The Nokia N82 is just the latest Nokia N series model to come across our desk, and like the rest of the bunch, it's quite impressive. It has a feature set similar to the Nokia N95, with a couple of additions and omissions. Like the N95, the N82 has a 5 megapixel camera but it also includes a Xenon flash that makes a world of difference, as it produced amazing photos and videos.
The Symbian smart phone continues to offer Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS, and it's a solid performer to boot. With all that going for it, it's really a bummer that the N82 has such a horrible design.The hardware feels a bit cheap, and the navigation buttons leave much to be desired. We're also disappointed by the lack of U.S. 3G support.
All that said, you can work around the design flaws, and if your main focus is getting a high end multimedia smart phone, the Nokia N82 fits the bill.
An unlocked version of the Nokia N82 is available through Nokia's Web site for $564, though you can probably find it for a bit cheaper with a little online shopping research. The N82 features a 2.4 inch none touch display that shows 16.7 million colors at a 320x240 pixel resolution, making for quite a pleasant viewing experience.
There's also an ambient light detector to automatically adjust the brightness of the screen based on your current environment, so screen visibility was quite good. For personalization, you can add various background images and themes and adjust the font size. On the right spine, you'll find two speakers (at the top and bottom), a volume rocker, a shortcut to your photo gallery, and a camera activation or capture button.
Meanwhile, there's a micro USB port, a microSD expansion slot, and a power connector port on the left side. We would have preferred a mini USB port since that's more of a standard right now. There is a power button and a 3.5mm headphone jack on top of the unit. Finally, the camera lens and flash are located on the back, and the lens is protected by a sliding cover. The Nokia N82 comes packaged with an AC adapter, a USB cable, video out cables, a 2GB microSD card, a wired headset, a software CD, and reference material.
