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(More customer reviews)I upgraded to this phone in October '09 and have used it extensively over the past few months. I was reluctant to switch to a Nokia, given my belief that while Nokia usually gets the Hardware part of the equation pretty well, they have bad software stability and usability. My previous phone was a SE w950i, a TouchScreen SmartPhone by Sony Ericsson, which I was completely satisfied by. As a phone, the only thing that had missed was a decent camera; and this was the one feature I really badly wanted for the sake of all the occasions when I get caught without my DSLR. I didn't want to spend excessively on a phone since it is not my primary media or web access device. My need was a phone that had a decent web browser, a nice camera and sound phone quality. I quite accidentally chanced upon the N79 from my Dad and decided to give it a try. It scored high on all of my requirements and after a week I switched to it. Following are the major pluses/minuses of the device:
a. Design: Unlike most other clunky and unsightly N series devices by Nokia, the N79 is designed well and slim. The keys are well laid and responsive. A slider covers the camera when not in use and is pretty handy. But the best feature of the phone in terms of design is a dedicated lock/unlock key that is usually not to be found on a Nokia (since they choose the 'Menu+*' way to lock and unlock.
b. Sturdiness: The phone is sturdy but very scratch prone. The screen is easy to scratch and a screen guard is most definitely called for. I've dropped the phone a few times which didn't really seem to affect the device at all - doesn't hang, battery doesn't fly out. The keyboard is sturdy too.
c. User Interface: Nokia has worked hard on the UI for this one and in general the N79 boasts of better usability than any other N series device I have used (including the N97 mini). The UI is consistent and responsive. The two things that may however bother you are: a. The scroll wheel - a way Nokia tried to mimic Apple by building in touch sensitivity to the four way click wheel. This doesn't work well and the sensitivity varies a lot, which means you either scroll a few items too many or too less. However, this isn't a deal breaker since the feature can be turned off. b. The accelerometer: The accelerometer is way too sensitive and you'll find the UI shifting to a landscape form on being tilted roughly 20 degrees or so. Also, I don't quite understand why the landscape mode only works for one side.
d. Call quality: The N79 is definitely a good phone and I don't believe there is any doubt to Nokia's capability in this department. The signal reception is strong and the voices crisp.
e. Web: The phone has a good web browser and the navigation is much better than several other phones despite the obvious lack of a touchscreen and a bigger one while at it. The primary method of interaction is the click wheel and this gets tiresome. Besides the phone has a numeric keypad, which I prefer to tiny Qwerty keypads, but may put off some users. The device is capable of working with 3G networks and WLANs which means one can access internet at higher speeds. This is particularly good for the time when one is within a WiFi zone since it saves data charges.
f. Camera: Absolutely the number one reason to get this phone - a fantastic camera. A 5MP camera with a flash and Carl Zeiss optics is what you will find with this phone and it does a good job of being a pocket point and shoot. The keypad unlocks automatically when one slides the camera's lens open. It takes about 4 - 6 seconds for the camera to start though. The zoom in the camera is not much good and as with most other camera phones, the flash is not powerful enough to give you good results in very dark places. However, the image quality in well illuminated areas is great and the flash works well within close ranges. There are quite a few scene modes and they do give you greater flexibility in terms of what you can get done with the camera. The device also has geo tagging capabilities and this is one powerful plus for most web savvy users. The camera does video pretty well and the length of video is not dependent on anything other than the memory available to you. All in all, the camera lets you dispense with that point and shoot you carry when you don't lug around your DSLR. Quick photos uploaded to the web is what you get.
g. Integration with Computer: The device will sync with your Outlook Calendars and is capable of being configured with email inboxes. My organization provides Exchange support for Symbian and I am able to access my organization emails on the go. To do so, however, you will need to keep your inbox connected all through and you should be mindful of the data charges that will apply.
h. Miscellaneous: The device has a decent GPS but is nowhere close to a dedicated one. The Battery lasts well - in my usage for instance, One charge gives me a few flash photo, about 2 hours of talk time and about an hour of web browsing for 2 days, with some charge to spare. Attractively, it charges in a short duration - about 2 hours fore a full charge. Nokia's web store - Ovi, as most users are aware, has very limited set of applications to expand the device. It is mostly not intended for handheld gaming and doesn't have a wide array of selections either. As with all smartphones, it will hang from time to time. In my usage so far, the device got hung once every 20 days or so and a restart fixes the problems, but sometimes it takes more than one restart for it to start functioning properly. The music player is decent and switches well between calls and music. The device has two speakers and has rich sound in both speakerphone and music player mode. It ships with the standard Nokia wired headset, but the headset connects via a standard 3.5mm jack, which is nifty. There is a tiny camera on the front of the device but it seldom used since no one really makes video calls. The video quality is good but then again, the screen is too small for one to actually use it as a video player.
To sum it up, it is a decent phone for the price if your usage profile closely matches mine: Primary use - phone, Secondary use - Emergency camera, Tertiary use - Occasional Web access. For other usage profiles, you may be able to find better devices.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Nokia N79 5MP Camera Wifi GSP 4GB Memory Unlocked Quad Band Phone (C. White)
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