Berish on 12 November 2008:

On my N85, the slider is somewhat wobbly. Do you find this to be the case as well?

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leo on 27 December 2008

@Berish, mine wobbles a little bit too but coming from an n95 and n95 8gb, it ain’t that bad.

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gdigenis on 13 November 2008:

i had two n85 phones and tried out a third in a store and all of them had the same issues, wobbely sliders, battery covers that creaked and even the plastic around the camera creaked. 1 of these units was ordered through x1387 and two were found at a local store and were not from the same batch as they were from stock that was 3 weeks apart. i have no idea how you can say that there are no creaks at all on the one that you have. you must be the luckiest guy on earth.

one of the units i had had a gps antenna that would short out and the other one had a camera with a defective flash. build quality is definately a concern on this phone. while the spring assist on the slider is really nice, the wobble and way that the top part hits the bottom part of the slide when using the dpad or softkeys makes this phone feel very cheap, even compared to the n95.

the screen looks very nice when indoors but visibility outdoors in daylight is very poor. i even found this to be the case when i was in the car and not in direct sunlight, unless the screen brightness is turned to full (i dont like doing this as i need to get the most life out of my battery as i am a heavy user).

i found the screen to be much better overall on the n96, and by this i mean that the overall size and visibility in daylight are more beneficial to me personally vs the sharpness of the n85. i also found the keypad to be much more comfortable and easier to use on the n96 and i also liked the way the slider snaps open adn closed on the n96.

when i look at the specs, size and the pics you have taken i think that the n85 looks awesome, but having used it i really think nokia did a poor job building this phone. the user experience for me almost turned me off of nokia. i tried a n96 that a friend sold to me for really cheap with the intention of reselling it immediately and i found that it was much nicer to use in almost every way. i sold it after a week and have gone back to the n95-4 and like it much more than the n85, especially when the price is factored in, and price is not in the top 5 things i consider when looking at phones.

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JKA on 13 November 2008

There are similar bad experiences with N85 in review on phonearena.com web site. I’m a little frustrated about the poor quality that was alluded. I really don’t know whether to risk and buy this gadget when there are several negative reviews. I’m very pleased for this positive review. JKA

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Dani on 13 November 2008:

Good review - looking forward to the second part!

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Andy Burgin on 13 November 2008:

O.k the build an screen are good on the N85 but the Speakers were not as clear as my N95 8gb an the camera was a little below par with my mobile,so was it worth keeping the N85 i decided to return my N85 as with xmas coming up Nokia i am sure will release a 8 mega-pixel camera mobile soon,as if you sign up for a contract to early you have to wait ages for your next mobile

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Farhaan on 14 November 2008:

So does Rose in eBay from TPC systems. She sells the Singaporean version. I guess, in order to identify the versions you do have to ask the seller. Also the product code behind the battery will tell you. I know for a fact that Plemix sells the Hong Kong version because they say so on their site. I just bought my N85 from Rose!!!! However, the live cashback just ended on the N85 on Wednesday

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Nabil on 14 November 2008:

There is a controversy going on about the lifetime of the OLED display.some say that it has a lifetime of 14000 hours.Does nokia have any say about this?i really like this phone and i wanna be sure about it’s lifetime before buying it.Please inform.

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chowda on 17 November 2008:

I have an N85 from Hong Kong. It doesn’t have an FM Transmitter which is slightly disappointing (understandably so, since using a transmitter among a million radios in a small space would wreak havoc).

I must be one of the lucky ones ‘cos I’ve got no wobbly slider, excellent build quality and a blinding flash (I’ve tried it on a few friends, they hate me now). None of the problems listed by gdigenis. I have to say though, the only problem now is that the phone can’t be hacked.

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Renegade Fanboy on 18 November 2008:

Hi Mark, could you comment on the keyboard after some more experience?
I’m interested if you got used to it and are able to type without looking?

TIA.

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Mark Guim on 13 December 2008

@Renegade Fanboy, definitely got used to the flat surface. those ridges in between the keys help them separate a bit. I’m not suggesting people to do this while I’m texting and driving, I start from the top “1,2,3″ then find the bottom buttons by using the ridges.

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Fus on 20 November 2008:

Sadly my N95 just got some water damage and I don’t believe I’m under warranty so I have to purchase a new one pretty soon (the N95 is still usable but when I hit the #1 or #8 or Up Key it doesn’t do what I want it to… I’ll try to get it fixed).

