Hey Mark,

I certainly agree on pretty much all of those points. I am somewhat annoyed that the front gets dirty so easily, however. It’s a fingerprint magnet, and I find myself wiping it off more than a few times a day to keep it clean.

Here’s one thing that maybe isn’t part of physical, but how was the sound quality of the speakers when you watched videos? The speakers are certainly loud, but I find them to be kind of scratchy, with a lot of fidelity loss. This is even more evident when I play music files; they sound horrendous!

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

this was a good review. i initially ordered a N96 but cancelled it as soon as i got a chance to read more on this site. The N85 certainly is great. I agree with alot on this review, and would like to add that personally, the number keypad is so flat and smooth that it’s easy to mess up (coming from a Nokia 5300 where i could type without looking). took a lil time to get used to it, but i dont get thumb cramps anymore! lol

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.

I hate to say this but, i think N82 is better than N85, i used to have N85 but i switched to N82 because of Xenon, photo captions is the big difference between the two.. N82 is much more better i terms of taking shots.

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

Good review – looking forward to the second part!

[...] Mark Guim has had an N85 for a while now, and reckons it’s so good it could even replace his precious N95 8GB. [...]

I like my N82 better..

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

I was wondering which seller on eBay you got your n85 from. I want to buy one and was even looking at Plemix and CTI-Miami but I do not want the Hong Kong version which disables the FM Transmitter. If you could please tell me where you guys bought yours from, or which seller on eBay, That would be great!

@farhaan
how do u identify if it’s a hongkong version. i am going to buy this phone soon. i just want to be sure that i don’t get the hongkong version. fm trans is very impt to me.

X1387 sells versions with working FM Transmitters.

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

Nokia should have put top class features on the N85,as they are not competeing in the 8 mega-pixel camera mobile race,so to attract more people to turn there backs on these mobiles, put superb features on the N85 an made it a Top Class Seller easily

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.

hi guys,

Iam finding a lot of negative reviews about the Nokia N85. I really like the phone looks, its really stunning. Iam confused between N85 and N79. Please let me know the better choice.

your comments are valuable to me …

kamal,chennai

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.

hey mark,
here’s waiting for the part 2 of this review…

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.

I think Nokia n85 is better than nokia n96 because N85 have a faster cpu and a OLED display.

[...] Nokia Blog review here [...]

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!

Yeah the N85 may have a better display quality but probably it would be more enjoyable to play n-gage games on N95 as display is slightly larger.

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

Hey, just got my N85 delivered yesterday and just beginning to play around with it. It seems to be restarting once in a while, but other than that everything is going great. Can’t wait for that first firware update. Mark, which applications did you put on your N85 so far that are 100% working. This is my first S60 phone, so I just wanna make sure I am doing everything right.

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

I have a problem with the Music Player of my N 85. The dealer changed the phone and new one has the same.
When I start the Music player it starts looking for new files to update the library. At the end of the search it says “0″ files added and then starts to check for new files again. It goes on and on and never stops. I have to switch off the phone to close the Music Player. Other methods of closing do not work.
Aside from this problem, which is very annoying and does not permit listening to music,I am happy with the phone. I am able to upload photo files from my PC to phone in different album which was not possible with my previous phone. ( I listen to music through the File Manager

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.

Hey, great review and great comments.

A few things:
- I’ve used the N85 and will get back to using it next week. To me (I might be biased) it’s the best one we made since the N73 (at least for how I like to sue phones). But, I never noticed what folks are saying about build quality. Nor have I heard anything outside this post. In any case, I’ll point it out to the folks around here.
- As for OLED, as far as I know, it doesn’t visibly degrade during the usual lifetime of the product (I think 3-5 years). So there should not be any worry. Unfortunately, I do not have any official word from the test centers on this.
- Alas, my fave feature is the FM transmitter, which is only available in certain countries. For shame. It’s so cool.

Sigh. Looking forward to getting back to my N85 next week. In the mean time, you can see a video about why I don’t have it at the moment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIqqpDB1zzw

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

I LIKE MY N82 ITS
VERY SEXY PHONE COMPARING WITH OTHERS
ITS KING OFFFFFFFFFFFFF CAMERA PHONES.

@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.

@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

Glad to see this week on Tuesday in Barcelona Nokias going to announce its new mobiles for 2009 an can”t wait to see what they are going to release,the N96 an N85 looked good phones but some features on these phones let them down,i hope there is a 8 mega-pixel one at last but just hope its not to Bulky like the N93 was,i bet they have alot of touch screen mobiles on offer as they have been trailing for a bit now,so hope to see Nokias new line up wil be to show the others they are still the Best Mobile Producers

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

Hey Mark can you tell us about the durability of the oled screen? If it does not work after 2 year can i repair it from nokia?

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!

@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.

@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?

@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.

will the second part of this review ever be released ?

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

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?

More to the point: Why have you started deleting comments that question your review? What does that kind of selective moderation say about this blog? Biased much?

If you want to hear about these extremely common N85 problems (despite it only being on the market a couple of months), then put your ear to the ground. Go search Symbian Freak, Howard Forums, Get Satisfaction, YouTube, etc. You’ll find pictures of the peeling D-Pad, and videos of the wobbly slider.

It’s not good.

@Walker, I haven’t deleted comments that question my review. If you posted links, it might have been caught by akismet.

I know there are some people having issues with the build quality and of course they’ll write about it. I’m saying I don’t have the issues found on those forums.

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!

Some people like “no wobble.” I haven’t had a dual slider from Nokia that has “no wobble.” I just tried what you wrote and I can tell you that it moves at about 1/32nd of an inch (took a ruler out). I don’t know about you but that’s negligible to me.

