Nokia N70
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The evolution of the mobile phone seems to have forgotten about Darwinism. The theory of natural selection would have put paid to a huge number of handsets that, while new, are nevertheless poorly designed or otherwise a bit pants.

Which partly explains this, the Nokia N70. The entry-level model of Nokia's 3G-friendly N-Series, it replaces the 6680, a Pocket Gamer favourite that itself was spawned from the bulbous 6630.

The 6680, while bulkier than a 2G handset, was pretty lithe and lightweight for a 3G phone and boasted a great thumbpad and wide support for games. But the N70, while inheriting the (relatively) diminutive size and game compatibility, has in one respect branched along an unfortunate limb of the family tree – its thumbpad is a definite step backwards.

It's the one weak spot in an otherwise impressive package. The screen, while only boasting a resolution of 176 x 208, is bright and easy to look at, all the better for enjoying the impressive digital photos that the two megapixel digital camera is capable of taking. Video is equally accomplished and the sound quality is good, too, whether you're downloading a video clip, playing an MP3 or tuning into the integrated FM tuner.

In fact, the N70's multimedia credentials are unimpeachable – it even comes with a 64MB SmartMedia memory card to augment the 22MB internal memory.

But when it comes to pocket gaming, that thumbpad really makes life difficult. While it undoubtedly looks suave and sophisticated (the 6680 and 6630 did look rather plasticky), the thumbpad is really not suited to playing games. It's one solid pad that depresses as a whole when you select something, but it's not precise enough, meaning you end up pressing in when you meant to go left or right or vice-versa.

The thumbpad is also sunk too far into the face of the handset, leading to accidental presses of the two softkeys and the answer and hang-up buttons. While you're not likely to make such mistakes when you're navigating the personal organiser functions of the phone, in the heat of battle it can be very frustrating.

Still, elsewhere the N70's got enough good points for us to recommend it and to put up with the occasional errant button-press. The range of games it supports is truly massive, and it'll play Symbian games that are spectacular – check out Raging Thunder, our review of which is coming soon, to see what we mean.

Is it enough to replace Nokia's own 6680 in our affections, though? Well… no, not quite. The two handsets are virtually identical, and the more upmarket styling of the N70 isn't substantive a reason enough for us to trade up for Nokia's newest family member. Nor is it enough to make up for that thumbpad.

All of which means that if you can get your mitts on one, you're better off plumping for the slightly older phone and saving a bit of money. The 6680 might not have the cache or newness about it that the N70 does, but for gaming it's the older brother that's more evolved.

Nokia N70

A fine 3G handset that's let down solely by a poor thumbpad
Score