Is Nokia N81 worth buying in today's date??

Hey Evryone!!!
Seeing the price of n81 falling down so low as to finally fit into my budget(less then 15k), the big time question is, "Is It Worth Buying??" especially wid the meagre 2 mp camera wid no lens cover.also it was launched back in 2007 Q3, since then many new features(much better) have come up... yet its features cannot be completely ruled out, can they??
other options that i liked were-
#Sony Ericsson C510(recently launched).. nice cam features, yet, typical SE design..
#Nokia 6500 slide... (again, an older launch)
#SE w910i(no flash/autofocus)
are there any other fones(smartfones preferred) u wud suggest that fall in the range of 14-14.5 k??
what about HTC S710??

grin: Thanks in Advance!!! :grin:

)

Considering N81...its the best for music....its cam was never good.

It have 3.5 mm jack..8gb internal memory...wifi
only negative point i see is battery life...only 4hr of talktime is poor..

worth the money

U can also consider SE w705 @ 15k
*www.gsmarena.com/sony_ericsson_w705-2585.php

w705 is a damn gud fone.. bt again, the price tag here is 16.5... way abov my budget.. n i cant wait for it 2 cum down... SE g700 is there too(symbian os, touchscreen).. do u hav ny1 used that cell??

n81 is an old release.. i'd ask if you can stretch your budget by 1.5k then get N79.. pretty good hardware with 5mp of camera and symbian OS

if your budget is tightly set.. then you might wanna try N78.. it's a decent phone feature-wise (but only if you can manage to use the keypad)

T

N81 is a SUPERB MUSIC PHONE , one of the best i've ever heard , even better than ipods but the price is too high. If it was around 11k it would be good but not at 14k.
I'd suggest you to go for i450 . Also good sound quality , same os ,same (crap) camera but a lot cheaper. Or nokia 5320 if you you want nokia.

But it'd be best if you stretch your budget and get n79/82/ 5800. or you may consider to wait till june , a lot of phone is to be launched and those should push price little lower .

Also check upcoming 5630 xpressmusic . Nice specs for its price.

K

the os is decent, 9.2 i think ... most apps work on all 9.x fones
music is great
8gb of memory , wifi ...
cam is just terrible
data transfer to the 8gig internal mem is really really slow (400-700kbps)

if i were you and i wanted a smartfone , the n81 is a gud buy (u also get n78 in a very few places ... something funny bout that fone)
and if u are not particular bout a smartfone , c510+8gb m2 ...

All and all its smart phone..Its totally worth but cam not!!

Suggest you go for the W705. Dunno where you quoted that price from, but in shops here its available for 15k. The N81 is the crappiest phone with the worst build quality you will find.
And please guys. Dont act like an idiot and say that the N81 sounds better than an ipod.

Stretch ur budget a little bit and get the 5800 xm which is just gr8 in audio quality..It really rocks...

In this budget u can consider N78 or W705.

A

@dreamcatcher not getting that price fot W705 nywhere, what are your sources

Quoting dealers prince in kolkata.

A

well if it is that much low in Kolkata it will be same in Delhi and Mumbai

C

visor619 said:
w705 is a damn gud fone.. bt again, the price tag here is 16.5... way abov my budget.. n i cant wait for it 2 cum down... SE g700 is there too(symbian os, touchscreen).. do u hav ny1 used that cell??

I used to own G700. Its a pretty good phone but it uses UIQ which is pretty much dead. Also it has a few inherent bugs... the one which drove me to sell it off comes under messaging. After reading a msg when you press the back button the prv screen gets displayed twice or thrice... its very annoying when you get a lot of messages...
The touch screen is quite responsive(but it loses its calibration quite often, another bug. I dont know if any firmware releases have fixed them...). If you can live with few minor bugs then G700 is a good phone.

@dreamcatcher
Seriously man, w705@15k?? dont know bout ur sources bt i chkd out the price personally at 2 SE showrooms and a wholeseller that gives very nominal prices n there 2 the price ws mor than 16k....

@clayman
thanks for the stats of g700,it sounded fishy 2 me since the beginning..

