Nokia N95, N95 8 GB, N82 Review: What do you want to know?

Stefan Constantinescu

Stefan Constantinescu (@WhatTheBit on Twitter) has loved technology since as far back as he can remember. It started with computers, but in the past few years his passion has turned to mobile devices. As a mobile phone enthusiast who lives and breathes devices that connect to the internet, he knows he is not alone with this radical fascination of all things wireless. He is strongly opinionated and enjoys a good debate so leave comments in his posts and he’ll get back to you! Stefan began blogging as a hobby in the fall of 2006 and joined IntoMobile in the summer of 2007. Later he got a job at Nokia in March 2008, but as of June 2009 he has rejoined the IntoMobile team. He is currently based out of Helsinki, Finland.

• Indra

  i always read intombile. i want to how is the sound quality of n82 through speaker and headsets when compared to n95??

• Stefan Constantinescu

  i can tell you now, much better. a whole lot better than the original N95.

• Kössi

  Does the n82 have animated menu icons? Damn, intomobile rocks!

• Jonatan

  Please can you find out if the N82 is compatible with the same remote controller (AD-54) as included in the N95 8GB’s box?
  (The N80 and AD-41 was a big disappointment for me since the software never really supported the music control keys with the keypad locked)

• Jackie

  Great work Intomobile !!!
  I want to know the audio output quality as well. Please compare it with the iphone, n95 , n91 & n81, both through the speakers & headphones.
  Thanks

• George Chuah

  Stefan! Good write up on the N82 launch! I’ve been a fan since ur early days before Intomobile! U r Awesome man!! keep it up.. Anyway, Do you think that u might comment on the sound quality thru speaker for both N82 and N95 8gb? I’m considering both models but I can’t seem to make the choice as N82 hv Xenon flash! But N95 8gb has 2.8 inch screen! one more thing, is the RAM on both N82 and N95 8gb (as in E90 too) the same?

• touzeen

  more importantly…..
  why are u naked in the pic?

• Jay

  Hola!

  I have a few things I’d like to know about the N82:

  * Build quality, a lot of people complained about the n95′s slider and buttons. How does the N82 compare?
  * GPS, is it faster on picking up the signal? both cold and warm start.
  * GPS, Does it hold the signal better than the N95 in urban areas?
  * SAR levels of the N82?
  * Are there any improvements in the webroswer, over the N95?
  * I pretty sure the answer is no, but I’ll ask to be 100% positive, the GPS is not SIRF III, right?!
  * This question is a rhetoric one, how freakin’ awesome is it to be working for intomobile and getting brand-spankin-new phones all the time?

  Keep doing a great job,
  Cheers.

• Stefan Constantinescu

  touzeen: my shirt is off, that is all

• Un fan

  I want to know if there’s a diference between the speed of the internal memory compared with the speed of the SD card and which is better. I want to know if the smallest fonts in the Opera Mini have problems anymore with the special letters/diacriticals in the 2.8in screen. Are there great improvements between the screens of N73 and N82, except the number of colours ? I am curious if the keypads rattle anymore. How’s the microUSB, are there any chances to breake it ? And last question, how’s the signal strenght for both phones ? 10X.

• norcalbarney

  I have three questions:

  1. Is the video editing application on the N82 any different from the N95-3?

  2. How are the N82 speakers for playing music compared to the N95-3 or the iPhone?

  3. Most importantly, why did you post a picture of yourself without a shirt?

• Tobias

  I would like to know if there are any changes to internet telephony from N95-1, stabilty and/or new features. Compatability with services like TruPhone or any random SIP-services.

  Hopefully i can have a look att this cool device this thursday ;D

• Chris

  Hi,
  When all the N series(i have n95) are going to have full bluetooth compatibility with cars(BMW,Audi,Mercedes).Right now no one can transfer the contacts to the car bluetooth

• mariokarter

  Does the label in the battery compartment of your N82 read “N82-1″ or just “N82.” (Because they wouldn’t leave it as “N82-1″ if there wasn’t a “N82-3″ in the works…hopefully) Any speculation on the possibility of a US 3G N82 would be helpful (like did Tomo say anything else about the possibility off camera?).

• Tor Slettnes

  Camera lens. Is it covered (like N95-1) or subject ot smudges and scratches (like N95 8GB and N95-3)?

  Battery life. (A problem with the N95-1).

