Nokia currently has nearly 40% of the global mobile phone market. That means that 4 out of every 10 mobile handsets sold are Nokia handsets. They did not get there by joking around. Indeed, one of the reasons that Nokia has such as strong standing is because once they master something, they completely own that arena. Over a decade ago, Nokia mastered the candybar form factor. I have had several Nokia candybar handsets over the years, and (with few exceptions) they are rock-solid devices, with stunning build quality.

The Nokia N82 revisits this mastery, and proves that they still know how to build a sturdy candybar handset. Completely made of plastic, I would expect the N82 to creak like a haunted house, but I was unable to coax even the slightest moan out of this phone. In fact, the only sound it would make when powered off was a slight sticking sound on the down direction of the d-pad, which went away after about a week of usage. I did everything I could to see if the back battery cover would creak, or if the sides had a little give to them. No dice.

That’s not to say there aren’t slight defects which need to be taken care of. I did notice some light leaking from around the front faceplate, and there is a slight gap around the front faceplate, as well. The entire front of the N82 is chrome, but they’ve cleverly covered it with a clear plastic layer, so that the chrome won’t flake off. Very nice touch, Nokia. Also, the display is flush with the rest of the phone (and also covered with this clear plastic layer) offering an escape from face-gunk-buildup, as well as protection from the elements.

The keys on the N82 are all pretty different from other handsets, so let’s take a look at that. First, the S60 button cluster looks like the N81, meaning that it’s likely going to be on at least a few more handsets, so you might as well get used to it. After some use, I’ve found that my fingers are used to the end/send keys being on the side of the device as they are, so it’s not a huge deal.

The S60 buttons, including the left and right softkeys, menu key, and c button are all on 2 buttons. The buttons are basically rocker-style, where pressing on the top portion is the softkey, and the bottom portion is the menu or c button. This setup unfortunately reduces the tactile feedback on the buttons, making it slightly difficult to know if you pressed it. The multimedia key is a small hash button inbetween the right softkey and the c button, and I can’t help but wish they’d added a similar button, perhaps the edit key, on the left side, as well.

The number keypad has come under alot of scrutiny on the blogosphere, and I’ve heard that internally it was the source of much discussion, as well. The buttons are very small, with the label on the matting around them, rather than printed directly on the button. At first, I found this slightly difficult, but after a small amount of use, actually found that I prefer these keys. The biggest reason is the spacing. Those with large fingers should really try the N82 out before passing judgement, as I found this new button format actually increases the amount of room around the button, and results in less accidental keypresses. It also makes it really easy to touch-type, should you be driving or doing something else that prevents you from looking at your phone.

I’m still not a huge fan of the charging and data ports being on the side of the phone, but I suppose that’s a personal nit-pick. I did get a chance to ask the N82 Product Managers at Nokia World 2007 about the inability to stand on its own, and was told that originally, this was a key function. However, as the phone was modified throughout the processes, the sides were slanted to offer a better in-hand feel, and thus the ability to stand on its own was sacrificed. I was able to offer a few suggestions, so we’ll have to see for the future. In the meantime, a blob of Silly Putty does the trick quite nicely, as does the DT-22 Nokia Tripod.

All in all, the Nokia N82 is a nice change from recent Nseries handsets, with a sturdy build quality and very few complaints.

Categories: Phone Reviews
Tags: n82, nokia, nseries