Nokia N78

13 JUN 2008

Launch price £free with contract

Stuff says

A phone full of great features and new ideas, let down by some awkward design flaws

* * * *

WATCH

Pros FM transmitter. Web browsing is great as ever on the N series
Cons Tricky to use keyboard and all–in–one pad. The navi wheel distracts from getting involved in all the extras on offer

You can’t accuse Nokia’s high-end N series phones of scrimping on features. From the imminent powerhouse that is the N96 to the hefty and highly-specced N82, every phone comes chock with goodies.

In this respect the N78, which replaces the ubiquitous N73, is certainly a winner. As you’d expect, there’s HSDPA on board and tag team of GPS and Nokia Maps are on hand to guide you home from the pub. There’s also Wi-Fi and even a FM transmitter for playing tunes through your car stereo. But it’s not all good news.

Camera letdown
Having got used to Nokia spoiling us with 5MP snappers, including those on the excellent N95 8GB and N82, the 3.2MP camera is a disappointment. Pictures come out noisy in low light and look as if they’ve been taken on a far cheaper phone than this one.

The real issues, though, are cosmetic. The phone’s super slimline keyboard eschews the regular twelve-button approach, opting for four bars that make the keypad on the Sony Ericsson W880i look positively huge. Typing out emails, texts and even web addresses is tortuous when you first pick it up.