With that said, I really am interested in this N85 but man I’m bummed about the fact they didn’t include the Xenon flash. Seriously, is it that hard? Xenon flash for pictures and add a dinky led for videos - I don’t understand why Nokia keeps dishing out “new phones” that are just as good as their old ones. I was excited about the N85 because of the OLED screen (a definite step in the right direction) but then they stuck in a led light… okay, they stuck in 2… they must have freaking stock in LED lights or something.

So now it’s between the N85 or N82 - and of course Nokia managed to not make the perfect phone with either of those so I have to choose which I miss more. Awesome OLED screen or Xenon flash + No US 3g. I swear if I spend 300-600 dollars on a phone I really shouldn’t make compromises. I got into the world of Nokia with my N95-3, which again wasn’t perfect from a hardware point of view… my volume up key got stuck down in the first month and a little water damage got messed it up; it got a little damp from inside my pocket so not even fully submerged! I still love their phones but now when there’s such great phone/pda competition out there, you’d think Nokia would listen to what people say and put it all together to create an OLED, 5mp+ Xenon Flash camera that can take some punishment (ie: falls and liquid). Add 3G support for us 2nd-world Americans and sell it to us for less than an arm and a leg!

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Michael on 20 November 2008:

im thinking about getting the n85 but im in two minds. Should i get this or the samsung pixxon. Can anyone help me?

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David on 22 November 2008:

Got my N85 yesterday, the slider was wobbly, not much, but annoying.
Should it be solid or is the slider a bit wobbly?
Went back to the store and told them to fix it and call me when its done.

Back with my n73 is not easy after one day with the n85

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Finn on 25 November 2008:

Well … I bought Marc’s old N95 and I have to say, I’m blown away. I can see it’s a lot fatter than the N85 and not nearly as smooth-looking … but I can’t believe how much stuff this thing can do. I actually ran my car off the road while consulting the GPS maps … luckily, very little damage, lesson learned! I’ll keep it away from water, too — thanks for that tip.

Anyway, if the N85 is like the 95 only a quarter inch slimmer and sporting a card slot, it must be pretty awesome.

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Gdigenis on 26 November 2008:

I have read your posts about using the simple phone for a month and leaving behind not only the n85, but 4 other current and upcoming phones that you have access to from nokia. If i am not mistaken, these phones belong to nokia and you are allowed to use them for testing purposes. If you are not experiencing the quality issues, thats one thing, but please dont say that you have not read about people having this problem in other forums. A very simple google search should lead to several discussions and there is one referrenced in the comments of this article already. maybe this is why nokia continues to release phone after phone that feel like cheap plastic toys. It is one thing to sign out a free phone to use and enjoy, but another thing when you have to shell out your own money and time only to find time after time that the slider wobbles, the 2 halves of the phone shift and hit each other when a softkey or dpad is pressed, etc, etc, etc. If nokia is only giving out perfect devices to their staff to evaluate they will not get back feedback that will help them improve on the issues that the general public are having with current products. I am not saying that all n85 are poorly built, but if you look around the net i think you will read that a large number of users have at least one concern or another regarding build quality.

My wifes bottom of the line sony ericsson slider feels rock solid next to the n85 or even n95 series when build quality and slider are compared. this is not meant to be a personal attack on you, but i think you need to sign out one of the units that gets retuned due to quality issues and post back on how much you love using that one

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Mark Guim on 27 November 2008

@Gdigenis, I paid for my Nokia N85. I also paid for my previous phone, Nokia N95 8GB. I test phones for Nokia, but we return them after 2-3 weeks of trial. If I like the phone after testing, I buy it.

The build quality on my Nokia N85 is really good. I guess I’m lucky I did not get a bad one.

I’ve talked to other Nokia N85 owners both in person and in forums and heard nothing but praises.

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Andrew on 13 December 2008

@Mark Guim,
Hey Mark,

SO i just got my N85 that I purchased on Ebay…just curious about how rock solid your slider is…my slider has a slight wobble but at least it doesn’t creak or click…should be…should that be the case?

