Nokia N86 review –An attempt to replace entry level camera

For:

Nokia N86 has 8-megapixel camera with wide-angle lens, variable aperture and advanced editing options. Moreover, it also offers 3G support, GPS, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

Against:

Nokia N86 is quite expensive. It has low resolution display and outdated software as compared to other smartphones in its class.

The Whiz Kid Speaks:

Nokia N86 is based on WCDMA (UMTS)/GSM that supports quad-band of WCDMA(UMTS)/GSM 850/900/1800/1900. The N86 is powered by ARM 11 434MHz processor and Symbian OS 9.3 with S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2. The smartphone offers 8GB internal memory and micro-SD expansion slot that supports up to 16GB cards.

2.6 inches AMOLED display of Nokia N86 has a resolution of 320×240 pixels that supports 24-bit (16.7 million) colors. The display features white illumination color, screensaver and wallpaper. The smartphone has XHTML based Nokia browser and embedded Java applications. The messaging features include multimedia messages (MMS), text messages (SMS) and support for POP3, IMAP4 and SMTP email accounts.

Nokia N86 has 8-megapixel camera that has CMOS optical sensor and Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar. The camera has features of LED dual flash lights, Picture stabilizer, self timer delay, auto-focus and 20x digital zoom. The white-balance is of two types: Automatic and Presets. Special effects are Black & White, Negative, Vivid and Sepia. The video recorder resolution is VGA 640×480 pixels. Digital video formats include 3GP, H.263 video and AMR audio, MPEG4 and H.264.

The additional features of Nokia N86 include Text-speech recognition, Radio Data Service (RDS), inbuilt stereo speakers, Class 32 GPRS, EDGE, video calling, inbuilt FM transmitter, Push-to-talk mode, TV link and A-GPS. The N86 supports Java MIDP 2.0 and CLDC 1.1 platforms. Supported wireless interfaces are Bluetooth 2.0 and IEEE 802.11b/g.

Supported digital audio standards are WMA, MP3 and AAC. Nokia N86 has 1200mAH lithium ion battery that has a life of 378 minutes talk time for GSM and 234 minutes for WCDMA. Accessories supplied inside the package include reference material, software DVD disc, wired hands-free headset and remote, USB cable and power adapter.

Razzle Dazzle:

Nokia N86 has impressive high quality build as compared to its N-series siblings. It has tempered glass and metallic edges on the screen. It is 4 inches tall, 2 inches wide and 0.6 inch deep and weighs around 5.2 ounces. The N86 is little heavier than N85. Nokia N86 is a compact and sturdy handset.

Inside Dope:

Nokia N86 was firstly brought to us in the GSMA 2009 and it is on of the best camera phones amongst N-series with its 8-megapixel camera. The company has worked hard to replace point-and-shoot camera with the N86. We are not sure if the attempt is success full, but this camera is better than other cameras that you will find in phones. Quality is better both in video and photo. Nokia had also upgraded the phone design. It is not the only phone that offers 8-megapixel camera. Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot C905 offers 8.1-megapixel camera, whereas Samsung Memoir offers 8-megapixel camera. Unlocked Nokia N86 costs around $500, but continues to have Symbian operating system, outdated software and low resolution display. If you aren’t a shutter bug freak then we will recommend you to go for Palm Pre or Apple iPhone 3GS. Both of them offers better features, high-resolution touch screen and advanced operating system in less price. However, if you need a complete camera phone then you can buy Nokia N86.

Slider

Nokia continues to have same slider design like N85 and N96 without any improvement in sliding mechanism. The N85 has stronger sliding mechanism than others N86 and N96. The screen does not move or fidget while trying to use the navigation controls or to handle the phone. You have to apply forceful pressure for accessing the gaming or multimedia controls.

Design

Micro-USB port, 3.5mm headset jack and power button are located on the top of Nokia N86. Slider lock switch sits on the left side, whereas camera activation or capture button and volume rocker are on the right side. Camera and flash light sits on the back. The camera lens is protected by sliding cover. You will find a kickstand to stand the smartphone on surface for watching slide shows or videos. As the stand is not so strong to tolerate the force, so please take care of it while using. The micro-SD card slot is located behind the battery door on right side.

Display

Nokia N86 has 2.6 inches non-touch Active Matrix OLED display that has QVGA 320×240 pixels resolution. It provides sharp image quality with good contrast and consumes less power than other LCD display. The N86 has inbuilt accelerometer to quickly rotate the screen on tilting the phone. On the dark side, it is the low resolution screen that does not look much smoother than other smartphones. You can change the backlight time, wallpaper and display themes for the Home Screen.

