Nokia N86, A Fresh Air for N-series

It is too early to predict the fate of Nokia in the domain of touch screen but its recent attempts in shape N97 and Xpress 5530 are good additions in the product lineup. Unlike N97, N86 is bound to let the world know how strong N-Series is. 8MP camera is one of its key – and strongest – features. Apart from just camera, this machine offers much more and we are pretty sure that N86 will shake N-series out of their slumber.

Apart from high end wide angle camera, the power and maturity of Symbian OS makes this set a wanted gadget, particularly, if you are not obsessed with the touch screens. Let’s see how this phone works.

Package

The box we got had a regular charger, a USB data cable. But Nokia also provides two-piece headset and the software CD having Nokia OVI suite as well as a hard copy of a user guide. The phone has 6GB of memory, perhaps this may have been the reason that Nokia didn’t supply extra memory card with it.

Key Specifications

• 103.4 x 51.4 x 16.5 mm, 69 cc by dimension and 149 g in weight
• 2.6″ 16M-color OLED display of QVGA resolution (scratch-resistant surface)
• 8 megapixel autofocus camera with dual-LED flash and AF assist light
• 28mm wide camera lens, variable aperture, mechanical shutter, geotagging, time-lapse, camera lens cover, VGA video recording at 30fps
• Symbian OS 9.3 with S60 3.2 UI
• ARM 11 434 MHz CPU, 128MB RAM
• Wi-Fi with UPnP technology
• Built-in GPS with A-GPS functionality
• microSD card slot with microSDHC support
• 8GB internal storage
• Built-in accelerometer for UI auto-rotation
• Stereo FM Radio with RDS, FM transmitter
• Standard microUSB port and stereo Bluetooth v2.0

AMOLED is the technology which is being used by almost everyone, N86 is no different and the front is dominated by the 2.6 inces AMOLED screen. Though the technology is finest so far but under the bright sun light you will find it difficult to see the content on the screen.

Just below the screen are the 6 keys, two soft keys, call and end button and the menu key. All these buttons are placed elegantly and you won’t find any problem pushing them as they are prominent and well spaced.

The top is filled with ambient light sensor, ear piece, and the video call camera which is not useful in Pakistan so far.

Slide the phone up and you and alphanumeric key pad is visible. Small but well spaced buttons are easy to play with. By sliding down, you get the dedicated music keys that give you direct access to the music player making life easy. These buttons can also be used for certain games.

On the left side of the phone there is an extra button for locking the phone. Though this can also be done by sliding the phone but it is still there. The button confused us in the start as the norm for locking and unlocking is through sliding activity. The button could have been avoided.

A prominent volume rocker and the shutter key for camera are located on the right side of the phone. Unlike few other smart phones, pressing shutter key will not activate the camera. You will have to do through menu or by sliding the lens cover. Sliding the lens cover also lock and unlock the phone and the camera which is housed on the back and is the key aspect of this phone. Another feature is the kickstand that is placed around the camera deck, image gallery is opened with you unfold this stand.

Despite of heavy camera and other battery consuming feature, its 1200 mAH lion battery last quite long. We charged the phone thrice a week thus getting over 250 hours of standby time and over 5.5 hours of talk time.

Interface

Nokia N86 has a typical Symbian interface with a few upgraded features. The phone has Symbian 9.3 OS with series 60 3^rd edition user interface. You can bring as many frequently used programs on the display screen as you want and they appear as shortcut. You can keep changing the shortcuts as per your requirement. Rotate the phone and so does the display. The built-in accelerometer is very responsive, it takes a little time but it is far better than N97.

Menu is simply extensive as it is the hallmark of Symbian OS. You can view in 4 different ways. Default is the 4×3 grid and the rest are list, 3D V-shaped and Horse Shoe but the latter ones will take time to get used to. So we stuck to the first two options in most of the cases.

Phone book

Phonebook has all the desired fields which you can think of. You can as many numbers as you want unless the memory is filled.  Searching any contact is easy by typing first or last name as it narrows down the available list of names gradually as you type the letter in search box to the desired contact.

The call log does not run out of space and keep track of the communication you have done in the past 30 days. Invoke the call log from the Call Key shows only 20 call records whereas a detail of past one month can be seen including SMS, Email, Data Transfer and Calls by opening this application from the Menu.

Basic Communication

Calling is really good using this phone. Built-in voice recognition system is quite handy and does most of the tasks other than few exceptional cases. It has only one defined direction for any contact with multiple numbers, only the default number will be dialed.

N86 8MP supports all common message types – SMS, MMS and email. Character counter keep telling you about the number of letters left out of 160 standard SMS size. As the message exceeds 160 characters, a bracket shows the successive part of the message. You can easily insert a multimedia file into your text message and this feature easily convert and SMS into MMS. Large images are automatically shortened to match the sending requirements.

If your operator allows the delivery report, it pop up on the standby screen and then saved in the separate folder.

The third option, email is really easy to configure. No matter which email service you are using, N86 will configure itself once you put very basic information into the fields. There are over 1000 supported providers. Similar to configuration, the sending and receiving email is also very simple. You can have multiple email accounts. You can add signature, insert attachments to any email.

Multimedia

The music player can run a large number of file formats. If you slide down the handset there are dedicated keys for music player which are very handy and the shortest way to start the application. For music lovers, there are five equalizers preset and it can be customized as well if you don’t like the default. When you start the player from the dedicated hardware keys, it runs in the background and a tab appears on the home screen.

If you have experienced a large screen like Samsung Omnia HD, you will not like watching a movie on a smaller Nokia N86 screen but nevertheless, you can watch your movie in ways, landscape and portrait and no soft control appears on the screen unless you push any button. Unfortunately there is no DivX/XviD support.

FM radio is really an application to enjoy. A very cool interface can scan almost all the available channels and store them. There is also an option for internet radio which you will enjoy on a WLAN.

Camera

The 8MP camera uses 28 mm wide-angle lens, autofocus and dual-led flash. 28 mm lens give a wider view thus letting you cover a wider area from a shorter distance. Variable aperture and mechanical shutter really help enhance your photographic experience.

Camera offers lots of settings to beautify your scene. You can customize the toolbar by deciding which options to appear and in what order. You can play with white balance, ISO sensitivity, sharpness and contrast settings. Another interesting feature available is geotagging.

Panoramic view was much easier to execute, even easier than our Nikon coolpix S50C. N86 adjusts the frames automatically by reading your movement and takes the shot and required interval.

There is no face recognition, blink or smile detection that we normally see even in regular camera phones.

Overall the 8MP camera is the key selling point for Nokia N86 and it has taken care of almost everything for photography lovers.

As compared to Omnia HD which we reviewed last month, the N86 8MP camera shoots VGA resolution at 30fps. Nokia will have to take care as VGA is no longer a big thing; there are high definition camera phones available in the market. But nevertheless, the quality of the video we took was good. Videos are captured in MP4 format and can have automatic or manual white balance. Other settings that you can play with are night mode, exposure and color effects. You can also choose whether the dual-LED flash should be turned on to act as a video light.

Ovi Mania

Nokia is really focusing on applications, in response to Apple, Nokia’s Ovi has everything what it claims. You can download stuff, share files with your friends. Chat online like you do on GTalk, other party may chat with you even if they do not have an OVI phone.

Sharing GPS location is fun as it keeps telling your friends, which area you are located right now. There are no issues with the Ovi application as it integrates well with Nokia N86.

Verdict

If you are a big fan to remain online while on move and at the same time keeping in pocket an awesome camera to record your moments while doing your normal business activities besides, then Nokia N86 is the phone for you. Mind it; you must not be a touch screen lover.