Nokia N79 review

Nokia's N79 is another good-looking, tech-savvy phone. It’s almost getting a bit boring…except this really is a slick phone, especially for those looking to show-off their fantastic, super-cool lifestyle while on the go.

To start, it’s a good-looking, nicely-made device. The 97g phone is surprisingly light, helped by the plastic construction. Despite that, the Nokia N79 doesn’t look cheap.

The white and silver front vaguely mimics Apple’s typical colour scheme, but for those who’d rather not look like an iPhone-wannabe, each handset comes with three interchangeable back covers – a combination of Light Sea Blue, Espresso Brown, Olive Green, White and Coral Red.

They aren’t just bits of plastic to snap on and off, however. An embedded chip tells the phone which cover you’ve slipped on, and automatically changes the screen’s colour scheme to match. Pretty nifty.

Along the side of the phone, in a deep grey, is a button to take photos, volume control and a slot for a mini memory disc – it comes with a 4GB one in the box – and for Nokia’s proprietary USB connector. Along the top is a standard headphone jack, the on button and also a small slider key which locks and unlocks the keypad, so you don’t need to fiddle with keys to take a quick snapshot or check your Facebook.

The keypad itself features flat keys that light up white when in use. The central navigation button features the same pulsing or breathing light Nokia seems to love so much, and is surrounded by five additional quick access keys.

But looking as immaculately put-together as a 19-year-old on her way to some hot club is only the beginning for the Nokia N79’s social skills.

The 2.5-inch full-colour screen ont he N79 features an accelerometer, making surfing the web and taking pictures a bit more of a joy. And this is really is a good phone for snapping pics. On the rear, there's a five-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and a very solid dual-LED flash. This is a phone you could use to take snaps with at a nightclub, if you weren’t worried about blinding your fellow partiers. The LED-lighting can also be used to take video in the dark, if you – and your partner – are so inclined.

The main screen offers easy access to the standard features, such as phonebook, messages, web browser and applications, as well as a calendar, all based upon the Symbian S60 operating system. The QVGA screen features an ambient light detector too, so it automatically adjusts to the brightness wherever you are.

Social networking sites such as Flickr and YouTube are integrated, meaning any shots or video taken on the lovely camera can be directly posted online.  The same can be done with Nokia’s Share on Ovi – Nokia's own online service. To reach the internet, the N97 features access via Wi-Fi and 3.5G HSDPA.

And if you get lost on the way to the bar – or wherever it is you’re going – just flick on Nokia’s Maps service, which comes free for three months on the N79. It uses built-in GPS to offer navigation for walkers or drivers.

Finding the rest of the features is a bit of a pain, and won’t be easy if you’re scrolling through while at the bar. A vertical button on the key pad takes you into a menu, but you have to flip through each tab to get through to the ones at the back. It’s not a quick way to get to your music collection or the ten pre-loaded N-Gage games.

For music-lovers, the Nokia N79 also features an FM transmitter for streaming music to your car stereo or home Hi-Fi, video (both watching and recording) and the standard music player.

The N79 fits in well as a social butterfly’s pick in the NSeries lineup. At a cost of 350 euros before subsidies, it’s a decent price, too – leaving lots of cash for credit crunched socialites to keep partying on.