Nokia's N85 and N79 ship Stateside at long last

It feels like a good couple millennia since we first spotted these phones sporting US-friendly 3G, and now Nokia has done the unthinkable and actually released them in the States. As has become custom for Nokia around these parts, the phones aren't carrier branded or subsidized in the least, so you're looking at $550-ish for the N85 and $400-ish for the N79, depending upon the retailer. For some reason the N79 is listed as in-stock at Nokia's own store, while the N85 says "backordered," but over on Amazon.com you can nab the N85 -- with the N79 "temporarily out of stock" for whatever reason. It's a crazy, mixed-up world we live in.

[Via Daily Mobile; thanks Daniel]

Read - Nokia PR
Read - N85 at Amazon
Read - N79 at Nokia

[Zinger314 @ Dec 15th 2008 11:20AM]

[iEye]They are not as good as iPhone, OMGLOLWTFBBQ![/iEye]

[Mobius_1 @ Dec 15th 2008 12:18PM]

Fusion/ FUGLY

Fusion Fuzo
Professional/Fusion

CLAK/ "i" would never buy a POS Nokia/CLAK

lol

[Shugg @ Dec 15th 2008 11:33AM]

Wow 2 sorry phones finally shipped,nokia going nowhere in the us mrket,,concentrate on an iphonekiller

[Sarig @ Dec 15th 2008 1:01PM]

Going by marketshare, that's Apple that's focusing on an Nokia killer, really.

[teej @ Dec 15th 2008 4:42PM]

1) Nokia has highest global market share is around 40%.
2) Second highest is Samsung with a mere 17%.
3) Apple/RIM are both well below Sony, LG, Motorola, etc.

...I'm pretty sure Nokia rocks.

[Abhishek @ Dec 15th 2008 11:33AM]

I jumped and bought the Nokia 5800 Tube. Love it!

[Wally @ Dec 15th 2008 11:40AM]

Why would anyone buy this now that Noka has already started selling the Nokia 5800 tube in the US for $350 at their flagship stores and the price will only decrease by mid 2009?

[Lemming @ Dec 15th 2008 12:20PM]

Because some of us hate using a touch screen to type...

[BananaBoat @ Dec 15th 2008 12:46PM]

I'm still trying to figure out why anyone would buy a 300-600 dollar Nokia instead of a 200-300ish dollar HTC Fuze or the Sprint version of the Fuze. Especially those within the US who, I assume, will be wanting to make cellphone calls with their phone, and will need to sign a contract to make that happen. Unless they just enjoy buying pay-as-you-go minutes, not having mobile broadband kind of defeats the purpose of having a large, touch screen smart phone.

Then again, I got suckered into an 800 dollar, 2 year contract with the Iphone, so bad decisions aren't exclusive to those seeking unlocked phones for no apparent reason (bad decision being the 800 dollars, not the buying of the Iphone. Thing is great, until it's time to type a text, but I've used worse)

[SloMoe @ Dec 15th 2008 1:26PM]

You can use unlocked phones on an existing account without signing a contract. I haven't signed a contract with Cingular/AT&T in years, and Ive gone through a Nokia N80, Samsung D900 and I'm currently using a SE K850 with 3G all with no problems at all. Just swap the SIM chip, so pay as you go isn't your only option...

[YpoCaramel @ Dec 15th 2008 1:28PM]

OLED screen. Very nice, rich colors. The camera is 5MP, not 3MP. The 5800 Tube doesn't have US 3G yet, so that really defeats the purpose of a smartphone.

No, I agree that if you will live within the states for the next few years then a unlocked phone is a terrible value prospect. Nokia's strategy in the States is just for show anyways, tying their prestige to this market for visibility rather than to make money. The Tube would probably be free or $50 with contract if Nokia ever switched to the carrier contract strategy in the USA. Of course, to rich boys and professionals $800 and $250 isn't huge if consider that's probably a price of the leather knob on their BMW...

[BananaBoat @ Dec 15th 2008 1:44PM]

@Slomoe

I guess that makes sense, but often times you can find free smartphones on the third party sites. So basically, you get a new 400-500 dollar regular price phone for free every 2 years when your contract expires.

The whole argument seems to revolve around whether or not a Nokia phone (not even their flagship model no less) is worth 550 when compared with a heavily subsidized flagship model from one of the carriers. 550 for an N85, then you still have to pay for voice and data. 200 for an Iphone, and you have to pay for voice and data. You could cut your data usage down to 15 from the Iphone's 30, but still, that's 360 just for the data plan, plus the 550, which is 910 dollars compared to 920 for the Iphone (200 for phone, 720 for 30 dollar data per month over 24 months). A ten dollar savings, at the cost of using an inferior phone, and having to settle for a lesser data plan?

I don't know. Unlocked phones still seem to be the realm of those that have an obsession with buying the latest and greatest whether their 2 year contract is up or not. Buying them certainly isn't saving anyone (in the US anyway) any money.

I've got my eye on the Nokia N97. Too bad it won't be coming to any carriers here. Trying to find a decent subsidized camera phone is pretty much impossible in the US.

[Dan T. @ Feb 22nd 2009 7:47PM]

@ Banana Boat

Two points.

