After having looked at the size of the N78, it’s time to look at what’s inside the brick. Stay tuned for our classic “physical” review…
When looking at the front of the device, one immediately thinks about the iPhone. Indeed, the device’s front is almost completely plain except for a button or two. Unfortunately, the display as scratch-sensitive as the one found on Palm’s Treo 500 series…keeping the device in a normal neoprene bag for a few days leads to a few annoying scratches:
The keyboard looks very small at first glance. However, it becomes surprisingly comfortable after a few minutes of use - the slim keys make hitting multiple keys impossible. Unfortunately, the dedicated edit key is gone; the keyboard text is almost impossible to read while the backlight is off:
When the device is powered on, the 5way navigator blinks once every few seconds:
The back of the device contains the flash LED and the camera. Nokia saw no need to protect the lens - the intention of limiting the device’s life is painfully obvious:
Removing the back plate is a pretty painful procedure. Doing so reveals the battery and the SIM slot(the battery must be removed in order to access the SIM card). Making matters worse: the shakes around when installed:
The top of the device contains the 3.5″ headphone jack and the standard N-Series power button:
Looking at the left side reveals the memory card slot - trust me if I say that it is as crappy as the one found on the N82.
The right side contains the camera controls. I am very dissatisfied with the shutter button as it feels WAY too soft - pressing it often does nothing:
In the end, I am very sorry, but I do NOT like the N78’s build quality(it feels WAY too cheap). Cutting costs is OK on a consumer “blockbuster” device - but the N78 went at least one bridge too far. The innovative keyboard and design definitely are great - but the shabby build quality keeps me returning to my good old N71…
