I've been experimenting with the Nokia N80i for a couple of weeks now, thanks to the Nokia Blogger Relations program. Like Roland Tanglao, I found that an older Nokia adapter I'd found hidden away, works fine with the N73 and N93, but won't charge the N80i. That was a minor problem, solved within minutes.

I've tried to do a couple of comprehensive posts, but it's tough bouncing between these three phones. This is an attempt and providing some comparison across the three and exploring the N80i in a little bit of detail.

First some details. I've been posting, and will continue to post, pictures in my Flickr album. It's easy to use them here in blog posts, but I've also organized 4 sets.

• Photos of and taken with the N73
• Photos of and taken with the N93
• Photos of and taken with the N80i
• Comparison Photos among the N-series and other Cameras

I will continue to add to these photo sets for as long as I have the phones. I'll keep taking pictures with all of them and doing comparisons as time and photo opportunities arise. Any other new phones (like that hot N95 due out in 2007) will add new sets. At some point, given Nokia's generosity with time, I'll do the same with videos from each phone. I'll load the videos to blip.tv, and link them to Flickr photo sets for consistency and ease of access.

Someone asked, so I'll let you know that the photos of the phones themselves were taken with my Nikon D50. I wanted known quality in those images.

The telephone
I liked the N73 for a number of reasons. I liked the N93 very much, but for very different reasons. The N80i won my heart, in part because of its size. Here are some size comparison photos. You can click to enlarge and see the original if you like.

First side-by-side with the N80i slide closed and then open.



Then turned sideways to give a sense of the a thickness comparison.




We'll take a larger look at the N80i itself, first closed. I like this size and form factor. Roughly the size of a cigarette pack, the N80i is the first mobile phone I've had in my memory that felt comfortable carrying in a shirt pocket.



Then with the slider open for full operation



The N-series seem to all be equipped with a similar base feature set, each with some slight variation on the theme - Nokia Lifeblog, Flickr photo sharing, radio listening, etc. Notable to me on the N80i are the podcasting software (that might be on the others, but I don't recall seeing it), and the Gizmo/VoIP feature.

---

Some N80i Information from the Blogger Relations Program Package

As part of the Blogger Relations program, Nokia provides not just the phone, but a package with comprehensive information. I haven't previously replicated that because I assumed it was all readily available on the web. In my brief searches it has been. But one reader asked for more detail, so I'm going to copy some information here.

The Nokia N80 smart multimedia device is the first 3G world phone with EGSM 850/900/1800/1900 and WCDMA 2100 for Europe, Africa and APAC regions, EGSM 850/900/1800/1900 and WCDMA 1900 for Americas region and EGSM 850/900/1800/1900 for China market. A three-megapixel digital camera, email, MP3 player, personal organizer, game console and WLAN connectivity, makes the N80 Nokia's most advanced all-in-one device yet.

Nokia N80 Technical Specs
Operating System:
Symbian OS v9.1
Developer Platform:
S60 3rd Edition
Java Technology:
FileConnection and PIM API (JSR-75)
Security and Trust Services API (JSR-177)
Wireless Messaging API (JSR-205)
JTWI (JSR-185)
Mobile Media API (JSR-135)
Web Services API (JSR-172)
Nokia UI API
CLDC 1.1
Location API (JSR-179)
SIP API (JSR-180)
Mobile 3D Graphics API (JSR-184)
Bluetooth API (JSR-82)
MIDP 2.0
Browser:
WAP 2.0
XHTML over TCP/IP
HTML 4.0 (XHTML 1.1)
Messaging:
MMS+SMIL
SMS
Digital Rights Management:
OMA DRM v1.0
Delivery Method:
MMS
HTTP Download
Sound Formats:
SP-MIDI
eAAC+
True Tones (WB-AMR)
WAV
WMA
AAC+
AAC
AMR (NB-AMR)
MP3
MIDI Tones (poly 48)
Video/Audio Streaming
RealAudio
Functionality:
GSM 850
GSM 1900
GSM 1800
WCDMA 2100
WCDMA 1900
GSM 900
Regional Availability:
Africa
China
Americas
Asia-Pacific
Europe
Primary Screen Display:
Resolution: 352 x 416
Color Depth: 18 bit
Memory:
Unlimited Heap size
Shared Memory for Storage: 60 MB
Unlimited Jar size
Keypad Descriptions:
Grid Key Mat
5-way Scrolling
2 Labeled Soft Keys
Video Support:
3GPP formats (H.263)
H.264/AVC
RealVideo
MPEG-4
Network Data Support:
WCDMA
GPRS
CSD
HSCSD
EGPRS
PC Connectivity:
USB
WLAN
Infrared
Bluetooth
Model:
N80
Weight:
134
Extra Features:
Presence
SMTP email
SyncML
Themes
IMAP4 email
RealOne player
Mini SD
Instant Messaging
Video call
Video player
Word/Excel/Powerpoint Compatibility
Visual Radio
POP3 email
Push-to-Talk
Video sharing
Stereo FM Radio
Video recorder

