Nokia N82 Cell Phone Review - Value & Comparisons
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Alfredo Padilla Published on February 05, 2008 Comment on this |
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Value (4.0)
As the Nokia N82 is not available form any carriers you will need to buy it unlocked directly from Nokia or from a reseller. Nokia USA has not yet made the handset available, but it is available from various importers for around $550. This price is not untoward for an unlocked phone with the N82's feature set, but of course it is quite a bit more than most consumers are willing to pay. When you consider that a carrier subsidized phone like the AT&T Tilt provides similar functionality for over $200 less you start wondering if the N82 is worth it. For those looking for a candybar phone with one of the best cameras available in a handset and other high end features like GPS and Wi-Fi it may be, but you then need to consider that it won't support any U.S. 3G networks. For an unlocked handset we consider it a reasonable value, but we have to dock it some points because it's so much more expensive than subsidized handsets.
Comparisons
Nokia N81 8GB - Similarly priced the Nokia N81 8GB is an inferior product compared to the N82. It's big selling point compared to the N82 is the 8GB of built in storage, but 8GB Micro SD cards are already available for around $100, so if you're willing to make that investment on top of the handset that edge disappears. In almost every other way the N82 is a superior product. It feels better put together, has a much, much better camera, has GPS functionality and has much better music playback time. If you're going to spend that much money any ways we would recommend you throw in the extra cost of the Micro SD card and go with the N82.
BlackBerry Pearl 8130 -The big difference between the Pearl and the N82 is the camera. Both handsets sport GPS functionality and the Pearl's lack of Wi-Fi is made up for by the fact that it supports high speed EVDO networks while the N82 does not. Given that the Pearl costs about $150 with a contract from Verizon this will probably be the biggest factor for most buyers. Unless you really need an exceptional cell phone camera we recommend you go with the Pearl, and even if the camera is a factor for you the Pearl did pretty reasonably in our imaging tests.
Palm Centro - The Centro is a budget smart phone at $100 with a contract. It will provide you with 80% of the functionality you might want from the N82 at one fifth the price, so those who are price conscious will probably lean towards it. That being said that last 20% will be very important to some people as the Centro's camera is terrible, especially compared to the N82's, it lacks GPS, Wi-Fi and it's overall multimedia functionality is far short of the N82's. If all you want is a simple smart phone and you don't want to pay a lot the Centro's for you, if you want a true converged device you're probably going to be leaning towards the N82.
Razr2 V8 -The Razr2 V8 is not a smart phone, but it is a solid and very stylish cell phone. Any of the Razr2 lineup will cost you much less than the N82 as they are available from just about every carrier for a subsidized price. The Razr2 lacks GPS, Wi-Fi and more advanced smart phone functionality. It's camera is also much worse than the N82 and it's music playback capabilities also lag behind. For those who just want a solid cell phone, though, the Razr2 V8 is going to be a much better choice. The N82 is for those looking for a powerful all-in-one device.
Apple iPhone - The iPhone presents a more complicated choice for consumers than any of our other comparison handsets. First of all the price difference is significantly less, around $150 rather than several hundred dollars for the Pearl, Centro or Razr2. Some might say that the comparison is the same as the N81 vs. N82 as the iPhone is basically just a less powerful N82, but that's not the case. First of all there's a significant improvement in the user interface when going from the N81/N82's S60 to the iPhone. Also, despite the similar specs, the iPhone's two megapixel camera is much better than the N81's, although it obviously lags far behind the N82's excellent camera.
Throw in the fact that the iPhone comes with 8GB of built in storage and you have to consider that if you buy the N82 you'll have to invest an additional $100 to match the iPhone's storage. From a multimedia perspective the iPhone is a much better video handset, but from a music perspective the gap with the N82 becomes smaller due to the excellent S60 music software. You also have to consider that with the N82 you get built in GPS functionality. Really it's going to come down to what is important to you. If you want an excellent multimedia handset with ample built in storage and an easy to use interface go with the iPhone. If you're more of a swiss army knife type and are willing to pay the extra $150 - $250 for the much improved camera and GPS functionality go with the N82.
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