DIGIT-ARC read-only archive · snapshot: July 23, 2026

N85 Opinions?

67 posts · originally from https://geek.digit.in/community/threads/n85-opinions.100900/

ring_wraith
ring_wraith Original post #1
Oct 30, 2008 at 11:56 AM
Anyone got any opinions of the N85? Looks great on paper, but what I really wanted to know is it still as slow as the N73 ME or as fast as the N82 or, dare I wish it, faster?

Anything is welcome.
krates
krates #2
Oct 30, 2008 at 1:37 PM
it is much faster than N73
krazzy
krazzy #3
Oct 31, 2008 at 6:21 PM
It is mostly the same as N82. But when it comes to the graphics processing, N82 is better due to the graphics accelerator.
uppalpankaj
Oct 31, 2008 at 7:54 PM
N85 has a single core proccy (369 Mhz) which is faster than the dual core proccy (332 Mhz) of N82...But N82 seems 2 b really snappy due to the presence of the graphics accelarator which is missing in N85...
Pathik
Pathik #5
Oct 31, 2008 at 8:02 PM
Nothing revolutionary.

Better, bigger display than the N82. And the design / form factor maybe.

Other than that, the N82 is better.
yogi7272
Oct 31, 2008 at 9:00 PM
In my book n85 way way better than n82 . Xenon flash is the only thing going for n82. Put it in either n95 8gb or n85 and n82 is a dead duck.

Mind u, I have first hand experiene of n82 , n95 8gb and now using n85 :)
ring_wraith
Oct 31, 2008 at 9:03 PM
I heard the build quality is absolutely amazing. And let's be honest here, the N82 kind of looks like a brick. The kind of brick you want to hurl at Britney or Micheal.

Okay, the last sentence was unnecessary, but I had to do it.
Power UP
Oct 31, 2008 at 9:18 PM
N85 has a single core proccy (369 Mhz) which is faster than the dual core proccy (332 Mhz) of N82...But N82 seems 2 b really snappy due to the presence of the graphics accelarator which is missing in N85...
lol :D
Here read this

*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Instruments_OMAP

*focus.ti.com/general/docs/wtbu/wtb...entId=4671&navigationId=11990&templateId=6123

Texas Instruments OMAP processors give more performance but are more costly. And nokia did the the usual business tactics of putting a cheaper and slower single core processor.
Heck they even removed the graphics accelerator chip in their newer phones :rolleyes:
yogi7272
Oct 31, 2008 at 9:24 PM
I heard someone here mentioning that samsung oled display in i7110 to be better than n85 .

read on

*translate.google.com/translate?u=*...amsung-i7110.shtml&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&sl=ru&tl=en

Clearly mentioned that display of n85 is better than samsung oled display of i7110. some people on this forum are not just hardcore fanboys but hardcore anti fanboys as well.
dreamcatcher
Oct 31, 2008 at 10:00 PM
*www.mobile-review.com/review/image/samsung/i7110/display/my-079.jpg

*www.mobile-review.com/review/image/samsung/i7110/display/my-080.jpg

And somehow, the pic used to compare to the N85 has lower brightness than the one used with the N79.i dunno how this is possible.Oh I forgot.This is mobile-review.

*www.mobile-review.com/review/image/samsung/i7110/display/my-078.jpg

Btw, the pic to the left is that of the i7110.
krazzy
krazzy #11
Oct 31, 2008 at 11:02 PM
^^ The picture is taken in dark. In Nokia phones, the light sensor reduces the display brightness in the dark. That's why the N79 display looks darker.

Okay, the last sentence was unnecessary, but I had to do it.

And you spelt 'Michael' wrong. :)
dreamcatcher
Oct 31, 2008 at 11:09 PM
Dude, eevery phone has a light sensor.Its not always Nokia who has it. N82 has patheitc out of the box display.

I have no qualms about the N79 display, its just that the i7110 looks so much birghter in this pic and sufddenly, in the same circumstances, with the N85, it looks cold.Anyways,the leaf comparison between the N85 and i7110, the i7110 wins hands down.

