Nokia N86 8MP is a dual-slide Symbian smartphone with a 2.6-inch AMOLED display, 8 MP autofocus camera with variable aperture, 8 GB storage and a built-in kickstand.
GSMArena and All About Symbian praised the solid construction, AMOLED display in ordinary light and broad multimedia features, while both found the small QVGA screen limiting and sunlight legibility weak. Both criticised the stereo speakers. Camera judgements differed: All About Symbian praised low-light sensitivity, wide-angle optics and video, whereas GSMArena found stills overprocessed, with lost fine detail and lens flare, despite good VGA video. All About Symbian also found confusing media apps, limited video compatibility and instability on v10 launch firmware. Findings refer to the reviewers’ original production phones and software.
2.6-inch AMOLED QVGA, up to 16 million colours; no published maker refresh-rate or brightness figure.
Screen protection
Scratch-resistant hardened glass and metal front frame, from the maker launch release; no inferred Gorilla Glass version.
Performance
Chip
ARM11 434 MHz (GSMArena)
Memory
128 MB
Storage
8 GB
Memory
8 GB internal flash from maker datasheet. Installed 128 MB RAM is from GSMArena’s full production review; the maker’s up to 74 MB internal dynamic memory is not total installed RAM. Free RAM varies with software and firmware.
Storage type
microSD expansion up to 16 GB, from maker sheet and launch release. Removable card capacity is separate from built-in 8 GB storage.
Cameras
Main camera
8 MP
Ultra wide camera
None
Telephoto camera
None
Optical zoom
None
Main camera
8 MP autofocus Carl Zeiss Tessar: 4.61 mm physical focal length (28 mm equivalent), automatic F2.4/F3.2/F4.8 aperture, mechanical shutter up to 1/1000 second and third-generation dual LED flash/video light. Original launch sheet gives 3280 × 2464 stills; exact RM-484 owner guide and production reviews give 3264 × 2448. Owner-guide matrix retained as the later exact-model evidence.
Front camera
Front VGA camera, 640 × 480 pixels, from maker sheet; no inferred headline megapixel precision.
Video recording
Main camera VGA 640 × 480 at up to 30 fps, from maker sheet. No HD recording or optical zoom claimed.
Camera features
Sliding lens cover, two-stage capture key, geotagging, scene modes, white balance, exposure compensation and burst/interval capture. Aperture selection is automatic rather than a manual aperture control. GSMArena and All About Symbian differ strongly on still-image processing quality.
Battery and charging
Battery
1,200 mAh
Wireless charging
None
Battery life detail
Removable BL-5K, 1200 mAh. Maker maxima: 3.9 hours WCDMA or 6.3 hours GSM talk, 2.5 hours video calling, seven hours QVGA/30fps video playback or 25 hours offline music. The original sheet labels standby as 11.5 h WCDMA and 13 h GSM; GSMArena instead lists 264/312 hours. Unresolved apparent unit/error conflict is retained rather than silently converting the maker values into days.
Wired charging
Micro-USB charging and simultaneous USB data transfer confirmed by exact RM-484 guide; no charging wattage published.
Design
Type
Standard
Weight
149 g
Thickness
16.5 mm
Height × width
103.4 × 51.4 mm
Buttons
Dual slider exposes numeric keypad or media/game keys; physical directional control, volume/zoom, capture and keylock. Active kickstand opens Photos by default and is configurable in the exact guide. Maker sheet advertises automatic media launching with the short slide; GSMArena’s production unit did not perform that action.
Speakers
Built-in stereo speakers with 3D sound effect, FM radio with RDS and FM transmitter. Exact guide qualifies transmitter availability by country; stereo speaker sound is criticised in the original reviews.
Software
Operating system
Symbian
Software features
S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2 on Symbian OS 9.3; music/podcasting, Photos, video player, N-Gage, document viewers and original Ovi services. All About Symbian reports slowdowns and restarts on v10 launch firmware; no unverified later fix claimed.
Release detail
Maker announcement on 17 February 2009 planned Q2 shipping. Nokia Conversations’ 11 June article says shop sales started the previous day around the globe; its 19 June article separately confirms UK shop debut that day. June retained without assuming an identical first-sale day in every market. No maker-supported direct predecessor link established.
Connectivity
Mobile network
European RM-484 guide: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 and UMTS 900/1900/2100. Maker launch sheet separately lists a regional 850/1900/2100 UMTS version with WLAN and a 900/1900/2100 version without WLAN; these are distinct regional variants, not combined bands/features.
Wi-Fi
European guide confirms IEEE 802.11b/g at 2.4 GHz and UPnP home-network sharing. Maker sheet also lists a separate regional no-WLAN version.
Bluetooth
Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR from exact guide; A2DP/AVRCP stereo audio, hands-free/headset, dial-up networking, imaging, file transfer, remote SIM and phonebook access profiles.
USB
Micro-USB Hi-Speed USB 2.0 data/charging and 3.5 mm Nokia AV socket for compatible headphones and PAL/NTSC TV-out.
Positioning
GPS, assisted GPS and digital compass; Nokia Maps 3.0 at launch. Navigation trial lengths varied: GSMArena describes three months, All About Symbian’s European package six months driving plus pedestrian navigation. Original licences and retired online services are historical features.
Storage options
Storage
8 GB
Pros and cons
Pros
+Variable-aperture camera with mechanical shutter and sliding lens cover
+8 GB built-in storage plus microSD expansion
+FM transmitter, GPS, digital compass and 3.5 mm audio/TV output
Cons
−No touchscreen or HD video recording
−Supplied office software views documents without editing
−Historical online services and navigation licences depend on original region