Navigation Array and Keyboard

The navigation array of Nokia N86 sits beneath the display. It consists of navigation toggle, back button, main menu button, Talk button and End key. The navigation array is flushed inside the surface, still not stiff. Unlike N85, the N86 does not give feedback on pressing these keys. Both the media control keys and dial pad are spacious and raised above the surface. These keys have backlit and highlights with white and lime green color. You can slide the front panel of Nokia N86 to access the numeric keypad.

Camera

The most attractive feature of Nokia N86 is imaging features with 8-megapixel camera. As said previously that it is not only one phone to offer 8MP camera. The N86 has video recording capability up to 30fps, 20x digital zoom, dual-LED flash and Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens.

The camera of Nokia N86 features 28mm wide angle lens, variable aperture, panorama modes, red-eye reduction, ISO settings, sequence shots and eight shooting modes. You will rarely find 28mm wide angle lens in any camera phone or smartphone. On the dark side, the N86 does not include features for smile detection and face detection. However, both of the features are available in both Sony Ericsson and Samsung models. Still, it is an impressive deal breaker point that a smartphone, Nokia N86, is claiming to replace your digital point-and-shoot camera.

We capture night, outdoor and indoor shots through 8MP camera of Nokia N86. It delivered overall good photo quality with vibrant colors and sharp pictures. It also defined portrait, landscape and macro shots. There a little graininess only in night shots, still it is better and impressive for a phone camera.

In addition, you can modify the pictures in Nokia N86 with inbuilt photo editor with the addition of clip art, text, effects, and more. You will also find various options to share the photos via Vox, Flickr, Nokia Ovi service, email and multimedia messages (MMS). Moreover, you can geo-tag the photos and plot them on a map. Moreover, you can send them to network printer and view them in a slide show.

Operating System and User interface

Nokia N86 runs on Symbian OS 9.3 with S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2. It offers intuitive user interface, but outdated as compared to that of other smartphones available in the market. You can select any menu layout including V-shaped, horseshoe and grid list. You can view multiple applications and toggle between them, but still cannot beat the multitasking feature available on different smartphones.

Phonebook and Features

Nokia N86 can store the contacts limited to available storage space and SIM card can hold more 250 contacts. Each contact can save multiple numbers, email address, birthday, work address, home address, and more. You can divide the contacts into groups and pair them with one ring-tone and one photo for caller ID.

Nokia N86 features voice dialing, conference calling, speakerphone, multimedia and text messages, Nokia Web browser, Bluetooth, GPS/A-GPS, 3G support, Wi-Fi, and quad-band world roaming. The onboard Bluetooth 2.0 has the support for phone book access, object push, file transfer, dial-up networking, stereo and mono headsets, hands-free kits, and more.

The messaging features include support for Microsoft Exchange, POP3, IMAP4 and SMTP email accounts. It also has various one-push email accounts and attachment viewer. The smartphone also has a wizard for inbox synchronization and email account setup. In addition, you can use preinstalled Nokia Maps application and inbuilt compass to navigate through streets and locations using integrated GPS/A-GPS.

Media Player

Nokia N86 has inbuilt media player that supports different formats including WMA, eAAC+, eAAC, AAC and MP3 files. The media player features inbuilt equalizer, creation of on-the-fly play-lists, pod-cast support, shuffle and repeat modes, and album art display. The N86 also has FM Radio and inbuilt Internet Radio application.

Games

Nokia N86 has embedded N-Gage gaming service to include various games like Asphalt, Tetris and FIFA 09. You will get free activation code to download the complete version of one game with the purchase of the N86. The N-Gage gaming platform has community option, where you can create profile, build points and status and play with other N-Gage members.

Call Quality

We made few calls through quad-band based Nokia N86 via AT&T service for testing. The overall call quality was good. We received bit hollow sound at our end and audio cut out occasionally. On the contrary, the callers received impressive call quality at their end without any complaint. Even they could not differentiate between normal and speakerphone calls. However, it seemed that audio was little highly pitched at our end and speaker was weak. We did not get any problem while pairing Bluetooth headsets from Motorola S9 and Logitech Mobile Traveller with the smartphone.

Performance Testing

Nokia N86 was responding with occasional delays while testing. Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D game was played without any problem. The video playback quality was good with well synchronization of picture and audio, but still it was not so good because of low resolution display. We received good audio sound quality on pairing included stereo headsets and Bose On-Ear Headphones. The GPS was very quick to find our locations within one minute.

Battery Life

Nokia N86 has 1200mAh lithium ion battery that has a life of 6.3 hours talk time and 13 days of idle standby time for GSM. It becomes 3.9 hours talk time and 11 days of idle standby time for 3G. The digital SAR rating of the N86 is 1.01 watts per kg in accordance with FCC radiation tests.

Verdict:

If you need a complete camera phone to replace the need of point-and-shot camera and can afford the expensive price tag, then you can buy new Nokia N86. However, some cheaper smartphones are also available like Palm Pre and Apple iPhone 3GS, but does not offer 8-megapixel camera.