more can be downloaded for Rs 99 off the Internet.

The support for DVB-H TV is missing but you won’t be missing that feature too much. The N85’s screen is also a touch smaller at 2.6 inches, but the power-saving OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) screen offers an experience built on richer colours and brightness, most noticeable when browsing the Internet, viewing maps, playing games or accessing the media functions.

The phone is intelligently built and nowhere is this more visible than when using the slider function. Smartly hidden keys get illuminated and the media player is automatically activated when you slide the phone downwards. This also rotates the screen automatically, so you can keep the automatic screen rotation off at all times with the N85.

Even when not compared to the bulky N95 and the N96, the N85 is a very streamlined and curvaceous handset. Its frame is solid and compact and the slider action is sturdy and spring-heeled. Even though the N85 uses the same user interface as the N96 — S60 3rd Edition, Feature Pack 2 — the handset somehow feels easier to use.
Another important point worth noting is that the N85 is very well built. Even if the materials used are the same as other models, where the finishing wasn’t up to the mark, this handset looks very much the finished product.
In our book, the N85 gets a full five out of five. The phone comes with an 8 GB microSD memory card and is available for Rs 25,000.

WHAT ARE OLEDS? Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) form a vivid display technology commonly used in handheld devices and soon to be employed in computer displays and TVs. Unlike liquid crystal displays (LCDs), OLEDs do not need a backlight, which means they draw much less power. They do, however, suffer from degradation.

N79: FULL PACKAGE, HALF PRICE
THE Nokia N79 is sheer déjà vu, a throwback to the times when Nokia was ‘the’ mobile phone. This feeling is brought on by the fact that, after a very long time, you once again have a Nokia handset whose cover you can change. Well not the whole thing, only the back cover, but that’s good enough for us.
The N79 offers all that its more publicised siblings offer in a classic form factor at practically half the price! It has the by-now ubiquitous 5 mega-pixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics & Tessar lens. The camera also has auto-focus with a two-stage capture key and 20x digital zoom. Another great feature is that you can personalise the camera toolbar. From here you can also share your photos online either via GPRS or WiFi.

The phone has a large 2.4-inch display with 320X240 pixel resolution and 16 million colours. The keypad, which at first might look a bit congested, is very workable. There is a big four-way navigation pad that you can personalise and a multimedia button for quick access to practically all features of the phone.
Like other N-series phones, the N79 too comes with pre-loaded videos and music to give you a feeler of its multimedia capabilities. If you want to see the true brilliance of the N79’s display then go straight to the Tell Me Why video by Paul van Dyk. The music videos and others are best watched when the phone is held horizontally.

The display rotation can be accessed in settings and you can decide whether to keep the rotation on at all times or switch it on manually when required. We recommend that you switch it on only when required, as it can be irritating in normal use. While the phone often freezes when the display rotates in standby mode, this isn’t the case when you’re in the menu mode. It is also advisable to keep the function off as you any way have the option to rotate the screen while accessing Internet. Use it when you’re watching movies or videos, or browsing photos.
The phone comes with Nokia Maps and the N-Gage application. And despite not being marketed as a ‘gaming device’, the N79 too comes with try-and-buy versions of 15 games.

The N79 would have been the full package were it not for its flimsy build. The finishing on the phone, as with the N96, isn’t really up to the mark. But then we really can’t complain, as the N79, at less than 100g, is probably the lightest NSeries handset. If you’re looking to replace your old NSeries phone, then look no further. Users of other manufacturers will also find the N79 very easy to switch to. We give the N79 also a rating of five.
It comes with a 4GB microSD card and is available for Rs 17,000.