Nokia N81 8GB review: Black Beauty? (See all reviews)

Nokia N81 sports a 2.4 inches TFT display, showing up to 16M colors on a QVGA resolution (240x320 pixels, 37x49 mm). We might add here that Nokia has invested a lot in the quality of the display.

The pictures appeared crystal clear with vibrant colors and easy-to-read in direct sunlight.
The size is also impressive, the screen can accommodate up to 12 text lines and when in web browser you can easily fit in up to 22 lines.

The N81 is powered by the fastest Nokia processor, the ARM 11 - 369 MHz and is running on Symbian 9.2 OS with the S60 3rd edition graphic user interface.

At the top of the display we have the standard active stand-by mode, featuring a bar of shortcut icons for an easier access to predefined functions.

The Offline mode is very useful, as it switches off all the phone’s transceivers and in the same time you will have access to all the other features of the device.
This will be the default profile if the phone is started without a SIM card.

The task manager can be activated with a longer press on the Menu key. Here you can choose to close any other application that is slowing down your phone.

The main menu can be visualized in four different ways. We have the same old, grid and list options but also two novelties: one would be the Horseshoe view and the other one the V-shape look.
Here we have to point out Nokia has decided that the Navi wheel can not be used for browsing the main menu.

The multimedia menu is similar to the one Nokia has used for the N95 but with some small aspect changes. It is here, you can really enjoy the true potential of the Navi wheel. This menu can be started with a simple touch of the dedicated key and then you will have access to all the multimedia features the smartphone can offer.

We doubt you’ll ever get bored with the phone’s look. In case you will, Nokia has preinstalled 5 themes to change your mood. You can also download and install as many as you like directly from the Internet.