Nokia N81

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Nokia N81
NokiaN81.jpg
Manufacturer Nokia
Compatible networks UMTS/GSM 850/900/1800/1900
Availability by region2007
Predecessor Nokia 6111
Nokia 6290
Nokia N76
Nokia N80
Nokia N91
Successor Nokia N85
Related Nokia N95 8GB
Nokia N78
Nokia N82
Nokia 6110 Navigator
Form factor Slider
Dimensions102 x 50 x 17.9 mm, 86 cc
Mass140 g
Operating system Symbian OS 9.2
BatteryLi-Po 1050 mAh (BP-6MT)
Display240 x 320 pixels, 2.4", 16M Colors
Rear camera2 MP / 1600 x 1200 px
Front camera CIF Video Call Camera
Data inputs Keypad

The Nokia N81 is a Symbian OS mobile phone announced by Nokia on 29 August 2007 and released the next month. It runs S60 3rd Edition, Feature Pack 1.

The N81 was marketed as an entertainment device focused on music and gaming. [1] It was the first device that came preloaded with the N-Gage 2.0 gaming service in 2008 (albeit in public beta), and it features two dedicated gaming keys that can be used for N-Gage games (this would later also appear on the N96, [2] N85 [3] and 5730 XpressMusic [4] ). During the launch of N-Gage 2.0, the N81 was specifically chosen by Nokia in advertisements. It was also much marketed as a music-centric smartphone and was one of the first to support the Nokia Music Store service. [5] It has stereo speakers that are considered to be very loud. [6] Several reviewers have claimed that the N81 has, much like the older Nokia N91, a very high sound output quality and therefore highly suitable for audiophiles. [7] [8] [9] [10]

The four-way silver-coloured D-pad below the display also contains a new capacitive sensor called the Navi wheel, which allows scrolling in the S60 gallery and music player applications by 'stroking' the key, in a similar manner to the iPod click wheel. [11] It is a unique feature that rarely appears on mobile handsets. [12] The Navi wheel would later also appear on other Nokia Nseries handsets: N78, N85 and N96.

Other than these the N81 has more modest specifications compared to the Nokia N95, with a 2-megapixel camera, lacking both GPS and HSDPA, and weighing 20 grams heavier. [13] However the N81 did have an ARM11 369 MHz processor, the fastest on a Nokia device at the time. [14] The Nokia N81 notably features a sliding spring-loaded physical keylock on the top of the device, located next to the 3.5 mm jack. [15] It is the first Nseries device that swapped the miniUSB port in favour of microUSB.

A variant called N81 8GB with 8-gigabytes of internal flash memory was also announced at the same time. This version retailed for 430 euros before taxes, 70 euros more than the standard version which requires a microSD memory card to expand its 12 megabytes of storage. [16] N81 would be succeeded by the N85.

Reception

The Nokia N81 had a lower sound output compared to the N91 due to the release of the new firmware version. According to Nokia, they must follow an international standard wherein a device's initial or default volume must be set too low to cause any damage to its users.

CNET found it buggy, slow, and badly designed. [17] S21 gave it 3/5, praising its feature set, while again criticising the "plasticky" design. [18] However its musical capabilities have been highly praised. [13] [19]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">S60 (software platform)</span> Smartphone software platform

The S60 Platform was a software platform for smartphones that runs on top of the Symbian operating system. It was created by Nokia based on the 'Pearl' user interface from Symbian Ltd. It was introduced at COMDEX in November 2001 and first shipped with the Nokia 7650 smartphone. The platform has since seen 5 updated editions. Series 60 was renamed to S60 in November 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nokia N91</span> Slider mobile phone with a dedicated MP3 buttons

The Nokia N91 is a mobile phone produced by Nokia as part of their Nseries line of portable devices. It was announced on April 27, 2005 along with N70 and N90 as the first three Nseries devices. The N91 ran on Symbian-based S60 3rd Edition. It was the first ever phone encompassing a 4 GB internal hard drive, allowing storage for 3,000 songs. The N91 is highly focused on music. with dedicated music keys on the front which slide down to reveal the keypad. It also featured the industry-standard 3.5 mm headphone jack, and was anticipated as a major challenger to Apple, whose iPod dominated the industry. The design of the N91 is based on stainless steel with a matte finish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nokia N70</span> Mobile phone model

The Nokia N70 is a 3G mobile phone from Nokia. It was announced as part of the Nokia's new line of multimedia smartphones, the Nseries, on 27 April 2005. It started shipping in September 2005. It runs on the S60 2nd Edition, Feature Pack 3 on Symbian v8.1 operating system. It was succeeded by the Nokia N73. The N70 was popular and sold well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nokia N80</span> 3G slider mobile phone released by Nokia in 2005

The Nokia N80 is a 3G mobile phone from Nokia announced on November 2, 2005, part of the multimedia Nseries line. It runs on Symbian OS v9.1 and the S60 3rd Edition interface. It was first released in June 2006.

