Nokia N85 - Coming Q1 2009

Compare up to 3 mobile phones below.

Nokia N85 Dimensions (w/h/d): 50 x 103 x 16 Weight: 128g Talk Time: 6 hours 50m Stand By: 363 hours Camera: Camera Resolution: 5.0MP Handset Type: Slide Coverage (Band): Quad Video: Bluetooth: Mp3 Player: Mp3 Ringtones: MMS: Java Games: Radio: GPRS: Email: Internet Browsing: 3G: Flash Memory: WiFi:

Dimensions (w/h/d): Weight: Talk Time: Stand By: Camera: Camera Resolution: Phone Type: Coverage (Band): Video: Bluetooth: Mp3 Player: Mp3 Ringtones: MMS: Java Games: Radio: GPRS: Email: Internet Browsing: 3G: Flash Memory: WiFi:

Dimensions (w/h/d): Weight: Talk Time: Stand By: Camera: Camera Resolution: Phone Type: Coverage (Band): Video: Bluetooth: Mp3 Player: Mp3 Ringtones: MMS: Java Games: Radio: GPRS: Email: Internet Browsing: 3G: Flash Memory: WiFi:

Overview of the Nokia N85

The N85 incorporates some of the best bits of Nokia's N-Series; the famous dual slide design of the N95, and the same gleaming curves of the N81.

At a glance, the Nokia N85 could be easily mistaken for the just-released N96, as it comes with both the famous dual slide design which made the N95 a household name, and the same gleaming black plastic curves of the N81.

Like all of the other above mentioned Nokia N-Series phones, the N85 is a multimedia device through and through, and it packs a wealth of features including a 5 Megapixel camera, music player (MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA), support for stereo Bluetooth, 3,5mm audio jack, TV Out, and an RDS-enhanced FM radio. The powerful Carl Zeiss camera also comes with a double LED flash, and autofocus which features assisted lighting, and is capable of VGA video recording at a cusp of DVD-quality frame rate of 30fps.

Whats more, the active lens cover of the N95 makes a return – perhaps Nokia have finally fixed the battery issues. 3G with HSDPA comes included, as does Wi-Fi support, meaning that the N85 is also highly suited to mobile web browsing. A GPS receiver with Assisted GPS support – yet another N-Series hallmark – also comes installed.

Like the N81, the N85 is also fully equipped for Nokia N-Gage gaming on the move, with the four media keys which slide out from the top-end of the handset doubling as four action buttons, and the directional menu key again adopting the mantle of the D-pad; this configuration brings to mind Atari's ambitious but ill-fated Lynx handheld, which brought colour gaming to the masses a good decade before the Nintendo DS. But anyway, we digress…

The N85 is also unique among Nokia N-Series phones in that its large 2.6" display (240 x 320) is an OLED capable of displaying 16 million colours in that rich and vibrant way that only OLED screens can. As the screen does not have a backlight, it consumes far less battery power, which means you'll be able to carry on making the most of the N85's several functions and abilities without having to worry so much about where you can next plug the charger into a main socket. Perhaps it is because of the inclusion of a less power-hungry OLED screen that allowed Nokia to install an active lens cover.

The powerful Carl Zeiss camera also comes with a double LED flash, and autofocus which features assisted lighting, and is capable of VGA video recording at a cusp of DVD-quality frame rate of 30fps.

Unfortunately, one drawback of the display – and this is a problem which plagues all OLEDs – is that it's not likely to perform as well in direct sunlight as it does elsewhere. We know that we don't get much sunlight here in the UK, but when it rains it pours, or in this case when it doesn't rain… you get the idea.

Maybe Nokia or some other clever cloggses will be able to figure out a way of installing a less powerful backlight underneath an OLED display – this could be linked up to an ambient light sensor on the front of the phone, which would activate whenever the phone was being used in a brightly lit area where the OLED wouldn't perform well. Just an idea.

The N85 handily has a microSD card slot, and it apparently ships with an 8GB card anyhow, which is just as well, since the total onboard memory available is a mere 74MB. The battery gives you nearly 7 hours of chatterbox time, and over 350 hours of power when the phone is on standby. That's no mean feat for a phone absolutely rammed with such a decent roster of features; perhaps this is all due to the power savings afforded by the OLED screen.

The N85 has enough stuff on board to make it a sure fire hit, and it comes with an attractive, if not exactly original design, incorporating some of the best bits of Nokia's best-selling smartphones.