Nokia N86 8MP deals & review

Having finally broken their 5MP rule, Nokia bring us the N86, their first ever 8MP camera phone. Integrating similar stylings to the N96 with its 2 way slider and ´kick stand´, the N86 sets its self in the media/business market but unfortunately the phone really isn´t that much to write home about. The only real development is the camera and although Nokia´s functionality and ease of use are present there is no touch screen and the phone is fairly drab to look at.

But let´s focus on the positives, firstly that 8MP camera with Carl Zeiss lens. The N86 boasts the first 28mm wide angle lens in any mobile phone and has a fast action (1/1000^th sec) mechanical shutter reducing motion blur. The N86 also possess a large 8GB memory plus a MicroSD card slot to increase it for storing all those 8MP pictures, videos and films. With a 3.5mm headphone jack any set of standard headphones can be used which is bonus with any media phone and if you are listening to your music out loud it can be done either through the stereo speakers or using the FM transmitter to play through the car or home stereo.

The N86 runs on the S60 Symbian smart phone operating system and comes with a good selection of applications including Personal Information Management tools (email pushing, calendar and appointment syncing), GPS (and consequently Geotagging) and a built in Digital compass for navigating the old fashioned way. The N86 is also fully integrated with Nokia´s OVI apps store where new applications can be purchased.

Specifications

• Size: 103 x 51 x 17mm
• Weight: 149g
• Battery: 6.3hrs talk time / 315 hrs stand by
• Memory: 8GB plus MicroSD and SDHC
• Display: 2.6inch, 240 x 320 pixel
• Camera: 8MP, Auto focus, Video Stabilizer, Flash: Dual LED, Digital zoom, Geo tagging, White balance, Multi shot, Additional camera for video calls, Self-timer, Panorama
• Connectivity: GPRS/EDGE/UMTS/HSDPA 1.8 Mbit/s/HSDPA 3.6 Mbit/s
• Media: MPEG4, RealVideo, WMV, H.263, H.264, Flash Video , Media Player, MP3, AAC, eAAC, eAAC+, WMA, AMR, Stereo FM Radio with RDS

Although Nokia have now broken that 5MP barrier, we can´t help but feel it´s at the expense of other areas of this phone, most noticeably the design of the handset itself. With no touch screen and no flash (a huge surprise considering the quality of the camera and lens) the 8MP seems fairly insignificant in the end. Although the N86 is a good mid range phone, we can´t help but feel, if Nokia had taken a bit more time and effort with the design and incorporated a touch screen, it could have been something really special.