It’s no doubt that the Nokia N82 is my favorite mobile device of all time, with the Nokia E71 in a close second. I’ve played with many devices since I got my own phone number and nothing has been able to find a place in my heart like the N82. Those devices include Nokia powerhouses N95, N79, N96, and the 5800XM. Not to mention a few other “dumbphones” and smartphones in between. Don’t get me wrong they all have their own special traits, but none of them feel like a “swiss army knife” like my N82. I’m extremely interested in trying out the upcoming N86 and N97, but I still think my sim card will find itself in the N82 most of the time.
I’m not trying to beat a dead horse with this article. I’ve written posts like this before, reassuring everybody that their precious N82’s are still state of the art. Back in October our writer Aaron talked about how he believed the N82 to be the best camera phone at the time. I think this STILL holds true today.
I’m actually writing this because I want to share a story with you that Steve Litchfield from All About Symbian wrote about the N82 and where it stands in his yes. He praises the N82 very much and even calls it 100% reliable. Steve goes on to say,
I know, I know, I was a bit dismissive of the N82's styling when it first appeared, but as time has gone on the phone has become more and more appealing. So a bit of a U-turn from yours truly, but:
At the time I think we all thought that Nokia's OMAP2-based graphics acceleration was going to be standard in all following phones, or maybe improved upon.
At the time we all thought that Xenon flash was going to be retained for at least some future models.
At the time we expected that the protective lens shutter would also be standard.
And at the time the VGA video recording, neatly focussed for action within a metre or two, was also expected to continue, as it had on the N95 and N95 8GB (plus E90) before it.
And, as such, there was no reason to lift the N82 up onto a pedestal, since future devices would obviously exceed it.Curiously, the machinations of Nokia's platform plans has meant that the likes of the N95 and N82 haven't been equalled since, with the N79, N85 and N96, plus the 5800 XpressMusic, all lacking in most of these ways. No graphics acceleration (which makes a big difference when playing back video and some games), no Xenon flash (the only other smartphone with this is the [also S60-powered] Samsung G810, which is a let down in other areas), the N96 and 5800 both lack any kind of lens protection, and all bar the 5800 have had their video recording crippled by being focussed on infinity.
Very good points, and I’m glad to see such a prolific face of the Symbian community give some love to the N82. Click here to read the entire article.
Lighting, Lighing, Lighting
Talking about photos and lighting again, even the dual led of the Nokia 5800XM is crap. I’ve been writing a review of the 5800 over at Symbian-Addict.com for a few months now and I haven’t touched on the dual led flash yet… but I plan to soon with side by side examples. The daytime photos look fine but the low-light photos are unusable. If the N86 and it’s supposed “next generation dual led” technology performs anything like the 5800, that would be a huge letdown. I strongly believe that your flagship imaging device MUST have xenon flash even if it has a thousand megapixels.
What do you think? How much longer will the N82 be “the one” for you? Are you saving up for the Nokia N97 or N86?
