Typical price: £300
What is it: 3G clamshell smartphone
What we think: Plenty of features, but the N76 is marred by bizarre design decisions
Nokia N76 Review
Reviewed on: 23 October 2007
Weaknesses
The biggest problems with the N76 revolve around its design. The handset just feels wrong when you hold it in your hand, mainly because it's far too wide. To be blunt, you'd have to have hands like King Kong for it to feel comfortable. It's also way too tall, especially with the flip open -- in fact, when you put it up to your ear it feels like you're talking into a 40-story building.
But the design faux pas don't end there. In one of the worst decisions we've seen on a product in a long time, Nokia has decided to put the headphone jack at the top of the main body of the phone. This would be fine, except for the fact that when the headphones are attached the connector impedes the hinge and stops it opening fully!
Like many of Nokia's smartphones, the N76 is also found wanting when it comes to battery life. Expect to get a rather curt 2 hours 45 minutes of talk time out of it and around 8 days and 12 hours on standby. A marathon runner it certainly is not.
Conclusion
The N76 has excellent dual screens, impressive smartphone features and very good music performance. Its wonky design and poor battery life make it hard to recommend, however. So while this handset may be in the same range as the excellent N95, it's definitely not in the same class.
Edited by Jason Jenkins
Additional editing by Jon Squire
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