Updated 14 Feb, 2012, 6:01 pm IST

REVIEWS / SMARTPHONES / NOKIA

Nokia N81 8GB

04 Dec, 2007, 5:15 pm IST | Shayne Rana | Smartphones

Features and Performance
Entertainment
There’s nothing extra special with regard to the OS. It runs on Symbian OS 9.2, Series 60 v3.1 UI, which is quite versatile and fast. So no issues there. Except when you open the Gallery. It takes at least 10 seconds to open the images in the Gallery section clearly. What I dislike about the new S60 OS is that it doesn’t have separate options for videos and images. They are collectively placed in a single section and it’s quite painful sorting them out.

One good thing about the India edition is the free content included. There's a bunch of free videos from English music videos to hilarious clips from Hindi movies, the latest Maroon 5 Album, some MP3s, and my all-time favorite Hindi movie – Sholay. The problem is that file rendering and conversion of videos (except the Maroon 5 and the N81 promos) were done very badly and didn’t play very well. But hey, free is free. The free content is activated using a code provided on a scratch card.

The music player is by far the best I’ve encountered: loud and clear all the way. You may wish to use a better set of earphones though. Put through my acid test (I listen to music while I commute by train in the mornings), it was like having my own space – there was no outside disturbance at all. With a customizable EQ, EQ presets, and some fancy visualizations, the N81 music player really comes alive. It’s also quite loud. The Nokia N-Gage application for new phones will be out soon, but in the meantime you can enjoy demos of the new Asphalt Urban 3 street racing game, FIFA 07, and Space Invaders.

Business and Communication
From the business angle, inbuilt Wi-Fi, 3G with HSDPA and EDGE ensure quick connectivity on the go. Having Bluetooth with A2DP is a definite plus. Business features like QuickOffice and a PDF viewer that you can download through Nokia Catalogs are other handy tools. There’s also a Zip manager, and office features like calculator, calendar, notes, converter etc. It also has provisions for reading out your messages and email, as well as a voice-aid feature that calls out details of features you link to it.

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Tags: N81 , N Series

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