Nokia N76

“Nokia N76 is a controversial device. On one hand it presents itself as an elegant phone of modern slim design and high-tech functions underlined by the presence of a brilliant display and Symbian 9.2 with S60 3.1. On the other hand, however, a closer look reveals several significant drawbacks: cheap-looking plastic material, expressed susceptibility to fingerprints, which requires constant cleaning… You?'d better put gloves on your hands, if you try to show off with your new N76… In terms of hardware we should mention the flatness of the keypad resulting in uncomfortable usage of the latter as well as the impossibility to fully open the phone when earphones are connected to it.The situation regarding the functions of the phone is similar. Picture quality does not fascinate at all, data transfers cannot be fully made use of because of the absence of Wi-Fi and HSDPA. A2DP Bluetooth profile necessary for connecting wireless earphones is missing too.To sum up, Nokia N76 can be considered an interesting purchasing option mainly by people who refer to their phone as to a stylish fashionable accessory and do not care about its functional abilities too much. On the other hand, exactly such clientele will remain disappointed with the cheap looking plastic covers and the fingerprint smudges. The cons become even more visible when combined with the high price of the phone. As you can see, sales records are the last Nokia N76 is expected to achieve.”

“On the surface, the N76 seems tailor-made for image-conscious and tech-savvy consumers who wouldn't be caught dead with a run-of-the-mill RAZR. This flashy unlocked phone comes packed with multimedia, blogging, and search features, but the smudge-retentive exterior and lack of domestic 3G support may alienate snobs and squares alike.”

“There are three music control buttons beneath the outer screen. Unfortunately, Nokia has been mean with the built-in memory - just 26MB. At least you can expand on this, via microSD. A 256MB card is supplied, but you can get 2GB cards. The card slot is located on the left back edge and has a solidly hinged cover.”

“The Nokia N76 looks great on paper, but of course is not perfect in real life. Apart from the HTC Star Trek (Qtek 8500/Dopod S300) which is quite outdated by now, this device does not have any direct competition in the thin smartphone department. Apart from a few design glitches such as the earphone jack that gets in the way with the flip and the poor battery life, the N76 seems to deliver what is has promised. It is sleek and powerful.Its ergonomics aren't the best and there are a number of places in the software that we hope to see improvements in, including the lack of consistency with settings organization and the instability of cover display UI. The background hissing noise heard when playing music is something that I think really needs to be solved first.”