Reviews of N76

The Design:

Trims available with the N76 are apparently aimed at the fashion conscious audience – these are the classic black and so popular among women red.

As a matter of fact, the company has managed to squeeze the hardware of the N76 into a casing only 13.7 mm deep, not due to cutting-edge alterations to the chassis; basically they have made it taller. Generally speaking Nokia 6290 is an exact replica of Nokia N76 – there aren’t many differences to dwell upon. While the 6290 measures 94x50x20.8 mm, the N76 presents us with 106.5x52x13.7 mm, meaning that it is a tad wider, almost 1 cm taller and all this for being reasonably thin.

The handset is easy to hold in hands with the clam closed and it does leave a very strong impression – after all, it is a feature-packed smartphone with a whole lot of attractiveness inside. But otherwise eye-candy phone lacks ease of use – trying to flip it open reveals that not everything is about sunshine and rainbows there. The flip action is somewhat clunky due to the hinge lack auto-spring mechanism, so that the clam freezes half way up, and that is not all – the casing’s width and design don’t allow for opening the handset single-handedly, so you always end up using both hands.

Another newsworthy drawback is glossy finishing of the casing, along with the mirror-like surface of the front plate. The phone collects much gunk within the very first minutes of playing around with it, so rubbing down is something you should get ready to do regularly. Because of the mirror-finished framing the external display seems to be a tad dimmer than that found on Nokia 6290.

The left side houses microSD memory cards socket, covered by a drop-out flap – even though it looks splendid and promises no issues with getting to the socket itself, taking out the card is not always convenient, as your hands aren’t likely to fit in the tiny space around the socket. Next to the memory expansion slot is charger socket, which is an altogether strange design.

The dedicated camera button sits on the right, as well as gallery shortcut key, similar to those found on senior Nseries models. Volume rocker switch, doubling as zoom in/out button while shooting, accompanies the above controls on the right side.

On the top end you will find a rubber-flap-covered miniUSB slot, as well as the power button and 3.5 mm audio jack. The N76 comes included with the HS-43 headset, which is different from the HS-42 found in the box with Nokia 5300, however this difference regards the jack they link up to – the former utilizes 3.5 mm, while the latter gadget asks for 2.5 mm.

The bottom rim is occupied by the speaker playing back ring tones and engaging when handsfree mode is activated.

The keypad is made of metal with the framings between the buttons differing depending on the handset’s trim – on a red-colored phone they are red and on a black one – black respectively. In terms of ergonomics the numberpad is average, since keys offer barely-there feedback, but deliver pleasant tactile feelings thanks to their ribbed surface. Unlike Nokia 6290, this model still has the Pencil key on it. All keys are lit in blue (for the black trim and red – for the other color scheme); no issues with poor backlighting of certain symbols were spotted.

On the top half under the external display is a trio of function keys, lit in either black or red (it’s all up to the trim you own).


The Functions:

The phone supports Java™ games & Java™ applications which provide the user with a fun & lively feel to their gaming experience. The user can play games, listen to music, take photos, record video, send emails & messages on their highly capable Nokia N76. The 3G smart phone comes with a RealPlayer media player which allows the user to listen to music & watch video with ease. The built in music player supports all popular formats of music files which include MP3, WAV, MIDI, AAC, eAAC, eAAC+, M4A & WMA. The user can download their favourite music onto their phone using one of the connectivity option on the Nokia N76 & enjoy having their music with them at all times. The music player comes with a play list feature which allows the user to manage their music easily. The user can gain the best quality sound for the style of music they are playing by using the built in equaliser. The N76 comes with a FM radio which allows the user to gain access to the favourite FM radio stations & listen to worldwide news & weather reports from their mobile phone.

The N76 comes with a high quality & fun camera feature which allows the user to take photos, edit photos, save photos & share them with other contacts. The camera is a 2 megapixel camera with a Carl Zeiss Optics Tessar™ Lens. The camera comes complete with 20 x digital zoom & a LED flash which ensures a clear & precise photo is capture each & every time the camera is used. The user has the freedom to take photos when the phone is in the opened or closed position with the use of camera capture keys being situated externally. The camera feature comes with many useful & exciting camera modes & photo setting which allow the user to gain the perfect finish for their photos. The screens work as viewfinders for camera & video features.

The user can record, play, stream, download, edit, share & video call using the Nokia N76's video feature. The Nokia N76 comes with a built in video recorder which is easy to use & comes with many fun & useful settings & modes, ready & waiting for the user to edit their video recordings to perfection. The user can share their video with others by simply creating a multimedia message with video, text & sound. The user can have a face to face video call with other contacts who have a compatible 3G mobile phone with a video calling feature. The user can see their contact on the large internal screen & the second small camera on the N76 will record the user which will be seen by their compatible contact.

In music playback mode, as the maker assures, the N76 lasts up to 8 hours, but in practice it works for 4-5 hours depending on your current preferences, volume and type of headphones.

In terms of internet functions, the Nokia N76 has a Nokia web browser, with Nokia Mobile Search which offers online accessible maps and Mini Map, which makes reaching services like Flickr and Amazon easy.