I got the N81 8GB around 6 months back and am still enjoying it. Sure its not meant to take on its bigger and fancier brother the N 95 and the other range of immediate releases with upgrades such as N 82 etc.... but let me tell you what it does have....
the phone looks like a dream with its smooth extra black exterior which makes it look like a touchscreen.( it is a finger print magnet though). There are 11 buttons on the front panel of the phone though these are not visible unless they light up for functions such as music and gaming. The slider mechanism is rock solid giving you confidence on rough use. the buttons on the keypad are comfortable enough though I have heartd some rumours otherwise I have had no problems till date. The phone is bulkier and heavier than the current trendsetters but it does impart a solid feel and makes u believe the fact that it doesnt come apart easily. The music system is excellent and exceeded every expectations I had. I am told that nokia released this as a competitor to the ipod and it succeds. It even has a rotating wheel. I dont use my ipod anymore not with the amazing music clarity and tons of storage space. I have stored tons of movies already though the screen is only 2.4inches. he display of the phone is great but thats what u would expect of any phone releasing now a days. Check out its stereophonic speakers to believe it. Its the loudest speakers in the market yet. Sony ericcson are almost there with the new W series but at present N81 is reigning unchallenged. The gaming section proves promising with 2 dedicated keys for it and I am sure with nokia promising more games to follow its gonna be rocking. the ease of use with this mobile as with all nokia phones are childishly easy. the battery life is amazing with nokia promising 15 days standby but for an average user it would stay for 3 days with heave music play, heavy gaming and heave calls. The only aspect that I was disapponted in was the camera ciming at a mere 2 megapixels. Its enough to take the occasional pics when u dont have the camera with you but one would feel it desrves a better camera for a phone in this price range. If you are planning on buying one I assure you that u wont be disappointed and can have tons of fun.