Nokia N86 Review - Design, Display and OS

Nokia N86 Review -  Design, Display and OS
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Nokia N86 Review

nokia-n86

The Nokia N86 is the one of the latest N Series offering by Nokia. The N Series has been synonymous with superb multimedia capabilities with each new N Series phone pushing the envelope atleast in terms of camera capability. The N97 was launched recently to compete with the likes of the Apple iPhone 3G S, HTC Magic, Palm Pre etc. Now Nokia has come up with the N86 - its most powerful camera phone to date, and the successor to the Nokia N85, to compete with the 8.1 MP phones by Sony Ericsson, Samsung and LG. In this review, I will check out the Nokia N86 and see where it stands in comparison with the other 8 MP heavyweights like the Sony Ericsson C905 and the Samsung INNOV8.

You should also check out our list of the <strong>Top 10 Android Smartphones</strong> for suitable options.

Nokia N86 Specifications:

  • Dimensions: 103.4 x 51.4 x 16.5 mm
  • Weight: 149 gms
  • Display: 2.6 inch AMOLED display, 16M colors, 240 x 320 pixels
  • Memory: 8 GB Internal Memory
  • RAM: 128 MB RAM
  • Connectivity: GPRS, EDGE, 3G
  • WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g with UPnP
  • Bluetooth: Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP
  • USB: MicroUSB v2.0
  • Processor: 434 MHz ARM 11 processor
  • OS: Symbian OS v9.3 with FP2
  • Camera: 8 MP Camera, 3264 x 2448 pixels, Wide 28 mm Carl Zeiss lens, AF and Dual LED Flash
  • GPS: A-GPS, Ovi Maps 3.0
  • Battery: BL-5K Li-Ion Battery, 1200 mAh
  • Other Features: Geo Tagging, FM Radio with RDS, FM Transmitter, Flash Lite 2.1

Display (4 out of 5)

The Nokia N86 has a 2.6 inch AMOLED display which supports 16 Million colors and a native QVGA resolution of 240 x 320 pixels. Overall the display offers good contrast and brightness which we’ve come to expect from AMOLED screens. The display size is actually a little cramped compared to other devices currently being offered (iPhone, HTC Touch HD, etc) however it is still more than acceptable for casual video watching. The sunlight legibility is also pretty good, even in direct sunlight conditions.

OS and User Interface (4 out of 5)

Like all new Nokia Symbian phones, the Nokia N86 is powered by Symbian OS v9.3 with Feature Pack 2. It is the latest version of the Symbian OS and offers a lot of performance and visual improvements. For example is is faster, snappier and more attractive. The UI is the typical Symbian UI with an Active Standby screen. The default menu icons are similar to the 5800 XM. While the user interface also has an auto rotate feature which makes use of the built in accelerometer.

The Nokia N86 also has some nice hardware - First it features a 434 Mhz ARM 11 processor and sports 128 MB of RAM. This is certainly not top of the line, but is good enough for the OS it runs. It can also handle decent levels of multitasking without any visible lag or delay. The internal memory in the N86 is 50 MB system storage coupled with 8 GB onboard memory whichis more than enough for all your basic needs. Most of the OS features like Contacts, Messaging, Call Log, Email etc are for the most part the same as the previous version with slight improvements. Besides these features, it also sports a advanced file manager, system wide search which allows you to search through all the data on your phone etc.

Overall the User Interface is familiar for past Symbian users if not revolutionary. However it is that user friendly and intuitive user interface that we’ve come to love so in this case familiarity is a positive aspect of the device.

This post is part of the series: Nokia N86 Review

Nokia has just launched the new N86 8MP camera phone. Besides the insanely good camera, it also sports a superb design and great hardware. Check out this review to find out more.

  1. Nokia N86 Review - Design, Display and OS
  2. Nokia N86 Review - Multimedia, Camera and Connectivity