<<<...display was bright and clear and due to the automatic screen adjustment, always looked just right in most conditions. Outside of the screen, the front of the device is marked by a Navi-wheel. I was initially very confused by this. It looks like a regular 5-way navigation button, but in some programs you can scroll it as if it's a wheel in order to scroll menus. Unfortunately, this feature has to be considered a broken one, as it does not work in every application, and works sporadically in the applications it does work in. In addition, the scrolling is counter-intuitive to your natural reactions. On the right and left sides sit stereo speakers which offer excellent sound, whether listening to a ringtone or music. Overall, I have to place the design of the N81 8GB as one of missed expectations. It's a device that begs to be touched, but the inconsistencies in user interface on both hardware and software sides leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Multimedia
Getting past the hardware design, you quickly realize that the N81 8GB was designed to be an entertainment device just as much as it was designed to be a smartphone. The music player included is suitable for most playing tasks. Like much of S60, there are tons of menus to do just about anything that you want to do. The N81 8GB also includes a Podcasting application so that you can download and listen to podcasts easily. Music is controlled from any application by the playback buttons surrounding the Navi-wheel. These are basic buttons, and are only lit when the device is active and playing music, or when you have the music player open. I only had a problem with hitting the Play button, as it's too close to the Clear ('c') key, but other than that, it's well designed. The N81 8GB includes a sleek multimedia-like menu interface that is accessible using the silver key above the Clear button on the front (I found it by accident). This menu fades in and out when activated and takes full advantage of the Navi-wheel functionality. ... more>>>