Review of Nokia N76

Review of GSM/UMTS-smartphone Nokia N76

Sales package:

• Handset
• Battery
• Charger
• USB data cable
• CD with software
• User Guide

Eventually, Nokia just could not resist it and joined the race where the top prize is “slimmest phone ever” – at a glance its new model utilizes many curves and shapes of the this market’s icon - Motorola RAZR, but as you might have already guessed, its pluses are lying in a slightly different field, since the N76 is in fact a smartphone running Symbian OS augmented with S60 3rd edition FP1. Speaking about why we suppose the RAZR was on the head designer’s table at the time when he was sketching out Nokia N76 – a metal keypad is here, along with dents at the bottom and other bits and pieces giving away its origin.

As a matter of fact, the company has managed to squeeze the hardware of the N76 into a casing only 13.7 mm deep, not due to cutting-edge alterations to the chassis; basically they have made it taller. Generally speaking Nokia 6290 is an exact replica of Nokia N76 – there aren’t many differences to dwell upon. While the 6290 measures 94x50x20.8 mm, the N76 presents us with 106.5x52x13.7 mm, meaning that it is a tad wider, almost 1 cm taller and all this for being reasonably thin.

Video, looks and comparison of dimensions (wmv, 12.93 Mb)>>>

The handset is easy to hold in hands with the clam closed and it does leave a very strong impression – after all, it is a feature-packed smartphone with a whole lot of attractiveness inside. But otherwise eye-candy phone lacks ease of use – trying to flip it open reveals that not everything is about sunshine and rainbows there. The flip action is somewhat clunky due to the hinge lack auto-spring mechanism, so that the clam freezes half way up, and that is not all – the casing’s width and design don’t allow for opening the handset single-handedly, so you always end up using both hands

Trims available with the N76 are apparently aimed at the fashion conscious audience – these are the classic black and so popular among women red

Another newsworthy drawback is glossy finishing of the casing, along with the mirror-like surface of the front plate. The phone collection much gunk within the very first minutes of playing around with it, so rubbing down is something you should get ready to do regularly. Because of the mirror-finished framing the external display seems to be a tad dimmer than that found on Nokia 6290.

The left side houses microSD memory cards socket, covered by a drop-out flap – even though it looks splendid and promises no issues with getting to the socket itself, taking out the card is not always convenient, as your hands aren’t likely to fit in the tiny space around the socket. Next to the memory expansion slot is charger socket, which is an altogether strange design.

The dedicated camera button sits on the right, as well as gallery shortcut key, similar to those found on senior Nseries models. Volume rocker switch, doubling as zoom in/out button while shooting, accompanies the above controls on the right side.

On the top end you will find a rubber-flap-covered miniUSB slot, as well as the power button and 3.5 mm audio jack. The N76 comes included with the HS-43 headset, which is different from the HS-42 found in the box with Nokia 5300, however this difference regards the jack they link up to – the former utilizes 3.5 mm, while the latter gadget asks for 2.5 mm.

The bottom rim is occupied by the speaker playing back ring tones and engaging when handsfree mode is activated.

The keypad is made of metal with the framings between the buttons differing depending on the handset’s trim – on a red-colored phone they are red and on a black one – black respectively. In terms of ergonomics the numberpad is average, since keys offer barely-there feedback, but deliver pleasant tactile feelings thanks to their ribbed surface. Unlike Nokia 6290, this model still has the Pencil key on it. All keys are lit in blue (for the black trim and red – for the other color scheme); no issues with poor backlighting of certain symbols were spotted.

On the top half under the external display is a trio of function keys, lit in either black or red (it’s all up to the trim you own).

Often I stumble upon comments that Nokia N76 is entirely made of metal – but that is not the whole truth, as metal is applied only to the keypad, while almost each and every detail of the casing utilizes glossy plastic. To remove the battery cover you will have to flip the phone open and then pull the bottom part over. Speaking about the plastic quality, it is quite thick, which made me wonder a little. While the plastic used in the N76 is very good, it gets soiled in no time and sometimes reminds me of a fingerprint database.

Since we have started comparing these two handsets, then another place where the N76 falls short of Nokia 6290 is battery life. Nokia N76 utilizes a 700 mAh battery (BL-4B); as the manufacturer claims it can keep the phone up and running for up to 200 hours in standby mode and provides about 2 hours 45 minutes of talk time. A curious fact – for Nokia 6290 carrying a 950 mAh BL-5F onboard, the maker says 240 hours of lifetime in standby mode is its utmost limit. Keeping in mind that it would be a hastiness to take for granted what manufacturer claims regarding battery life, let us try to look into the real battery life put up by Nokia N76, or, better to say, how much worse it will be. Examining capacity of two batteries point-blank, then the gap will make up 35 percent, at that in normal conditions on average load Nokia 6290 manages to keep itself alive for about 2 days. Taking account of nonlinearity of charge wearing out, we can rightfully state that Nokia N76 is a handset that will require you to plug in the charge every evening, of course, if you are actually going to use it.

In music playback mode, as the maker assures, the N76 lasts up to 8 hours, but in practice it works for 4-5 hours depending on your current preferences, volume and type of headphones.

The N76 is remarkable for being the first Nokia-branded model to have a reversed battery contacts layout.

The SIM card bed placed beneath the battery is another point of interest, being in fact a yellow tray where you put the card into. With it detached you can see how thin the keypad’s plate is, and basically what keeps the N76 in one piece - metal chassis of the handset.