Sporting a double-slider form factor similar to the Nokia N85, the N86 brings high-end optics to go with heavy multimedia capabilities. The camera takes center stage in this release, with the hardware offering the first 8-megapixel variable aperture in a cell phone.
Getting right into the meat of the handset, the camera takes some of the most gorgeous phone-snapped stills you will ever find and is certainly up to par (maybe a tad better) than similar modules currently in the market (e.g. Samsung INNOV8, Omnia HD). Equipped with wide-angle Carl Zeiss Tessar optics and fourth generation double LED flash, it manages great exposure, excellent contrast and beautiful colors. While details generally tend to suffer on camera phones compared to actual point-and-shoots, the Nokia N86 seemed to offer more of it compared to competing devices.
Both indoor shots and night mode, as expected, suffer a bit, though are generally good compared to what your average camera phone delivers. In fact, I'd go so far as to say its indoor shots are probably the best we've ever seen on any phone, bar none. It also manages to capture VGA video at 30fps with very, very good quality.
Interface is not very different, however, than what you can find in the N95, which is a considerably older model. Hopefully, Nokia updates its camera interface soon because it really is getting stale and is probably the low-point of the handset.
Physically, the N86 is almost as heavy as the Nokia N97, though I actually like it better because of the predominantly metal components (compared to the latter's plastic build). It sports a gorgeous 2.6-inch AMOLED display that works very well under direct sunlight.
As we said, it comes with a dual-slider design, with a T9 keyboard slipping out from the bottom and dedicated media controls from the top. There's no QWERTY panel and it isn't a touchscreen, so habitual messaging addicts beware.
The rest of the phone functions capably:
- Calls offer above average quality, with the occasional sharpness.
- Navigation is fast and hitch-free.
- Media playback is very good and is comparable, in many ways, to the manufacturer's flagship N97.
- It comes with all the accoutrements you can expect from a high-end smartphone - GPS, Bluetooth, HSPA and everything else.
All told, the Nokia N86 is a solid smartphone with one of the best camera modules around. It puts those 8-megapixels to good use, although the variable aperture probably doesn't bring as much benefits as it can if it was on an actual point-and-shoot. It's an attractive handset, though, and, with the exception of the lack of QWERTY keys, I'd say it's a better purchase than even the N97.
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OMG such a great looking phone. The features and specs are just amazing. I hope price is also within my reach and symbian software is not laggy.
[...] camera phones. It’s personally my favorite out of every one I’ve tried (e.g. LG KC780, Nokia N86), capably producing images with bright colors, rich tones and plenty of detail. A built-in [...]
[...] megapixel camera phones. It’s personally my favorite out of every one I’ve tried (e.g. LG KC780, Nokia N86), capably producing images with bright colors, rich tones and plenty of detail. A built-in [...]
The newer Symbian phones are not laggy at all and are very fast. They are also stable as well.
The screen and camera are really awesome. However it would be a tough call between N97 and N86. This has a great camera while the N97 has touch screen and QWERTY. I like the N97 better.
The N86 seems to be a great phone. Does it support the divx & xvid formats. If yes, thoes it support the all versions of codec?