Nokia N85 Mobile Phone Review - An Entertaining Package

From the grand-master company of mobile phones comes the Nokia N85 (announced August 2008) - a member of the N series multimedia mini-computers specifically designed for "sharing, gaming and connecting" - created to set new standards for mobile entertainment.

Described by Juha-Pekka Sipponen, (Director, Nokia Series Finland) as "created to be more than the sum of its parts, offering a complete mobile entertainment package designed for connecting, sharing and discovering. The iconic Nokia N Series dual slider design has evolved to become smaller and sleeker while integrating the newest features and services to deliver the best mobile experience to date."

And sleeker it is, weighing in at 128g, and measuring only 103mm x 50mm x 16mm - or if you prefer it in terms of volume - 76cc. It looks like a Nokia, with the smooth black case and basic, yet very functional screen and keyboard - almost mediocre in appearance, but despite it's very ordinary looks - that is where mediocre ends. Since October 2008, this smart little phone has been packing a punch with what it offers.

On the 2G bands, it caters for 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900; on 3G it not only works on HSDPA 900 / 1900 / 2100, but it also communicates on the American bands of HSDPA 850 / 1900 and 2100.

Driven by the Symbian S60 OS, the phone sports a 2.6" AMOLED screen which supports 16M colours. At 240 x 320 pixels and with an accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate and touch-sensitive navi wheel - this is a flexible display. Combined with the powerful 369 MHz ARM 11 processor and newest Ovi and third party services via 3.5G HSDPA and Wi-Fi connectivity, the Nokia N85 provides for seamless discovering and sharing.

The phone comes ready loaded with at least 10 made-for-mobile games and a voucher to receive one full game licence. When in landscape gaming mode, dedicated keyboard gaming keys light up, enhancing the gaming experience.

On 3G the standard battery will last up to 4h 30min, with up to 6h 50m talk time on 2G. The battery also allows for up to 363 hours of stand-by time on 2G and 360 hours when using 3G.

If gaming is not your 'thing' on the day - then the Nokia N85 offers a whole lot more in the line of entertainment.

The 5MP (2592 x 1944 px) camera sports Carl Zeiss optics, autofocus and LED flash, is able to perform DVD quality VGA video recording at 30 frames per second and on the secondary level, CIF videocall camera. A-GPS capability makes it possible to geo-tag photos using Nokia Maps or other online sites such as Share on Flickr or Ovi.

Additional memory is available in the form of microSD - the phone comes with an 8GB microSD card, allowing up to 30 hours of music playback time with HiFi sound. Connectivity to places such as the Nokia Music Store or other music vendors makes building a personal music collection a pleasure, or alternatively USB can be used to align and synchronise PC and library collections.

RDS radio or internet stations provide an additional musical option, with play possible through either headphones (3.5mm jack) or wireless connection with a car or home stereo system.

When we looked back at the basics - the phone impressed further - the internal 85MB memory allows for almost unlimited entries and fields in the phonebook, 30 days of detailed call records and the 8GB max hotswap capability.

Priced at around the £250 mark, this phone offers an excellent entertainment solution plus seamless interconnectivity.