OT

Btw, whats with Nokia reducing the brightness when its dark?? Normal people would need a brighter display when it is dark and a less bright one when it is bright outside. I really see no sense.
Cool G5
Cool G5 #13
Oct 31, 2008 at 11:14 PM
^^ The picture is taken in dark. In Nokia phones, the light sensor reduces the display brightness in the dark. That's why the N79 display looks darker.



And you spelt 'Michael' wrong. :)

You got it wrong here krazzy. ;)
The light sensor increases the display brightness when the phone is used in low light conditions.
yogi7272
yogi7272 #14
Nov 1, 2008 at 12:14 AM
clearly stated in review that n85 has better display than samsung handset .

Anyways my n85 kicks butt of most handsets out there.

These days, smape and mobie review is what i trust most. Those guys have much more mobile handset exp than any soul on this forum. enough said :)

Not arguing stupid fanboys anymore here.
waste of time. hee hee..
dreamcatcher
Nov 1, 2008 at 12:34 AM
Anyway,result is for everyone to see.
krazzy
krazzy #16
Nov 1, 2008 at 1:04 AM
You got it wrong here krazzy. ;)
The light sensor increases the display brightness when the phone is used in low light conditions.

Nope. You are wrong. :) The display brightness in Nokia phones reduces in the dark while the keypad light turns ON while in bright surroundings the display becomes brighter while the keypad light goes OFF. The reason for this is that in darker surroundings, you don't need a brighter display as it hurts the eyes. I myself turn down my brightness at night since continuously looking at a bright display in the dark is not comfortable. But in brighter surroundings like outdoors under sunlight you need to see the display clearly so the brightness is turned up or else you won't see the display contents at all. Try this while you are outdoors during the day: turn down the display brightness all the way down. You won't see anything. You need as much brightness as possible in bright surroundings. Hence Nokia's sensor works quite logically and that's the way it is in all phones with light sensors.

@dreamcatcher the difference in Samsung's display brightness in comparison with N85 and N79 is because of the camera that was used to photograph them. While shooting i7710 and N79, since N79's display was dimmer, the camera boosted the brightness to compensate for it, so i7710's already bright display looks even brighter. But while comparing with N85 both the phones have nearly the same brightness hence the camera's brightness wasn't that high which is why the Samsung looks a bit darker here.

As for N82's reduced brightness, that was pathetic but then that's just how Nokia rolls. They purposefully introduce flaws into their phones so they don't become perfect and don't compromise the sales of their other phones. The same reason why N85 lacks a xenon flash. You can't have it all in a Nokia phone. You win some, you lose some.
uppalpankaj
Nov 1, 2008 at 9:35 AM
Is there any site which provides comparison of N82 with N85 particularly in the cam department??
Zangetsu
Zangetsu #18
Nov 1, 2008 at 11:35 AM
Dude, eevery phone has a light sensor.Its not always Nokia who has it. N82 has patheitc out of the box display.

Dude..u need a powerhouse battery backup 4 a brighter display....& N82's display is not BAD @ all u can c everything crystal clear...:D

& other than that 2 compare the real power of the proccy in Nokia phones with the non-proccy fones...just convert a HD video to 320*240 resolution .H264 format then play dat file in both fones u will c the difference...in speed...:cool:
dreamcatcher
Nov 1, 2008 at 11:47 AM
Dude..u need a powerhouse battery backup 4 a brighter display....& N82's display is not BAD @ all u can c everything crystal clear...:D

& other than that 2 compare the real power of the proccy in Nokia phones with the non-proccy fones...just convert a HD video to 320*240 resolution .H264 format then play dat file in both fones u will c the difference...in speed...:cool:

