Rather than a successor to last year’s N95, one of Nokia’s first smart phone for 2008, the N82 is another well equipped device with many of the flagship models niceties, but with a lower price tag.

Unlike the N95 and the N81 before it, the N82 forgoes the slider-style form factor for the dated candy bar design which is light enough for the pocket, comfortable in the hand and a feels solid overall.

The front face features a camera for video calls at the top with a typical 2.4" QVGA screen in the middle, then operational and alpha-numeric keypad at the bottom. While the navigation keys are well designed, we weren’t fond of the tiny keypad buttons at all.

Located on the sides of the handset are a Micro SD slot (with complimentary 2GB card inside), Micro USB port, stereo speakers, volume control, plus camera and media hotkeys. Then at the top is a power switch and handy 3.5mm headphone socket.

Running on the latest version of the Symbian operating system, there’s a full suite of software tools for both work and play including Nokia Maps which makes use of the handset’s GPS receiver, and WiFi 802.11 b/g for online activities such as downloading content wirelessly from Nokia’s new music store and N-Gage gaming service.

Though undoubtedly N82’s winning feature is the 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, and for the first time on any Nokia handset, a Xenon flash.
The results were the best we’ve seen from a camera phone, particularly night shots thanks to the new powerful flash. We were also pleased with the speed of the auto-focus and general image processing.

The N82 is a capable jetsetter with quad-band auto-switching and HSDPA for quick data transfers where WiFi isn’t available. Call quality was clear and problem free in our metro area, and the handset paired seamlessly over Bluetooth for in-car use.

While the N82’s feature-set and camera quality offer a compelling package, the form factor and keypad will come down to a matter of personal taste.

If you're a keen photographer and wished your current digital camera had the latest wireless connectivity, GPS navigation, multimedia and smart phone features built-in, the N82 is highly worth considering.