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.

Mark,

Thanks for the response…i’m feeling much better…just hope i dont’ get the unpeeling like some people *crosses fingers*

@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.

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.

@Farhaan, I just bought 2 Nokia n85′s last saturday. Im keeping one, and I’m selling another one. This phone is really great. Nokia’s are the best phone ever. If you would like one you can email me at rj13002@gmail.com

I have the N85, and I think that it is quite good, except the fact that the slide wobbles a bit, which is actually quite forgivable, seeing that it’s a two-way slide. And the Navi-wheel is really useful to me.

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

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?

While I like this phone a lot, there’s a question. When I connect it to the PC via USB, it charges automatically. It is quite inconvenient for me as I like to charge with the traditional charger. Can I actually turn that automatic charge function off when using USB?

I an on to my second n85 in three weeks both phones froze after i set the alarm i get my third one on saturday so i hope i have more luck with that one because it is a great phone

This is my 2nd N85, I have been using Nokia’s for a while now, and not had much problem with my previous phone, N95. The first N85 I got the front buttons which are flush with the phone, were kinda figgity, I thought I had a problem with the phone, or they were not attached properly and seemed loose, so sent it back, and wahey the 2nd one had the same problem. The front buttons you have to press them quite hard, and have been having issues with gaming, it seems to crash on me, or all the keys stop working. but see how it goes.

@lynn,

i got a nokia n85 on 22nd dec and the fone is already in the shop broke

i really like this fone but found that it continues to freeze and cut off when i was listening to the radio or on the net
but it always restarted on its own

then last week my alarm went off and the fone froze and everytime i tried to put it on it started to go on then cut off

so i have put it in the shop so fingers crossed it be repaired

It is an absolute stunner of a phone, and will be one of the first i want to try this year

I have been using my N85 past one month and I would say that the price the N85 is, it is has the worst physical built quality. My phone plastic got a crack at the lower end of the D-Pad. I have not seen such bad plastic of a Nokia device before. The battery cover is also lose and the plastic moves around while in the hand.

Feature wise this is the best phone but the front button panel plastic is really bad quality.

I never expected this but as this phone is Made in China so such things do happen i guess.

Advice to Nokia, better make your phones in Hungary, Finland or Korea only.

hi

yes i recently had the n85 on upgrade and im actually on my 3rd one within 2 months, the reason being when recording videos the phone seems not able to take in whats being filmed and the picture begins to stick but this only happens when on record because if you pause midway through then the pic on phone goes bk to normal and doesnt stick again untill you start to record again.
Has anyone else experienced this problem as i have had 3 n85′s and they all did the same n since i got it for photos n vids im not best pleased, and does anyone know when there is a software update avalible cause maybe this would solve the problem, ideas and other peoples experience’s would be welcome

thanks
sam

mate you need to get a life or a woman.

yes berish you are right, this is the same problem with min n85 also!!!

btw there is no problem with the keys i got it in they r perfect all of them they r better then my old nokia 6680 pretty much n i see no problems with it till now 10 days n best phone i preferred it from the N97 it's more practical

What's the maximum memory card can this phone hold aside form it's present 8GB memory?

i love the design of this phone, not very much into high tech features and want to buy it. i have read some comments that it crashes and brakes down. For me most important is that it works properly and its of a good quality. is it safe to buy it?

i have this Nokia N85, And loved it

Very nice review! Like the design, its smooth but there is not zomming system on picture.

asaf

N85 is the phone that has the less problems. very reliable.

it has zooming feature….
go to image,edit,resize,option,zoom

of tiffany jewelry on ebay are cheaper than tiffany jewellery outlet store, why is that?

You will find the newest tiffany jewelry on sale fashion release on their official website.

may i ask bout ur N85 bluetooth connectivity…when sony erricsson send image to N85, N85 can receive?…i face the pro that my N85 cant receive all the image Sent by sony erricsson handset,please tel me whether my problem is faced by other N85 user…… please reply me…thx

may i ask bout ur N85 bluetooth connectivity…when sony erricsson send image to N85, N85 can receive?…i face the pro that my N85 cant receive all the image Sent by sony erricsson handset,please tel me whether my problem is faced by other N85 user…… please reply me…thx

Hello … This is one of nokia's customer i bought a new n85 series mobile which so good but , coming to camera it is very clear but not so in good resolution , can i have u support to view the problem

This phone is a DUD. Very poor design of the electronics.

After 5 months of normal use my N85 died. I took it back to Nokia “Care” and they said it had “liquid damage” and would not be fixed it. It has never been anywhere near a liquid. The problem is the slider collects dust particles which attracts moisture which corrodes the unprotected electric components. This is why there are so many charging problems reported with the phone.

DO NOT BUY IT !!!!

i thnk SE is the one who is deffective:)
because some of SE's bluetooth is not cmptible to other phones[e.g.nokia,LG,]

guys can help me?..

which should i buy..
n79?n85?..

i heard that the upper keys of the n85 wud flip or something…

I could not agree more. I have one since a month, and I can't stop to play with it.

I am having problems with my N85. I have it about 6 months and already it has been back to the factory TWICE. The first time they said it was an electronic fault, the second time an issue with software and “keep it away from a dusty environment”. (I look after my phone and never have it in a dusty environment). The problem is that although fully charged I barely make two or three calls and all of a sudden the battery is low and sometimes even switches off. This is very annoying. Any suggestions anybody?

Thiz is one of the better phones i have used it is perfect for any thing.

Yep! I was agreed, I'll keep in touch to your blog. This blog is so usefully, Thanks for the posted

Yep! I was agreed, I'll keep in touch to your blog. This blog is so usefully, Thanks for the posted