My time with the N76 is almost up, and I’m not going to lie, I’m not all that disappointed. However, I know that alot of you are wanting to know more about the phone, so I will attempt to keep my personal thoughts on the device till the end.

Let’s get started. I’m going to separate this out into sections, and there is no particular order to the sections. Pretty much just in the order that I thought of them.

So, grab a cup of coffee (a big one, too) and click through to get your read on.

Build Quality - chrome flaking issues aside, I’m very impressed with the build quality of the N76. It’s plastic, but looks and feels very metal. There is not the slightest bit of give in the flip, be it open or closed. I’ve mentioned before that it’s not spring loaded, and I’ll confirm that after a bit of use, I still prefer that. It’s nice to be able to set it on the desk half-open, almost as if it was in a cradle, with the screen up and facing me in a very readable format. However, there is still a very satisfying snap at the end when you’re opening the device, so that you know it’s open fully.

Sound Quality - Sound through the 3.5mm headphone jack was equal to that of my N95. I’m not a true audiophile, so I can’t compare it how most of you want, but listening to the same songs on my laptop, I didn’t notice a difference. The ringer is extremely loud on the N76, as is the built-in speakerphone. This is something that Nokia struggled with in the past and I’m glad that they’ve finally gotten their speakerphones up to snuff. Listening to regular music through the built-in speakers is a pleasure, as well. Also, the vibrate function is moderate, could use a bit more beefing up, in my opinion.

I was able to confirm that the N76 does NOT currently have A2DP, however, given Nokia’s track record lately, adding it via firmware (which the phone is due for anyways) isn’t at all out of the question. I was able to connect to my laptop via bluetooth and listen to music, but it was obviously not in stereo.

Menus - The menu on this device is SNAPP-Y! I suppose that’s another side-benefit of having a ton of RAM, just like on your computer. I’m still not really used to having that much RAM, but it was nice to have it available so that things don’t drag when cruising through the menu. It also apparently affects photo processing. I was astounded at how quickly the preview of an image pops up. It’s nearly instantaneous. More to come on this later.

Battery life on the N76 was surprisingly good. I suppose with such limited features, the smaller battery capacity was ok. I tethered most of the day to my N800 (albeit that was only checking Gmail and Gtalk) but also had TalkPlus running for 9-10 hours of the day, along with calls and SMS and random web surfing. I did notice, however, that I was more conscious of the battery, and thus didn’t use it nearly as much for data-intensive things as I do my N95, namely Podcasts.

RF/Internet - Frankly, it’s sub-par, for a Nokia. The places that I have full service on my N73 ad N95 were barely half on the N76, and I found that it had a difficult time finding a signal if it had previously lost the signal. This is the most basic function of a phone, and if RF is sub-par, that’s a big negative for the device in my opinion. I also felt like internet connections over EDGE were slower than the N95. I didn’t do any tests, but it felt like it took a bit longer. Obviously this could have been the network, but I was in the same places I use my N95 at.

S60 Quirks - Being a flip phone with a partially useful outer screen is interesting, and there were quite a few quirks that I found. The first is the camera. It seems as though there are separate camera apps on the front screen and the internal screen. With the phone closed, you can press the camera button and the camera application will open on the outer screen. You can then use the softkeys to change settings, and the camera button to snap pics. The gallery button will change from stills to video and back. However, if you open the phone with the camera application active, it doesn’t translate to the internal display, and vice versa. This can be really annoying.

Also, for some reason, just like on the N75, you can’t exit the music player on the N76 like you can on the N95. I’m not really sure why, but I find this incredibly annoying. Granted, with 40.5MB of RAM, who cares, but still.

