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- Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 11 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
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3 out of 3 people found this review helpful
4.5 stars
"feature loaded, small form factor, great display + mapping GPS"
Pros: Nokia engineered overall design, s60 system interface, GPS + NokiaMaps=free, music apps + FM stereo radio + FM transmitter, battery life
Cons: Sandwhich case construction feels a little 'squeaky', earpiece sound quality a bit worse than past Nokias, speakerphone could be louder, phone face is smudge magnet
Summary: Have had about 2 weeks now and no problems, except for Nokias 'Phone Switch' s/w which didn't do the advertised BT import/export from my previous Nokia [6230], but I was able to connect via old Nokia Phone Suite s/w [vs. new N78 s/w] with provided cable and all data [contacts, texts, music, photos] imported to N78, no problem.
The S60 platform could be a little faster, but not bad. It looks very customizable, although I'm not freakish about that type of thing; it was easy to set my fav photo as a display wallpaper and it supposedly does a slide-show too. Some apps, like Nokia Maps take about 5 secs to launch, but hey, that's a lot of data and it is only a cell phone. Nokia maps and its built-in GPS receiver are the real show here. The receiver is a true receiver, in that it doesn't position you relative to the nearest cell transmitters[what I would call a poor mans GPS], but actually looks in the satellite constellation and finds the requisite 4 satellites to provide a true global fix. Because of this and, just like any GPS receiver- consumer or survey grade, the initial fix is going to take a least a minute. It could be Trimble, Ashtec or Garmin- they all take at least a minute. If you knew what was actually being done to convert signal, time and Solar ephemeris data to your unique position on the globe, you would be tolerant of that minute. Once it has the fix, it updates as you move and you can leave Maps and GPS on as you drive. In pure GPS display mode, it has a trip log displaying speed, time etc. True, to get turn by turn, you'll have to pay, but if you're that 'service dependant' why not just buy a 'stand-alone' Garmin for under $150. The trouble with those, the way I see it, is you have another set of batteries and h/w-s/w to deal with- not to mention the theif magnet if you forget to hide.
OK, the wifi is there- it connects with no problem, and once you get adept with navigating on a tiny screen, have fun at your local public hotspot or home n/w. The way I see it, if I had to check an important email [ebay bid] or look up a movie in the area or restaurant hours, that would be about it; with any device this small I gauge most human tolerance for a small screen at about 5-10 minutes- tops, but some of you are internet freaks, so it's there and works great.
The FM transmitter and camera are untested, but if they work out, thats just bonus points. I like the idea of listening to my music in the car without having to make a physical cable coonection each time, but I'm sure there will be a little loss of sound quality once you give up that hard wire connection. I mostly purchased the phone for the convergence of GPS w/map overlay and a stout phone/pda. I've always liked Nokias 'Organizer'; its a calendar/appt maker/notepad/reminder/file manager + all the other stuff, like alarm clock [I use it every morning] couldn't find countdown timer and stopwatch though. Maybe they can be downloaded.
Yeah, I know- it lacks a keyboard, but I'm not a big texter. If I really needed that, I'd buy a mini BT keyboard, but then, I may as well have a micro notebook pc with me. I'm just a Nokia junkie- they got me hooked on their style. [Some people wouldn't drive anything but a BMW- I'm one of them also.]
The few disappointments of the N78, so far, besides the $500 price tag, would be:
Nokias insistence on those small keyboards- at least give us 'glassses wear-ers' a bigger keyboard font. Fortunately, the display has 3 font sizes and is easy to read, even in bright daylight, given that its an electronic display.
The other minus is the contruction form- by using a few metallic frames around the keyboard they may have eliminated the bit of minor 'squeak' it exhibits. It also doesn't impress me like those solid little mono blocks of past Nokia legacy, which I have dropped so many times. I'm not sure this phone would survive. [I did buy a cheap hip-holster on ebay that fits perfectly] When I dont want to hip mount it, I have an old SanDisk neck lanyard that keeps it secure, albeit bouncing off my stomach. [Sort of geek-ish, but it won't fall out of my shirt pocket or lap onto the hard surface] On the otherhand, it is slim enough to carry in pocket. I can't believe I went on for a hundred words over a cell phone.
Otherwise, its a complete convergence device [without a keyboard] in a small form factor without having to flip or slide to deploy.
I like it.
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