---

The N80i Camera
Frankly, compared to the N73 and N93, the camera is unremarkable and doesn't match either. The N73 is crisp, responsive and easy to handle. The N93 is meaty and filled with substance. That said, the N80i camera is far from lackluster. It's 3 megapixel lens doesn't match the Carl Zeiss 3.2 optics in the N73. It's not up to the N93 camera. The key is that it isn't meant to be. I posted some Random N80i Pictures on a Clear Sunny Day that were shot in prime sunlight. Success with the N80i camera is clearly to be found in lighting, patience and framing the shot. If you're looking for a point-and-shoot to gather a lifetime of memories of your bouncing three-year old, this camera will not suffice. But if you're looking for a capable adjunct camera that will always be there in your purse or shirt pocket, this one does nicely. Like the other N-series handhelds, the N80i has both a higher quality primary and lower quality secondary camera for the obligatory self portrait sans bathroom mirror. Personally, without a workable 3G/UMTS network in the US to make video calls, this camera is a wasted feature that serves little purpose.

The N80i VoIP Capability
This is the real differentiator in the N80i. Like the N93, it supports WiFi, but the N80i includes a Gizmo VoIP client. Not a heavy client, but not a browser-based think client either - something of a neat and trim client. I'd walk you through setting it up and all, but the Gizmo folks have worked with Nokia and put a great Gizmo VoIP Makes Mobile Internet Calling Simple set of documentation together online. It's got the features, the user guide, the step-by-step instructions and screenshots. The two have worked together to provide a really easy integration.

I found the Gizmo client painless to set up and painless to use. I was operational making VoIP calls via my Comcast network within minutes. And within minutes, I' reconfigured to use my Qwest DSL connection as well. It's simple, and the documentation and web resources are excellent.

It is really as easy as telling the N80i to use Internet calling as primary choice. And all calls now route out via WiFi through Gizmo. No cellular carrier minutes to talk for as long as I want from my N80i at home.

I made comparison calls too. I called via landline, Cingular on the N80i, Verizon on my Treo, VoIP via the cable connection, and cable via the DSL connection. I called some people using multiple options. I must have had 40 conversations checking out these combinations. I lost count. And the quality? In no case did anyone I was talking to every guess I was using VoIP. The calls were as good a quality, or better, than the mobile carrier network. I spent nearly 20 years working in the vestiges of the former Bell System where the quality mantra was to provide "toll quality voice." Well, given decent WiFi access and throughput, Nokia with Gizmo delivers toll quality VoIP. Period. I wouldn't hesitate to use it for boardroom conversation with the C-level management team of a Fortune 500 company. It really is that good.

An interesting facet of the presence feature many of us have been talking about lately was also noted. If logged in to GizmoProjec on the PC, and logged in via WiFi on the N80i, both phones ringing, providing a choice of which you'd like to use to answer. I like choice myself, so I appreciated this.

If I noted drawbacks in the Gizmo integration, there were two. First, there is no Gizmo IM client component. Not that IM from a touchpad, no matter how smart the text input sensing algorithms, is terribly practical. But I believe in GizmoProject, the Jabber/IM component is what drives the presence indicators on the buddy list. If not logged in on PC, but logged in on the N80i Gizmo client, my buddies can't tell I'm online and available for the VoIP call. When I'm at the PC, I look to see if people are online before clicking to call. This glitch seems an oversight. And for people who really need to call me -  they'll call my mobile number since they don't see me online, circumventing the entire value chain of logging on with Gizmo.

There is an IM client built in software, but it doesn't appear to be a Jabber compatible client that could provide presence to Gizmo. I'm exploring a way to do that, and looking at another Jabber client. I think this is an oversight between Nokia and Gizmo. One that needs a workaround. If I'm logged in to Gizmo on my VoIP client and my buddies can't tell, so they're dialing my mobile number, I'm losing the value quickly. Still, as the first real SIP-compliant VoIP service on a mobile phone, it is incredibly high quality and works very well. Kudos to Nokia and the Gizmo team for a well done intro.

Note: for a write-up on using Truphone for VoIP, please see Roland Tanglao's excellent recounting of his experiences here, here and here. He's done some great write-ups, and I don't use Truphone and wouldn't know where to begin.

That's a long enough write-up for this evening. Rest assured, the N-series is getting a workout in my hands. It's a challenge to figure out how to do extensive testing and cover all the bases when you're fitting in in to the work day with meetings and other distractions. One distraction is people asking why I have five mobile phones on my person.

More to come.


Technorati Tags: Nokia, N-series, N80i, N73, N93, Nokia Blogger Relations