Nokia's N80 is one of the company's new breed of high-end media handsets, and is one of the first such devices to use the new 3rd edition of Nokia's S60 user interface. This is significant because S60 3rd edition is both far faster and attractive than prior versions, making the N80 a pleasure to use.
The Nokia N80 features a very clean and attractive slider design. |
This unlocked cell phone can be used with a GSM network service provider and it provides quad-band connectivity (850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 1900 MHz). It does not come with a SIM card, and it requires that you provide a SIM card for usage with your selected service provider. This phone comes with a one-year warranty from a third party provider.
The N80 comes in a very clean and attractive slider design. When closed, the numeric keypad is hidden within its 4.8oz, 3.8" x 2" x 1" body. The 5-way directional pad controller, a pair of softkeys, a pair of editing keys, and the normal red and green call buttons are still accessible. In terms of feel and usability, the N80's d-pad controller takes some getting use to, but the rest of the buttons and keys are all fine.
When it comes to connectivity, Nokia's N80 has it in spades. It will work on any of the 4 GSM bands found throughout the world, and even supports 3G WCDMA networks as well - where available. But there is more to it than that. For example, the N80 supports the new enhanced GPRS system called EDGE that is available here in the US and other places, and it also supports 802.11g Wi-Fi data for connecting to a network at high speeds when at home, the office, or a local coffee house. It is even capable of SIP compliant Voice Over IP (VOIP) service, when configured to work with a compatible provider. But that's still not all, as the N80 supports Bluetooth v1.2 and infrared wireless connections as well.
As far as entertainment is concerned, the N80 is equally ready to go. For starters, it comes equipped with a 3.2 megapixel digital camera with a macro mode and red-eye reduction capable flash. The macro mode allows the N80 to take quality photos of people and landscapes as well as smaller, closer objects like flowers. The camera also is capable of recording fine quality video clips in MP4 format at 352x288 pixel resolution, or lower quality 3GP clips at 176x144 pixel resolution. Whether you are shooting video or stills, you hold the N80 horizontally like a digital camera. A dedicated shutter button sits comfortably under your right index finger when used in this way.
Nokia's N80 is one of the company's new breed of high-end media handsets. |
Nokia's N80 is also quite capable of keeping you entertained with music, too. You can load up the included 128MB miniSD memory card with music, or buy your own card of up to 2GB in capacity for many hours of music. Of course having the capacity to store a lot of MP3 files is of little use if the music player application is no good. Luckily, the N80's dedicated multimedia button launches Nokia's new music application, which mimics many of the features found in dedicated MP3 players, such as sorting songs by artist, album, genre, and track name. You can create and edit track lists on the N80 itself, or use Nokia's included software. The N80 uses the de facto standard M3U format for playlists. If you manage to run out of MP3 files to listen to, you can always instead use the built-in FM radio with the included stereo headphones.
The Nokia N80 comes equipped with a 3.2 megapixel digital camera with a macro mode and red-eye reduction capable flash. |
Of course no handset is perfect, and the Nokia N80 has a few shortcomings. For one, all of those high-tech features require a lot of battery power. As such, the N80 only managed 4.75 hours of talk time, and realistically will need to be recharged every other day at least. Also lacking is the quality of the voice dialing system. But if you can deal with those limitations, the N80 will reward you with more capability in a handset than could have been imagined only a couple of years ago.
Pros:
- 3.2MP camera
- Great MP3 player
- WiFi/EDGE/3G/Bluetooth
Cons:
- Weak battery life
- Poor voice dialing
--Reviewed by Michael Oryl, editor in chief of www.MobileBurn.com Vital Statistics
The Nokia N80 weighs 4.72 ounces and measures 3.74 x 1.97 x 1.02 inches. Its 820 mAh lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 3 hours of talk time, and up to 192 hours of digital standby time. This tri-band phone runs on the 900/1800/1900 GSM/GPRS frequencies. This phone comes with a one-year warranty from a third party provider.