1. Capability: Very few informed mobile users would consider an iphone superior to the N79 or N85. To the contrary, most would consider the iphone vastly inferior to those two (and many other) Nokia devices in terms of capability and features. There are pros and cons for all phones and if the iphone suits you that's great. The iphone is excellent at what it does, it just much less than a typical S60 Nokia.

2. Price: Using the iphone is FAR more expensive than an unlocked and unknown (to the carrier) Nokia device. I currently pay $30 a month for unlimited texting and data - texting is $20 so data is $10. I have EXACTLY the same data plan as you - mine is cheaper because AT&T doesn't recognize my IMEI as a smartphone/Blackberry/iphone. Compared to your $30 a month, I'm saving $20 a month or $480 over a two year contract. When you consider that I'm using a (widely acknowledged) more capable phone with exactly the same service and paying $480 less, the extra $250 up front (I paid roughly $400 for my N79) begins to look pretty good doesn't it? My net savings is $230 over two years plus I have a top-quality device that will allow me to send and receive picture messages. : ) Oh and I almost forgot, I also don't have a contract.

Nothing personal, but you need to do a little more research before you post incorrect information. As I said, if the iphone works well for you and you like it, that's wonderful! There's obviously a reason so many different phones exist - everyone has different wants and needs. However, just wanted to broaden your horizons a little bit with the true picture of the US cellphone landscape.

[Daniel @ Dec 15th 2008 11:40AM]

N79 gallery: http://dailymobile.se/2008/09/07/nokia-n79-high-quality-pictures/

N85 gallery: http://dailymobile.se/2008/10/23/unboxing-pictures-nokia-n85/

[Yem @ Dec 15th 2008 12:17PM]

Is the N79 just an N78 with human-usable buttons?

[Anthony @ Dec 15th 2008 1:01PM]

Camera's 5mp. Also, the buttons are really bad. I have an N82 (which people also complained about) & found it better than the N95 because you have distinct points to push rather than rolling between keys.

About to receive a 5800 for play so we'll see how a virtual keyboard is handled by Nokia.

[Richard @ Dec 15th 2008 12:26PM]

Where US 3G == AT&T and NOT T-Mobile.

[bandigolo @ Dec 15th 2008 12:42PM]

wow, just in time to be rendered obsolete by the N97. Thanks, Nokia.

[Sarig @ Dec 15th 2008 1:03PM]

That's how the technology industry always is. Stuff just on the market will always look lesser compared to the upcoming stuff. By the time N97 comes out, I'm sure something else will be on the horizon.

So if you just sit around waiting for the best thing, you'll never get it.

[bandigolo @ Dec 15th 2008 2:32PM]

Thanks for the life lesson. I'm referring more to the fact that Nokia has kept these devices out of North America for so long that anyone paying attention has completely moved on to the N97, which is set to come out in a few months (although probably not here, surprise surprise).

These companies don't do themselves any favors by staggering their worldwide releases so dramatically. North America is a big fucking market.

[iKurt @ Dec 15th 2008 12:47PM]

will never be as good/better than the iPhone.

[Min @ Dec 15th 2008 12:57PM]

The N79 weighs 97 grams, over 50 grams less than the N97. If you want a compact, lightweight, highly capable smartphone, there is nothing on the market that compares to the N79.

Yem, the N79 has a 5mp camera (N78 has 3mp), accelerometer, lens cover, unlocking slide switch, and is still lighter and smaller than the N78. Also, the keys are better but they are still not very good.

[Anthony @ Dec 15th 2008 1:05PM]

It could be argued that the N82 is better if you're looking for a camera that competes w/ standalones. The N79 uses led. N82 xenon. Plus all the other functionality (though no FP2). Also way cheaper now. Weighs a little more.

[Min @ Dec 15th 2008 1:25PM]

N82's camera, much acclaimed as it is, still isn't anywhere near as good as a standalone. Xenon has the flash advantage but it also has the disadvantage that you can't leave it on for low light video (or as a flashlight). The N82 lacks the FM transmitter (which is extremely useful) and sound quality isn't as good. The battery is smaller, which combined with less efficient circuitry makes for less battery life. And yes, as you mentioned, it's about 20% heavier and (more importantly) 20% more volume. The only real advantage the N82 has is a more robust firmware, video acceleration for playing games, and cheaper price. The firmware thing, though, you could almost see as an advantage for the N79. It means that the N82 is as good as it's ever going to be whereas the N79 could improve much as firmware is optimized.

[Carlos @ Dec 31st 2008 9:20PM]

Bought the N85 a month ago and the only thing I've found to disappoint me is the sound quality, although I am comparing it to the N81 which is one of the best sound devices out there (the sound quality is amazing).
For the price I paid (470 USD, S&H included) and the features the phone's got, I would say it's the best bang for the buck. It's got everything and no flaws. GPS is fast and accurate, and Nokia Maps is a great application. OLED screen is amazingly clear. Quality wise, pictures rival the ones of my 10MP Sony digital camera. NGage games look very well and run very fast. Add stereo BT, a standard headphone jack, accelerometer and plenty of games and apps, and you've got yourself a winner! I've played with the Iphone and I don't like it, I would never buy it, just for the fact that you need to send your Iphone back to apple when it's battery replacing time. Anyhow, I guess it's a matter of taste..