Nokia N79 is a Symbian smartphone with a 5 MP autofocus camera, dual LED flash and sliding lens cover. Its interchangeable rear covers automatically match the screen theme; it also includes assisted GPS, Wi-Fi, an FM transmitter and expandable storage.
All About Symbian and GSMArena praise the compact, sturdy body, broad connectivity, music features and sunlight-readable screen. Their camera findings differ: All About Symbian likes daylight stills but finds video focus poor, while GSMArena criticises still-image noise and processing yet finds VGA video useful. GSMArena reports very slow photo zooming; All About Symbian does not reproduce that problem on its v10.046 firmware. They also disagree on GPS performance, with All About Symbian obtaining quick assisted warm starts and GSMArena reporting slower cold acquisition. Both note keypad compromises. These are contemporary production-software assessments, with test conditions and firmware differences retained.
S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2. GSMArena reports Symbian OS 9.3 and a single 369 MHz ARM11 CPU without a dedicated graphics accelerator. Physical RAM capacity is not inferred from the 72 MB free-RAM figure in All About Symbian's test.
Storage type
Maker launch datasheet states up to 50 MB internal user memory and a bundled 4 GB microSD card. Contemporary tests differ, with All About Symbian finding 76 MB free internal storage and GSMArena just under 83 MB user-available memory. Keep differing firmware/test figures qualified, rather than adding them to nominal capacity.
Cameras
Main camera
5 MP
Ultra wide camera
None
Telephoto camera
None
Optical zoom
None
Main camera
Autofocus 5 MP Carl Zeiss Tessar, F2.8 aperture and physical focal length 5.2 mm; dual LED flash and physical sliding lens cover. Launch datasheet gives 2584 × 1938 pixels, while the exact guide and GSMArena give 2592 × 1944. Retain this source discrepancy.
Front camera
Lower-resolution secondary camera supports photographs, video recording and video calls; exact guide does not give megapixels.
Video recording
MPEG-4 VGA 640 × 480 at up to 30 fps. Guide distinguishes MP4 TV-quality modes from 3GP sharing mode. Dual LED can serve as a video light; review focus findings vary and are not changed into specification claims.
Camera features
Geotagging, scene modes, white balance, exposure compensation, self-timer, burst sequence and composition grid; configurable camera toolbar. Physical cover starts and closes the camera application.
Battery and charging
Battery
1,200 mAh
Video playback (maker's claim)
Up to 5 hours
Wireless charging
None
Battery life detail
Removable BL-6F, 1200 mAh. Launch datasheet claims up to 210 minutes 3G or 330 minutes GSM talk, 400 hours 3G or 370 hours GSM standby, 5 hours offline video playback and 24 hours offline music. Actual use depends on network, features and battery condition.
Wired charging
Dedicated 2 mm Nokia charging connector. Micro-USB does not charge the handset, confirmed in both full reviews.
Design
Type
Standard
Weight
97 g
Thickness
15 mm
Height × width
110 × 49 mm
Colours
Maker launch lists Light Sea Blue, Espresso Brown, Olive Green, White and Coral Red Xpress-on smart rear covers; three covers included in each package, with market-dependent selection. Covers automatically change matching screen themes unless that option is disabled.
Buttons
Navi wheel around the scroll control, dedicated keylock slider, volume rocker, multimedia/menu controls and two-stage camera capture key.
Speakers
Built-in stereo loudspeakers; headset listening and speakerphone/ringtone measurements are distinct.
Software
Operating system
Symbian
Software features
Integrated FM receiver and FM transmitter; original music, gallery, web, messaging, document viewing and N-Gage software. Firmware, region and operator affect applications; retired connected services are not advertised as current.
Release detail
Maker announcement on 26 August 2008 plans October shipping, while the datasheet plans Q4. Neither proves the first retail day or month, so release retains 2008 precision, supported by contemporary production reviews. Maker calls it a step forward from N72/N73; review comparisons with N78/N82 do not establish a direct replacement link.
Connectivity
Mobile network
N79-1/RM-348 supports WCDMA 900/2100 with HSDPA and GSM 850/900/1800/1900 with EGPRS. Other regional RM models have different bands; none borrowed into this record.
Wi-Fi
IEEE 802.11b/g with UPnP home-network support.
Bluetooth
Bluetooth 2.0 with enhanced data rates; exact guide lists stereo A2DP and AVRCP, imaging, printing, dial-up networking, file transfer, hands-free, headset, HID, object push, SIM access, synchronisation, serial-port and phonebook-access profiles.
USB
Micro-USB Hi-Speed USB 2.0 data socket and separate charging connector. Standard 3.5 mm stereo headset connector also supports PAL/NTSC TV output.
Positioning
Integrated GPS and assisted GPS. Original Nokia Maps and bundled navigation trial are historical software features; retired service availability is not promised.
