I Choose The N82

I've been giving some serious thought to which phone I should buy next. I've not been using Nseries for a while, I've been off using handsets from Sony Ericsson and Samsung, fine handsets in their own right, I guess, but not for me.

Recently I've been using an E51, which is a great handset, but I was getting itchy for something new. As it turns out, my choice is anything but. I was thinking of going retro, with either the N80 or the N73, but although the appeal was there, I decided it wasn't worth it. I left myself with a choice between the N82, or getting one of the really nice Eseries phones, either the E66 or E71.

The E71 is a fantastic handset, a friend recently nominated it his 'handset of the year'. One of the major pluses of the E71 is the reported battery times. It has always been one of the important points for me, on any phone, is the quality of the battery. But finally, with this phone, I am just not sure the QWERTY keypad is for me. Very fickle I know, but sometimes it comes down to the minor points when choosing a phone.

The E66 is a good alternative to the E71, with a more standard form factor. Reviews are quite harsh when commenting on the battery life with this phone, but it is still overall a fine looking handset, with plenty to offer. The build quality on the E66 and E71 also feels top drawer, really solid and feel like they are built to last.

Thing is, after a lot of thought and some useful suggestions in the comments a few posts back, I decided the phone I'm gonna stick with is the N82. I picked one up the other day to use whilst deciding what phone to get, and I guess that has influenced me. Ever since the first day I used the N82 I have been impressed with its all-round feature set. Quality in all areas, camera, GPS, Web, Email, acceptable size, with an acceptable battery life too. The keypad can become frustrating, especially when composing long emails, but that is not enough to detract from the quality of the phone.

I had looked at newer Nseries phones, like the N96, but I am not liking that phone. Too buggy, (Yeah, I know I can update when new firmware releases, but still, poor showing from Nokia with that phone) and the build quality is just so cheap and plastic. The Eseries phones are streets ahead in this regard.

So, N82 it is. But I honestly feel with the better media features now on Eseries phones, and a superior build quality, active standby screen plugins, etc, my next purchase may be Eseries.