Nokia N75
Phone Scoop Review
May 24, 2007 by Eric Zeman
Read our close-up look at Nokia's N75, a 3G phone for AT&T. Does it stand out in the high-end feature phone crowd? Plus Video Tour. read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
Nokia N75: Jekyll and Hyde
I love my N75. I hate my N75's battery.
The phone is wonderful. Great reception, Sharp interface, I had the Cingular version and now the AT&T version, and good overall performance from the camera and the other features. I never really explored the music side but it ran a flash movie I built with ease.
By beef with the device is the experience I have had with its' battery. I have returned the phone once due to erratic charge readings and then the phone running out of power. I have replaced the battery three times. I have run checks on the recharger cord twice.
My hope with this particular phone is that Nokia will issue a software update and/or a new standard issue battery. The N75 is too cool to have these kind of issues.
Pros
Good reception
Looks sharp
Great interface
Camera is good
Cons
Battery problems
Charging issues
Good Phone but Complicated to use
I've had the N75 for a few days and while I think it is a very good phone I'm finding it difficult to navigate and setup the phone in general. The forums have been helpful in giving good advice when I've needed help.
Pros:
The phone reception is excellent in both making and receiving calls.
Nice large screen.
Many options you can customize.
Speaker phone very good.
I haven't had any battery issues.
Cons:
Difficult to navigate and use, only my opinion.
It's a bit heavy to keep in a shirt pocket or in pants pocket.
Will keep using it for another week or so before making my decision on whether to keep it or not.
Not so my Favorite N75
I received my Nokia N75 today and its a AT&T. I like the looks of the phone but not so in the inside.
The messaging takes so long to load and some files or folder....
I don't know the battery yet... I'm making a record right now and see for how long my battery will last.... I'm planning to buy a new battery maybe in the near future or later..
I have Motorola Slvr L7 and I like it better than this but anyway I'm going to used this phone as a spare and let my L7 rest for a while....
Right now I guess I started to like Motorola better than Nokia....
Still learning; still loving
Let me say that many of the early negative reviews must have been hastily written, because anyone who's taken the time to learn this phone's capabilities knows that it CAN do what other's claim it can't.
First step: cycle your damn battery!!! Fight the eagerness to play with your new phone and charge it for 8-10 hours as soon as you get it. Afterwards, fight the urge to charge it when it gets "a little low" - wait until it starts to give you warning beeps before you recharge it. Then repeat this cycle three or four times (you won't need an 8-hour charge, of course). I know that this runs counter to common thinking about Li-ion batteries, but Nokia recommends it and this what I've always done, and I've never had battery life issues with any of my phones.
Second step: ditch the Cingular nonsense. It's nice to be able to remove all their crap to a folder you can tuck away somewhere to get it out of the way.
Third step: find the Nokia browser in the "Tools" folder and assign a shortcut to it. I'm so happy that Cingular didn't yank this feature, as it's a very nice "real" HTML browser, unlike the WAP XTML browser that Cingular adds to the phone.
Fourth step: exit your applications when you're done with them. This frees up memory and significantly increases battery life.
Once you've completed these four steps you are now ready to learn to use your phone. Don't eschew the manual - there's good info in there as well as a few lesser-known capabilities (such as the second browser).
Pros:
- stunning interior display
- great OS
- large keypad
- customizable
- typical Nokia calling strengths (it is a PHONE, afterall)
- there's quite a bit you can do through the outer display
- * key finally accesses characters even in predictive mode(!)
Cons:
- Pop port is a pain
- SIM removal is a pain
- "recently used" option no longer exists for text messages
- scroll buttons characteristically stiff
- only two preloaded themes
If you can, get an unlocked, unbranded version
Best Yet!
I am a manager for at&t and have used all phones that we have carried for the past 4 years. My favorites to date were all blackberries especially Curve, Treo 750, Nokia 6682, and Samsung SYNC. i have to say this is my favorite "phone" of them all. You can't beat the Curve for overall, but this is close. Previously, the SYNC was my all time favorite. There have been mixed reviews on this phone. All I can say is give it a chance. I tried it out on three separate occasions, and the third time was the charm. I hate that there is no A2DP support, but that will come later I am sure. I was dead set on iPhone, but this is truly a better day in and day out device. The camera and video camera are the best offered by a U.S. carrier...N95 the best period. S60 is always leaps and bounds ahead of other smart phones. Overall, if you buy this phone you will be very pleased.
The true ups and downs
I have had this phone for a week and I can tell you that I have my loves and hates about it.
