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Adopting a chunky candy-bar style, this Nokia N82 3G Smartphone dimensions are 112 x 502 x 17.3mm.  It has a silver fascia with a large screen that gives a 38 x 50mm viewing area.  The screen can display 16.7 million colours producing a clear display in various lighting conditions and had the capabiloity to smoothly change between portrait and landscape mode depending upon which way round you hold the handset.

Taking up the normal position beneath the screen are the various controls and the telephonic keypad.  Although the keypad looks fine with the different keys being formed from raised, narrow strips, I found them placed too close together with the results that great care and accuracy was needed to make sure I did not press two, or on odd occasions even three, keys at the same time.  Using my thumb was definitely out of the question and even my index finger had trouble. 

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Positioned about the keypad are other keys which also suffer, but not to the same degree, of being in close proximity.  A four-way scroll and select pad is sandwiched between rocker pads that give access to the application menu, multimedia, cancel and soft selection keys.  Mounted along the sides of this arrangement are the call and end keys which are positioned horizontally rather than the more standard vertical orientation.  With more room to play with along the right side of the handset, the arrangement of the camera, review and zoom/volume keys are much more manageable.

Having mentioned the camera, perhaps it is the appropriate time to take a look at this particular feature.  The Nokia N82 boasts a 5-megapixel camera.  No prizes for guessing that the camera is located on the back of the unit.  When not in use the Carl Zeiss lens is protected by a slider cover which needs to be manually operated.  This camera features a xenon flash with a macro mode; up to 20X digital zoom (only 6X when operating at 5-megapixel); and auto focus.  As mentioned earlier, the Nokia N82 will automatically adjust the image on display depending upon the orientation in which the handset is being held and this applies to live shots and viewing captured content.  There is also a neat slideshow feature with built-in pan/zoom capability.  A front mounted CIF camera (352 x 288 pixels) enables you to make video calls.

Nokia has not stinted on other aspects of the N82.  Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3G, HSDPA, GSM and GPRS all have their part to play with this phone as you take advantage of the various service and access the Internet.  Although with other Nokia models, the N82 comes with Nokia Maps working in conjunction with a built-in GPS feature.  You can pinpoint your location; plan routes; and check out local facilities by simply using this phone.

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Music playback is enhanced by the presence of a socket that can accept a 3.5mm jack so that you can use your favourite headset for listening to the music that you can not live without.  A bundled 2GB micro card is included with the phone for storing your media and supplementing the 100MB of built-in memory.  The N82 also features stereo speakers and an FM radio facility.  Games, including a demo of a couple of examples of the N-Gage platform, add to the multimedia aspect of this phone while the usual range of telephonic and PIM features are well represented.  These include voice dialling; call conferencing; hands-free speaker calls; and email capabilities plus Internet browsing.

The Nokia N82 may not lead the way with the stylish looks of other models but it does pack plenty of useful features into the chunky handset.  The battery supplied with the unit should provide upwards of 200 hours on standby; 2 hours of video calling; up to 260 minutes of talk time; and 200 minutes of video playback.  You should be able to take up to 290 pictures with flash from a fully charged battery.  Expect to pay in the region of £360 for this phone without the need of a contract.

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