@k4ce
ur using a 5320 ryt?? ny comments bout the small screen size.. thants the only point stopping me frm getting it...

c510 is a gr8 fone(nt smartfone),stil in my final list...
n bout putting in sum extra bucks.. that thing cannot stop ever..i mean, putting in a few mor k's wud get me a 5800, bt then putting in a few more wud get me an omnia..then e90...then xperia.. n the list goes on.. so budget pretty much set, do not hav 2 exceed 15k...

K

yup ... using a 5320 ... its a very decent fone ... 2in screen aint bad ... see i was previously using a 5610 wid a 2.2in screen and so as soon as i shifted , it felt really small ... now i'm pretty much used to it and not a hinderance anymore ... phone is nice and quick ... the images and videos look really sharp cos its QVGA screen squeezed into such small space ... battery is one other issue ... 2days max wid regular useage ...

overall , a very decent option ... cam only 2mp ... when i was buyin this , i had a budget of 12k ... bought it for 10k over n73 and i450 ... no regrets ...

i dunno when but the 5630 will be out ... its 5320 + a faster processor + wifi + bigger screen (2.2in) + better cam (3.2mp) ... it'll definately be within ur budget ..

SE showrooms?? Mann!!! They only quote mrps there. Try any standalone shop. The prices will be much cheaper. Just checked Krazzy's price list. Even he has quoted the W705 as 15k.

T

@dreamcatcher : no matter what you think or say , N81 does sound atleast as good as ,if not better , compared to ipod ipod , . I've checked side by side , with ep630 & shp2700 and compared to 6th gen ipod classic 80gb. With little bit tinkering with eq , it produce better bass(ipod eq is restrictive) . N81 is superb music phone .Its a fact and your bluff wont change it. Built quality may be hit or miss , camera is worst ever in nseries,it is heavy and big, but as a MUSIC PHONE nothing beats it .

anyway , to op , if i were you , with a strict budget , i'd have waited for 5630 . should be priced around 10-12k and perfectly fits your need.

Dont even think of uiq . Its officially dead platform with zero support.

Other then build quality and camera there isnt much to worry about in n81 .If you are looking for a phone for about 2 years then you shouldnt worry . If you want a phone for say 25 years then may god help you decide . If you are buying n81 then make sure to get the latest firmware . and also ditch the supplied headphones . Comparing n81 with my i450 , n81 is the winner and also sounds better then i450 !! there is one guy in this thread going nuts over n81 , says it has bad built quality and is heavy , its just 140gms ..... what you weak ? Dont listen to anyone and just go and take a good demo of the phone in a mall or nokia gallery and i am sure you will take the right decision .

last heard that n82 is available at 17k someplace..i think bangalore croma .. If u can get ur hands on n82 at that price then forget every other phone .. no phone comes even closer..

and n81 is a fantastic music phone. And its build quality is pretty good. Its much much better than n85 i had.

Yea right. N81 and better than the ipod. Ahh well. I guess I had made a post somewhere that even the K850 was better than the N81. But people here tend to ignore facts for their own personal cause.

The w705 uses almost the same hardware as the W995 and i daresay, people here would agree that the W995 is the best sounding phone in the market right now, with frequency response, THD, everything better than any other phone out there. Ooh bt, the N81 doesnt even come close.

T

Actually n81's built quality as i have said , is hit or miss . When i went to nokia dealer to first see the phone the sales rep was using a phone with ''HORRIBLE'' built quality . But the piece my friend got is pretty good. It was actually better than n95.

@yogi , i've seen the same with n85 , ie hit or miss .

Btw , new firmware on n81 is amazing , fl3 supported browser + improved navi wheel + transition effect , great improvement over stock firmware.

N

Tamoghno said:
Actually n81's built quality as i have said , is hit or miss . When i went to nokia dealer to first see the phone the sales rep was using a phone with ''HORRIBLE'' built quality . But the piece my friend got is pretty good. It was actually better than n95.

@yogi , i've seen the same with n85 , ie hit or miss .

Btw , new firmware on n81 is amazing , fl3 supported browser + improved navi wheel + transition effect , great improvement over stock firmware.

Lots of improvements has been done by nokia with the new firmware. I purchased n81 8 months back for 14k and I guess the price is still the same. If you are looking for gaming and music device, I recommend you to go for n81 but remember camera is not worth at all. If you are looking for camera phone, expand your budget and there are lots of options.

