Nokia N78 video hands-on

We unboxed this little N-series wonder yesterday, but if you've still got a hankering for more N78, there's a video after the break that should uncover all its magical wares. Or maybe it just shows us messing around with the phone for a few minutes with no real purpose or direction. One of those.

[Si @ Jun 6th 2008 10:30AM]

Hmmmmm. I'm not so impressed, I really dont like the Nokia grid interface I think its the font. I do like the photo display however.

I'll stick with my 3210.

[Flashpoint @ Jun 6th 2008 10:32AM]

Beautiful !

Doesn't look anything like an iPhone at all.

[brzzrs @ Jun 6th 2008 10:48AM]

And thank god for that

[gad get @ Jun 6th 2008 10:51AM]

iPhone= overrated aesthetics.

[Engadgetluvsappl @ Jun 6th 2008 10:51AM]

It's Knock-ia! Note Noke-ia!

[PHEV @ Jun 6th 2008 11:53PM]

gad get= jealous that he doesn't have an iphone

[Mikko Tikkanen @ Jun 12th 2008 2:02AM]

Actually, he pronounces it pretty much spot on.

[TareX @ Jun 6th 2008 10:57AM]

don't like it, and can't understand all the attention this phone (which looks ugly and thick) is getting.

[patsy @ Jun 6th 2008 1:00PM]

I don't get it either. What does this phone have that a WM Smartphone like the Blackjack or Excalibur or a BB Curve doesn't to make it worth that wad of cash? Those other ones cost a fraction (esp. subsidized), have qwerty keyboards and more available software, and are hardly any larger.

[Pdexter @ Jun 6th 2008 3:10PM]

I dont think there has ever been hype for this phone. This phone is entry level N series device for masses just like N73 was. It is really competitive price with all the AGPS, 3.2 mp, great music quality and a smartphone not a feature phone. SE and Samsung are slacking with rival here so i would think this will sell like it have at least sold now...even with the horrible starting price where you can get N82 almost for the same price, but that should come down fast as awalys with Nokia phones.
About prices thought i believe Nokia's arent sold by carriers in USA so the price might be a bit heavy there + all the great $ vs € stuff.

[patsy @ Jun 6th 2008 4:49PM]

I really meant that more as a comment on the entire N series, not just this one. The N95 definitely HAS been hyped to death, and it's a thick and ugly phone with a UI that's nothing special over WM or BB and a price that's out of this world.

[PS3guy @ Jun 6th 2008 10:58AM]

Nokia Yawnnn.................. iphone come out on monday.

[Engadgetluvsappl @ Jun 6th 2008 11:04AM]

Yup, the N78 is very much "yawn" worthy. I can't believe Nokia are wasting their time making this aswell as the N96... I for one won't be buying either. N95 8GB 4EVA!

[Anthony @ Jun 6th 2008 11:11AM]

You know- I have an 8gb too & while I like it I must say the design direction they're taking (apart from the very ugly N82) is pleasant.

I like the slick, integrated approach. The 8gb just has too many exposed buttons & seems rather clunky in aesthetic compared to the N78, N81. Luckily the N96 looks like an N81 on steroids so we'll see.

[tekdroid @ Jun 6th 2008 11:10AM]

still waiting for the CE industry to get over their gloss-and-faux-silver-accents honeymoon. Add less usable keypads to that list.

[happy_penguin @ Jun 6th 2008 11:15AM]

The design is nice but the performance looks horrid. Yikes. If we're comparing it to the iPhone I'd say I like that it doesn't look the same. It also appears that while it may be thicker, it's also smaller which is nice. I bet that camera is a lot better than the iPhone.

[ClarkyCat @ Jun 6th 2008 12:09PM]

The performance in this looked quite bad alright, I was surprised at how slow everything was - not just the loading of the webpage but the scrolling etc. - but in nearly every other video p/review I've seen it's a lot smoother. Hrmmm. I thought the beta units were supposed to be slower than the retail ones!

[De @ Jun 6th 2008 2:03PM]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=tBayf9spdJw

http://youtube.com/watch?v=NIoAvZZ3YA8

yea it looked a lot better in ealier reviews

[hhhenryhhh @ Jun 6th 2008 11:31AM]

How's it compared to the n82 in terms of speed?

[Andrew @ Jun 6th 2008 4:12PM]

Should be faster, it's sporting S60 v3 feature pack 2 compared to feature pack 1 that they've have for about a year and a half now

[fourthletter @ Jun 6th 2008 12:03PM]

Had a demo in a phone shop, this is a very chunky phone that is way to thick and has a tiny keypad. FAIL ! how about demoing the new Samsung u900 ?

