Nokia N82 - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly!

So, after a long time deciding, I now have a sure idea in my mind what I want in my mobile phone. I still say phone, when in reality it is so much more. But Mobile Communication device just sounds naff!

Candy bar is my preference, followed by flip, then slide. I want a proper alphanumeric keypad on my phone. No QWERTY, no touchscreen. It must be S60.

At the moment, the Nokia N82 fulfills my requirements for the above. But the N82 is not perfect. Here's my take on what is good, what is bad, and what is downright ugly!

The Good.
5mp Camera - With the N82 you've got to start with the standout feature, the camera. Excellent high quality pics, proper Xenon flash, quick processing. Video clip quality is very good too, more than acceptable.
Connectivity - Everything you need, from WiFi to HSDPA, Bluetooth, backed up by HSCSD, GPRS and EDGE.
Messaging - Everything covered here, too. Email is the main one I use, so much cheaper with a good data plan to email than use text or SMS. Also being S60 there are so many options for connecting to IM services, too.
GPS - If you are going to have a feature like GPS on your phone, it is good to know it will work when needed. The GPS on the N82 is damn fast, I rarely have to wait too long to get a log to the network, and with aGPS as a back up location finding is almost instant. I rarely use maps, but on the occasions I have the software has never let me down, and t hat applies to either Nokia Maps or Google Maps.
3.5mm Connector - Having a music player on a mobile phone is pretty much standard these days, but a 3.5mm connector is not. Even some handsets that are heavily branded as music phones, like the Walkman range from Sony Ericsson, lack such an obvious option.

For me, the above are the highlights of an excellent product. There is much more that the phone offers, but those are the standout features I appreciate having. But, it isn't all rosy....

The Bad
I don't like the Micro USB cable - I have so many standard mini USB cables lying around, but for that one phone I have to have a Micro USB cable. Annoying. I don't understand why Nokia couldn't stick with the standard mini USB here?
Multimedia key - Unlike some other bloggers, the multimedia menu on the Nseries range doesn't bother me so much, as I rarely use it. But that silly key does bother me, a lot. It just gets in the way, and it looks naff.
And if that key is bad, then the actual keypad is a nightmare. Although recent experience has shown me it is preferable to a QWERTY set up, it is still uncomfortable for long term usage.

The Ugly
This is ugly! Just look at that Homescreen, writing all over the place! I actually like having the shortcut icons on my screen, at the top, but I do not like in any way the whole list of writing that comes with it. Search content, share online, calendar entries, etc, it just looks so messy. I'm not really bothered about themes, as you can see I tend to stick with plain looking ones, so it is not having the wallpaper covered that bothers me but the mess. What makes the whole thing worse is knowing that Nokia could very easily implement the excellent homescreen plugins used on the Eseries. The all or nothing approach with the Nseries handsets is just not on, not with a perfectly acceptable solution just begging to be used.
So currently my screen looks like this. It just looks wrong without the six icons across the top. It's a good thing that I can create shortcuts around the Navi-Key, but it isn't the same.

So, that's my thoughts on the N82 for now. By no means an exhaustive list, but just a highlight of what I like and dislike about the phone. Until a proper replacement comes along, it is the phone I choose to use.