When the Nokia N86 8MP was first announced, I wasn’t very excited. Of course I loved the fact that Nokia has finally made the jump to 8MP cameras, but I was skeptic in regards to the Dual-Led flash, the dual-slider form factor which is definitely not my favorite, and especially the build quality. To me, the N86 8MP was a redundant device for S60 fans and users. Allow me to explain: if you have an N95 8GB, N82, N85, N79 or N96, the N86 8MP isn’t much of a novelty except in terms of camera. It offers the same possibilities, meaning that you will install the same applications and basically have a very similar user experience. In comparison, a touch-based interface adds a new way to interact with a handset, brings new applications, new games and a lot of things to discover. The N97 was, in my opinion, the logical step forward for an S60 fan, whereas the N86 8MP was more of a handset for new S60 users and a proof of things to come, but not a handset that I would go and shell my own money on. That, in a few words, was my N86 prejudice before even touching it.
I’ve had the Nokia N86 8MP on several occurrences in different settings, each one bringing a new set of “first impressions”. When I got it in my hands for the first time, in Germany during the Carl Zeiss tour, I reckon thinking that it was built like a tank with the same classy design language as the N97. I also used it a lot as a camera after tons of explanations from the Carl Zeiss guys about its lens quality. I was certainly happy about it but still wondering whether or not the move from a 5MP to an 8MP camera was seriously a worthy upgrade. The 2nd time I laid my hands on it in Paris, I had the Nokia N97 around and was using that as my main handset. Making the move from a huge VGA to a QVGA screen and from QWERTY to T9 was almost impossible in a work environment, and the N86 8MP failed to even get a chance at impressing me.
But that hasn’t stopped me from getting utterly excited at the idea of testing the N86 in Lebanon. I knew that I would see it with new eyes here and appreciate its capabilities a lot more, and I was absolutely right. Given that I am in more of a vacation-mode, a qwerty is no longer necessary, and my SIM card (which had already moved from the E71 to the 5800), has now easily nested inside the N86 8MP.
After a couple of days with it, I can easily proclaim that the N86 8MP is the best vacation phone ever. If you’re going on vacation and you want to take one gadget with you then no other device will be able to offer what the N86 8MP offers. It’s a great music player and the inclusion of an FM transmitter makes listening to music while driving a seamless experience. It has N-Gage support for all the addicted gamers around, it’s a nice GPS device with quick position locks and maps installed. The battery lasts under considerable usage, plus you can charge it from any computer through the microUSB port. The inclusion of a kickstand and the nice 2.6″ OLED screen make it a good video player. But most importantly, it has the most awesome camera on any mobile device, and its video recording capabilities are outstanding. Basically, it’s an ultimate all-rounder for vacations and I’ve been using it for 2 weeks non-stop without any desire to put my SIM card back in either of the E71 or the 5800 XpressMusic.