What do you mean by non-proccy phones??
Dude, HD video or whatever video, if you convert it to mp4 at 320x240 it wil play.he C905 is quite capable.
Cool G5
Cool G5 #20
Nov 1, 2008 at 11:56 AM
^Try making it to a more heavy one(640*480,stereo sound,30 FPS), I am damn sure it will faulter in SE ;)
dreamcatcher
Nov 1, 2008 at 12:11 PM
Stereo sound?? LOL...if you dunno, SE phones RECORDS vids in stereo. Will, surely try it when i get my phone. :)
Cool G5
Cool G5 #22
Nov 1, 2008 at 12:29 PM
^ I know that quite well. ;)
Still benchmark it, so all can know how capable or uncapable it is :D
dreamcatcher
Nov 1, 2008 at 12:56 PM
As in benchmarks. SE phones rock in most.
Power UP
Power UP #24
Nov 1, 2008 at 3:08 PM
As in benchmarks, then here is one
*www.jbenchmark.com/result.jsp

All i can see is Nokia and Motorola on the top. No don't get me wrong. I am not bashing SE, as it is probably better in some other areas.
But i do hear a lot about SE being god in java performance, but this is something totally unexpected ;)
Zangetsu
Zangetsu #25
Nov 1, 2008 at 3:28 PM
As in benchmarks, then here is one
*www.jbenchmark.com/result.jsp

All i can see is Nokia and Motorola on the top. No don't get me wrong. I am not bashing SE, as it is probably better in some other areas.
But i do hear a lot about SE being god in java performance, but this is something totally unexpected ;)

Nice response...:D Long Live Nokia...:arrow::arrow::arrow:
dreamcatcher
Nov 1, 2008 at 3:30 PM
Check the stats here.N85 vs W980.Also, theres one in the C905 link.

*www.smape.com/en/reviews/sony_ericsson/Sony_Ericsson_W980i-rev.html

Hmm...I dubnno why SE wins in almost all of them .:D
Zangetsu
Zangetsu #27
Nov 1, 2008 at 5:09 PM
Is there any site which provides comparison of N82 with N85 particularly in the cam department??

here it is...:D
*thenokiablog.com/2008/10/25/nokia-...b-vs-nokia-n96-camera-flash-test-in-darkness/

*www.mobileworldinnovation.com/2008/10/my-nokia-n85-unboxing-1st-impression.html
uppalpankaj
Nov 1, 2008 at 5:26 PM
@Karan.. Thanks a lot 4 the links..

offtopic: Just check out the following link:

*www.phonearena.com/htmls/History-of-the-top-five-phone-manufacturers-article-a_3083.html

A very nice read...
krates
krates #29
Nov 1, 2008 at 8:56 PM
lol one thing only thing and the best thing i like about symbian is you don't have to convert any movie just install core player

and put all the 700 mb movies

they play without any lag

unlike SE dumb phones that you have to convert each and every video to 3gp or mp4 time consuming dumb process :lol:

so N85 is better than C905 in my opinion
ring_wraith
Nov 2, 2008 at 9:54 AM
lol one thing only thing and the best thing i like about symbian is you don't have to convert any movie just install core player

and put all the 700 mb movies

they play without any lag

unlike SE dumb phones that you have to convert each and every video to 3gp or mp4 time consuming dumb process :lol:

so N85 is better than C905 in my opinion

Seriously? What Player is this, and on what phone have you tested it? My PSP has issues playing DivX @720x480 without lag if it is unconverted.
krazzy
krazzy #31
Nov 2, 2008 at 12:04 PM
Seriously? What Player is this, and on what phone have you tested it? My PSP has issues playing DivX @720x480 without lag if it is unconverted.
The one and only. The uber-awesome. The baap of all mobile media players. CorePlayer. If the phone has graphics accelerator like N82, then the performance is even better. Heck, even on my non-graphics accelerated Nokia 5700 I can play 30fps VGA files with this player, which is otherwise impossible with the default player.
krates
krates #32
Nov 2, 2008 at 1:54 PM
Seriously? What Player is this, and on what phone have you tested it? My PSP has issues playing DivX @720x480 without lag if it is unconverted.