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gdigenis on 27 November 2008:

@mark, i hope you dont take this the wrong way, but i was not talking to you. i replied directly to the guy that works for nokia (nokiaconversations) that said he has never experienced the poor quality i was referring to. i have no doube that you have devices that you have paid for.

if you do a very simple google search using the phrase n85 buid quality (dont even have to use the word poor)you will find many links to forums where people that own the device complain about poor build quality. if you take the time to look through the threads you will see that it is not one or two people, it is a pretty large percentage of the respondants that actually own one with a problem. most people are happy with their n85, but way too many have issues.

http://howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1461460&highlight=n85+build+quality

http://howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1450358&highlight=n85+build+quality

here are 2 threads that are indicative of the results in other forums. i have never said that 100% of n85s are bad, there are obviously some that are tight, but the amount of people with quality issues is way too high

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Kelvin on 1 December 2008:

hey this is really a good reference for me …thx for your hard work =)

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kc on 8 December 2008:

The description you listed in your review fits that of the N96 in a lot of ways.. the N85 is pocketable and thinner, but that takes away from the size of the screen. So this becomes a matter of preference. A lot of people would go for the larger screen, while the n96 is still pocketable and much thinner than the previous n95.

The slider on the n96 is awsome. It feels sturdy and tight and does not wobble or shake. the n96 felt slippery at first and had a creaky touch to it. But after I padded the inside of the back cover with a small piece of duct tape (1″x1″), the result was amazing and the feel was outstandingly smooth and the grip was great. nokia needs to look at that and add to the already thin u-shaped pad on the inside of the cover!!!!

The speakers on the N85 look like holes in a phone, but on the N96 they have a sportier and classier look where you can actually tell they are speakers and not just holes in a phone.

It’s funny how when talking about the N96, the camera and flash are a piece of crap, but when talking about it on the N85 it becomes exceptional with its flawless cover and with a great advantage with using the LEDs where you can use it as a continuous light source when creating videos in poor light conditions.

I wont say more on this, I can see where someone is biased with their analysis!!!
But black and shiny it is and the screen type is not that big of a deal! The lens on my N96 is bigger and shines and reflects great graphics still .. Looks and options are what counts in the end! I wouldn’t want to have a phone simply because it is a smaller, pocketable one!

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Mark Guim on 8 December 2008

@kc, You’re right… definitely by preference. You want bigger? go to N96. Want noticeably better colors, brightness, contrast, battery life? Go with N85. And that’s just me talking about the display.

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Walker on 15 December 2008:

You didn’t accept my comment refuting the build quality? lol.

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Mark Guim on 15 December 2008

wow am i the only person not having Nokia N85’s build quality probs? No wobble, tight, and no plastic thing prying out of the phone here.

It sounds like there were batches with problems?

Are we only hearing from people with problems and not hearing enough from people without problems?

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Andrew on 15 December 2008:

To be a little more detailed about one of my comments earlier..when my slider is opened to show the keypad, it is very tight and there is no wobble. When its closed or opened to show the multimedia keys, there is a slight wobble due to a slight gap in between…but not enough to make any clicking or creaking sounds…no clicking sounds either when pressing the buttons….as this is my first slider phone (I’ve always used candy bar phones in the past), I just want to make sure that this is normal or if I am one of those unlucky people to have a faulty phone? Can someone please answer me? Will greatly appreciate it…Thanks!

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Walker on 15 December 2008:

I didn’t post any links, and it was visible on the page “awaiting moderation” for a few hours. I’m under the impression that doesn’t happen if Akismet catches a post. I only realised it had been rejected earlier today because somebody else’s post (sent days after mine) was approved.

But that’s fine. Whoever pays for this blog can accept and refuse comments from whoever they like. I’ve just decided it’s not a reliable source of information any more.

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Mark Guim on 15 December 2008

@Walker, I haven’t deleted your first comment and I apologize if you still think I did.

First time comments or comments with links get moderated. The first comment I saw from you is this, which of course got approved.

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marco on 19 December 2008:

Well I´ve had the N85 two weeks ago and nothing to say about the build quality.
I like the phone and I think is a very good choice if you are thinking about buying one.

The only complain I have is about the “famous” problem with the video recording lag wich is really a pain in the ass.
Anyway I am shure this will be solved in the next FirmWare update, so I´ll stick to my Nokia N85.

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niki4me on 29 December 2008:

the OLED Display

Lifetime - While red and green OLED films have longer lifetimes (46,000 to 230,000 hours), blue organics has shorter lifetimes (up to around 14,000 hours)
and Water can easily damage OLEDs.
is it worth to buy this phone?

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