vB Easy Archive - Unbranded N75 Mini-Review

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Unbranded N75 Mini-Review
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Posted by: Baldilocks

I've been using this phone for quite some time and figured it was time I wrote a little mini-review on the Unbranded/Unlocked Nokia N75.

Per my previous reviews I will break it down into the following categories.
1. Build Quality
2. RF Performance
3. Call Quality
4. Sound Quality
5. OS
6. Displays
7. Camera

Build Quality
========
The Nokia N75 is a pretty hefty phone. It feels very substantial in your hand. It is not a "thin" phone like the RAZR, but I have no problems carrying it in my pocket. The only problem I have is that the hinge is not the sturdiest hinge and feel "spongy" when open. As a matter of fact you can open it a litte more when you think it is already fully open. The hinge is definatelly the weak point of the phone. Other than that the N75 is beautifully crafted and the design is well thought out.

RF Performance
==========
This is one of the best RF performers in my opinion. On par with the V3xx, V9 at least on AT&T's network. Holds on to a 3G signal pretty good too. Your battery life will suffer in a 3G area though.

Call Quality
=======
Very good call quality. Callers on the other end come thru nice and clear. Speakerphone works nice as well.

Sound Quality
======
Wonderful. The stereo speakers make the phone sound amazing when playing back .mp3's or other audio files. Ringers are nice and loud as well. Definately one of the best sounding phones on the market.

Operating System
============
The Nokia N75 uses Symbian with S60. Does not have FP1.
The UI is very robust and uses a lot of the phones onboard RAM. While the menus render a LOT faster than the Cingular/AT&T branded N75, they are still noticeably slower than non-smartphones.
The ability to use many 3rd party applications is a big plus as well.
I only have a few small things that I can pick on. For one, no animated wallpaper support and no animated icons in the menu's.
I still think Sony Ericsson has the best look/feel of any OS out there.
Overall if you are looking for a smartphone in a flip format, and you hate windows mobile as much as I do, then this will be a good choice. It can do pretty much anything you need it to do.

Displays
======
The internal QVGA screen is very bright and easy to read. At 2.4", it is one of the biggest available on a flip phone here in the States.

The external screen is quite smaller and displays the usual information plus you can perform some of the following tasks:
1. Start the music player. (Shuffle thru tracks and playlists.)
2. Read incoming text messages.
3. Start the FM radio.
4. Initialize the built in camera/video recorder.

Camera
======
The N75 has a 2.0 Megapixel camera with integrated flash. I dont know about anyone else, but I can never take a good picture with this phone. Pictures always come out very pixelated and have a green tint to them. I personally feel that the camera was an afterthought on this phone.
The camera on the V3xx and V8 take better pictures in my opinion.

Overall I give this phone a 7.5 out of 10.

Posted by: Baldilocks

Some Nokia N75 screenshots:

Posted by: ace587

thats cool, got more pics?

Posted by: Baldilocks

Quote:

Originally Posted by ace587

thats cool, got more pics?

Ummmm... pictures of what??

Posted by: ace587

phone itself

Posted by: Baldilocks

Quote:

Originally Posted by ace587

phone itself

Sure! Here you go:

Posted by: ace587

sweet man, i see theres no branding on the outside which is good

hws the keypad, seems like u have big hands

Posted by: Baldilocks

Heheh. Yes, I am a big guy. 6'2", 240 pounds.
Keypad has plenty of room on it.. it's very easy to text with.

Posted by: ace587

thats sweet, im thinking of an N75 to accompany my N80, glad i found this review

Posted by: samsung.user

I really like this phone too. Like the blue lights against the black. Especially on the side.

Unfortunately, bad camera (no macro), and no stereo bt

Posted by: Baldilocks

Quote:

Originally Posted by samsung.user

I really like this phone too. Like the blue lights against the black. Especially on the side.

Unfortunately, bad camera (no macro), and no stereo bt

Yes, the unbranded N75 and the "AT&T" branded have stereo bluetooth. The "Cingular" branded N75 does not.

Posted by: samsung.user

Hi, thanks. Good on the a2dp. Camera is no problem.

Where did you buy your unbranded nokia from? The nokia store? Or where do people in general buy their unbranded nokias to get a valid usa nokia warranty. Or even if you buy from a side shop, the nokia warranty is still valid?

99% sure my next phone will be a s60 nokia. Really like this phone. Gonna stop by cingular today and hopefully they have one so I can play with it and see how it feels in my hand. Never was a big flip fan, but looking at this phone is changing my mind. I just love the black and silver, with the blue light.

I messed up and mentioned this phone to a friend. He has cingular and saw he could get it for like $99. Hope he doesn't get it. He was talking about getting a u600 all along until I mentioned this, now he wants this. Hate when people do that.

Thanks.

Posted by: energy177

baldilocks,

is your hinge on your N75 slightly loose when the flip is CLOSED. all i have to do is lightly push up on the flip and it starts to open. def not solid when closed. yours do this?

Posted by: Baldilocks

Quote:

Originally Posted by energy177

baldilocks,

is your hinge on your N75 slightly loose when the flip is CLOSED. all i have to do is lightly push up on the flip and it starts to open. def not solid when closed. yours do this?

Yes, they all do this. It is supposed to make it easy to open with one hand.

Posted by: samsung.user

I checked out this phone at the at&t store. Wasn't even a working one. That at&t store went to hell. Not even iphones on display anymore and they used to have 2 of them. The 8525 had a broken screen, and the curve didn't have a net connection. Nothing to play with.

The demo felt ok in the hand I guess, but not for me. Still one of the coolest flips.

Posted by: wirelessgal

Great review Baldilocks. Now please send me your n75.

Posted by: ace587

Quote:

Originally Posted by wirelessgal

Great review Baldilocks. Now please send me your n75.

not if he sees the tattoo on ur butt first

Posted by: Baldilocks

Quote:

Originally Posted by ace587

not if he sees the tattoo on ur butt first

I do believe WirelessGAL is a .... she

Posted by: ace587

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baldilocks

I do believe WirelessGAL is a .... she

she is, i got proof

Posted by: zephxiii

awesome, hows the battery life on it? comparable to the v3xx?

Posted by: Baldilocks

Quote:

Originally Posted by zephxiii

awesome, hows the battery life on it? comparable to the v3xx?

Nah, it gets about 75% of the battery life of a V3xx.

Posted by: DRC72

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baldilocks

Nah, it gets about 75% of the battery life of a V3xx.

If you set packet data to when need it will increase your battery time somewhat......

Posted by: Baldilocks

Quote:

Originally Posted by DRC72

If you set packet data to when need it will increase your battery time somewhat......

The unbranded ones (at least mine), already came that way.