I use it with N73.

do you want me to post screenshots ?
Pathik
Pathik #33
Nov 2, 2008 at 3:08 PM
^^ The picture is taken in dark. In Nokia phones, the light sensor reduces the display brightness in the dark. That's why the N79 display looks darker.

Exactly. I suppose you should capture the images with different phones but check them out only on one phone / display. Display brightness isn't a judge of camera quality.
Zangetsu
Zangetsu #35
Nov 3, 2008 at 10:12 AM
The one and only. The uber-awesome. The baap of all mobile media players. CorePlayer. If the phone has graphics accelerator like N82, then the performance is even better. Heck, even on my non-graphics accelerated Nokia 5700 I can play 30fps VGA files with this player, which is otherwise impossible with the default player.

Absolutely correct!!!
I played the same .mp4 file (320*240) in my frnd's 5320 XpressMusic fone...(with real player) but the fone hanged on the 1st frame itself...:cool:
Cool G5
Cool G5 #36
Nov 3, 2008 at 12:53 PM
The inbuilt real player sucks. Sometimes it plays only audio, sometimes it lags heavily.
Core Player FTW !!!
yogi7272
yogi7272 #37
Nov 6, 2008 at 11:32 AM
A bit offtopic ..but very interesting read

*www.gsmarena.com/8_megapixel_grand_shootout-review-296.php

results are there to be seen..i guess we all now know which handset is 8mp champ :) not icluding xenon flash in innov8 is really stupid.

wth is nokia ? hope they are preparing some monster of a device with 8mp cam ..
krates
krates #38
Nov 6, 2008 at 12:15 PM
^^ hope they make a 10MP ....
dreamcatcher
Nov 6, 2008 at 12:46 PM
ahem.But Macro C905-2/10???

cummon, check out the pics in mobile-review or smape, they are awesome.The Flash C905 simply blew evryone away tho..

Excluding video recording

innov8-81
renoir-80
C905-77
pixon-67
Third Eye
Third Eye #40
Nov 6, 2008 at 3:22 PM
The inbuilt real player sucks. Sometimes it plays only audio, sometimes it lags heavily.
Core Player FTW !!!

But it does not supports rm format and fails at playing recorded video.
krates
krates #41
Nov 6, 2008 at 9:02 PM
ahem.But Macro C905-2/10???

cummon, check out the pics in mobile-review or smape, they are awesome.The Flash C905 simply blew evryone away tho..

Excluding video recording

innov8-81
renoir-80
C905-77
pixon-67

Well shocked ti see the pics taken by renoir really they are damn great....

but overall C905 is the best cam phone.....

due to XENON flash ...................
yogi7272
yogi7272 #42
Nov 7, 2008 at 12:46 AM
*www.phonearena.com/htmls/GSM-Cameraphone-Comparison-Q4-2008-review-r_2039-p_5.html
yogi7272
yogi7272 #43
Nov 8, 2008 at 1:08 PM
*www.gsmarena.com/nokia_n85-review-297.php

n85 review --

ok among the cons mentioned , here is what i have experienced ..

1. though there is lot of noise in viewfinder when taking photos in low light , in good light there is not a single problem ..i also like the vibrant colour reproduction in n85.. i always thought n82 to produce dull colours .. and i did not like n95 8gb cam at all after using n82 .. during good light i will go with n85 type cam..

2. image zooming problem is not there in my n85 .. zooming is smooth
3.office document editing - u can loads of third party soft to do that
4. navi wheel is good ..takes some time to get used to .. but its very cool ..i liked it //
5.Not the best sunlight legibility- sadly this is very true ..

so overall for me the only con is sunlight legibility .. but i guess u dont stand under sun all the time while ur using ur phone, now do u? :)
krates
krates #44
Nov 8, 2008 at 7:28 PM
according to gsm N85 ain't got the best cam i think it is still N82
uppalpankaj
Nov 8, 2008 at 7:33 PM
Yes I have read a lot of reviews regarding the cam of N85....The cam of N82 with Xenon flash definitely out performs N85's cam...

