Nokia N70 review

Nokia N70 Review

Reviewed by: Sandra Vogel

Reviewed on: 13 February 2006

Features
The Nokia N70 is a Series 60 handset, and as is usual with this operating system, the built-in calendar and contact book can exchange information with a PC. Both the software and connection cable to achieve this are included.

While there is plenty of software on board for fun, including games and the Movie Director software that lets you turn your own video captures into unique 'muvees', as it calls them, there is a selection of applications that might appeal to professionals too. Among the software hidden away in a folder called Office you'll find a data converter, a calculator, a note manager, a PDF reader and viewers for Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents.

The camera has a zoom of up to 20x. This might sound fantastic, but it's digital, so image quality degrades at every increment as you zoom using the navigation button. To its credit, Nokia acknowledges this and shows the number of pixels you'll be shooting at the zoom level you have currently selected. Oddly, there's a 2x zoom on the front camera too -- during video calls you can zoom into your own nose, which we find a rather scary proposition.

On testing, the camera proved impressive. Indoor shots were a little grainy, but certainly better than those we've had from some phones, and outdoor shots were bright, clear and with good colour definition.

You can play music of course, with volume and forward/back controls on the navigation key. Output from the N70's speaker is woeful, but Nokia's headset adds both texture and depth -- just as well as it uses Nokia's proprietary Pop-Port connector. There are no equaliser settings to play with, which is a pity, and leaves the N70 with an average score in this department.

There's an FM radio built in as well. As is usual, the stereo headset needs to be used with the radio as it includes the FM antenna, though you can play radio through the N70's speaker. There is no auto configuration for the 20 station presets, but pushing the navigation button up or down auto-searches, and saving is a simple matter once you've found stations you like.

The N70 supports visual radio. It is not by any means the only handset to do so, but with the imminent launch of this service in the UK by O2 and Virgin Radio, this feature, which provides information about artists, songs and so on, alongside standard audio, may be a draw.

With all this going on, to make the most of the N70 you are going to need plenty of storage. Unfortunately, there is only 22MB built in. The included Reduced Size MultiMediaCard's 64MB capacity probably won't be enough for your needs. Expect to shell out for a higher-capacity card pretty quickly, but these are relatively inexpensive -- we found 1GB cards online for only £50, and lower-capacity cards are much cheaper.

Performance
Our test handset, loaned to us by 3, delivered a strong signal throughout the test period. Video calls on 3G were very impressive. The entire screen can be set to be occupied by your own or the caller's mugshot, which makes a big difference when compared to the rather more pokey visuals some handsets offer. The other video is, though, a very small thumbnail indeed. It is a very simple matter to switch to using the back-mounted camera for video calls -- you just open that lens cover.

Battery life is always a worry with 3G handsets, but providing you don't go mad with video calls or surfing you should be able to go for a couple of days without charging. MP3 or radio fans might want to make sure they have access to mains power fairly often, though.

Edited by Mary Lojkine
Additional editing by Nick Hide