Nokia N81 8GB - Initial Impressions

[krisse]

Seems like Nokia wouldn't be Nokia if they didn't mess up any gaming related phone in some way.

To be honest I don't think the N81 was ever really intended as a gaming phone, it just happened to come out at roughly the same time as the new N-Gage platform so they started hyping the two together in a rather unconvincing manner.

They put a couple of buttons on the top but that's a million miles from being a games-oriented design.

A much much more games-oriented design is the N93, it's pretty much the same controls as a GBA SP, and as it has a horizontal screen I think it's the most gaming-oriented phone ever made, even more than the original N-Gage. But the N93 was never hyped as a gaming phone, so no one really thinks about it in those terms.

The thing is, the new N-Gage platform isn't meant to be for gaming hardware, its whole point is to be for phone hardware, for devices that don't have gaming-specific controls. The new N-Gage is here to take on Java, not to take on the consoles.

Which is the only phone featuring dedicated game keys? N81.
When you go to n-gage.com, which phone shows up first? N81.
When you go to the n-gage.com phones page, which phone's most prominent? N81.
When you watch the "Entertainment. The next episode." ad's on nseries.com, which phone is shown under gaming? N81.
What does the nseries.com phones overview say about the N81? "Superior mobile gaming with popular titles and high-res graphics."

Seriously, stating that the N81 was merely a gaming related phone by accident is just nonsense. It's completely obvious that Nokia markets it explicitly as a gaming and music oriented phone.

Just because they didn't get the gaming hardware right doesn't mean that it wasn't their original intention to produce a gaming phone.

[gibberishy]

Hi, for the person above and any other N91 owners. I was a loyal N91 user for the past year and a half and took the plunge--just bought a N81 when it first came out a few days ago.

Not disappointed at all! Has the same user interface (updated) in Music as N91, I'd say the sound quality is better, but just a little bit quieter. Newer CDs when ripped to MP3 play very loudly on high setting, but older CDs sometimes are a little quiet, but not to the point where you would wish you had your N91 again.

This phone is to the N91 like the 747 is to the Wright brother's plane. If you are worried about switching, don't, you won't be let down at all!

OK, does anyone know what the point was in launching both a 2GB and 8GB version?

I'm guessing that Nokia thought it would be competition to the iPhone because the price difference between the two models is minimal.

[Rafe]

Well the 2GB version is actually has a memory card slot (and is bundled with a 2GB card). That means you can use multiple cards - some people may prefer this...

You're right in saying that the 2GB does have the memory card slot making it a more attractive purchase.
Movie buffs and music lovers can fill memory cards quite easily with their favourite films and tracks and sometimes carry more than one card with them for long trips and holidays, so the 2GB version is definitely a plus.
The trouble is working out who's selling which one, a lot of retailers are automatically calling the N81 the 8GB version.
http://www.phoneslimited.co.uk/Nokia/N81+8GB.html
http://www.phoneslimited.co.uk/Nokia/N81.html

i love this phone 2 bits just wish the camera was better but then again thats y i hve a digi cam!!