The Nokia Guide

N95 8GB vs N82 The Real Battle Begins Part 2: Music

After losing to the N82 in low-light camera performance, can N95 8GB save itself in the Music category? This isn’t going to be as easy to determine as the camera section, so points will be given based on the different criteria. In the end the points will be counted and only one of the two will reign victorious in this category! So let’s get things rolling!

Audio quality (through 3.5mm audio jack): This is without any doubt THE most important aspect when it comes to a music phone, but it’s also one of the most subjective, so good for me doesn’t necessarily mean good for you. Armed with the Etymotic ER-4P In-Ear Monitors I listened back and forth between the N95 8GB and the N82. In the end It was clear that the N82 sounded better because it had a cleaner output, deeper bass, a lot more clarity and higher volume. It just sounded better. While the N95 8GB was no slouch it’s clear that its candybar sibling performs much better here.  To double check my findings I let a couple of friends and family help me out with a small listening session and all of them proclaimed the N82 the winner. All categories will be given 10 points but because audio quality is so important 20 points will be given here to the N82. And just for the record the N81 sounds better than both!

N81 8GB: Do you really lose a lot on the imaging side?

The N82 is better on the imaging department. The N81 8GB is better when it comes to music. All of this is common knowledge by now, but let’s say music is your number one priority, how much do you actually sacrifice if you get the N81? To answer this question I put the N81 8GB against the current best when it comes to imaging: the N82. Remember, the idea is not to see which one is the best as we already know how this one is going to end. We are going to compare the images and see how much we actually give up when we choose a music phone, in this case the N81. The N81 8GB might be a music phone, but still has a camera! To make things a bit interesting I took the images in less than ideal conditions. Most cameras are able to take decent pics in abundant natural light, but it’s when the light conditions deteriorate that’s when the real differences start to appear. Let’s take a look at the results.

Test 1: Macro

The first test consisted of doing a macro shot. I must admit that here I chose to use a very short distance; even the N82 had some difficulty focusing correctly at such an extremely close distance. In the end the N82 produced pretty convincing results with lots of detail, natural colors and correctly focusing on the subject. The N81 8GB on the other did not only fail the macro test completely, but also had unnatural colors and lots of image noise. In all fairness the N81 8GB lacks any auto-focus or close-range image setting, so it’s impossible for it to accomplish such a test. But the unusually high noise and unnatural colors is unforgiving. It’s clear here that choosing the N81 8GB will give you the best in music, but when it comes to marco-shots you can completely forget it.

 

Test 2: Macro (Text)

Here I basically took a newspaper and turned the flash on both devices to off. The idea was to see if they could correctly focus on the text and make it sharp enough for it to be legible. This test produced the same results as the first one: The N82 fails miserably, not only making the small text unreadable, but there’s lots of noise. This test confirms that the N81 8GB is unable to do macro-shots.

Test 3

In the third test we move farther from our subject. Things look much better for the N81 8GB, although the N82 shows that the colors are a bit of and that the noise can be lower. Test 3 confirms: you lose color accuracy and noise is big factor.

Test 4

The images here were taken at a longer distance when compared to Test 3. The N81 8GB seems to be correctly in focus. The colors are again way off. Here I can conclude that shots taken at a larger distance will be correctly focused. I would say 50cm to infinity.

Test 5

The colors on the N81 8GB are again incorrect. Changing the White Balance doesn’t help either: it takes images that look vivid, but these are in no way natural looking.

Test 6: Flash

The N82 is able to analyze the scene and “see” that this is a close-up shot and correctly adjust the flash for the image not to become too overexposed. The N81 8GB on the other hand can’t do this, as results the image comes out overexposed. And as confirmed in Test 1 and 2 it is not able to do macro shots, as results the image is not correctly focused.

Test 7

This test is meant to show how these two devices perform in low-light without flash and at a close distance. The N82 performs excellent. The colors on the N81 8GB are ok, but as confirmed in test  1, 2 and 3 it cannot do macro shots and the noise is a big issue.

Test 8

In this final test we can again see that the N81’s colors are a bit of and noise is again a big issue.

Conclusion

Getting the N81 series means getting the best music experience in the among the latest Nseries devices as it has dedicated music controls, Navi wheel, key lock and excellent audio quality, but the N82 isn’t left far behind when it comes to audio quality. But I do have to stress that the audio quality on the N81 is AMAZING. So when you choose to go the audio route (N81), what do you actually sacrifice in the imaging category? Based on these tests we can mention:

-You gain lots and lots of image noise

-No macro focus, so you can forget about those close-up shots

-Less detail and less to work with when doing image editing, cropping etc due to the 3 megapixels less

-Unrealistic colors vivid colors

-Poor low-light performance

-Weaker flash

-The LED flash is not able to “throttle” down; as a result close-up shots that make use of the flash are ruined by it.

