Nokia N81 review
The Nokia N81 is referred to as the little brother of the Nokia N95 and is a very powerful multimedia device. This phone comes in a choice of colours, Cobalt Blue or Graphite Grey. The design of the Nokia N81 is awesome, its slightly heavier and chunky than its big brother, the N95, but slightly slimmer. Pick up the N81 and the first thing you will think is 'WOW, there's a lot of keys and buttons! This is due to the dedicated gaming keys, as well as the play/pause, rewind, forward & stop for playing you music and videos. The menus and settings are extremely complex but offer good control of all the functions the phone has too offer. If you like SmartPhones then you will love the N81.
The N81 has a high quality screen with 16.7 million colours and 320 x 240 pixel resolution which is the same as the N95, however it is 15% smaller. The N81 camera is way behind its big brother, the N95 with only 2 megapixels and no autofocus. If the camera is an important function to you, you'd be well advised to go for the N95. There is no SatNav either; however there is an optional extra for the Nokia Wireless GPS module. Nokia Maps application is included. Let's look at some of the positive features on the N81. Its huge 8 Gbytes if internal memory is its first selling point, this would hold up to 2000 tracks. The music player really is on top of its game and will challenge the iPhone for top spot. It supports all the standards, MP3, WMA and AAC. The N81 can sync. music with Windows media player and the playlist tools are fantastic. The 5 band equaliser, 3.5mm headphone jack and Bluetooth® stereo headsets support make the music player a joy to use. The FM Radio is pretty good too, with support from the visual radio which lets you know what song is currently playing. If you a love your music then this phone could be for you!
The N81 also focus's on gaming, which can be played in either portrait or landscape mode, and makes full use of the huge 16.7 million colours. The N81's hidden gem is that it offers support for the Nokia's NGage series of games. There is a wide range of fantastic games to choose from with high quality 3D graphics. If you're a serious gamer then you should consider this phone.
As with all smartphones they can be slow or freeze if you push it too hard. The 8 Gbytes of memory definitely helps to reduce this though. If you have not used a SmartPhone before you will have to be prepared to invest some time to really get the best out of the N81. If you don't like high tech then you'll be well advised to steer clear. This phone is an great alternative to the N95
Nokia N81 specification
- Operating system: Series 60 version 3.1, Symbian 9.2
- 2 megapixel camera with 20x digital zoom and flash
- VGA video capture at 15 frames/second
- Front-facing camera for video calls
- RealPlayer Media Player
- Display: 16.7 million colours, 240 x 320 pixels (2.4 inches)
- Nseries music player supports MP3 (VBR), AAC, eAAC+, AAC+, WAV, WMA/M4A
- Stereo FM radio with Visual Radio support
- Nokia Stereo Music Headset supplied
- Gaming: supports N-Gage games (Space Impact Light, Asphalt game demo, Fifa soccer 2007 demo games included)
- Messaging: SMS, MMS, e-mail with support for images, videos, music and documents
- Talking ringtone
- Speaker independent name dialing
- Voice commands and voice recorder
- Speed dialing
- Integrated hands-free speaker
- Automatic answer with compatible headset / car kit
- Automatic redial
- Internet calls (VoIP)
- Nokia push to talk (PoC)
- Java MIDP 2.0
- Advanced contacts database with support for multiple phone and e-mail details per entry, also supports thumbnail pictures and groups
- Nokia Web Browser with Mini Map
- Memory: 8 Gbytes (supports MicroSD™ memory cards)
- Connectivity: Bluetooth® 2.0, USB 2.0 WLAN (802.11 b/g)
- 3G (WCDMA 2100) + Quadband GSM E850/900/1800/1900MHz
- Talktime: 3 hours (3G) - 4 hours (2G)
- Battery standby: up to 400 hours
- Music playback time: up to 11.5 hours
- Size: 102 x 50 x 18 mm
- Weight: 140g
Nokia N81 consumer reviews
Read what other thought of the Nokia N81. Why not add you own Nokia N81 review by clicking the Add your Review tab above.Reviewed by Assam from London, UK on 04 December 2008
Rating:
Don't buy it 
...and lest we forget:
* charging socket is really fragile and wears out quickly, needing either fiddling, a replacement or will simply not charge your phone
* does not have 3D capabilities form games (unlike the N95) even though touted as a phone for gamers
* media buttons have a delay when pressed and are so close together that you sometimes accidentally skip or stop the song instead of pausing it
Reviewed by Assam from London, UK on 02 December 2008
Rating:
Don't buy it Do not buy this phone. Why?
* Cannot stop shutter sound or flash on camera unless you remember to switch to silent mode and edit the flash setting as it remembers fuck all
* included earphones are rubbish and give more sound on the people around you than yourself
* MP3 player does not keep pause information between reboots (so forget a 2h megamix and if you split the file you will have gaps between the tracks) and stays always on, hogging memory
* only accepts signed applications
* camera is useless and gives a green hue
Reviewed by Sam from Bangalore, India on 23 October 2008
Rating:
Okay, but seen betterThe phone is extremely good...looks great, feels great, supports ngage games, blah blah...nut a few problems are blighting this awesome phone..
-The camera sucks...even though it is 2mp, n72's camera gives a much more clear picture.
-If you want to install cracked ngage games, find a new way cause the trk application does not install on it, as it shows an error that the application is built in.
-You will go mad trying to install applications since the damn thing keeps showing a "certificate error" or "certificate expired" message. The phone can only accept signed applications.
Reviewed by Levis from Dubai, United Arab Emirates on 02 September 2008
Rating:
I WANT ONE!! 
I have this myself and it is absolutely wonderful . I have no complains what so ever and it is truly worth the money . In my opinion it was way better than N95 and my friend who owns a N95 agrees too. The only problem with this handset is that it is a bit fragile. besides that it is 100/100
Reviewed by WELOU B. PAGUIA from ZAMBOANGA SIBUGAY, Philippines on 27 August 2008
Rating:
Okay, but seen betterIM COMFUSE WITH THIS UNIT OF N81 MODEL IF THIS UNIT HAS A ANTI VIRUS ATTACHE.../////..PLS REPLY MY PROBLEM
Reviewed by Daniella George from Kuala lumpur, Malaysia on 14 July 2008
Rating:
Good mobile phoneIt's quite a phone i must say,i reckon the N81 is better in the other colour though "BLUE" it is absolutely irisistably gorgeous.With all these been said,it is indeed a GOOD PHONE,the functions are quite fascinating.I use an IPHONE myself, it does as its own advantages and disadvantage as well like every other phone. I really do think Nokia phones are the best(mostly in terms of its solidity)i would definately discad my IPHONE for a Nokia phone without blinking.
Reviewed by belema fiberesima from abuja, Nigeria on 18 June 2008
Rating:
Okay, but seen betterlove having a phone with a good camera or why not a camera with a phone, the sony ericsson k850 is almost there but clumsy, the nokia 95 is a fine phone but expensive in nigeria. sim and phone contacts shoulde not appear on the screen the same time, rather introduce a diffrerent entry for each application. what is a 2 mega pixel phone doing on the 81, have you guys stopped thinking, please find a way of allowing me to download upgrades for too liitle camera.
Nokia N81 Deals
Currently there are no deals available for the Nokia N81. Below are some Nokia deals for other handsets that may interest you.| Phone | Price plan | Minutes | Texts | Line rental | APM average per month | Go To Deal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 18 mth contract |  Nokia X6 on O2 50 (18) | 50 | Unlimited | £15 | £15 |
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