Keypad - I’m sorry but the keypad on the N76 is horrid. The only good thing is that the backlighting is even across all the keys. It is mushy, with very little tactile feedback, and the pencil and "c" buttons are squeezed into this little bitty space, making them very hard to use without hitting another nearby button on accident. The d-pad, one of the most important parts of a keypad, is also a nightmare to use. There’s no way, other than looking, to know what part of it you’re pressing, and even then, oftentimes I would end up hitting the wrong button. I also found the 3 side buttons (camera, gallery, and volume) to be very firm, and almost too hard to press. I simply hated this keypad, it made texting a real pain, and gaming is dang near impossible.

GPS - I tried to use my old Nokia LD-1W with the N76 for GPS navigation. I was able to successfully pair the devices, and use the GPS with MGmaps, as well as the three built-in GPS tools. However, Smart2Go/Nokia Maps will not work with the N76 and a BT GPS unit. I emailed my contact at Gate5 (the company behind Smart2Go that Nokia bought a few years back) and was told they are aware of this, and are working to make all S60v3 devices compatible. Frankly, I don’t get why there was a problem at all, but whatever.

Overall Design - This includes placement of different features. I like the fact that the Mini-USB port and 3.5mm jack are in the top of the phone. It’s a natural place to put them, and MUCH better than sticking out the side like on the N95. However, this puts the charging port on the side of the phone, which was typically inconvenient, specifically in the car.

Though I liked the placement, the design of the top-half of the flip made them inconvenient at times. If you have headphones plugged in, you cannot open the flip entirely. This isn’t a huge deal, but the same goes for the Mini-USB cord, as well. And the power button is up there too, which means it’s a pain to use to switch profiles unless you use the smaller front screen for the profile selection (which you can)

The outer screen has a mirrored layer on it, obviously for aesthetics and checking to see if you have something in your teeth. It’s also incredibly annoying when trying to read the screen outdoors or in even the slightest bit of sun.

The flip is NOT spring-loaded, which actually turns out to be unbelievably handy. As you can see in the picture below, it allows the phone to be used as a mini-laptop, in portrait mode, obviously. Paired with the SU-8W (which obviously works beautifully), this is a deadly small combo. If you’re travelling light, you can’t get much lighter than the N76 and SU-8W, really.

I also posted this before, but there desperately needs to be a little indention on either side of the phone, so that you can wedge your thumb and open it with one hand. I mastered opening it with one hand, but it’s incredibly awkward. You can view the video below.

Click To Play

Applications - I didn’t run across any applications (other than Smart2Go) that didn’t work well with the N76. Obviously S60v3 offers me a TON of different choices (and you all know I tend to use alot of them) so I had plenty to play with. I did test out Symella at the request of a reader, and I’m pleased to report that my all-time favorite S60 app (with ControlFreak being dead, but a close 2nd runner-up) works like a charm!

I also ran ShoZu on my N76 and loved it. You can read the full-on post here, but ShoZu is definitely the KEY to connecting mobiles with social networking tools. I believe that 100%. With ShoZu on my N76, I was able to snap snap snap pictures, and without having to worry about it, they were automatically uploaded to Flickr, Facebook, and Twango. Boom, just like that. That’s what I like to see. I’m going to be putting ShoZu back on my N95 to try it out some more, keeping my fingers crossed.

Camera - For a 2MP cam, it’s not all that bad. You can view the pics that I did take over at my Flickr account. They’re good in short range with plenty of natural light. When you get farther away, and lose your lighting, things turn to crap. Not too shabby though for the random picture to MMS to a friend. Video quality is the same. It’s there, and can be used, but it’s most certainly nowhere near the N73 or the N95.

So that’s it. Everything I can think to tell you about the N76. Did I enjoy my time with this little thing? Partially. Would I spend the money to buy one? No. Form factor aside, the keypad is a deal-breaker for me, as are the reports of the chrome flaking off. If you’ve used a RAZR keypad and like it, then you’ll like the N76. However, personally, I’d keep my $500 in my pocket for some of the other stuff coming out soon.

Nokia, it was a great try, but stick to what you’re good at. Leave the shiny thin stuff to the other guys.

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