PS: My n81 still rocks over n95 for gaming and sound quality plus no hangs till yet.

n81 has ngage too

I agree with Yogi..If the price of N82 has been slashed then u must surely consider the N82 for once. U can even extend ur budget and go for the 5800 xm.. It is a gr8 phone 2.

I can't comment on N81 as I don't have first had experience of it..

Tamoghno said:
Actually n81's built quality as i have said , is hit or miss . When i went to nokia dealer to first see the phone the sales rep was using a phone with ''HORRIBLE'' built quality . But the piece my friend got is pretty good. It was actually better than n95.

@yogi , i've seen the same with n85 , ie hit or miss .

Btw , new firmware on n81 is amazing , fl3 supported browser + improved navi wheel + transition effect , great improvement over stock firmware.

n85 has serious build quality issues. Even if u get a perfectly built one, its sure to give u some prob after 3-4 months of use. Mine was pretty perfect but then rest is history. And its been well over a month since its lying in service station and not been replaced. Stay away from n85. period.

Thanks a lot guys for ur suggestions.. its really easier for me to decide... 2maro, goin 2 go for the 81's demo n chk its build quality which many of u r against.. n as for 'bulky' n '140 grams,sooo heavy!!!!!', id say, guys, cum on.. preferring fones for their weight is really stupid acc 2 me.. wat diff wud a 140 gm fone make ovr a 96 gm fone wen in ur hand??? wud it cause muscle strains or make u tired???(srry , bt it really is vry stupid...)
camera is sumthng il hv 2 decide.. as n81 cam=****.. bt id prefer n81+**** cam rather than n78+**** keypad layout....
i possibly cant go to kolkata to get a 705@15k, bt wl try bargaining at a few wholesellers...
hv seen the demo of c510..pretty impressive(new too)stuff... guess it comes down to 81 vs c510 vs 705..
wil tel u bout the day's outcome... n thanks again guys

^^ just try to put N81 in ur tight jeans pocket or ur T-shirt pocket and u would know the meaning of bulky :-D

I used n70 which was some 126gm and now using SE T700 which is just 78 gm....I can see a lot of difference not while handling but while carrying....
Still weight is the last thing we consider :smile:

sujoyp said:
^^ just try to put N81 in ur tight jeans pocket or ur T-shirt pocket and u would know the meaning of bulky I used n70 which was some 126gm and now using SE T700 which is just 78 gm....I can see a lot of difference not while handling but while carrying....
Still weight is the last thing we consider

Dude its not that bad as you are saying . Have u tried n81 , it fits perfectly in my hand and one hand operation is easy too . Previously i had n91 , lol . Whats difference between 126 gm and 80gm I really cant understand , are you that weak ?
By the way for the threadstarter n78 is also a better deal then n81 if you can find one , i personally did not find any keypad issues .
I checked out W705 and it looks impressive , only that it is slightly overpriced , 12-13k would have been perfect for the features it provides .

T

Btw , if you have a nice pair of earphone like ep630 or something , take it with you , you'll be amazed to see the sound quality when you play with eq. Also try some game like fifa in landscape mode .

I agree with you about n81+ cam. Cause even a 5k digicam will beat the **** out of even innov8 / omnia. Feature and performence wise.

@ yogi

What problem you faced with n85 ? ,my neighbour's first one had seriously loose slider , but after replacing it , its running fine for few month , no problem at all.

n85 probs- loose slider, d pad stopped working all of a sudden, software still not stable enough, camera is poor compared to n82 , gps was not working from day one. Got rid of it and back on to n82. and that crappy led flash..

A

well, I have seen the prices, in univercell they quote price for W705 as 15.7K, but after that they add tax and say 400 ruppees charged for delivery so the price comes at 16.4K

and in shop also they say they will add up the delivery charge.
I checked in a locak shop they too were charging above 16K.

This is Bangalore.
I do not know dreamcatcher, how the pricing is done in Kolkatta.

Dunno man. Here they charge on the dealer price, the price at which the dealer buys the phone. Even in mumbai, the w705 costs 15k. Anyways..so have you decided??