Review: Nokia's N75 Smartphone for AT&T

Nokia N75

Nokia N75

Nokia N75

Nokia N75

The N75 is Nokia's first 3G smartphone to be offered by AT&T/Cingular. In fact, the N75 is not offered by any other carrier in the world at this time, owing partly to the fact that it was built to support the two North American UMTS bands, and not the 2100MHz band used by most of the rest of the world. With conservative styling, good multimedia specs, and a well polished user interface, the Nokia N75 looks to be a strong addition to AT&T/Cingular's lineup.

Physical Aspects

Nokia's N75 is a conservatively styled, attractive clamshell smartphone. The exterior surface of the device is covered in a matte finish paint that stays pretty clean, though doesn't offer as much grip as many of the newer soft-touch paints being used by companies such as Motorola. A nice 262k color, 160x128 pixel TFT display is located centrally on the exterior of the top flip. It is a transflective display, which means that it is very easy to read in harsh outdoor sunlight - regardless of the state of its backlight. This is particularly handy since it can be used in conjunction with the dedicated music keys and the volume rocker to control and navigate through the many layers of menus associated with the music player and the camera. This can be done without ever having to open the device to rely on the main display and controls.

At 125g (4.4oz), the N75 isn't exactly a lightweight handset. Its 95mm x 52mm (3.7" x 2.0") height and width are roughly the same as those of a Motorola RAZR, though the N75 is significantly thicker at 20mm (.8"). The upside of the added thickness is that there is more room for controls and ports on the side of the device. On the right side of the N75 are the volume rocker, the camera shutter button, and a multi-purpose media button that changes modes of the video and music player when the device is closed, and loads the media gallery when the device is open. The Nokia pop port USB/headset connector is located on the left side of the N75, along with the microSD expansion card slot. Both have secure, attached covers on them. The mini Nokia charger socket is located between them. A very small power button is located next to the hinge on the silver part of the device. It is somewhat difficult to activate, but is still quite handy for switching ring profiles as well as powering on or off the phone. From the back of the device it is easy to see the stereo speakers that are located by the hinge. Just below them is the large, circular camera area. The lens itself is quite small, but the design makes the N75 look much like a dedicated point and shoot camera when held horizontally.

Nokia N75

Nokia N75

Nokia N75

Part of the reason for the N75's large size is its massive internal display. This QVGA (240x320 pixel) display is capable of generating over 16 million different color shades on its 50mm x 36mm (2.4" diagonal) surface. It is simply beautiful. The dark, polished frame that surrounds the display is less pleasing. While attractive, the finish is near impossible to clean once it becomes dirty. No casual wipe on a shirt sleeve will cut it. The chromed surfaces of the d-pad cluster and keypad area are less troublesome in terms of dirt. The d-pad itself is very usable and has a separate center select key. It is flanked by the menu key on the left and the music key on the right. The red and green call keys, two softkeys, and dedicated editor and clear keys fill out the rest of the control cluster. The flat keypad is both large and pretty easy to use. The keys have scooped out faces that make them easy to locate by touch alone, and they offer a reasonable amount of tactile feedback.

Apart from the smudge attracting frame around the internal display, my only real complaint with the N75's physical design has to do with its hinge. I'm not even sure it is a valid complaint, to be honest. When fully opened or closed, the folder's hinge appears to rest on internal rubber stoppers of some sort, which makes it feel less than solid. The truth may well be that this design helps the device absorb impacts when it takes a fall, but I have to admit that I am unnerved by it and that my initial impression of the N75 when I first removed it from the box was that it was not built well.