[willyboy @ Jun 6th 2008 12:29PM]

This phone UI looks as intuitive as wiping your ass with your hand.

[itlnstln @ Jun 6th 2008 12:33PM]

I'd say! I sure woudn't think wiping my ass with my foot would be very intuitive.

[a_roast_chicken @ Jun 25th 2008 4:10AM]

I use toilet paper. You should try it some time

[Mobile Phone Diva @ Jun 6th 2008 12:31PM]

I like solid phones. I have small hands and can deal with the tiny keypad. I will be trying it out.

[Primoz @ Jun 6th 2008 1:14PM]

I haven't use Nokia since the iPhone era but I see that UI and especially web browsing still sucks more then horse shit! Way to go Nokia, you've come a long way since June 2007 :-)

[Steffen Jobbs @ Jun 6th 2008 1:29PM]

Well, I tossed my cookies on that demo. $500 for that shizzle??? :-( I thought 3G is supposed to be so fast. Did it take about a minute to load that page? Either a bad connection or a snail slow processor. What's up with silver scroll ring? Does it work or not? The dude kept sliding this thumb all over it and nothing much was happening. However, there was one good thing about that demo....

....It'll make more people want the 3G iPhone. Less than four days away.

[Engadgetluvsappl @ Jun 6th 2008 3:51PM]

I know! That was poor. My N95 8GB loads the Engadget page in no time. No, this won't make people want to buy the 3G iPhone because this phone is free and the 3G iPhone is not.

[El Cartel @ Jun 6th 2008 2:36PM]

Dear Paul,

Next time when you present a device please set it up before you present it. I like when you guys at engadget present a device you don't give it the same love and enthusiasm the iphone gets. You know whats funny this device still has a better camera then the iphone and its U.S. 3G. COme ON PEOPLE LETS DO SOME UNBIAS REPORTING.

Yours Truely,

AN ENGADGET FAN BOY

[Imran @ Jun 6th 2008 3:57PM]

Agreed. I thought it but I didn't say it, luckily you did, poor video review, at least know the device and act like you know what you want to show it can and can't do. Jeez.

[Mobile Phone Diva @ Jun 6th 2008 4:27PM]

He may need to learn how to use Symbian first. It looked like he was unfamiliar with it to me.

[StopSig @ Jun 6th 2008 3:21PM]

Tell me about it. It amazes me how many here dosen't know more about Nokia devices, but i believe this is mostly NA based right? And it seems to be this same iphone hype in every non EU in Asia blogs it's just incredible how biased some of these are. Device that sold +5 million is getting looks....thought thank god it's getting the hype in world 3th biggest phone market compared to EU and Asian markets ;D

[Imran @ Jun 6th 2008 3:56PM]

The scroll only works in long lists such as in the gallery or the music player, you're not meant to speed scroll through a 4 option list, that's what up and down is for, otherwise you'd keep missing your mark.

[Engadgetluvsappl @ Jun 6th 2008 4:25PM]

I must say, BGR's video review of the E71 and N78 were much better than Engadget's.

[spellprince @ Jun 6th 2008 6:11PM]

Page load times has practically nothing to do with the phone and all about location signal. And why does everyone compare the "iPhone" in all of these threads. iPhone is a piece of shit, only people I see on here wanking over them are iPhone owners and Apple fanboys. Get over it already. It's a shitty toy. This review sucked. Next time get someone to show it's features and other specs of the phone, not spending half of the video trying to load a webpage because he lives in the middle of nowhere. Lame.

[Chris @ Jun 6th 2008 11:53PM]

that phone makes me want to puke....

[Joseph @ Jun 7th 2008 1:25AM]

Well I like my nokia 5610 more.. maybe because of the animated s40 interface..

[boss-hogg @ Jun 7th 2008 4:07PM]

There is a small amount of satisfaction when I have a different phone than others. I mean i see grandpa's using the iphone. its the like the razr, its like wow u have the same phone as my grandpa. ( not really but u get the point) I have had 2 iphones 8gb and a 16gb jail broken ect ect.ect. got bored with it and now i have the n78. Feature pack 2 is a nice upgrade from my n95-3. 3.5g is sweet and it has a much better camera than iphone. better sound quality for mp3s and voice. plus i love the 3.5 bluetooth modem. :)

[EagleEyez @ Jun 24th 2008 6:34PM]

hmm the motorola rokr e8 is so much better than this... granted its moto but meh