Nokia N81 8GB - Thoroughly

The Nokia N81 8GB is the version with good internal memory of that N81 that Nokia revealed in August last year when presenting the Nokia Music Store . And the truth is that its features perfectly suited the occasion: 8 Gigabytes of built-in memory for storing songs and videos, special multimedia playback keys and a stylish sliding screen design .

After having it in hand, we have verified that it is a very complete terminal, with a sound quality comparable to the Xpress Music family and very interesting qualities such as the Wi-Fi connection to surf the Internet. It is also one of the mobiles with which Nokia wants to promote its N-Gage portal for downloading games on mobile. That is why it also has special keys for games .

Compact and with versatile controls

Sustain this N81 8GB in hand leaves a feeling very similar to the Nokia N95 so compact in its design, a little thinner (about 18 millimeters ) although somewhat heavier (about 140 grams ). The alphanumeric keyboard peeks out from the bottom when we slide the 2.4-inch screen , accompanied by a navigation wheel with special keys . Among them, a button with which we access directly to a Rotating Menu where the main entertainment options of the terminal are summarized , such as Music, Games and Gallery.

It also has playback buttons that surround the central control, and that allow us to start the music player regardless of the phone menu that we are viewing . This is something that is quite useful and fast , although not so comfortable. And it is that sometimes we can activate a song accidentally while we move through the menus. Get used to these controls, as with the dialing and hang-up keys, located on the side ends .

On the gray sides of the case , which for the rest has a glossy black finish , are the usual volume control , the camera shutter and the on / off and lock / unlock keys of the keyboard , the latter quite useful if we set the phone to automatically lock when closing the screen. And completing the external controls, we have two special keys for video games , hidden in plain sight.

We become aware of its presence when we enter the Games menu, and suddenly two small icons light up on either side of the secondary camera for video calls and selfies . Holding the N81 8GB in the landscape position, we can use them for, for example, passing and spiking in a soccer game, or accelerating and braking in a car race. It is not the same experience as with a portable game console, but it is much more comfortable than fiddling with the alphanumeric keyboard.

A 3G with elephant memory

This N81 8GB is within Nokia's family of advanced terminals, hence the presence of Symbian S60 as an operating system. He shares 3G technology for video calls with his brothers , but nevertheless cannot surf the Internet through high-speed telephone networks ( HSDPA ). It is not a mobile phone for the executive who needs to be in permanent contact over the Internet, but rather for an average user who may be interested in the Wi-Fi connection so that, without going any further, navigate using their own home network.

Nor it has a camera superavanzada ( 2 - megapixel with flash and video recording ) and high - end features as the browser GPS integrated. No, the Nokia N81 8GB is really defined as a mobile in which to have a good amount of songs and games stored , which is where it achieves better performance.

For music, in addition to the already mentioned special keys, it has a direct input for standard headphones and a Bluetooth A2DP connection for wireless headphones . If what we want is to share the songs with those around us, it has two side speakers with amazing power and stereo effect to be integrated into a phone.

As for games, the placement of the dedicated keys provides quite successful comfort , although there is the downside of the small screen size . At least, the graphic quality of the demos that come to test, among which FIFA 07 stand out , is quite sharp and without sudden jumps. Always saving distances, since it is not a game console, but a mobile phone (in the same way that using Skype on the PSP Slim does not automatically convert said laptop into a free phone).

The characteristics of this terminal are completed with the radio tuner , the possibility of adding files to its memory without installing any additional software (using mass storage mode) and a reliable autonomy if we give it an average use such as portable MP3 . Unfortunately, the battery suffers much more noticeably if we use the speakers or get excessively addicted to a game.

Who wants this Nokia N81 8GB?

This Nokia is intended for the young person interested in a mobile phone to listen to music and play the odd little game while waiting for the subway or bus . Especially if you do not want to be tied to a memory card as a storage medium , as happens with the Nokia N81 "just".

Strengths

The hallmarks of the Nokia N81 GB are the good design , its large storage capacity and the versatility of controls for playing games and listening to music . Especially in this last facet, since the possibility of using any standard pair of headphones is added that of its integrated speakers . It's not like using a good pair of external speakers, but they do make the cut for table music in the privacy of the room or small gatherings .

It can improve

The use of special keys dedicated to certain tasks seems like a success. But in the case of this Nokia, the musical keys are placed very close to the navigation wheel, which can lead us to accidentally activate the music player . It is a matter of getting used to it, but it would have been better to choose a less problematic place, as the Nokia 5310 does by placing them on the left of the screen. On the other hand, a bigger screen would have been appreciated for games. Otherwise , a terminal that seduces and convinces from the beginning.

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