Nokia N82 review: 5 MP Smartphone (See all reviews)

Released in the middle of November and packed up with a Xenon flash, 5 megapixel camera with auto-focus, and video capture at 30 frames per second, the Nokia N82 is set to replace the old N73 in the Nseries imaging lineup. The N82 is very similar to the N95 except it's a candy-bar phone and not a slider. But before you think this is just a redesign, take a second look, because the N82 really surprised us in many ways during its review.

Main Features:

- 3G (HSDPA), EDGE and GPRS support
- Symbian OS 9.2 Series 60 3rd edition
- 2.4 inch 16M color QVGA display
- TV-out support
- 5 MP camera with auto focus and Carl Zeiss optics
- Active lens cover and Xenon flash
- Built-in GPS receiver and A-GPS functionality
- Nokia maps application covering more than 100 countries
- 128 MB RAM - Wi-Fi with UPnP
- Stereo speakers

Disadvantages:

- Design looks unfinished
- Uncomfortable keypad
- No office documents editing application
- Below average GPS performance
- No RDS for the FM radio

The Nokia N95 has been Nokia's best-selling smartphone of 2007, and with sales remaining strong and with no clear competitor from the other manufacturers, the N95 will definitely continue to sell well into 2008. The role of the N82 then, is to offer essentially the same features as the N95, but at a different price that will broaden its appeal.

The Nokia N82 is a candybar phone, measuring 112 x 50.2 x 17.3 mm. With a volume of 90 cc and 114 grams (4oz) the device still managed to be pocket-friendly. The entire phone’s body is made of silver plastic but unfortunately there is a cheap feeling when using it, lacking the quality feel of the Nokia 6300, although the construction is solid.

In the upper half of the phone are situated the lightning sensor, the video call camera, the earpiece and the 2.4 inch display. In a welcome improvement, compared to the N95, the N82's 3.5mm headphone jack is placed right on the top of the phone instead of its side.

The D-pad is under the display with the two selection keys on each of its side. The Menu and the Clear key are under the selection keys, while the Call and End keys are on phone’s edges. The multimedia key is located between the right selection key and the Clear key. Here we must point out the surrounding rim of the D-pad should have been wider so that we won't accidentally press the confirming center when scrolling.

Packing a large display and a keyboard in such a small body, wasn’t exactly the easiest thing to do, so compromises had to be done regarding the numeric keypad. The keys are far too small, difficult to distinguish and typing without looking down is almost impossible.

The dedicated camera button, the gallery key, and the volume rocker are located on the right side of the handset, while the left side houses the micro-USB data port, the microSD card slot, and the Nokia charging port. The card slot is easily accessible and it is covered by a plastic tab that keeps dust and other foreign particles from getting inside.

The stereo speakers are located in the same way as on Nokia N95 and were obviously designed for using the handset in landscape mode.

The 5 megapixel Carl Zeiss optics camera is located on the back of the phone, with the Xenon flash above the lens. The camera is protected by a plastic cover that opens from a small silver slider right above it. It is not very comfortable but easy enough to locate with a fingertip.

The Nokia N82 has been equipped with a 3.7 Volt 1050mAh battery. The BP-6MT battery has a standby time of 225 hours while Nokia quoted more than 4 hours of talk-time. During our tests the battery lasted around one and a half day of moderate usage.

Thanks to its size and weight the Nokia N82 feels nice to hold and is easy to handle both with one and two hands at a time.