Nokia N76 multimedia import phone

Nokia thinks thin with the N76 flip phone, which features a VGA camcorder and the Symbian OS in a gleaming shell.

Design:

The Nokia N76 is remarkably thin - for a Nokia phone. Though it won't compete with the thinnest flip phones, such as Samsung's SPH-M610, the phone is a step thinner than Nokia's usual brick phones. The phone is mirror-like in its shine, very pretty, but quite fingerprint-prone. It can accept standard headphones with its 3.5mm jack up top, and features a camera on the outer shell, as well as a tiny pinhole camera facing the user. That facing camera may hint at which U.S. carrier will pick up the N76, but Nokia isn't saying. The screen, a 2.4-inch, 16-million color display, showed the richest colors we've seen on recent phones, and both the internal and external display handled video-recording clearly, with no blur or pixel noise.

Features:

Like the other recent N-series phones, the N75 and the N95, the N76 is packed with features, such as VGA video recording, a music player capable of handling a plethora of file types, and FM radio. The phone is running the Symbian S60 Series 3 OS, though the phones we saw at CES were not active on any network, so we couldn't see the phone, or its web browser, in action on the EDGE network. Nokia has been distributing conflicting information about 3G capabilities, but their site points to either 2100-band WCDMA support (for Europe, most likely) or EDGE-only access. A lack of HSDPA support stateside would be disappointing, lending an overall pared-down feel to this phone compared to the other recent N-series announcements. The phone has dedicated music buttons on its face, though the models we got our hands on didn't have any preloaded music. The N76 also lacks GPS, a feature which impressed us on the N95.

Pros:
VGA video recording. 3.5mm headphone jack. Shiny, thin shell.

Cons:
No high-speed network. No GPS. Mirror finish picks up fingerprints.

Conclusion:

It is nice to see Nokia move away from their heavier, thicker phones, but the N76 might work better as a design concept than an actual retail model. It's glossy shell will never look clean in your pocket, and its sharp, square edges feel very 2004. The phone resembles a Sanyo Katana, when Nokia really should be taking design cues from Samsung. The feature set is impressive, though not groundbreaking, except for the VGA recording, which looks especially sharp on the phone.

Specifications

GSM Quad-band
2.4-inch, 16-million color display
VGA video recording
3.5mm headphone jack
microSD slot
FM radio
Measures 4.2 by 2.0 by 0.5 inches
Weighs 4.1 ounces
1/13/2007 11:38:15 PM
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