Nokia N81 hands-on

by Chris Ziegler posted Aug 29th 2007 at 6:01AM

The N81 is perhaps the most attractive Nokia we've ever seen. Not everyone will agree -- it's kinda square, bulky, and a little heavier than we were expecting -- but the total package struck us as solid and extraordinarily well designed. We were digging the cool metallic flake front and rear offset by a medium gray strip down the sides, the wild control layout below the screen, and the fact that this simply doesn't look like Your Father's Nokia. Turns out the N81's beauty is far from skin-deep, though.

Gallery: Nokia N81 hands-on

The d-pad doubles as a touch sensitive ring, giving music navigation an iPod feel to it -- important when you have 8GB of storage onboard to play with. As far as we can tell, the functionality is limited to the music player and a couple other S60 components; we'd like to see its use expand by the time the device reaches production, especially considering how comfortable and easy to use it was.

The N81 was clearly designed with entertainment in mind. The vast capacity, Nokia Music Store compatibility, and 3.5mm headphone jack are all evidence of that. Coincidentally, the handset also rocks out with one of the very few useful pairs of stereo loudspeakers we've ever seen on a phone. They're freakin' loud, in fact -- loud enough to be uncomfortable at close range while staying relatively clear and crisp. Entertainment also means gaming in this case, with support for Nokia's freshly revamped N-Gage platform and two buttons near the earpiece that make the phone feel more like a true controller.

If we have a major complaint here, it's under the hood -- the N81 doesn't share the same US HSDPA compatibility as its N95 stablemate, and unfortunately, quick data is pretty much a must for this category of device. Don't suppose you've got another version cookin' in the labs, eh, Nokia?

Filed under: Games, Handsets, Multimedia, Nokia, Symbian, GSM, GPRS, EV-DO, HSDPA, UMTS

Tags: features, hands-on, music, music store, MusicStore, n-gage, n81, nokia, s60, slider, symbian

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Neutral

Locus @ Aug 29th 2007 6:42AM

DO WANT!

at a guess you us peeps may get the hsdpa on the n81, but not on the n81 8gb, or vice versa perhaps?

Low Ranked

Reactive @ Aug 29th 2007 7:18AM

Gaming is going to be pretty hard with just 2 buttons...

Highly Ranked

Fernando @ Aug 29th 2007 8:32AM

Gameboy Color hard? Sounds good enough for me.

Neutral

noah @ Aug 29th 2007 10:30AM

I can only hope that touch-sensitive "wheel" + N-Gage = Tempest 2K remake....

Neutral

TrueDis @ Aug 29th 2007 12:19PM

I wish you guys would stop calling it "US HSDPA" because T-Mobile will be on a different band than AT&T when they roll theirs out...

Highly Ranked

derX @ Aug 30th 2007 2:16AM

Two quick things to point out:
(1) T-Mobile's network hasn't been rolled out yet; their network's frequency will become a must when their network comes into existence. Until then, the useful bands remain: US HSPDA = 850/1900.
(2) If the HSPDA can be used in the US, then it *is* US HSPDA.

Hey, here's an extra thing-to-point-out, on the house: you guys got to use those cool little European triband GSM phones with your 1900 band (when many places needed the 850) before 3G became all the rage, let us have some fun, for now.

Neutral

nextgenofice @ Aug 29th 2007 7:13PM

The 3 phones that i truly want to see state with full support would be the N95 8GB (they can keep the other one), the N93i (or even better one with 8GB of flash), and this the N81 8GB (once again you can keep the other one).

Neutral

Done @ Aug 30th 2007 9:46AM

It feels like Nokia is throwing left overs to states. We get N95 with 3g others get N95 with bigger screen better colour bigger memory. And of course N81 isnt even coming here... great.

Neutral

bb.EXE @ Sep 3rd 2007 12:58PM

Its interesting to see all the US people complaining about these lags.
Please think about it how many times did you have an earlier release date for gadgets e.g. iPhone.
You would say, "yes, because there is a bigger market in the US". Of course, there is, but who the hell wants to fight the iPhone? Most people will not change their precious AppleTreasure for N95, cuz they are so sure that theirs is the best phone of all. But if there is a phone which is not released in the US, it will get attention. And if there are enough people drooling for one, Nokia will give them what they want.
Be sure there will be N95 8terrabyte edition in the US, its only matter of time. :D

Neutral

keita @ Sep 3rd 2007 6:38AM

hahaha Most US mobile consumers are even dumb to begin with! So why bother to produce phones that are capable to be used in US when flood of calls to call centers asking where is the power button would only be the result?!! hahaha

Neutral

j @ Sep 18th 2007 6:55AM

when is the nokia n81 out in the uk to buy???????????????????

Neutral

dlheritage @ Sep 18th 2007 1:42PM

Remind me again - what makes this (or any other phone) the "new" Jesus phone? Maybe it's the 8 GB of RAM or the "touch sensitive" d-ring.... That sounds like a copycat, too late to market, Euro-sexy (not!) phone.

Neutral

PDexter @ Sep 21st 2007 7:48AM

Pff i want it already. hate this waiting game.

Neutral

Sienna81 @ Oct 2nd 2007 4:10PM

Hi all, Sienna81 here from n81streets.com,
and really excited about Nokia's new phone!

I know this fine blog has been around for a while now and has a strong following, but if anyone would also be interested in a community specific to the Nokia N81, I encourage you to check out our new site and start some discussions there too!

The N81 Owner's Manual is now available at Nokia N81 Forums (http://n81street.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24) for viewing and discussion, if anyone is interested.

-Cheers,
Sienna81