The Nokia N76 launched with Nokia’s statement “With the Nokia N76 multimedia computer, technology and design come together to create a revolution in design for a multimedia computer. Using premium materials to enclose world-class Nokia Nseries features and experiences, Nokia has created a very eye-catching device.”

A standard Nokia Nseries fare, i.e. S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1, similar to that in the Nokia N95, but with less gadgetry to play with. There’s no Wi-Fi, only a 2 megapixel fixed-focus camera, no HSDPA, no landscape mode, no GPS. Still, the Nokia N76 still runs an impressive smartphone software package.

Build quality is good, too, with metal and chrome dominating. Chiefly the way the battery has to sit upside down (with the power pins flush to the phone’s rear surface) and the SIM card has to be caddied rather than simply slid into place - a unique design. And, the positioning of the USB port and 3.5mm headphone socket on the top of the N76.

Along with the 13mm thickness, the Nokia N76 achieves ’style’ by virtue of being very shiny, with chrome inserts on front and back and with a mirror-finish external screen/cover. In addition, the main keypad surround is also mirrored, makes the Nokia N76 a super fingerprints magnet.

Opening up the clamshell cover reveals the main display, of course, along with the aforesaid shiny keypad. Thankfully, the etched keypad is first class and every marking has excellent mechanical feedback.

The main display is QVGA and lovely indoors, but suffers from the same design flaw as the Nokia N93i (for example), in that its construction means almost complete invisibility in bright light, with the display also turning into a mirror. This is in complete contrast to the still superlative displays being used in Nokia’s Eseries devices (and even older Nseries, e.g. the N93), which are quite superb in sunlight.

The metallic construction and build quality is excellent. There’s an E90-like ’slide and fold’ microSD card slot on the left side of the Nokia N76. The hole beneath the slot is for the standard Nokia mini charging jack. On the right side of the Nokia N76 are volume up/down buttons and Camera mode and Camera shutter buttons.

A long press on the latter launch the two megapixel camera (note the LED flash in the photos), with the external screen (only 1.25″ diagonal) acting as a small and makeshift viewfinder, with the three music controls acting as ‘Exit’, menu and ‘Settings’ respectively. Thankfully, the camera also works well with the clamshell open, in which case the full 2.4″ screen can be the viewfinder.

The bottom of the Nokia N76 sees the main (mono) speaker aperture and a lanyard hole, while the top sees a 3.5mm stereo jack, a rubber-flapped miniUSB socket and the regular power button. Music formats supported include all the usual varieties of MP3 and unencrypted AAC, plus unencrypted WMA as well, always good to have. The external display works well for controlling playback, with an animated equaliser interpreting the music.

The applications here are much the same as on any other Nseries device, with prominent placement of Lifeblog, Search and Download! icons, Internet integration is being well handled. There’s the usual Visual radio but, curiously, no Quickoffice viewer in the firmware itself.

One plus point is the inclusion of more RAM than on all other Nseries devices so far. With 45MB free after booting, as opposed to only 18MB or so on the theoretically much higher-end and demanding Nokia N95. Having the extra RAM means no more Support calls from confused users complaining that they keep running ‘out of memory’.

In truth, is not a bad music phone, with a 2GB microSD loaded up with WMA or AAC tracks, your favourite in-ear 3.5mm headphones and the front controls, you’re all set for some pretty good listening - at least you are once they’ve fixed the A2DP, the hiss and the button delay in a firmware update. And, let’s be honest, its S60-hosted Internet functions knock spots off any competing feature phones out there, so it’s important not to be too dismissive.

The Nokia N76 isn’t a bad smartphone, it’s just one that hasn’t had all its functions and aspects thought out properly. As a result, it’s (probably) one which won’t appeal to the vast majority of readers of this review.

[Review and Video by Steve Litchfield from All About Symbian]

Store & Price Comparison

Store	Offer Details	Price
	NOKIA N76 Red Unlocked CellPhone In Stock	Price: $314.99
	Nokia N76 Unlocked Quadband GSM Phone - Red In Stock	Price: $339.99
	Nokia N76 Smart Phone (Unlocked) - Quad Band - WCDMA 2100, GSM 800, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900 - Polyphonic - 16.7 Million Colors - Flip In Stock	Price: $319.99
	N76R 2MP CAMERA SLIM FLIP QUAD BAND W/ CHRONE GLASS WINDOWS DRM In Stock	Price: $316.99