Nokia N81 and N81 8GB
Discontinued 29th August 2007
Remember the Nokia
N-Gage? Nokia's original attempt at a gaming platform
fell a bit flat in most (but not all) markets and largely
sank without trace. But Nokia didn't give up on the
idea of advanced mobile gaming, and now it's back with
a vengeance on the Nokia N81 plus some other smartphone
devices in the Nokia range.
So what exactly makes up the Nokia N81? Well, this
is a 3G slider with a 2.4" 240 x 320 pixel display
that works in landscape (wide) and portrait (tall) orientations.
On the back is a 2 megapixel camera, and the N81 also
has WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity which can also be
used for gaming. There's an FM radio too, and the N81
runs the Symbian S60 operating system, making it a capable
smartphone.
Nokia say that the keys light up when you use
them, and they are also optimised for playing games
in landscape mode as well as playing multimedia and
all the other smartphone functions. As you'd expect,
there's a web browser and email client and the Nokia
N81 can also place VOIP calls (if your carrier has not
disabled the functionality). There's a navigation wheel,
and the N81's interface has had an overhaul to make
it more dynamic.
Some
effort has gone into integrating the N81 with Nokia's
new Music Store and it can also be synchronised using
a compatible media player application. As you might
suspect, the N81 8GB comes with 8GB of internal memory,
whereas the cheaper standard N81 uses microSD memory
expansion.
Games for the N81 can be downloaded from Nokia's
N-Gage
Arena for a typical fee of €6-€10. Some of
these can be played against others using the internet
or WLAN connection. The N-Gage gaming platform isn't
limited to the N81 either, owners of the N73, N93, N93i,
N95 and N95 8GB can join in too.
It's quite a heavy phone at 140 grams in weight and
102 x 50 x 17.9mm in size. Talktime is up to 3 hours
on 3G and 4 hours on GSM, with a maximum standby time
of around 16 days. Alternatively, you can play music
on it for up to 11.5 hours.
Nokia say that the N81 and N81 8GB should be available
during Q4 2007 at an estimated cost before tax and subsidy
of €430 / £290 for the N81 8GB and around €360
/ £250 for the more basic N81.
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Nokia
N81 and N81 8GB at a glance
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Available:
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Q3
2007
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Network:
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GSM
850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
UMTS 2100
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Data:
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GPRS
+ EDGE + UMTS (3G) + WiFi
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Screen:
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240x320
pixels, 16m colours
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Camera:
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2
megapixels
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Size:
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Large
slider 102 x 50 x 18mm
/ 140 grams
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Bluetooth:
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Yes
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Memory
card:
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microSD
(N81 only)
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Infra-red:
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No
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Polyphonic:
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Yes
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Java:
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Yes
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Battery
life:
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3-4
hours talk / 16 days standby
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