Nokia N70 3G Phone Review

The second installment of the Nokia Nseries to hit our shores, the N70, is probably the more sedate offering of the premium trio.That isn’t a criticism, but when you’re sandwiched between the photographic hot shot N90 and next year’s N91 music maestro, this more straightforward Symbian 3G smartphone will always be scrapping for attention.

The N90 has already scooped our Camera Phone of the Year gong. Its Carl Zeiss lens produces cracking stills, but we were also impressed with its meticulous construction. Its size is a worry though and realistically, the N90 still has limited appeal.

The N70, however, takes the Nseries into the mainstream. Essentially, it’s a trumped up version of the popular 6680, closely imitating its design. Anyone who has just purchased a 6680 might want to look away now because the N70 is far superior despite being just a slight upgrade in terms of specs.

Of course you may have to pay a little extra for the N70’s services but then Nokia’s Nseries is all about raising your mobile game.

Place the N70 next to the 6680 and you immediately spot the difference in craftsmanship. While the two handsets’ dimensions are identical, the N70 appears more streamlined due to wonderful design definition and high-grade materials. The N70’s keypad also looks reduced and cramped but in practice remains convenient to operate. One addition to the controls is a multimedia key that can be customised to activate any function. Our review sample also flaunted a fetching ‘ivory pearl and auberg’ colour scheme (that’s cream and brown to you and I), a pleasant change to the obligatory silver coat (although this is available).

The Symbian Series 60 OS remains simple to negotiate for the uninitiated, but take time to explore the different applications available, especially if it’s your business handset. Otherwise Symbian Series 60 dabblers will find nothing new to contend with. The OS runs quite smoothly but sometimes the transition between screens does stutter. Useful apps include an Adobe Reader to view PDFs (these are rendered quite clearly on the N70’s 2.2-inch screen), the complete document viewer and editing suite – Quicksheet, Quickword and Quickpoint – and the mighty Setting Wizard that automatically configures your GPRS, email, MMS and streaming settings according to your network. Of course, like all Symbian-based smartphones the OS is ripe for adding third-party apps and software.

Nokia has also raised its musical game for all its recent Symbian smartphones. This bodes well for its XpressMusic range because past sound quality through its built-in MP3 player tended to be too harsh and synthetic. This can sometimes be attributed to the headphones, but the fidelity on the N70 is vastly improved. We downloaded a variety of MPEG4s from the Vodafone Live! portal, plus a selection of MP3s from our PC library via Bluetooth (you can also use a USB connection). The supplied in-ear headphones aren’t the greatest (disappointingly, there’s no way to plug in your own 3.5mm jack headphones) but the N70 still manages to pump out a balanced sound that’s very generous in the low-end bass areas.

If you use the N70 for business purposes, the 3G speeds for sending emails with attachments will be a boon; for those wanting to exploit the entertainment strand of 3G, the N70 is equally adept. Video steaming through the built-in Real Player is smooth, tackling the breakneck Premiership highlights and rapid cuts of music videos with poise. You do experience blips of digital noise and lag but really this is to be expected. For a more consistent image quality it’s best to download the videos to your handset and play back at your leisure.

A VGA camera lens is perched at the front in the top right-hand corner of the handset, ready for 3G video calling. We tested this with our 3G Phone of the Year, the Sony Ericsson V800, and the results were mixed. Our mug shot on the V800’s display was a little too blurred and pixelated for our liking. Audio quality is suspect over the loudspeakers, so use the headphones to digest the conversation.

The N70 is geared heavily towards imaging, with a two megapixel lens and embedded photography software. Unlike the N90, this Nseries member doesn’t pack a Carl Zeiss lens and we have to say the difference in quality is apparent. While the pictures aren’t unsatisfactory by any means, they can on occasion lack clarity, especially on close-ups, where the absence of a macro setting is evident. Its strongest suite is its true colour depiction. The N70 does let you play with the scene, colour tone, white balance and flash settings so you can adapt the camera to your surroundings and, like the 6680, it has a broad protective slider shutter cover that when opened, automatically fires up the camera. You can also use the N70 like a standalone digital camera with a shutter button residing on the side of the phone.

The Nokia Nseries handsets are designed for people serious about their mobile phones but the N70 can realistically reach a wider audience. It’s a classy smartphone with a strong set of features – the 6680 with distinction, if you will.

This review covers the above mobile phone only and does not address the performance of any 3G Network. The score is based on a 3G mobile phone checklist.

Copyright : You are advised that this material is the copyright of www.3G.co.uk and is our own personal view only. (C) All rights reserved 2005. Whlist every care has been taken in the preparation of this review, the author nor 3G.co.uk cannot be held responsible for the accuracy or authenticity of the information it contains, or consequence arising from it.