N82 is still the best in the cam department (of course in 5 MP category)
yogi7272
yogi7272 #46
Nov 9, 2008 at 11:32 AM
guys n82 is fully matured device ..on its fourth firmware and n85 is just out with its first firmware and hence let it improve with one or two firmware and then its right time to compare the two ..

in night photos n82 is king .. but i do like the photos taken by n85 during daylight .. mind u i have used n82 for a very long time hence i have pretty good first hand exp .. Though friends of mine think that n82 is still best among these three.. ie n82 , n85 and n95 8gb for camera ..

also nokia still does not know how to build a sturdy slider which does not wobble in any direction .. also i will alert people not buy n85 now .. wait a bit ..there seems to be some problems assiciated with current batch of n85 now .. slider wobbling , gps not working, navi wheel not working properly are few problems faced by people ..my gps is not working ..
N
nikhilpai #47
Nov 9, 2008 at 2:39 PM
also nokia still does not know how to build a sturdy slider which does not wobble in any direction .. also i will alert people not buy n85 now .. wait a bit ..there seems to be some problems assiciated with current batch of n85 now .. slider wobbling , gps not working, navi wheel not working properly are few problems faced by people ..my gps is not working ..

So your N85 slider is wobbly too ? Or were u just referring to slider problems faced by others?
yogi7272
yogi7272 #48
Nov 9, 2008 at 5:28 PM
slight movement from left to right in closed position .. gps is not working too .. also sending a file through bluetooth to nokia s40 phones seems to be a problem .. like 5610 , 5300 etc

also its high time nokia should start shipping some good quality earphones like ep630 with their handsets .. the current ones are pathetic ..and high end ones should ship with stereo bluetooth headset ..
gdatuk
gdatuk #49
Nov 10, 2008 at 10:50 AM
how much does it cost?
K
Kalyan #50
Nov 20, 2008 at 11:24 AM
@yogi,, can you please confirm the cpu speed of the N85? When opened SystemInfo in X-Plore, and SP-Benchmark, the CPU speed is shown as 192 MHz. In GSM arena, it is shown as
microSD (TransFlash), up to 8GB, buy memory
- 85 MB internal memory
- ARM 11 369 MHz processor

Nokia site mentions:

Memory

microSD memory card slot, hot swappable, max. 8 GB (someone said that the max is 32 GB)
74 MB internal dynamic memory
78 MB internal NAND flash memory (What does these mean? which is RAM?)


. For N82, gsmarena shows - 100 MB internal memory - 128 MB SDRAM Memory - ARM 11 332 MHz processor. Doesnt the N85 have RAM? How do I know the processor speed in the phone with the inbuilt settings? Is there anything like the amd cool running mode or something which utilizes only a part of the processor speed? if so, is there any way to enable the full speed?


Is there any configuration to view the startup files, running services?

another qn. when I exit all the applications and return to standby screen and press and hold the menu button, the screen shows two applications running: menu and standby. In other symbian phones, it shows only the standby. does this happen in your phone too? Are the extra keys for gaming used only in ngage or can they be configured for sis games and java games?
yogi7272
yogi7272 #51
Nov 20, 2008 at 11:56 AM
n85 has arm 11 369 mhz single proci and 128 mb ram. Whereas n82 has arm 11 332 mhz dual proci. Due to different hardware platform , n82 has 92 mb ram free whereas n85 has 75 mb ram free after fresh bootup.

And about the process and apps running in background, there is a prog called jbak task manager. About gaming keys, i dont have much idea as i am not into gaming that much.
K
Kalyan #52
Nov 20, 2008 at 1:13 PM
But why do the applications show the speed as 192 MHz?
Cool G5
Cool G5 #53
Nov 20, 2008 at 5:04 PM
But why do the applications show the speed as 192 MHz?


