Now that the N78 has survived the TamsS60 review procedure (and a visit to FH Hagenberg’s Dr. Schaffer), it’s time for our final verdict. In case you missed a part of the review: find them all below:
The Nokia N78 review – unboxing
The Nokia N78 review – size
The Nokia N78 review – physical
The Nokia N78 review – screen
The Nokia N78 review – software
The Nokia N78 review – camera
Anyways…S60V3 FP2 is out of the labs. The doors of the ivory tower have opened, and the N78 was thrown out to the masses. IMHO, the masses should launch a protest matching the ancient An Shi Rebellion in response: the N78 is the worst S60 phone that hit the TamsS60 desks. Ever.
The hardware is miserably-built. The camera key pisses me off to no end whenever I (try) to use it – by the time the camera application has launched, the shooting opportunity usually is gone. As for the rattling back plate: rappers could use the device for background breaks. Nokia’s intention to limit the device’s lifespan becomes painfully obvious whenever the device is handled…cutting a long story short: the N78 feels cheap. Really cheap. Rock bottom cheap.
Taking a look at the camera doesn’t reveal anything positive either: 3MP, no real flash…in a 2008 multimedia-centric device? Sorry…
Finally, it’s time to look at the horror that’s known as FP2. The operating system is incredibly slow, navigating takes ages. Hitting the right menu option while scrolling can be considered a gamble; as can be the launching of the camera application.
The new ‘task list’ doesn’t offer any real benefits either – FP2 can be considered and ‘eye-candy’ update that does little except hog resources and user time. Transitions may be beautiful – but this is a phone and not a transition viewer.
Once again: there is nothing positive to remark about this machine as it is a total pain to use. It should be avoided at all cost, even when given away for free in a contract bundle(which is likely to happen). Developers may need to purchase one for testing purposes, but are explicitly advised against a site wide roll-out.
P.S. Future software updates may adress some of the issues mentioned, but will not be able to affect the horrible form factor and build quality. I recommend you all to wait – proper S60V3 FP2 devices should be upcoming in the next 6 to 12 months. And there’s always the excellent N95 and N82…
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