Nokia N79 Hands-On, Where No Nseries Has Dared To Go
5MP camera with Carl Zeiss, VGA video recording, TV-Out, Accelerometer, GPS, geotagging, S60 3rd Edition, FP2, N-Gage, 3.5mm headset plug, 4gb microSDHC in the box, Navi-Wheel, 1200 mAh … the N79’s features top the N95 and are nothing to be ashamed of. Yet, if I wanted to compare the N79 to another Nseries, it would be the N76. Odd, very odd. But why? Because it won’t be this huge feature list that the N79 will brag about to market itself, it will be the changeable back cover that immediately changes your theme. That will be the main selling point of the N79, it will appeal to the mass market and to the female audience, the same way the N76 did with its slim factor. [Click on the images for the full versions]
Here are a few comparison shots between the N79 and the N82, two similarly packed candybar handsets that will have a good one-one-one fight when the N79 hits the market. Although my heart goes for the N82, I’m willing to bet on the N79 to win over the fight. It’s only when you show it next to the N82, that you see how much technology is advancing these days: the N79 is noticeably smaller in all angles.
So how does it feel in the hand? It’s a slick handset, no doubt about that. It doesn’t look superbly well in the front grey variant, but I’m almost sure that the white one looks much better. Going for light colors is a good choice, because this will allow people to differentiate between the N79 and other similarly designed handsets, it will also take far less fingerprints than black Nseries, which won’t put off consumers from purchasing it. As for the back covers, I only saw the olive green, sea blue and espresso brown ones, and all of them looked nice, especially the blue one. They are also very well built, and although they are supposed to come off and be exchanged, they don’t wobble or fit flimsily on the back. They are a bit hard to take off, but once you get the “technique”, you become a bit fast at it.
As for automatic theme switching, it is triggered by 4 pins that match up on the cover and on the back of the handset. Of course, if you prefer to keep your chosen themes, you can toggle automatic theme switching off, the setting can be found under “Themes” in Settings.
The main surprise is that camera start-up time, as well as autofocus and shutter speed are very very fast. It’s probably faster than the N78, but don’t quote me on that, as I didn’t have the N78 around me to test that. What I know is that you can rely on the N79 to get you a very fast picture when you want to, and to allow you to take several pictures repeatedly without waiting for several seconds.
Here is a small video showing the N79 through some angles, as well as the instantaneous keylock toggling, the fast camera start-up and the automatic (and fast) theme switching.
The N79 goes where no other Nseries has dared to go in recent times, it packs everything Nokia could think of in the slimmest possible package, and probably the best priced one. It carries the N95’s and N82’s legacy and is a living proof of the lessons learnt over the last couple of years by the Finnish giant. My thoughts? Watch out for it. It will be the handset you spot the most down the street for the 12-16 months to come. This will be the N95 of the mass market, a handset that will introduce millions of people to S60 and Nseries. There’s nothing you can fault the N79 at, and even though this won’t be its selling point, it will be the reason why buyers will keep it with them, use it for a long time, advise their friends to get it, and won’t give up on it until they find a better Nseries replacement. It will reinforce brand loyalty for Nseries among consumers. In other words, the N79 will be THE phone to beat.
Great hands on Rita, however, the jury is still out on this one for me. Its growing on me slowly, however, im so curious about the N85, and N96. Agree with you though on the key selling factors of the N79, and its certainly heading for the right market.
Shame it doesn’t have any xenon flash. That would have made the PERFECT mobile phone for me.
lol, just picked up the N82 myself and now your saying that its dead and buried. bummer man i am loving it though and the n79 will have to really outshine it for me to jump ship so soon. battery life will be a mayor factor because as it stands with video playing, picture shooting, google mapping, and music playing i hardly get a full 16 hours out of the n82. which is a bummer because who vacations 12 hours a day.
Hey - N82 owners, no need to despair. Essentially, all the N79 has on its side over our beloved all-in-one is FP2 and size. As for battery life, lets see how bright is the screen of this baby. I hacked my N82 to increase its (artificially lowered) brightness and since then life is a riot, although I do have to re-charge the phone after 24 hours.
ANd then there is that Xenon flash, and that dual-CPU setup. Plenty of bragging rights!
I can’t view that youtube video… What’s instantaneous keylock toggling??? Is that like hardkey for locking the phone??? Also, it has naviwheel??? Does the N85 have naviwheel and instantaneous keylock???
I’m more interested in the N85, though I’d say the two devices are almost equally powerful in such small and stylish packages. These two devices are absolutely amazing and will surely dominate the market
Poom,
The video is now fixed, please tell me if it works on your end. As for keylock toggling, it’s a replacement to the “softkey + *” combo that we use on S60, it’s a physical button like on Mp3 players and other consumer electronics, and when you push it, it locks the keypad. The N79 does have a NaviWheel, as do the N85. Keep your eyes on S-G as we have a hands-on with the N85 coming today
Nice. Got my N82 very cheap from Singapore last year, so I can still sell it for a good price now. I love the N82, don’t get me wrong. It’s a great phone, maybe the best I had over the years of Smartphone use. I just want a slimmer and lighter phone as I had before the N82 with WM Smartphone, without losing all the great functionality and superb camera. The N79 looks to be a good candidate. And if I get bored with it, I just need another cover.
N79 is really nice
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