Pros: Excellent Reception and Sound quality
Big buttons for easy dialing
Phone has many options
Insane camera
Cons: Battery life (I get less than a day)
Internet browser is kind of slow
Bulkier phone
N75
Pro: Nice Screen
Nice and Loud
Smaller then I thought and very palmable.
Responsive when you get used to the keypad.
BT seems powerful, turn it on, every device
in North America seems to want to pair.
Phone signal seems strong.
Cons:Keypad seems stiff.
Battery Life, but hey it's a smartphone.
Symbian learning curve.
Just OK ... !
Like many, many others I've almost had cardiac arrest waiting for the N75 - and after 2 - 3 days my opinion is it's Just OK.
Pros:
...Outstanding screen display - inside and out !
... Symbian OS rocks after you get over the learning curve. You've got so much flexibility and customization capability !
... Most calls sound really good with wonderful clarity. However, a couple have sounded pretty choppy (almost like a half-duplex connection). Don't know whether that's a 3G issue or not. I'm in a strong 3G area in North Texas and had a 6126 for a short time that did the same thing.
... Have not encountered any OS or FW issues yet
... Have not had any of the battery issues that some have reported. I picked up the phone Friday - did a complete charge - exhausted it and just now put it back on the charger. All Calls = 2:12 in addition to all the playing around with it. If the next 2 - 3 charges show improvement I can live with that.
Cons
... A little larger phone than I was expecting (as in hoping for)! Not stupid big but is taking some getting used to for me.
... Also was not expecting the lag time between some screen transitions. It's not really bad - but some of the transitions are about the same speed as my 6102 which always irritated me.
... Another little annoyance for me is the fonts apparently are not adjustable and some of the functions I use extensively (Notepad, Calendar) have pretty small typefaces. (and Yes - I have 20-20 w/o glasses).
... D-pad works pretty well - but again, takes some getting used to.
... Construction-wise phone seems really well built (possible exception may be battery cover over time). But no squeaks, rattles or "give" in the hinge.
... Music functionality is great - but the sound was MUCH better on the 6126 I had (even though the functionality wasn't).
All-in-all I like the N75 - but really only kinda "lukewarm". I'm somewhat disappointed in it after waiting so long and the jury is still out as to whether I'lkeep it or not.
Good phone in need of an update
I've had my N75 for about 2 years now had have, overall, been quite pleased with it. It has been as much a PDA as a phone for me.
Pluses:
+ Good, bright readable inside screen.
+ Nice function transreflective outside screen.
+ Very convenient system of buttons which allow, among other things, changing the writing mode, selecting frequently used apps, accessing the menus.
+ Big, fat, buttons, which are great for texting.
+ Nice integration of the music playing features as well as other functionality (e.g., calendar) with the front screen and the side buttons.
+ Very good PC Suite integration, which allows for calendar appointments, pictures, videos, SMS, etc. to be synced with the PC using blue-tooth, IR, or cable.
+ Pretty good camera and flash.
+ Solid Symbian Operating system, which allows for some very nice apps (eg. Google Maps, Handy Safe, etc.) as well as capabilities.
+ Quad-band GSM (handy on trips to Europe) and 3G support in the US.
Minuses:
- No mini-jack.
- Really bad data/music cable arrangement.
- Stiff rocker selection and small "enter" button, which often causes the thumb to slip off and hit the "diamond" menu button.
- Mediocre battery life.
- Not enough native memory for the web browser.
- No GPS, which would have been nice.
- Somewhat dicey cell service - it seems to drop calls when switching from 3G to GSM networks.
What's needed:
This phone is good in so many respects but could still use an updating. If the newer version had some of the features in the N85, such as an somewhat larger OLED inner screen, mini-jack, micro USB connector/charger, as well as some slight tweaking of the button layout, you'd have a real winner.
Love this phone!
I've had this phone since August and I can say that I've been fully impressed with it. The huge screen is great and makes it so much easier to use.
Pros:
-Large, bright screen
-Camera takes excellent pictures/videos
-Sound quality is amazing
-Music player is loud
-Never dropped a call; great call quality
-Large buttons make texting easy
-Easy to sort messages/etc.
-Large design, very sturdy
-Easy to manage calendar
Cons:
-No easy way to move message folders from phone memory to memory card (not a big deal)
-A bit slow at times
-Battery dies quickly
-Some delays while making videos
-Buttons on front a bit sensitive, I've had them go off during class, causing me to get my phone confiscated.
