For Nokia the release of the Nokia N81 is a hallmark event in that it is one of the first handset to support its re-launched N-Gage platform. On top of that, within the Nokia’s range this model is about to claim the position of the most affordable multimedia convergent device marrying music, games and imaging under its hood. So as not to pose a threat to the Nokia N95 and the Nokia N95 8 Gb, this device comes with no GPS receiver onboard, but the N81 still ships with local maps, sort of reminding its users that a Nokia-branded external receiver is always up for grabs.
The Nseries line-up is now seeing a very an amusing differentiation of its members. Nokia tries to take some devices to the mass-market using quaint designs and pushy advertising campaigns, like those of the Nokia N76. Another part of its offerings, on the contrary, is jam-packed with features, so as to meet the requirements of the users who put some thought into choosing their new phones and normally have functionality on the top of their priority lists. However even the latter camp has own sub-classes: basic editions and pumped-up versions. The example of the Nokia N95 and Nokia N95 8 Gb shows that the memory volume is not the only thing setting them apart – the 8 Gb’s RAM volume has been modified as well. So it is more of a polished variant of the model with most letdowns of the original handset done away with. Nevertheless, the Nokia N81 stands just outside the latter camp – both version of this phone share the same hardware and are pretty much identical in terms of the materials used, and moreover, they hit the market on the same day.
This product’s target audience is the youth, with 22-30 year old male being its primary focus, while girls and older consumers have been given short shrift. What the company is banking on with the N81 is its gaming department, while other fronts and smarts are not as important. In a certain sense this model is the first go at this field, that starts shipping long before its major constituent, the N-Gage service and N-Gage Arena come along.
Since the N81 was designed with the youth in mind, it’s no wonder why it sports such curves and materials. They tried to make it both no-nonsense and flashy at the same time, and in some ways they succeeded.
Even before the Nokia N81’s official release date, it turned up in the middle of a scandal. First, Orange proclaimed it was not adding this device to its portfolio, since Nokia’s latest and greatest offspring shipped with bundled access to Nokia Music Store. Essentially, this service was a direct rival for this carrier’s own music shop. “3”, a British operator, followed in the footsteps of Orange shortly. However, Vodafone didn’t announce it was going to dump the N81, yet noted that it would never give it an aggressive advertising campaign for the very same reason. If you skim through all write-ups on this issue, it feels like this matter is extremely crucial for Nokia, and threatens its value-added services altogether. However it couldn’t be further from the truth in this case.
Mind the fact that carriers have been retailing the Nokia N95 armed with Nokia Music Store access as well and what a wild success it is. It appears this “forgetfulness” of carriers applies only to a number of select products. We won’t make guesses about why it is so, since the only thing that matter is that the N81 will be widely available on all markets, even though not in the guise of a carrier-branded device.
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Design, size, controls
The handset measures up at 102x50x17.9 mm and tips our scales at 140 grams. It doesn’t seem chubby or huge, yet is clearly fatter than most “slim” models from other manufacturers in this sense. However, as far as smartphones are concerned, it actually does qualify as a diminutive offering. The N81 isn’t much different from the Nokia N95 size-wise (99x50x20mm) – it is a tad taller, yet comes in with a more slender profile. That’s why you will never find this phone inconvenient to carry around.
The phone comes only in one color scheme these days – black casing with side-mounted light-brown accents (Warm Silver/Brown). While the maker’s official page calls its ‘Cocoa Brown’, the handset’s package comes with the name we mentioned above. There is a good chance that more trims will come along soon, like with dark-blue front plate, and, probably, red and white editions of the N81. Nokia opts to roll out new color swatches for carriers or Limited editions, which in the case of the N81 will follow roughly in spring 2008 along with the launch of N-Gage.
The front fascia’s plastic is quite fingerprint-prone, but there’s nothing you can do about it. If you can’t live without having your phone in pristine condition every time you look at it, then you should better get a cleaning cloth.
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The handset enjoys a standard controls layout and a somewhat queer keypad, but we’ll talk about it later in the review. For now, let’s us only say there is a microUSB-socket at the bottom alongside a slim charger slot, a microphone and a lanyard eyelet (on the left).
Two grill-covered loudspeakers are located on either side of the phone. A volume rocker sits on the right, accompanied by a dedicated camera button.
Flipping over to the top end, you will find a power key, which also doubles as a profile toggle while you are at the standby screen. The 3,5 mm audio jack is housed on the upper edge – having this onboard you can plug in your own pair of headphones. This side also rooms a hold switch for locking the keypad, however it proves to be of no real use with a headset connected to the phone – your finger eventually will bump into the headset’s plug. Frankly, it is not the best place to mount this switch on – it would be better off on one of the spines, thankfully, there is much leftover space available over there.
The rear of the N81 rooms a camera and a flash. Your brand-new device will also have a sticker with a guide on how to open the casing. Basically, there is nothing special to it, so this sticker is just another measure to prevent slow-witted users from cracking the phone.
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