I just got a sweet package on the porch last night. The highly anticipated Nokia N78 has landed in my hands along with the Nokia MD-4 portable speakers. Thanks to WOM World for the package. I haven't even popped open the box that the speakers are cuz I was super busy last night, but I have been playing with the N78 and loading it up with applications. This is going to be a fun review over the next two weeks since this will be my first time playing with S60 3rd Edition, Feature Pack 2. The N78 is the first phone to sport the new Feature Pack 2.
First off I'd like to say I'm a proud N82 owner. So some of my comments will be comparing it to the Nokia N82. I've also had plenty of time with the N95 & N73 so look out for some comparisons. Upon first laying eyes on the N78 I'm satisfied. Some say it's ugly, but I think not. It's a very simple and sleek design.
Buttons & Keys
When the phone is off or locked you really can't see anything but the D-pad & Multimedia button as the numeric keys are well hidden, almost flat to the phone. The right & left softkeys, call keys, delete, & menu keys are all part of the phone & can't be seen unless the backlight is on. They aren't touch sensitive like they look in photos, but rather one big button. I actually like the buttons so far. Texting is fast & accurate even though the buttons are small. It's really hard to explain, it's just something you gotta try for yourself.
Screen
The screen is bright and sharp, something I wish I can say about the Nokia N82. For some reason the designers of the N82 thought it would be smart if the screen got dimmer in the shade. We have no option of turning this setting off. I don't think the N78 does this as it seems it's always at the same brightness whether your in the darkness or light.
Hold The Phone
Just holding the phone in my hand is quite comfortable. It's thinner than both the N82 & N73 and is very pocketable. Fans of solid bar form factors will love the feel of the N78. I'm not scared to drop it to a carpet floor like I was with the N95. There is not one moving part on this phone, not even a lens protector (which is a bummer).
Camera Quality
Ehh I really haven't given it a good test yet. So far I can say I'm really unimpressed with the night shots, maybe even more so than the N73. Like I said earlier I'm coming from a N82 with xenon flash so this might be an unfair report. I'm going to review this more during the week. See a sample dim light shot below...
If you blow it up you can see how grainy the image is.
Feature Pack 2
Ok so far I'm impressed with the glitz & glamour of the new UI, but thats about. The handling of access points is a huge plus which I'll discuss later. The review of Feature Pack 2 will be something I'm going to take a close look at.
The Bad & The Ugly
I haven't had the phone for more than 12 hours so take this with a grain of salt. As of right now there are only a few things I hate about this phone. One thing is the figerprints. Nokia really needs to get away from this glossy & shiny finish. The black N82 is bad enough. I find the N78 to be even worse. It looks horrible if I don't wipe it after each use. By use I mean everytime I make a call or send a text. It's that bad. You gotta keep a soft cloth with you to keep this baby clean. Another negative is the new vertical active standby layout. It's not really customizable which I find really shocking. The naviwheel has some drawbacks as well, I'm still on the fence about this. The lack of a lens protector is really annoying & the back cover of the phone feels kind of cheap and loose. This may be a pre-production model, I gotta find out for sure.
Here is a gallery of some N78 photos I took last night...
This is just the first part of my review. Below are some of the things that will be covered:
Battery Life
Photo Quality
Feature Pack 2
Audio Quality & Music Experience
N78 vs. N73 vs. N82
If you have any questions or would like me to cover any aspects of the Nokia N78 let me know.
Deals On Nokia N78 $450.00
I received my N78 last week and it is really a great phone. The camera can be good but it does not do fantastic in low level light conditions unless the subjects are relatively close. Daytime shots work great IMO and are plenty enough from a cell phone (I've never experienced the N82 so take that what its worth....best camera on a phone I've ever experienced). FP2 is fun and the phone itself is pretty snappy. Expensive? Yeah, but so are many other Nokia phones.
My only gripe is the semi loose battery cover. Hopefully once this thing gets a little more market penetration then we'll see some different covers (Im hoping for metal as that would be excellent).
Hi Tek,
Glad your enjoying the N78. So far I'm impressed overall. Yes they are expensive, but the cost is worth it. I find it annoying that the battery cover is loose you would think they would put better materials on this thing.
Mike, did you try the firmware update ? OTA FW v11.043 is now available. Btw, on cheap plastic, I think Nokia has some sort of allergy towards good ol' metal. Nokia tends to N81-ize every new model. Which actually doesn't look innovative.