Nokia N70: Overview
Last year, Nokia unveiled its cutting-edge Nseries lineup at a Destination Media event in Amsterdam. Nokia, you may recall, was once the frontrunner in bar-shaped cell phones long before they were even called “bar-shaped.” Today, they’ve dropped out of the mobile phone market.
Not really, of course, but here’s what they have to say about themselves:
We don’t sell phones. We sell multimedia computers. What’s the difference? For starters, the Nokia Nseries enable you to do far more than just make calls. These devices deliver unparalleled photo, video, and music quality. The barriers separating you from the things you value most simply disappear, so you stay connected to the people you need, the entertainment you love, and the information you can’t live without.
Now, if this isn’t your first visit to the site, you are well aware by now that anything (phone or not) claiming to be a multimedia computer is just something I need to see for myself.
The Nokia N70 is the most basic Nseries model, though an integrated 2-megapixel Carl Zeiss lens camera plus an additional VGA camera for videoconferencing isn’t exactly what I’d call basic. There’s also a RealPlayer Media Player, Visual Radio, Adobe PDF viewer, Bluetooth, and web browser. This is entry level?
Note: Since I enjoy writing the feature-specific review series about the Sony Vaio UX180P, I’ve decided to do something similar with the Nseries in the coming weeks and months. I’ll be getting other models in the future, but for now the reviews will focus on the N70. In the meantime, you can check out the full specs here.
Closer look
On the top of the N70 are the power button and speaker, which produces impressively clear and loud sound.
Nothing to look at on the right side, though perhaps now is the time to point out that the phone doesn’t lay flat.
Here you can see the tiny power port on the left and the proprietary USB and headset connection on the right. Hmm. So much for listening to your favorite tunes with a decent set of earbuds or IEMs.
An expansion slot for reduced-size multimedia cards (RS-MMC) is built into the left side of the N70. Unlike a lot of other gadgets equipped with exposed card slots, this one features a protective plastic door to block out dust and other debris.
Probably the most notable feature of the N70 is its 2-megapixel camera, which is revealed by sliding down the silver lens cover on the back of the device.
Pretty nice!
By the way, "Nseries" is not a typo. That’s really what the product line is called. Not N series, Nseries. With a name like this, am I supposed to say "Nseries series of phones" or "Nseries of phones"? Oh, right, these aren’t phones. But seriously, I don’t like it when words are smooshed together as though they’re URLs. Must be a residual effect from my editing business…
