N81 (8GB) – Multimedia Capabilities

Have you seen how iPod users navigate up and down their multimedia list simply by running their fingers round the wheel? N81 (8GB) comes with a Navi wheel functionality that works like that.

Multimedia Gallery

Those who have used a N-Series phone should know about the gallery function where you rotate each pictures into view and the rest stays as small thumbnails. You can navigate through the gallery by the use of the navigation button or you can just run your fingers around the Navi wheel and scroll through the gallery. You would need to get used to the Navi wheel as I tend to over scroll.

Zooming in and out of the pictures has never been easier. The set of gaming keys above the display controls the zooming. The zooming function is rather snappy and doesn’t throw “out of memory. Please close application” type of prompts.

Camera
It is kind of frustrating to know that the N81 comes with a 2 megapixel camera instead of 3 as 3 megapixels camera phones are quite the norm nowadays.

The camera function can be launched by depressing the camera button at the side or by launching the camera application. Grid lines function is something new to me. Grid lines divides your view finder into 9 equal segments. Personally I use it to level my pictures so that they don’t look like it is taken by a drunkard. According to my photography friend, it is used for something that is called the “rule of thirds” rule.

One bad point about the camera – it doesn’t come with auto focus. Taking close shots tends to be blurred. So forget about taking macro shots, focus on taking pictures of your friends and landscapes.

For some reason, the pictures look fantastic in the gallery but looks like any plain 2 megapixel pictures when seen on the computer.

Music Playback

The included music players looks exactly like those in previous N-Series phones. Navi wheel comes into play again. You can run your fingers through your play lists or individual audio files. Audio files that are supported are also the standard MP3, AAC, eAAC+ and WMA.

Files can be easily transferred over to the phone by Bluetooth or using the supplied USB transfer cable. I would recommend transferring files over USB as the Bluetooth speed is simply terrible for large transfers. After files are transferred, the music player automatically scans the file system for newly added audio files.

I am not a audiophile so I would just say that there are different equalizer settings you can apply or even change their settings to suit your liking.

Not bad, the music player suits my basic needs in isolating noise while mugging.

FM Radio
FM radio is something that couldn’t be missed. 8GB of storage space is definitely a lot be sometimes listening to stuffs over and over again could be boring. The included Visual Radio application allows you to tune in to your local radio station. The radio function is similar to those implemented in Nokia handphone. Just scan, save and enjoy.

Video Playback
It comes with Real player and Flash player. You can use it to watch the videos you have recorded using the N81 or movie trailers that are offered in Real format. Video play back can be set to become full screen so that you can sit back (slightly) and enjoy instead of squinting your eyes.