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Nokia N86 Mobile Phone
Nokia has taken its time getting into the 8 megapixel camera market and this, their N86 is the entry. It has a lot of catching up to do and the big questions are – will this one be worth the price? And will it have enough features to make you want to buy it? Take a look, here’s my opinion.
Form Factor
Nokia’s designs tend to be rather generic these days. The N86 doesn’t deviate from that too much. But the company is going to have to try damn hard to beat the likes the super slim ultra Touch. The N86 is a slightly bulky and quite a weighty device. The Indigo Black is definitely the way to go if you still want to buy the handset. The 2.6-inch AMOLED display is crisp and colors look really good on the same. The button system under it is well organized with a five way nav-pad and a dedicated menu key like with the N97. It has a micro USB port for charging and connectivity on top beside a 3.5mm earphone socket.
On one side are a set of volume/zoom keys and a dedicated camera button. On the other side is a slide lock for the keypad. This dual pop-slider is super smooth and takes no effort at all. The secondary keypad now has keys that double up for media, gaming and the camera. The main keypad is well laid out. I especially liked the color combo Nokia has gone with. A hot swap slot for the microSD card is located under the rear panel.
A lens cover can be slid down to reveal the camera. It has dual LEDs for the flash. Around the camera is a small kick stand that can also be used to activate certain specific features when opened. It props up the handset rather neatly.
On the whole, the handset is no different from the N85 to be honest and maybe a couple of others but does have a certain feel-good factor about it. Build-wise, if you drop it the rear panel pops out but everything else will remain A-ok especially the display with its scratch-resistant surface. Need I say more?
Features and Performance
Interface
I don’t need to go into detail about the UI. The n86 runs on a Symbian OS (v9.3) with a S60 UI. That coupled with an ARM 11 434 MHz processor makes it a speedy handset even while multitasking. It has an accelerometer that smoothly changes screen orientation irrespective of what feature is running. It does tend to be a little too sensitive sometimes though. The only time the display doesn’t change is when you’re viewing Nokia Maps and this I found a little strange. The digital watch that shows up as the screen saver gives the handset a rather edgy look.
Media
Nokia’s mobile media prowess has not undergone any change with the N86. The handset still reads only the very specific mobile media formats for both audio and video with no additional codec included. Those include – WMV, RV, MP4 and 3GP for video and MP3, WMA, WAV, RA, AAC and M4A for audio. That’s quite a long list so no issues here though I know I wouldn’t be the only one to rejoice if Nokia were to support DivX and XviD playback as well. With 8 Gigs of internal memory and memory card support you’ll never run short of media.
The S60 music player is as good as any of their other devices i.e. it’s loud and clear with EQ presets and a fully customizable graphic EQ setting as well as a Bass Booster and Stereo Widening options. The bundled earphones are not my cup of tea so I used my own and so can you, either directly from the handset or via the microphone adapter that also has a 3.5mm earphone socket. TV out is also a feature (cables included – RCA to EP) so you can hook it up to your TV for a larger view of anything.
The good thing is that most if not all new S60 handsets, irrespective of them being E-Series for business or the N-Series for multimedia come fully loaded with plenty of media features. The N86 is the same with an FM transmitter in addition to Visual radio via the Stereo FM radio with RDS and an Internet radio function as well. It also has an option for Pod casts but still no access to Nokia’s online Music Store. At least I wasn’t able to get into it.
I also noticed that the handsets have genuinely become speedier as the Video Center seems to open up a lot faster than some of the older models even if it’s loaded with content. You can also add video feeds form various servers like YouTube etc. to handset application for quick access. It also supports Flash Lite 3.1.
The N-Gage application is also available for gaming. Of course there didn’t seem to be any free games included with the handset, even those not included in the N-Gage Arena, which is real pity.
Connectivity
The N86 is well equipped in this department. It has Wi-Fi with the appropriate apps like Home Media for streaming and sharing files in a Wi-Fi network also pre loaded. Other connectivity features include Bluetooth with A2DP, Nokia’s Switch application for data transfer between devices as well as PC connectivity for Syncing if necessary and USB 2.0 (micro).
For net connectivity, the N86 supports EDGE and GPRS of course and is also a 3G enabled handset with HSDPA capabilities. The browser supports flash content but doesn’t yet support opening multiple pages. If you’re used to a Nokia handset it’s not hard to use or get used to and it’s light enough to be fast.
Nokia’s email client is also on board and makes setting up your email accounts even via Microsoft Exchange rather easy. Gmail however is a lot faster to use via Gmail’s own free application. Nevertheless the app allows for quite a few email accounts to be stored and saved but only one can be set to display on the live desktop.
A Facebook application is absent although what you will find in its stead is simply a quick link icon to the mobile site. I would have preferred an application like the one provided with the N97. I’m hoping that with a box packed piece bought off the shelf, the handset will at least come with the Ovi Store app preloaded as this one didn’t, however the Download section is present to give you access to plenty of downloadable add-ons for the handset. Mostly try and buy though.