  RAM. (Again, a problem with N95-1).

• Chris P

  I am slightly perturbed by the topless shot Stefan – mind you this is one of the most commented threads I have seen in a while – seems to work!:p

  Do you find the N82 a little bulky?

• iamclayscholes

  Stefan,

  the site is fantastic. keep up the outstanding work.
  Questions:

  1. How is the weight of the N82 compared to the N95 and also the N73 [just because they're so close in size]

  2. Build quality of the N82, is it overly plastic feeling. comparable to any other Nokias?

  3. The speed from opening the shutter, taking a pic and viewing it in the gallery. I don’t need specific seconds, just how the whole photo taking experience and time feels.

  Cheers.

  cs.

• reptile18

  speed and battery life for me as well, thanks.

• phoney

  n82 picture quality vs. n95?

  optical zoom?

  quality of autofocus?

  memory capability on all phones?

  Thanks.

• Martin Eyles

  What is sound quality through the 3.5mm jack like?

  Does it have any audio playback controls (maybe on the side), or must you control music with the d-pad when in the music player, and switch to the music player to control it if using other applications?

  Does it support 8GB memory cards?

  Is it made out of plastic or metal?

  Does it come with a desk charging stand?

  Basically, is it worth a music junkie moving up from an N91, or have Nokia still to produce a proper successor?

• Vineeth

  One samll question from my side:
  Does N82 have navi wheel or they removed it for actual release??

• Sid

  One really small question, does the n82 have the text to speech app tht the E-series and n81 have and which the n95′s lack ? thnx.

• Andrew

  I’d love to see photos of *people* (not shoes or books or some random office item on the floor) in low-light conditions. The type of photos you’d actually take on a camera phone, in a restaurant, pub, etc.

  A photo comparison against with the N82′s xenon next to the same shots with the N95 and the k800i, would be really telling as to where it lays against Nokia’s leader and SE’s current leader (as I see the K800i as rendering more reliably good shots than the K850i with current firmware).

  Cheers!
  Andy

• Anxious Shopper

  Strictly vis-a-vis the N95 8GB and in order of importance to me:

  1) Which has the better screen? Better outdoors in sunshine? Better for maps, web browsing? (I.e. does the bigger N95 8GB make it the better device?)

  2) Does the N82 have “true” GPS, can I use the maps and GPS without a data plan (although lock-on may take longer etc.)

  3) Is one better than the other WRT size, does one set in a pocket better than the other, just feel better as an always have on you device?

  4) The N95 8GB just seems cooler but the N82 seems to be the future (for the next 6mo and has the rocking camera. Which to buy for camera/video/web/maps?

  Giga thanks!

• PlayerKill

  I am sorry if I repeat some questions. I can’t be bothered to read all of the comments.

  1. I read that the sound quality is improved from the N95. Is it significantly improved? So what is better? The N95 8GB or the N82? How?

  2. I also heard that the loudspeakers aren’t that loud. Which one is louder, the N82 or the N95 8GB?

  3. The speakers are both at the same side now… What’s your input on that?

  4. Does the lens protector switch slide easily like the N95′s?

  5. The new number keys… They seem small and uncomfortable. Although, I read that it’s harder to push a different button by mistake. It makes sense, since the buttons are rather small. What would you say about this?

  6. Is the front metal faceplate a fingerprint magnet?

  7. The battery… It’s only 1050mAh compared to the N95 8GB’s 1200. But, it’s now Lithium Polymer instead of Lithium Ion. How is this battery to you? Which one has longer battery life, he N95 8GB or the N82?

  8. No infrared!!! Seriously?

• skr

  N82:

  While using the camera, is there any shortcuts mapped to keys? One click to switch to macro mode etc?

  Might be asked by now but how about the gps performance without a-gps? Hopefully the antenna placement helps compared to N95.

  How long does the battery last while using sports tracker? If I remember correctly, my N95 got a mere 4 hours of cycling out of it before screaming for recharging. It was before a-gps was available..

  Btw, is there any adapter for charger that is in a 90 degree angle or something.. As I used my N95 in situations I needed to charge it while being in my pocket. The charging port is in a terrible place on N82

• skr

  Maybe the “how long it plays music non-stop” -test will do, you don’t need to kill yourself by skiing 5h+

• Vikram

  Hi Stefan,

  I would like to know how is the gaming experience on N82 as compared to the N95 8Gb and N95. Thanx.

