Camera:

3 sec start up time, Good quality images, way better then N96, N96′s camera is not even par with N95. Gsmarena agrees with me. Have a look at the pics for the quality of N85. Dual LED is sufficient. N85: 7/10 N96: 6/10

Slider:

Not perfect, but not as annoying as N95, top part wobbles a bit, sliding down takes extra force, slider is max solid when opened. N96′s more sturdy and Solid.

N85 8.3/10 N96 9.7/10

Screen:

OLED is great, seeing is believing. High contrast and vibrant colors. 2.6 inches though but very sharp and fun to play games.

Sound:

Via Speakers- Nice and Crisp, loud enough. N96 is louder and warmer. N85 8.3/10 N96 8.7/10

Via Headset- Sufficient volume, Crisper. N96 louder and more bass. N85 8.3/10 N96 8.5/10

GPS:

Nothing new, initial lock 6 minutes. Nokia Maps 2.0 is cool but Garmin XT is unbeatable. GPS on N96 looks better due to bigger screen. Good news, Garmin XT 4.2/5.0 works on N85 unlike i8510.

FM transmitter:

Connected in seconds, ok sound quality. Relatively low static, do not expect Hi Fi Sound. A lot faster and better sounding then those bulky Belkin transmitters.

Battery:

Lasts around 3-4 days depending on usage, a lot more juice than N95,N96,i8510. Nokia E71 is the king when it comes to battery. i8510 camera sucks more juice while shooting then GPS.

USB Charging:

Nokia, Rabbit and Turtle race but thankssssss a million for finally hearing and I certainly welcome USB charging.

Downside, USB Charging is Slow, yawn!! but I’d take that any given day over carrying around two things. Slow charging= More no. charge cycles= lesser battery life in a long run. All batteries have limited no. of charge cycles.

As usual downers, niggles and bugs: Whatever u can call it!

N85 by bar faster then N96, although restarted at least 5 times. Plastic used in N85 is almost similar to N96. Creaks! Keypad smaller but better den N96. Donno wat’s up with Nokia’s high end N series, E71 rocks in build quality, smoothness, software compatibility. That goes to my saying , Candy bar phone is the way to go. Can I say again? I miss my N82

FP2 is very unstable, is there anyway to go back to FP1? which crashes less and has way more software compatibility.

Again, FP2 hates Music Player, you open it, it acts as if you are chasing a granny driving ahead of you, N96 froze more on Music Player then N85.

I’ll simplify the equation: Buy i8510 and not worry about upgrade for at least 6 months IMO.

I’ve owned N96 and IMO N85 offers better value for money and will sell more while compared to N96. N85 now on eBay is 570$ with 8GB + 1 Year Warranty.

I’m attaching pictures taken by N85 and for fun i8510. No comparison with i8510′s Camera.

If I missed something or any questions? Simple ask.

First two pics N85

i8510 below:

The to Ghostofsparta for the guest review

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