It’s been a while since Nokia had some Nseries phones worth shouting about, but with the upcoming N97 and the newly announced Nokia N86, it seems the Finnish mobile phone manufacturer is looking to put some fresh life into a tired looking range. With the announcement of the N86 8MP Nokia are making a bold statement about mobile photography and general camera quality. Nokia claim that the N86 8MP will be the best in its class upon release, and with other manufacturers already talking about 12 megapixel phones, that is a brave statement to make. Of course, number of pixels isn’t the be all and end all when it comes to a decent camera phone, and Nokia have endowed the N86 8MP with a wide angle Carl Zeiss lens, along with a large variable aperture, allowing for more light capture, and a mechanical shutter. We also see on the N86 8MP the inclusion of a third generation Dual LED flash, in place of a Xenon flash.
Whilst some may grumble that a true imaging device needs a real flash, the advantages far outweigh the negatives with Dual LED. The range is better, and the light can also be utilised for video recording, something that isn’t an option with a Xenon flash. As with most other Nseries phones, the N86 8MP offers near DVD high quality video recording, up to 30 fps.
Being an Nseries phone, you can be confident that the N86 8MP is an all round media powerhouse. The focus on sharing cannot be more emphasised, with integrated support for photo sharing facilities such as OVI and Flickr. When an image has been captured with the phone, just a few clicks allow you to upload the photo to share with friends and family online. As well as OVI and Flickr, you can also upload to other popular social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace. Thanks to the built in GPS receiver, you can add geotags to your pictures, so the location the picture was taken from can also be displayed.
The GPS receiver also allows the handset to be used with the Nokia Maps application, and to assist with this there is also a compass application included on the phone; now not only can you get a fix on your current location but you can also get a bearing on your direction with the compass facility. The GPS service is ably supported thanks to the inclusion of aGPS support on the device.
The N86 8MP is a well connected handset. High speed 3G Mobile Broadband data is available, along with WiFi. With UPnP technology included, you can easily integrate the N86 into your home wireless network, and use the device to control your media remotely. As is now common on most new Nokia smart phones, there is a micro USB connector for connecting your device to a PC, so you can transfer music, pictures and videos to/from the phone, using the free Nokia PC suite.
Media playback on the device is well catered for. Along with a full music player, supporting a variety of music formats including the popular MP3, AAC and WMA formats, the N86 8MP includes a video player and integrated stereo speakers. The handset has a video stand, similar to that found on the Nokia N96, so you can stand the phone independently whilst viewing video clips. There is a 3.5mm audio output jack included at the top of the handset, so you can listen to your music with your own earphones. This plug also allows you to connect the TV OUT cable, so pictures and videos can easily be viewed on a TV screen.
The screen on the N86 8MP is slightly different to the majority of Nokia phones, Generally Nokia opt for a TFT screen, but with the N86, as with the N85, Nokia have gone for an OLED screen, supporting up to 16 million colours. The screen is a 240 x 320 QVGA, measuring 2.6 inches from point to point. The glass cover uses tempered glass, offering a scratch resistant display. The overall build quality of the N86 8MP is very good, with the surround of the device finished in steel, plus steel is used for the application key and used as the surround on the Navi Key. This is a very welcome; build quality on the Nseries handsets does not match well when compared with recent Eseries devices.
We’ve become accustomed to being spoilt with the features found on an Nseries device – however, even by these standards the N86 8MP stands out, not only for its imaging capabilities, but also for the great range of other media options on the phone. The Nokia N86 8MP is expected to be released in Q2 2009, and is a sure bet for top seller status.
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4:12 pm
I got the Nokia N86 on Virgin mobile contract and it's probably one of the worst phones I've ever had. Don't get me wrong I love the build quality and everything else about the phone - really easy email setup, great screen, great camera etc - everything except making and receiving calls, the call quality is shockingly bad, I believe I could get better reception with paper cups and string, it really is that bad. This is a shame as I really wanted to like this phone but the reality is that it was just unusable. It just goes to show that a phone can be all singing all dancing and have all the latest bells and whistles etc but if you can't actually have a conversation with it then it's a crap phone. I was still within my initial 28 days so Virgin mobile changed it no problem, I went for the E72 and am now a happy man.