GPS
An internal GPS antenna allows you to locate satellite signals (when outdoors) without the use of a net connection. That takes about four times longer most of the time but it’s still usable. Geo Tagging is part of the set up with the camera’s obvious involvement. Ovi Maps 3.0 is the native application for navigation purposes with a full three months license tossed in. It does support A-GPS of course and it also comes with a digital compass.
Misc Features
For business purposes Nokia has included Quick Office (read only) as preloaded content. You will have purchase the license for editing or creating new documents. A PDF reader and Nokia’s Zip file manager are also present. Aside from that all other basic apps like a converter, Calculator, Notes and a Calendar feature are also present and accounted for. Active Notes is still one of the handiest applications that Nokia came up with. Like the other N-Series and S60 handsets a text to speech feature is available to read out messages etc.
Camera
An autofocus Carl Zeiss lens with an 8 megapixel count is what the N86 is supposed to be all about. For the price, it should have been fitted with a Xenon flash but the LEDs will do. The features didn’t really strike me as anything grand as all of S60 handsets even some with 3MP cameras are equipped with the same. With handsets sporting smile, face and even blink detection, the N86 seems a little blah at first.
Features do include an Auto-stitch Panorama mode like in Samsung handsets, but this one takes too long to process the full image. Reproductions on the other hand are quite good. Other options include Exposure, White Balance, a range of scene modes including Sports, Night and Macro as well as ISO settings.
Battery
The battery life is absolutely phenomenal. On a single charge I used the handset for over two days which included watching videos as well as using the camera. Talk time averaged at over four hours and 30 minutes which is great. The N86 will have a lot of other handsets eating its dust when it comes to this aspect of the handset’s functionality and features.
The Bottom Line
The Nokia N86 carries a price tag of Rs. 27, 359. For this price if you’re just looking for an 8MP camera phone there are better options. However, if you’re an existing Nokia user and are looking to upgrade to a better handset with a better camera then the N86 is a good choice. It doesn’t really offer too much more in the way of media as compared to even an N95 8GB for example except for the battery life and camera which has a larger pixel count and no additional features other than those almost all S60 handsets already have.
It’s a good handset but just a little pricey. I believe it would fare a little better were there at least a couple of free N-Gage games tossed in and the handset itself was a little slimmer and lighter.
UPDATE - The Nokia N86 will be bundled with Try and Buy games out of which users will be permitted to select 1 full game for a free download.
Form Factor
Nokia’s designs tend to be rather generic these days. The N86 doesn’t deviate from that too much. But the company is going to have to try damn hard to beat the likes the super slim ultra Touch. The N86 is a slightly bulky and quite a weighty device. The Indigo Black is definitely the way to go if you still want to buy the handset. The 2.6-inch AMOLED display is crisp and colors look really good on the same. The button system under it is well organized with a five way nav-pad and a dedicated menu key like with the N97. It has a micro USB port for charging and connectivity on top beside a 3.5mm earphone socket.
On one side are a set of volume/zoom keys and a dedicated camera button. On the other side is a slide lock for the keypad. This dual pop-slider is super smooth and takes no effort at all. The secondary keypad now has keys that double up for media, gaming and the camera. The main keypad is well laid out. I especially liked the color combo Nokia has gone with. A hot swap slot for the microSD card is located under the rear panel.
A lens cover can be slid down to reveal the camera. It has dual LEDs for the flash. Around the camera is a small kick stand that can also be used to activate certain specific features when opened. It props up the handset rather neatly.
On the whole, the handset is no different from the N85 to be honest and maybe a couple of others but does have a certain feel-good factor about it. Build-wise, if you drop it the rear panel pops out but everything else will remain A-ok especially the display with its scratch-resistant surface. Need I say more?
Features and Performance
Interface
I don’t need to go into detail about the UI. The n86 runs on a Symbian OS (v9.3) with a S60 UI. That coupled with an ARM 11 434 MHz processor makes it a speedy handset even while multitasking. It has an accelerometer that smoothly changes screen orientation irrespective of what feature is running. It does tend to be a little too sensitive sometimes though. The only time the display doesn’t change is when you’re viewing Nokia Maps and this I found a little strange. The digital watch that shows up as the screen saver gives the handset a rather edgy look.
Media
Nokia’s mobile media prowess has not undergone any change with the N86. The handset still reads only the very specific mobile media formats for both audio and video with no additional codec included. Those include – WMV, RV, MP4 and 3GP for video and MP3, WMA, WAV, RA, AAC and M4A for audio. That’s quite a long list so no issues here though I know I wouldn’t be the only one to rejoice if Nokia were to support DivX and XviD playback as well. With 8 Gigs of internal memory and memory card support you’ll never run short of media.
