Nokia N78 Hands-On - The Longer lasting NSeries Device.!

Thanks to WOM World Nokia for sending me this N78 for review, which really is a black sheep of the NSeries devices.

The Nokia N78 packs the same BL-6F battery as the N95 8GB model, and I have to say, if you are looking for long battery life in your Nokia handset, then the N78 is the one to invest in.  Click "Read More" to read the full Review, and take a look at the some 30 photos.

My trial N78 has been sat on standby, with the occasional text, and call for almost a week, and the battery still has juice in it, and has yet to show the battery low warning message.  All this time was from a single charge to full.  Quite remarkable, especially comparing it to the N95’s I’m all too familiar with.

The look of the N78 features the all too familiar style to the NSeries devices, however, with a quite unusual numbered keypad.  Four singular rows of numeric keys, which as first you ask yourself how does this actually work when I press it, you would think being a strip running across the numbered keys, it would enhance keystroke errors, but I can confirm this is not the case at all.  I don’t know exactly how this works, but it works very well indeed.

In standby mode, obviously there is no illumination to any of these keys, including the function keys to the left, and right of the keypad.  With the illumination on however, it all becomes quite clear, and a very user-friendly layout. 

To the left of the keypad you have the familiar menu key, and above that to the left of the D-Pad, the green answer key. 

To the right of the keypad you have the “C” Cancel Key, which is kind of in an awkward position, especially if your right handed, and text with your thumb,  above that “C” key, you have the Red Call cancel key.

 Then to the immediate left of the red end call key you have the Multimedia key, which is silver in colour, and slightly raised from the fascia, which eases operation.

Below the LCD screen cover in the center of the device you have the all too familiar D-pad, which has the famous Nokia breathing effect whilst on standby.  This also changes and pulses to let you know if you have missed a call, or received a text message.

While we are talking about the D-pad, the Navi-Wheel function for this, is way too sensitive, and causes more error key presses during menu navigation.  I ended up switch it off as I found myself taking much longer than normal to carry out any simple task.  If, and when you do get the Navi-Wheel working correctly, it does sound a slight click sound to let you know its operating.

At the top right of the front of the N78 you will find the Secondary Camera, and to the left of it the light sensor.  In the center top position you have the ear piece.

Right hands side of the N78 features from left to right.  Camera Focus, capture button, Volume up, and down rocker switch, and one of the two speakers, the second speaker being on the left side, but located at the lower area, not directly opposite.

Top of the N78 features the On/off Button, and a 3.5mm Audio out Jack.

Left hand side of the N78 from left to right.  Micro USB (This replaces the Mini USB, and is fast becoming the normal set up with new Nokia handsets), to the right of that, the MicroSD Memory card door, then further to the right the small Nokia pin charge port. (No USB Charging here, again), then finally, as mentioned earlier, the second of the two stereo speakers.

Base of the N78 is bare, apart from the centrally located Microphone, oh, and of course, the lanyard hookup.

Onto the rear of the device, you could quite easily mistake the N78 for an N81 device, with almost identical looks.  Main Camera which is a 3.2MP boasting a Carl Zeiss lens, and single LED, although for a single LED, it’s quite bright, and have often been left with green spots in my eyes.!

When you remove the back battery cover from the N78, the first thing you will notice is the built-in antenna, this is the WiFi antenna. 

You must ensure when refitting this back that you do so correctly, because it’s very easy to damage this part below.  It’s this part of the back you have to insert, fit first, then once in place, you can clip the rest of the back in place.

Once all clipped into place, removal is carried out by pressing this clip in, which releases it.

The rear of the Opening clip, exposing construction..

As mentioned earlier, the BL-6F 3.7v battery is used in the N78, the very same battery as the N95-2, and N95-4 8GB models.  This, and I cannot praise it enough, really makes the N78 come into its own, with really long battery life.

Your Sim Card slides into place below the bottom of the battery as seen here..

Also at the inner lower back of the N78, you will find a white square, this is Litmus paper, which indicates if the device has been subject to water, or moisture.  White is ok, pink if subjected to moisture, and red it actually submerged in liquid.

Now, onto the software of the N78, which is a, S60 3^rd Edition Feature pack 2 device, which is very similar to Feature Pack 1, but with enhancements to the UI, including animated themes, and menu structure layout, and navigation experience.  You will also notice a central key option “Open” with Feature Pack 2, adding to the usability of the device.

The N78 was also given N-Gage Support November last year, Simply point your N78's S60 browser to “n-gage.mobi/d” (there’s no “www”) select N78, and then it will download, and install the N-Gage app directly to your N78.

I will be writing more about the N78 Software, and user experience in the coming week, along with reporting on my experiences with a few software applications WOM World have asked me to try out with the N78, so keep your eyes peeled for that.  These applications, include, Advanced Call Manager, SkyeQuikey, and we:offset.

Thanks for taking the time to read my review, please leave a comment below if you have any questions, and I will do my best to answer them.  If you do not have a VOX account, and don’t wish to sign up for one, checkout my Social Media sites at the top of my homepage where you can get hold of me, be it Twitter, Facebook, or Flickr etc.

WOM World also sent me a set of Nokia Mini Speakers to Trial, the MD-4 Speakers, so stay tuned, and subscribe to my feeds to be notified when the review of those is posted, as I will be carrying out several tests with them with several Nokia handsets.