• Omar

  My question concerns all 3.Will they be getting flashlite 3, or is that only for FP2?

• janico

  I would like to know,
  1. As you know everyone is quite happy with the battery improvement in N95 8gb (1200mAH).
  Why Nokia has to reduce/change the battery from 1200mAH to 1050mAH in N82? Lithium Polymer performs better?
  2. It is a big deal to sacrifice 2.8″ to 2.4″? Because some said that even with 2.8″, watching full length movie is still very tiring/uncomfortable. So why we have to bother with smaller screen in N82?
  3. Can N82 play Ngage games in landscape mode?

• cintra

  I would like to know for how long the N82 can shoot a video, e.g. 5 minutes, an hour..?

• chris

  I think the point is that the N95 does not support the Bluetooth Phonebook Access Profile.

  If Nokia could address this in a firmware revision, they would have a large number of more satisfied and potentially loyal customers.

  Instead they continue to deny it is a problem with their phone and always ALWAYS refer you to the car kit manufacturer. The fact that the problem is independent of the car kit manufacturer seems to make no difference to them at all.

• dani2xll

  hasnt wednesday or thursday gone already for us to see this review?or am i mistaken and its a particular date its due out?

• Stefan Constantinescu

  it has it has

  i should never impose a deadline i don’t intend to keep

• Micke

  Ahh I hope it be soon at least on N82 , Im go to order N82 this weekend and also N95 .That had be nice hear littel of N82 (Its look real good and i really like the stuff in it)
  

• ZOD

  Nokia N95 has better speakers. Way louder and the speakers are placed on each side of the phone. The N82 on the other hand places the speakers on one side of the phone which is plain stupid. And because they put it on the same side, music sounds distorted. Basically in a nutshell it defeats the purpose of stereo.

  N95 has a bigger screen which makes a huge difference when surfing the web.

  Although the N82 has the rotate screen feature, it is very gimmicky. And does not work right away. You have to tilt it just right. N95 dual slider is much much more accurate.

  N82 wins hands down in the photo department. I have no issues with the camera. The flash is simply amazing.

  And lastly, the N95 is a much much better design. Because of the slider feature the N95 is a compact phone. N82 is really bulky. The keypads hurt your finger tips. Big step back from the N95. If they only made the N82 a slim phone then it would of trumped the N95 in design.

• Bim

  Does the n82 have any type of blackberry connect software ? or can it work with RIM’s blackberry server?

• Paul Ruff

  I have a N95, would like to know if there are any update/grades available, and or trade ins possiable?

• Kingshuk

  Can you please let me know if seperate subscription is needed to use the N95 8 GB GPS ? Also how can I enable text-to-speech option in this in built GPS ?

• omy

  is it trur that the new N95 8GB has problem shutting down and restarting by it self…please look into it

• AJIWE OLAWOLE SAMUEL

  WHAT DO I NEED TO DO WHEN MY NOKIA N95-2 IS NOT RESPONDING TO NETWORK?I MEAN IT’S BEEN SHOWING OFFLINE FROM THE DAY IT WAS SENT TO ME FROM UK TO NIGERIA.
  THE IMEI OF THE PHONE IS:356983014219700
  I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU VERY SOON FOR A FAVOURABLY RESULTS.

• sony ericsson rox

  n82 is better in takin pics…………………..n95 8 gb is better for lisenin muzic………………these are the 2 options u gotta choose frm (i chose n82 coz the speakers aren t that bad)

• Teef4

  Does anybody know where the Qualrec site has gone? According to my cars bluetooth hands free handbook, it solves all of my problems, it solves nothing if it is not there.
  First time I have seen this site, and it is depressingly accurate about N95-2 and Bluetooth Phonebook Access Profile! Keep up the good work.

  PS any ideas how to transfer my contacts from my N95-2 to a Blackberry Bold?

• sus

  Sorry to be blunt but could you tell me ho w to unlock a nokia n95-2 8gb on a 3 network uk.

• ernie flores

  please,can you give me some common problems of N95 8 GB
  can you explain to me what is the cause of mobile N95 8gb those who have block LCD but i receive call and i call

• lowiegie

  i want to ask on how can i see the memory and also the phone memory because i put pictures on it that was i think 10 pictures only and the memory is already full.