Nokia N78

New does not always mean improved especially when it comes to mobile phones. I had been very impressed and happy with my Nokia 6300, as it was slim, sleek, robust and ultra user friendly so when it was time to upgrade in January 2009 I automatically opted for another Nokia phone the N78 and it really does not compare. The N78 is the type of phone that does everything but make a cup of tea (or maybe it does but I just have not worked out how to do it yet!), as its got GPS, two cameras and a video camera, a FM radio and transmitter, MP3 player, the capacity to receive mobile TV and blue tooth alongside all the usual things such as text and picture messaging, calculator, a;arm and calender. Oh and you can use it to make and receives telephone calls. How novel and quaint is that!

As stated my N78 was an upgrade with an 18 month contract with Vodafone so I am not sure how much it would cost if it was pay as you go. The phone arrived in the box with a the usual computer software and user DVD, a manual headphones, charger, a USB cable top connect to the computer and another gadget, which I think is a dongle but I am not sure as I have never used it.

The N78 looks quite simple and minimalist. It is made mostly of black plastic an at feels quit chunky compared to my old phone. .I like its size and weight as its not too hard to find when lost at the bottom of your handbag. I also liked the large bright screen which takes up more than half of the phone.

It was easy enough to set up although I had a bit of difficulty loading he software onto my computer.

I found the N78 took a while to get used to due ti its unusual interface. The keyboard is made up of little silver ridge rather than individual keys with the more usual central; joystick just above the keyboard. Access to the usual extended Nokia menus is available by toggling the edge of the keyboard. I find this can be hit and miss and often seem to have to go through the short cut menu a few times. I also find the joystick to be a bit hit and miss at times. The number of times I have put people on hold instead of finishing a call or selecting video call instead of a normal one , as the joystcik and software do not seem to be in harmony. For a couple of weeks I could not go left as the joystick seemed to be stunk or broken but that seems to have rectified itself . I do have the problem of occasionally the joystick and cursor going manic and just scrolling through he words on a screen when text messaging and that is annoying. I tuned to rectify it by turning the phone off then back on.

Using the phone for what is meant for making and receiving calls is straight forward. I found it easty to make new entries in my contacts list. I have found the battery life to be fairly good and on average recharge the phone every second or third day.

Texting to begin with was a bit of a nightmare as I found the keyboard hard to get used to and it is easy to press another button by mistake and coming up with the wrong character. What makes it worse is I can not find a back space delete button even now and if i want o delete a character or a word I have to go through the menu to get the edit function then cut the word or character out. If it is a word I tend to get round this by using the spell function in predictive text to get the word I want.

The other main feature I find useful is the camera for taking unusual snaps of things on my travels, and th odd one of colleagues and friends at after works drinks. There are in fact two cameras but I have only used the primary one. I am not sure why people would need a secondary camera. The primary one is fairly easy to use. Just point and press the camera button on the side. At first I wanted to to use the joystick, as that is what I was used to with my old phone. The camera uses a Carl Zeiss lenses and the photographs are up to 3.2 mega pixels. There's a flash and a zoom and a number of different modes similar to my digital camera. I am very pleased with the quality of the pictures and is a satisfactory alternative to a stand along digital camera. I very occasionally use the video camera but not half as much as the camera.

I am not one for browsing mobile Internet. I tried to set up my phone to receive my mail. It was easy enough to download toe application but could not get it to work. I do not mind that much , as I very rarely need o access my email urgently. I occasionally use the Internet on the phone for looking up an address or time of event. I find it quick enoughs to load but do not use it due to the keyboard issues I have with the phone.

The other useful feature are the maps. It has Google and Nokia maps and I find them very handy if am out and about without an A to Z. There's no reason why I should get lost now as you can click to your location, as well as find a place and get direction to it.

I am not one for listening to music on my mobile, as I do not want to waste the battery in case need it for that important phone call hence I have very little experience of the MP3 player or radio. As I don't use these features much. I have perhaps six or seven songs on th phone mainly for ring tone usage (oh and for those of you that are nosy I have the Clash's London Calling as mine at the moment). When listening to music I find the sound quality fair but it can get a bit tinny and distorted if the volume is too high. I find the 70MB memory more than enough for my needs which is stori9ngm, contacts, messages, photos an the odd song.

When bored I occasionally like to play the games that come free with the phone. Unfortunately there are no full games on the phone only trial version so you have download and pay for any games you want on your phone hence I have not bothered with them at all.

The N78 is not the most durable phone. In the nine months I have had the phone I have had to send it away twice to be repriced. The first time was when a big crack appeared underneath the screen after the handset falling out of my locker at work. The second time I had to send it back was due to a software fault. The screen was appearing upside down then freezing and crashing.

The menus on the software seem slightly complicated at first but like most things once you get used to them it is easy to move stuff from my PC to my phone set.

The N78 is not a bad phone at all but its not he best one either. I think if you are a techy with a love of gadgets and a need for a mobile entertainment system this would be the ideal phone for you. However its not for me. Once my contract is up in 9 months time I will be seeking a simpler phone with a better keyboard.