Steve at AllAboutSymbian has reported an interesting find: apparently the N81 8GB is being cleared out on the Expansys website. The phone which currently retails at £359 (708$) on the official Nokia UK Shop is going for £249.95 (493$) on the Expansys site. This is more than 200$ price drop and looks like the perfect opportunity for UK residents to catch a great phone for an amazing price.
The N81 8GB seems to be a very controversial device: apparently you either fall in love with it, either totally hate it, there doesn’t seem to be a place in between. You already know my own position in this battle.
Ironically enough, I have been looking for an N81 8GB myself for a few days now, and they seem to be out of stock in Lebanon. I have went to 9 mobile shops so far and no N81 8GB to be found. I was curious to know whether it was a lack of shipments or a result of high demand. I got my answer today : “Not shipping?! No, they are selling like bread!” a shop owner answered me.
This doesn’t surprise me the least. The N81 is one of the best looking Nokia devices on the market now, it has the Nseries stamp, packs great music and gaming capabilities (two major points of attraction here), also has WiFi connectivity. With HSDPA not being available and people traveling by road memory and not GPS, the only weakness of the N81 is its camera. The N81 8GB retails here for around 380$, compared to a 500$ N82 which isn’t focused on gaming and music, and 700$ for an N95 8GB. Now probably you understand why it’s selling like bread.