Nokia Lifeblog is a discontinued multimedia diary and website administration tool that automatically collects all the photos, videos, and sound clips that the user creates on the mobile phone, text messages and MMS messages that were sent and received. It also allows the user to create text and audio notes. It organizes all the contents in a Timeline and renders the diary searchable via its contents and via automatically and manually created metadata, including time, location, tags, descriptions, filenames, sender and recipient information.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nokia N79</span>

The Nokia N79 is a Symbian OS v9.3 mobile phone and a member of the Nokia Nseries multimedia smartphone family running on S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2. It was officially announced by Nokia on 26 August 2008. The N79 is an advanced device with a 5 megapixel camera, dual LED flash, and GPS, with many improvements over the Nokia N78. It retailed for 350 euros upon release in October 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">XpressMusic</span> Brand name for Nokia phones

XpressMusic was a brand name for a line of Nokia mobile phones that were specially designed for music playback. All of the XpressMusic handsets came with expandable MicroSD memory slots and dedicated music keys, so these phones could also be used as MP3 players. The XpressMusic range was launched in September 2006 to compete with the Walkman brand series from Sony Ericsson. Except the Nokia 3250, all XpressMusic models were marketed with the 5000 series prefixes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nokia N95</span> Mobile phone released by Nokia in 2007

The Nokia N95 is a mobile phone produced by Nokia as part of their Nseries line of portable devices. Announced in September 2006, it was released to the market in March 2007. The N95 ran S60 3rd Edition, on Symbian OS v9.2. It has a two-way sliding mechanism, which can be used to access either media playback buttons or a numeric keypad. It was first released in silver and later on in black, with limited edition quantities in gold and purple. The launch price of the N95 was around €550.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nokia N93i</span>

The Nokia N93i is a mobile phone produced by Nokia, announced on 8 January 2007 and released the same month. It is part of the Nseries line and is a redesign of the Nokia N93. The N93i runs on Symbian OS version 9.1, with the S60 3rd Edition user interface. Like the N93, it is a clamshell and swivel design with a camera and landscape position.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nokia N82</span> 2007 mobile phone model

The Nokia N82 is a high-end mobile phone produced by Nokia, and announced on 14 November 2007 as part of the company's Nseries line. The N82 runs Symbian OS v9.2. The N82 inherits much of the Nokia N95's features and specifications, with the major addition being its xenon flash. At the time the N82 was considered one of the most sophisticated camera phone on the market. It is also considered a successor to the Nokia N95, preceding the Nokia N96.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nokia N96</span> Nokia mobile phone

The Nokia N96 is a discontinued high-end mobile phone announced by Nokia on 11 February 2008 at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona as part of the Nseries line. The N96 runs Symbian OS v9.3. It is compatible with the N-Gage 2.0 gaming platform and has a DVB-H TV tuner and AV output.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nokia N78</span> Mobile phone

The Nokia N78 is a 3G mobile phone made by Nokia. It was first introduced at the Mobile World Congress on 11 February 2008, and was launched on 26 May 2008 for €350 before taxes and subsidies. It runs on Symbian 9.3 and was marketed as a more cheaper Nseries device inside a compact, light body. The phone is compatible with the N-Gage 2.0 mobile gaming service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">N-Gage (service)</span> Digital video game distribution platform for mobile devices

The N-Gage service was a mobile gaming platform from Nokia that was available for several Nokia smartphones running on S60 (Symbian). N-Gage combined numerous games with 3D graphics into an application featuring online and social features. The service was a successor to the original 2003 N-Gage gaming device.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nokia N97</span> 2008 smartphone from Nokia

The Nokia N97 is a high-end smartphone introduced on 2 December 2008 by telecommunications manufacturer Nokia as part of its Nseries and released in June 2009 as the successor to the Nokia N96 phone. The N97 was Nokia's second S60-based touchscreen phone, after the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic. The device featured slide-out QWERTY keyboard, and ran on the Symbian v9.4 operating system. Its design took cues from the Nokia N79. A smaller and lower-cost variant, the Nokia N97 mini, was later released.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nokia N85</span> Mobile phone

The Nokia N85 is a mobile phone produced by Nokia, announced on 27 August 2008 as part of the Nseries line. The N85 runs on Symbian OS v9.3 with S60 3rd Edition platform with Feature Pack 2. It was released in October, retailing for 450 euros before taxes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nokia N86 8MP</span> High-end mobile phone released in 2009

The Nokia N86 8MP is a high-end mobile phone with emphasis on the camera. It was announced on 17 February 2009 and released in May 2009 as part of the Nseries. It runs on Symbian OS 9.3 and shares similar design features with the N97. Its name references the camera's megapixel count.

