…also known as I’ve just purchased a n85.

So, just over a year ago I fell in love with the Nokia n95. I’ve since used that phone to take upwards of 1500 photos. In all honesty due to the fact that it’s always on me it pretty much replaced my digital camera. When the time came up to renew my contract and get myself a new handset I was faced with a fairly tough choice. I’m lucky (or cursed) to be living in an era where technology literally changes from one day to the next. Only in August I was deciding between the n96 and the Samsung INNOV8. But tech moves that quick that we’ve had new OS’ and new handsets out since then. When I sat down a few weeks ago and drew up my pro / con list of what I wanted it basically boiled down to the following handsets.

Nokia n85 : The phone I’ve gone for.

T-Mobile G1 : The first Google Android handset with a 3″ touchscreen, flip out QWERTY keyboard and insanely tight integration with Google services of which I’m a heavy user of. It also boasted the Google Android marketplace - a fantastic content delivery system similar to the Appstore for iPhone but less restrictive. The fact it had an awful design, shaped like a banana (!), a paltry 3 megapixel which performed arguably around the same as the iPhone’s 2mp. Also, the fact that it’s only available on T-Mobile and with my work phone being a t-mobile phone I know what the reception is like at home and work, zero.

Apple iPhone : Without a doubt the best phone for ‘user experience.’ The Cuppertino touchscreen wonder does look and play beautifully, I’ve played with several friends’ and they are always so nice to use. However, when I’ve played for longer periods of time I’ve always felt there was something missing. Yes, it all “just works” but in the same way that I prefer KDE over GNOME I don’t like that I can’t mess around, can’t configure it to exactly how *I* want it. Plus, I’m not sure how, as a Linux user, I’d be able to use it.

Nokia n96 : It’s the n95’s kindred spirit, with a beefy 2.8″ screen and a (pretty useless) TV tuner built in. The fact it lacks a FM transmitter, is insanely buggy from all accounts and just felt cheap in my hands ruled it out.

Samsung INNOV8 : It’s Samsung’s S60 slider. I know it’ll be well built, because Samsung are the awesome at building slider phones. But there’s just something that stops me getting a non-Nokia S60 device. It’s probably the lack of Nokia maps, internet radio, podcasting.. But also the fact that any 3rd party app could also be restricted to certain Nokia phones and I’d be left out in the cold. Also, on playing with one.. Wow, it’s big.

HTC Touch Diamond : The Windows Mobile phone with Touch-flo. I was ready to give WM a go and when I saw Michelle’s the other week it certainly looked the business. But a few reviews I read and the lack lustre performance of every WM camera I’ve ever seen pushed me away. I really wonder whether it’s only Nokia, LG, Sony Ericsson and Samsung that know how to put a camera in a phone? I mean, seriously, guys this is what a lot of people use their phones for nowadays.

So, it was the n85 that I decided upon and just then it was the wait for it to come out. Mid October they said, then it slipped to mid-November. I went in to Liverpool this afternoon for some shopping, but mainly, to check out the T-Mobile G1 to feel how it felt in the hand when I happened to be walking back and passed the phones4u shop. Big poster in the window saying they now had the n85 exclusively in store. I went in to check and left half an hour later with a new n85, a new contract and £100 cash back for my n95. I probably could of got a bit more on ebay, but with the state my phone was in after 16 months of intensive use I was just glad to get something for it! I’ve got to return the n95 in a jiffy bag later this week once I’ve copied all my stuff over.

So, to the n85. What’s good?

* Third edition, feature pack 2. Whilst I’m a geek I have to admit that some of the draw of the phones like the G1 and the iPhone have been in the funky transitions and the fades. They make it look fresh, make it look “web 2.0″ and whilst that might be something that lasts a few days and then I get annoyed and turn it off it’s something that makes it not feel like I’m using last centuries technology! The theme effects in general aren’t too bad on the n85 (unlike the n96 I hear!) there’s a few times when it gets in the way, noticeably in the “Photos” application.

* The OLED screen. It’s not as fantastic as some people have been raving about. I feel that sometimes the colours look a little “too warm” for my liking and it’s not always as bright as the n95 and we’ll see how it holds up if we ever get a sunny day up here. But it really does offer a very sharp display and it’s beautiful in the dark.

* The slider. Wow, well done Nokia! This is how the n95 should of been. It’s got a weighty feel to it and it slides into place without any wobble. I just hope it holds up to the amount of use I’ll be giving it.

* Build quality. Again, another job well done Nokia, the overall feel of it is much more robust than flimsy which used to be almost the defining word for N series devices. Whilst I’ve never been the biggest fan of the latest black design that n series devices I think it’s actually quite a good looker, I’m still not hugely convinced by the navigation cluster but it’s not ugly. The keyboard is also fantastic, above the n95 in terms of quality and is fine with my chubby fingers.

* Breathing navi-wheel. It’s cute. I’m a sucker for little things like that. It’s useful, plus looks elegant.

And for the bad stuff?

* Navi-wheel. I can’t work out how to actually use the scroll properly, I don’t know whether it’s because I’m pressing the wrong parts or because I’ve got too fat a finger or what. It’s just not intuitive and I just ended up turning it off because I was accidently scrolling when I was meant to be moving left or something! I also find that when I’m pressing Up I’m also ending up pressing select too. It’s a pain but I’ll have to adjust how I use it!

* Camera, I’ve not fully played with it, but just doesn’t seem to focus as quickly as the n95 which wasn’t the quickest anyways. Also, whilst you’re in “capture a photo” mode the video seems to flickr a little.

* Finger prints - this phone attracts them like nobody’s business. Seriously you can’t polish this phone enough.

I’m sure I’ll be adding more to this, though!

In the box?

In the standard Nokia grey branded box came the following; phone & 1200mAh battery, mains to USB charger, USB to USB cable, 3.5mm TV out cable, a standard Nokia headset and hands free kit and the usual array of manuals & cds. Interestingly the n85 comes with a code to activate one n-gage game and also three months of voice guided navigation which you activate by starting the maps application. It came with a 8GB memory card already inserted, which was advertised on the front of the box. Nicely there is also the Zeiss logo on the front to indicate it’s a camera with Carl Zeiss optics.

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