Nokia N85 firmware update 11.047

1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic by 0 people | Log in to rate

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Nokia N85's first firmware update

May 15, 2009: I updated my N85 to the latest firmware (v20.175). There are some visible differences from the last version. So far, no crashing.

My Nokia N85 is a disaster. I will take some responsibility for the problems I'm having. I bought my phone unlocked on eBay before the North American version was available. Because my phone is from Singapore. I have no recourse. I can't get it repaired. So it's possible that my problems are due to having a defective phone. Keep that in mind when you read this page. Some people have lovely N85 devices that they can't stop raving about. That isn't the case for me.

The N85 is officially not my phone anymore

The phone functions so badly that it is UNUSABLE. I never thought that my Palm Treo 650 would make a better phone than just about any phone out there but it definitely works better than my N85.

So my N85 is now a portable media player for the most part. The babies love watching Sesame Street Podcasts on it.

UPDATE: It works again for some reason. I only mean for calls, it still isn't dependable for playing videos in online mode.

N85 before the update 

My excitement for my new Nokia N85 was short-lived. To be perfectly honest this phone sounded a lot better on paper than it performed in real life. Major flaws became apparent after just a short period using the phone.

  • The 5-megapixel camera just didn't perform well most of the time.  To get a decent picture you had to be in bright light.  Most of my pictures came out terribly noisy.  The camera was a good portion of the reason I bought this phone.  The video performance was even worse.  The phone would crash just from recording video.

  • The crashing!  My N85 was unstable beyond belief.  This was the most disappointing of all the flaws because I bought this phone because it could do so many things and in reality it could barely do anything without crashing.  By crashing, I mean freezing, then restarting or rebooting.

  • I couldn't even make a phone call or send a text message on the first try.  Most of the time it took two or three attempts just to successfully dial a phone number.

  • While charging, the N85 restarts nonstop.

N85 after the firmware update 

Sadly there isn't much to report here. After a few months with the firmware updated to version 11.047 I've noticed only a slight improvement in performance. My N85 is a little more stable. If I close every other app, I can watch a full nine minute video podcast on it now without crashes some of the time. Also the camera noisiness has improved but the overall camera performance is still sub-par.

How is your N85 performing? 

Anyone can comment. Let me know how your Nokia N85 is working for you.

1

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It sucks

It's barely functional because it crashes all the time.0 points

Buy the Nokia N85 from Amazon 

At least if you don't like it you can return within 30 days for a refund.
Nokia N85 Unlocked Phone with 5 MP Camera, 3G, Wi-Fi, GPS, MP3/Video Player, and MicroSD Slot--U.S. Version with Warranty (Copper)

Nokia N85 Unlocked Phone with 5 MP Camera, 3G, Wi-Fi, GPS, MP3/Video Player, and MicroSD Slot--U.S. Version with Warranty (Copper)

Amazon Price: $359.97 (as of 01/03/2010)Buy Now
List Price: $549.99

Stages of my Nokia N85 ownership 

Before purchase:
Wow, what a cool phone. I can't wait to get one.

After unboxing:
It's here and it's much cuter than that N82 I returned.

After using for awhile:
This is dvd quality video?
N-gage sucks. Dedicated gaming buttons for this?
Why is it crashing so much. I guess a firmware update will fix this.

After the firmware update:
Yay finally a firmware update!
Dang it, it's still crashing.
Pictures are looking a little better.
This thing barely makes phone calls.
I paid $400 for this?
I hate this phone.

Yep, I officially hate my $400 phone. I think I'd be happier with an N82 or an N95.

Latest posts about N85 firmware 

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Dear feedmysearch user, Feedmysearch would require some serious server upgrade and a bit of development to be back online. However it seems hard to monetize and without monetisation, no future ! You ‘re welcome to express any opinion, advice, partnership proposal ! And feel free to forward it to whoever you think might have a say. [...]
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Here's a photo I took with my N85 after the update 

The problems I tend to have with photos are:
haze
noise
washed out
fuzzy

Other cell phone lenses 

featured lens Nokia N97 News

At Nokia World 2008, Nokia announced the N97, the first touch screen and qwerty keyboard Nseries device. Personally, I'm excited. This is the type of Nokia device I've been waiting for. image credit: scobleizer, -Some rights reserved

featured lens Shozu

Shozu is an application I use daily on my Nokia N85. It allows me to automatically upload my photos from my phone to my email or anywhere from a long list of supported sites including: Flickr, YouTube, and FaceBook.

featured lens Qipit: Scan, Fax, and Email from your Camera Phone

Qipit.com allows you to scan, fax, and email documents using your camera phone.

featured lens Nokia N85

The Nokia N85-1 and the N85-3 (the North American version) is now available to American buyers.

featured lens My Nokia Is...

One of the best things about having a Nokia Nseries device is using it for all sorts of functions. My Nokia N85 for example, can be an mp3 and video player, a GPS, and a digital camera right out of the box. That's pretty common for cell phones but wi...

My other artcles about Nokia cellphones 

My Experience with Nokia's N82 Super Camera Phone
The N82 is a great phone especially for the camera function but in the end it just wasn't a good fit for me.
First Impressions of the Nokia N85
What I like and don't like about the N85 after using it for about a week.
My Nokia N85 Has Problems - Am I the Only One?
This article reviews the Nokia N85.

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by restlesslimbs

My two children are the focus of my life right now. They keep me busy and the motivate me greatly. Almost everything I do and every thought in my mi... (more)

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