The forgotten smartphone: Nokia N79 from 2008

August 22, 2021 Luisa Rey

Twelve years ago, Nokia devices were indispensable on the streets. One of the devices that was released in those years was the Nokia N79. This week we discuss them in a new edition of ‘The forgotten smartphone’.

Nokia N79

The Nokia N-series consisted of a large number of devices. The Nokia N79 was a smartphone and could be seen as a successor to the Nokia N73 and N78. The smartphone had some quirks that set it apart from the rest. Because at first glance, the N79 did not look like a smartphone full of bells and whistles.

cover

It was indeed an all-in-one device with a striking design. Where the Nokia logo was placed above the screen on previous devices, this was on the side of the Nokia N79, next to the screen. You could also personalize the look with Xpress-On Covers where you could change the back. An interesting detail was that the theme color of the smartphone could be automatically adjusted when changing the back cover. The battery was therefore also interchangeable; it had a standard capacity of 1200 mAh.

Where we hardly ever see a USB connection behind a cover these days, the Micro-USB connection was placed behind a cover on the Nokia N79. There were stereo speakers and a physical camera key. With that camera key you could capture images with the 5 megapixel camera on the device. This was assisted by an LED flash. At the time, the GPS receiver in the device was interesting, which could also save the location with the photos. The GPS could also be used for navigating and using the Nokia Maps app.

Nokia N79 colors

Navigation wheel

The Nokia N79 had a 2.4 inch display with a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels. Below the screen were the well-known shortcuts and then there was the well-known navigation button, or rather the navigation wheel. This was touch-sensitive and you could rotate over it to scroll through menus, for example. The smartphone ran on Symbian S60 and offered shortcuts on the home screen, along with agenda items and information about, for example, your WiFi connection. You could use the phone in both landscape and portrait orientation.

At the beginning of 2019, another variant of the N79 was released; the Nokia N79 Active. This included a Bluetooth heart rate monitor, sporty headphones and a bracelet. With this together you could keep track of your sports performance in Nokia Sports Tracker app. The Nokia N79 itself appeared in 2008 for a price of about 400 euros.