The S60 music player is as good as any of their other devices i.e. it’s loud and clear with EQ presets and a fully customizable graphic EQ setting as well as a Bass Booster and Stereo Widening options. The bundled earphones are not my cup of tea so I used my own and so can you, either directly from the handset or via the microphone adapter that also has a 3.5mm earphone socket. TV out is also a feature (cables included – RCA to EP) so you can hook it up to your TV for a larger view of anything.
The good thing is that most if not all new S60 handsets, irrespective of them being E-Series for business or the N-Series for multimedia come fully loaded with plenty of media features. The N86 is the same with an FM transmitter in addition to Visual radio via the Stereo FM radio with RDS and an Internet radio function as well. It also has an option for Pod casts but still no access to Nokia’s online Music Store. At least I wasn’t able to get into it.
I also noticed that the handsets have genuinely become speedier as the Video Center seems to open up a lot faster than some of the older models even if it’s loaded with content. You can also add video feeds form various servers like YouTube etc. to handset application for quick access. It also supports Flash Lite 3.1.
The N-Gage application is also available for gaming. Of course there didn’t seem to be any free games included with the handset, even those not included in the N-Gage Arena, which is real pity.
Connectivity
The N86 is well equipped in this department. It has Wi-Fi with the appropriate apps like Home Media for streaming and sharing files in a Wi-Fi network also pre loaded. Other connectivity features include Bluetooth with A2DP, Nokia’s Switch application for data transfer between devices as well as PC connectivity for Syncing if necessary and USB 2.0 (micro).
For net connectivity, the N86 supports EDGE and GPRS of course and is also a 3G enabled handset with HSDPA capabilities. The browser supports flash content but doesn’t yet support opening multiple pages. If you’re used to a Nokia handset it’s not hard to use or get used to and it’s light enough to be fast.
Nokia’s email client is also on board and makes setting up your email accounts even via Microsoft Exchange rather easy. Gmail however is a lot faster to use via Gmail’s own free application. Nevertheless the app allows for quite a few email accounts to be stored and saved but only one can be set to display on the live desktop.
A Facebook application is absent although what you will find in its stead is simply a quick link icon to the mobile site. I would have preferred an application like the one provided with the N97. I’m hoping that with a box packed piece bought off the shelf, the handset will at least come with the Ovi Store app preloaded as this one didn’t, however the Download section is present to give you access to plenty of downloadable add-ons for the handset. Mostly try and buy though.
GPS
An internal GPS antenna allows you to locate satellite signals (when outdoors) without the use of a net connection. That takes about four times longer most of the time but it’s still usable. Geo Tagging is part of the set up with the camera’s obvious involvement. Ovi Maps 3.0 is the native application for navigation purposes with a full three months license tossed in. It does support A-GPS of course and it also comes with a digital compass.
Misc Features
For business purposes Nokia has included Quick Office (read only) as preloaded content. You will have purchase the license for editing or creating new documents. A PDF reader and Nokia’s Zip file manager are also present. Aside from that all other basic apps like a converter, Calculator, Notes and a Calendar feature are also present and accounted for. Active Notes is still one of the handiest applications that Nokia came up with. Like the other N-Series and S60 handsets a text to speech feature is available to read out messages etc.
Camera
An autofocus Carl Zeiss lens with an 8 megapixel count is what the N86 is supposed to be all about. For the price, it should have been fitted with a Xenon flash but the LEDs will do. The features didn’t really strike me as anything grand as all of S60 handsets even some with 3MP cameras are equipped with the same. With handsets sporting smile, face and even blink detection, the N86 seems a little blah at first.
Features do include an Auto-stitch Panorama mode like in Samsung handsets, but this one takes too long to process the full image. Reproductions on the other hand are quite good. Other options include Exposure, White Balance, a range of scene modes including Sports, Night and Macro as well as ISO settings.
Battery
The battery life is absolutely phenomenal. On a single charge I used the handset for over two days which included watching videos as well as using the camera. Talk time averaged at over four hours and 30 minutes which is great. The N86 will have a lot of other handsets eating its dust when it comes to this aspect of the handset’s functionality and features.
The Bottom Line
The Nokia N86 carries a price tag of Rs. 27, 359. For this price if you’re just looking for an 8MP camera phone there are better options. However, if you’re an existing Nokia user and are looking to upgrade to a better handset with a better camera then the N86 is a good choice. It doesn’t really offer too much more in the way of media as compared to even an N95 8GB for example except for the battery life and camera which has a larger pixel count and no additional features other than those almost all S60 handsets already have.
It’s a good handset but just a little pricey. I believe it would fare a little better were there at least a couple of free N-Gage games tossed in and the handset itself was a little slimmer and lighter.
UPDATE - The Nokia N86 will be bundled with Try and Buy games out of which users will be permitted to select 1 full game for a free download.