X-Plore has problems detecting the proccies. Even my 5700 which has ARM 11 369 Mhz is shown as 192 MHz in X-Plore. Don't worry, it's just a software bug and nothing else. ;)
sujoyp
sujoyp #55
Nov 23, 2008 at 11:13 AM
Just saw "mobiles & more" at zee business.....expert says that N85 is good for nothing....

Not the best camera..(he wanted optical zoom at this price)
Not the best sound..(wanted 3d surround sound)
No good gaming hardware...(dont know what he wanted)
he was furious that at this price no touch screen:D
gave only 3 stars..

He compared it with Sony ericsson G900 (claimed it to be better selection then n85:p)

what u say;)
krazzy
krazzy #56
Nov 23, 2008 at 1:10 PM
Just saw "mobiles & more" at zee business.....expert says that N85 is good for nothing....

Not the best camera..(he wanted optical zoom at this price)
Not the best sound..(wanted 3d surround sound)
No good gaming hardware...(dont know what he wanted)
he was furious that at this price no touch screen:D
gave only 3 stars..

He compared it with Sony ericsson G900 (claimed it to be better selection then n85:p)

what u say;)
I say he needs to be fired by Zee. Moron. :mad:
yogi7272
yogi7272 #57
Nov 23, 2008 at 1:33 PM
That guy is a jerk .. no doubt abt it ..
uppalpankaj
Nov 23, 2008 at 3:02 PM
The guy must be a noob with no expert knowledge abt cellphones...
N
nikhilpai #59
Nov 23, 2008 at 4:37 PM
Just saw "mobiles & more" at zee business.....expert says that N85 is good for nothing....

Not the best camera..(he wanted optical zoom at this price)
Not the best sound..(wanted 3d surround sound)
No good gaming hardware...(dont know what he wanted)
he was furious that at this price no touch screen:D
gave only 3 stars..

He compared it with Sony ericsson G900 (claimed it to be better selection then n85:p)

what u say;)

U actually watch Zee Business? ;)
I do watch 'Mobiles & more' once a while but only as a comedy show :))
P
p!e #61
Nov 23, 2008 at 6:15 PM
Is it possible to have feature pack 2 on N82??????
yogi7272
yogi7272 #62
Nov 23, 2008 at 7:51 PM
Its possible to have feature pack 2 on n82. After using n82 and n85 i can say that if u put

1. feature pack 2
2. navi wheel - which was there in pre production n82 but was later removed
3. fm transmitter
4. dual led flash along side xenon flash

then n82 will definitely rock

and if u put xenon flash along side dual led setup on n85 then it will be truly awesome device . Btw, nokia is coming with n85 refreash with xenon flash.
uppalpankaj
Nov 23, 2008 at 8:26 PM
Its possible to have feature pack 2 on n82. After using n82 and n85 i can say that if u put

1. feature pack 2
2. navi wheel - which was there in pre production n82 but was later removed
3. fm transmitter
4. dual led flash along side xenon flash

then n82 will definitely rock

and if u put xenon flash along side dual led setup on n85 then it will be truly awesome device . Btw, nokia is coming with n85 refreash with xenon flash.

Nokia will never do this coz it wants its every phone 2 sell...It will definitely not roll out a truly perfect device and will put some features in one cellphone and others in other cellphones as it is doing now....:mad:
yogi7272
yogi7272 #64
Nov 23, 2008 at 8:56 PM
I think the upcoming n85 refresh will be the one device with all the features onboard. Atleast it looks like one. And i would greatly appreciate if it has xenon + dual led setup ..
hahahari
hahahari #65
Nov 23, 2008 at 9:41 PM
^a new N85 version is comming out?
pickster
pickster #66
Nov 23, 2008 at 10:05 PM
yup. it's codenamed "Athlon" as revealed in the leaked nokia roadmap which was posted on engadget but later pulled down on their legal team's advice.
but, its still there on gsmarena : *www.gsmarena.com/nokia_20082009_smartphone_roadmap_surfaces-news-670.php