Nokia has taken an age to kick an 8 megapixel camera out of their Finnish doors. But the N86 8MP is finally here and looking to steal the camphone limelight from Sony Ericsson, LG and Samsung, just as they all line up their first 12 megapixel efforts. Counting megapixels, though, is a mugs game. So can the N86 8MP really deliver? Read on and find out in our in–depth review.
There’s no doubting that Nokia’s N86 8MP is one of Espoo’s hottest handsets this year. When it was touted at Mobile World Congress, Nokia showed off huge prints taken with the N86 8MP’s eponymous snapper. And there’s no denying the results were stunning and were equally as good when we took it out for a spin.
The N86′s camera comes with the aforementioned 8MP, alongside Carl Zeiss optics and a duel LED flash. The later caused disappointment among tech spec fiends when the N86 8MP was first outed, with punters complaining about the lack of a Xenon flash. While it is a miss, it does also mean that you can grab the N86 cheaper than most other 8MP phones and it holds up to a daily pounding better than a proper bulb. Plus it works just dandy in daylight, with our shots coming out crisp and clear.
Aside from the capable camera, there’s a slew of features on the N86 to keep smartphone enthusiasts on side. That includes HSDPA, Bluetooth, Wi–Fi, A–GPS and Nokia N–Gage to boot. Entertainment junkies can also shovel on 8GB of tunes and vids, playing them back via the gorgeous 2.6–inch, 240 x 320 AMOLED screen. It may not be a beast, but it shows both pics and vids in stunning detail.
Nokia has also taken care of plenty of smaller details too, chucking in microUSB for universal charging, a now standard 3.5mm jack for hooking up your own buds and also a kickstand a la the old–school N96.
While Nokia has come late to the 8 megapixel party, the N86 8MP is a worthy, killer effort which should garner a faithful following. It gives the Sony Ericsson C905 and the LG Viewty Smart a good run too, making it worth checking out if you’re after a top–end camera phone.