Space Impact is a mobile game series that was published by Nokia and its games usually came bundled with several Nokia devices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nokia Nseries</span> Discontinued series of high-end phones by Nokia

The Nokia Nseries was a high-end lineup of feature phones, smartphones, and tablets marketed by Nokia Corporation from 2005 to 2011. The Nseries devices commonly supported multiple high-speed wireless technologies at the time, such as 3G, or Wireless LAN. Digital multimedia services, such as music playback, photo/video capture or viewing, gaming or internet services were the central focus of the lineup. The lineup was replaced in 2011 by the Nokia Lumia line as the company's primary smartphone lineup.

Nokia's strategic nomenclature can be traced back in 2005 when the Nseries line was launched, offering devices with flagship specifications and premium hardware at various price points. These devices were considered the "bread and butter" of the company and were often positioned to showcase their latest technologies. Thanks to the newfound consumer and enterprise interest in smartphones at the time, the company introduced four additional collections to diversify their product portfolio and meet demands in most market segments. These new phone series were named Eseries, targeting small business and enterprise customers; Xseries, providing consumer-grade multimedia-focused devices; Cseries, which Nokia used to target both the low-end and mid-range market segments; and Tseries, for devices exclusive to the Chinese market.

The Nokia N77 is a 3G mobile phhone from Nokia, introduced on 12 February 2007 and released in June 2007. It runs on Symbian 9.1. The N77's specs were somewhat basic compared with most Nseries devices at the time, but it included a DVB-H television tuner. As stated in Nokia's press release, the N77 was designed as a low-cost mobile TV to accelerate DVB-H adoption. Sporting a candybar design similar to the N73, it was the company's second DVB-H device after the N92, though it did have a smaller screen. The N77 was thus only available in limited DVB-H markets and are now hard to come by.

References

  1. ↑ "Nokia N81". Stuff. 26 October 2007.
  2. ↑ Epstein, Zach (11 February 2008). "Nokia Announces N96; Fun While it Lasts".
  3. ↑ "Nokia". LetsGoDigital.
  4. ↑ "Nokia 5730 XpressMusic review: Full musical keyboard". GSMArena.com.
  5. ↑ Lee, Nicole. "Ovi service becomes gateway to Nokia Music Store". CNET.
  6. ↑ "Hands on the Nokia N81 (Verdict: Really Loud Music Phone)". Gizmodo. 29 August 2007.
  7. ↑ Miller, Matthew. "First impressions of the Nokia N81 8GB; music now ROCKS on a smartphone!". ZDNet.
  8. ↑ "Review: Nokia N81 8 GB, too much money for too little hardware". IntoMobile. 22 October 2007.
  9. ↑ "Nokia N81 8GB review". Archived from the original on 14 October 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  10. ↑ "First look of the Nokia N81: Music and Gaming first". GadgetNutz. 26 October 2007.
  11. ↑ "Nokia N81 8GB: The "Sexy" Navi Wheel?". The PhoneBoy Blog.
  12. ↑ "Nokia N81 preview: Hands on N-Gage". GSMArena.com.
  13. 1 2 "Nokia N81 8GB smartphone • The Register". theregister.com.
  14. ↑ "Nokia N81 8GB review: N-series N-gaged". GSMArena.com.
  15. ↑ "Hands-on with the Nokia N81 8GB". 15 November 2007.
  16. ↑ "Nokia N81, N81 8GB and N95 8GB all now official". All About Symbian. 29 August 2007.
  17. ↑ "Review", CNet, http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/nokia-n81-8gb-unlocked/4505-6454_7-32581816.html
  18. ↑ "Nokia N81", S21, http://www.s21.com/nokia-n81.htm Archived 8 November 2017 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ↑ Malik, Om (9 November 2007). "Review: The Sweet Agony That Is Nokia N81". gigaom.com.[ permanent dead link ]
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