The N82 is able to take good to excellent shots in pretty demanding conditions, the N81 8GB on the other hand will take its best shots in bright conditions where the subject is not too close: anything starting from a distance of about 50cm to infinity. To answer our initial question: how much do you actually sacrifice if you get the N81? Based on these finding, you sacrifice a lot and I do mean a lot. The images produced by it are only useful really for those quick shots for sending via email or to be put on WebPages and that’s if you keep a distance from your subject and have enough light. Otherwise the end result would look more like a study in pointillism. But if music is your thing, the N81 is the device to get.

Ultimate Smartphone accessory: In-Ear Monitors ?

Today while driving home I asked myself what would I consider to be the ultimate mobile accessory. (Yes, sometimes I ask the weirdest things) Thinking about this, it didn’t take long for me to find the answer; of course it had to be Canalphones or In-Ear Monitors (IEM). IEM are ear buds that sit directly inside the ear canal and fully envelop it. These were originally developed for musicians trying to monitor their performance in loud onstage environments. Basically they act as earplugs and block all external sound, leaving a totally quiet environment for the earphones to do their magic. I personally use Shure and Etymotic IEM and let me tell you the sound is just amazing when I pair them with the N800, N95 or N76. The Nseries devices are perfectly suited to drive these earphones. (Initially I thought that they weren’t capable when in fact they are). If you want to spend a little bit moreI would recommend  ultimate Ears as another alternative. A few of these high-end models produce some of the most amazing and rich sound you’ll ever hear. Most earphones, yes even those supplied with Nokia Nseries sound ok, but totally lack in bass, volume and the higher notes. IEM basically use the ear canal to create some sort of bass chamber to recreate the rich and deeper tones that many other earphones lack. Now the cool thing is that they can do this at a much lower volume. How? Normally you turn up the volume to compete with external sounds, but because IEM block out external noise there’s nothing to compete with the music being played. This allows you to effectively listen to music at a much lower volumes, saving your ears from damage. Another good thing about these is that they provide total isolation. Basically put that you could be driving at 100+mph in a convertible whiling playing music with one of these IEM and you would not hear anything but the music being played, no wind, not the car, nothing.Some readers have pointed out that IEM ear-phones should not be worn while driving. This is in fact true. Even the manufacturers warn that these should not be worn while driving or operating any machinery or high-risk jobs. I just used this as an example of how good the isolation is, but IEM should never be used while driving.With the recent addition of the stereo Bluetooth (A2DP) in various Nseries phones many are inclined to get these A2DP earphones. While it’s true that they are much more convenient due to the wireless factor, personally I think it comes down to where it really matters: audio quality. And in this area there’s no competition as IEM earphones will beat even the most expensive A2DP earphones out there. The only A2DP earphones that can be considered audiophile quality are Etymotic’s Ety8, basically a wireless version of the Etymotic ER-4 IEM. I have used many A2DP earphones but the audio quality is simply way behind IEM.

Are there any downsides to Canalphones? I have just two complaints: the most obvious one is that these tend to be pretty expensive, with the midrange IEM hovering around $300. It’s pretty pricey, especially since that’s usually half the price of any range topping Nseries. Another fact that I find pretty annoying is that you constantly have to clean the thing. They sit deep inside the ear canal, so they’ll get covered with ear wax pretty easily. For me the amazing audio quality justifies the price and I can live with the fact that I have to clean them constantly, but there’s no competition between these and A2DP earphones when it comes to audio quality. What do you use? IEM or A2DP and why?

Size comparison: N95 8GB vs N95 vs N81 8GB

Manufacturers almost always give the product dimensions, but you are often left wondering how these devices compare when put next to each other. Sometimes not even pictures can give enough information about the size. This sometimes led to people finding the products smaller or larger then they originally thought. A great solution is provided by Sizeasy which allows you to enter a product’s dimension and see how they compare next to each other. Here’s the recently announced N95 8GB next to the N95 and N81 8GB. As you can see the N95 is identical in size to the new N95 8GB, but the latter has a much larger 2.8’’ screen though. The N81 is narrow, thinner but just a bit longer. Click on preview image to get the full size.