Maybe “buttercase” would be more appropriate actually. Nokia’s second Nseries to come out of Barcelona today is the N78, an Nseries candybar that may have taken Nokia’s growing affinity for button experimentation a bit too far. The standard 12-key layout is replaced by four long slender buttons, each topped with illuminated key labels that disappear a la Moto’s ROKR E8. Mixed reports are popping up in terms of the feel during operation, but no-look typing will surely take a bit of getting used to. Don’t let the styling turn you off completely though; key specs are as follows:
- Quad-band GSM (850/900/1800/1900MHz) and dual-band HSDPA (900/2100MHz) or (850/1900MHz)
- 1200mAh battery
- WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR and A2DP, 3.5mm audio port
- 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus and Carl Zeiss optics
- AGPS with automatic geotagging support
- 2.4″ QVGA display with 16m colors
- Integrated FM Transmitter
- 70MB internal memory, microSDHC card slot
- Available colors: Aqua, White, or Brown
What was that? Did anyone catch that first line above in the specs? Nokia actually announced the Euro-HSDPA and US-HSDPA versions at the same time!?! The devil better crank up the heat down there because it’s getting a little chilly… Both versions will be available in Q2 of this year and will carry a price tag just north of $500. The N78 replaces the very popular N73 and it appears to do quite a good job of carrying the line forward. An integrated FM transmitter and naviwheel are both nice touches but we would have liked to see a bit more internal memory and a xenon flash as well. You can’t have it all it seems, but the N78 should certainly be a winner once the price drops a bit.
