Nokia N85 Review & Hands On – Thanks to WOM World Nokia

When I first received this handset in the post, upon opening the package, I thought I was sent a different item to what I was expecting due to the size of the package. I then found out that the N85 packaging is quite minimal, and around half the size of that of other NSeries devices I have owned, or Trialed.

Please check out my Unboxing video, brief over-view and side by side comparison with the Nokia N81 8GB, where you will find they are very similar in form factor.

My first impressions of the N85 when I took it out of its box, was how small it was. For some reason, I imagined it to be a little bit bigger than it actually is. Maybe this is due to previously trialing an N96, which is indeed much bigger.

Holding the N85 in my hand, it just felt right, the weight, feel, and form factor of it ticked all the boxes I could have imagined for such a Smartphone. The keys all felt fine, and not too hard, and the D-pad, being slightly domed in the center improved the navigation experience with the outer ring, which again was not too hard to press, but, just like I did with my N81 8GB, I found myself having to switch off the over sensitive Navi-Wheel.

The slide however, with this particular handset I received, suffered from the same issue which is quite common with the N81 8GB, that being, when the slider is open, it rattles when pressing the D-Pad, or soft keys, which is a little annoying, but apart from that, this handset still pleases me. I have read so much bad press about the build quality of the N85, but have to admit, in my case, this is not an issue at all, apart from the aforementioned slider issue.

The battery cover could have done with small foam pad located in the central part on the inner, as I found this too rattles a little, but not enough for me to complain about if I’m honest.

It’s nice to see that Nokia has been listening to us, and have implemented a main camera spring loaded lens protection slide on the N85, however, even with the small raised ridge on this cover, it’s sometimes difficult to slide, and found myself having to use my fingernail, but today, out, and about with the N85, and wearing gloves, its near impossible to open, and close this lens protection. Maybe Nokia should have used some kind of embedded rubber ridge, instead of the existing one, thus giving you at least some friction when trying to open, and close the lens slider.

While we are talking about the main camera, let me tell you, that today, out on a frozen lake, covered in snow, sun shining brightly, it was simply, impossible to see the N85 OLED, and found myself navigating through the camera settings blind, not to mention not even being able to see what I was photographing. See photos below, for some example photos that I have taken with the N85, but at the time of taking them, it was a bit hit or miss of actually trying to capture what I intended to capture. Also see below for a short video I shot, again, whilst recording this, I could not see a single thing on the N85 OLED screen.

So, so far, there are only a few downsides of the N85 for me, and those are the rattle on the slider, the direct sunlight viewing being impossible, and the MicroSD insertion, and removal, its tight to say the least, but even taking these into consideration, I still love this N85, and I’m really not looking forward to handing it back to WOM World after my trial has ended, that’s how much I like it, however, I still prefer my N95-1 to the N85.

The N85 has a dual LED flash, (see above next to an N81 8GB, which is ok, but not ideal. I wish Nokia could have used a single LED for video, and Xenon for photos, this would have sold this device more for sure!

Feature Pack 2, obviously has some improvements over Feature Pack 1 devices, but not that much. The menu transitions seem somewhat of a gimmick on this device, and instead of flowing smoothly whilst navigating through the phones menus, and settings, the transitions vary, from maximizing, and minimizing, and scrolling the whole screen up to reveal the next menu, which I though was quite odd.

Now some welcomed nice touches to the N85 OS for me, are that, when plugging in the Micro USB when the phone is locked, it allows you to select an option, for example, “PC Suite Mode”, and once selected, returns to the locked state. Audio prompts through menu navigation, and completed tasks is a nice touch, so too is that when receiving a file, say from Bluetooth, from another device, you are shown the receiving file progress in a status loading bar, another great addition.

Of course, the N85 has the much desired USB Charging, which I have found to be very useful, and being a Feature Pack 2 device, whilst in PC Suite mode, with PC Suite 7.1, you can see the actual Battery meter state, and in real time too. On the top of the N85 you also have the 3.5mm Audio Jack.

OLED screen on the N85 is amazing, don’t get me wrong, but to me, it is not as vibrant, and as clear as I imagined, and have found that some whites, are actually almost a pink in colour. Yes, it’s a power saving display, but comes at a price, that being of quite a short lifespan when compared to a conventional LCD backlit display. The OLED lifespan is somewhere around 12k hours of use.

Battery wise, the 1200mAh BL-5K battery that powers the N85 is great, and most power users will find it sufficing their needs. Just out of curiosity, I compared the BL-5K battery next to both an N95-1 BL-5F, and an N95-2 BL-6F batteries, in the hope, that they may be interchangeable, sadly, they are not.

WiFi range on the N85 is a little poor, finding myself left in many situations being prompted that WLAN Connection lost, whereas my other devices nearby still having a strong connection. Hopefully, this may be resolved in a new firmware update.

Vibration alert on the N85 is quite powerful, and you first feel this when switching on the device, and if compared to other NSeries devices, you will know where I’m coming from about this, and during a call, the N85’s vibration will actually physically move the device so much more than any other NSeries device whilst laying flat on a table, and the sound from the vibration can be a little annoying.

Sound quality wise from the 2 x speakers of the N85 playing music, rather impressed me, being able to hear certain music clearer than say on my N82 for example. It doesn’t stop there either, listening to music by either external speakers, or headphones also produces some amazing crisp, and clear music, and this is with default equalizer settings! Inbetween the Volume, and Camera capture button, you will find the spring loaded keypad lock, as mentioned in my unboxing video.

SW Checker is an inbuilt application which I quite like. This can be set to check automatically at set times to see if there is a newer version of firmware available for the device. You can still key in *#0000# and then select “Option”, and check for update that way too.

GPS on this particular N85 was hit or miss, taking quite a while to get a fix, where as my N82 sat right next to it, got a fix in seconds. Again, it would be great that newer firmware can resolve this for the N85. Sadly, I was unable to test out the built-in FM transmitter, so cannot report on this.

Overall, taking into account the few flaws, and issues with the N85 as a whole, I still love it, with its great small build form factor, its weight, and feel, if it wasn’t for the fact the N97’s release is around the corner, I would certainly invest in an N85, even though I don’t need another handset, but that’s me being a Nokia enthusiast, and loving my gadgets too.

I have put together a short video, showing the N85 side by side from all angles next to a range of other Nokia handsets, just to give you some idea on the size, and form factor on the N85. You can pause the video at any time to compare.

Also, see below for many photos of the N85. thanks for reading my Review, and Thanks again to WOM World Nokia for letting be put this N85 through its paces, I can happily report it works fine in sub minus 25 degrees that’s fir sure.!

Pros

OLED (Great indoors)

Main Camera Lens Protection (Shame about is being too smooth)

5MP Camera with Dual LED

MicroSD support

Micro USB Charging

Form factor, weight, and size

Sound quality from inbuilt speakers, and headset.

Cons

OLED (Impossible to see in sunlight, or out in the snow)

Fingerprint magnet

Nokia Users

Nokia N85 Review & Hands On – Thanks to WOM World Nokia

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