Review NOKIA N95

Nothing is impossible for the Finns!!!. Just pick up the Nokia N95 and all your doubts about the previous statement will be dispelled. The N95 is a revolutionary product combining satellite navigation, a cutting-edge 5-megapixel camera, media player and PDA functions in a handset that somehow isn't the size of a brick.

Design

The N95 is a slim beauty among smartphones, weighing just 120 g (with size of 99 x 53 x 21 mm), but is a true "fatty" with respect to the great amount of functions it offer. This phone is a slider, (but here comes the surprise) it slides in both directions... push the screen up and the keypad can be seen, slide it down to reveal a touch-sensitive suite of media-player controls. The screen shifts to landscape format for watching video or listening to music. However, there is no spring to facilitate opening and friction between plastic surfaces causes creaky sounds during opening. The 40 x 53 mm display, largest in N series, is imbedded and offers relatively good protection against scratching. However it is a real fingerprint magnet.

But the surface is matt so it is not a cause of worry.

Despite it's trim look, the Nokia engineers have managed to find room on the sides for stereo speakers, volume keys and two really cool features: a standard 3.5mm headphone socket and a TransFlash memory card slot behind a flap. Another awesome touch is that instead of Nokia's proprietary Pop-Port, a standard mini-USB jack is used for syncing with PC. The pair of earbuds with the N95 are a real disappointment. They distort sound, look cheap, tinny and should be upgraded immediately.

Design: 9.5

Features

The N95 is among the first mobiles to have a built-in camera with 5-megapixel resolution. Taking pictures is as simple as with your common digital camera. An additional camera for video calls can also be used for taking pics. There is an instant access key for photo gallery so new images can be immediately viewed without unnecessary menu browsing. Videos can be recorded in MPEG-4 and 3GP formats. The MPEG-4 videos and JPEG pics eat up a lot of memory but strangely N95's has only 160 MB internal memory and no memory card is part of the retail package.

Wi-Fi support is N95's most treasured asset. There is an option for quick search of available Wi-Fi networks so all you have to do is select a network and connect directly, without pondering over complicated setups. Internet call facility is preset in the phone, all you need is Wi-Fi and a corresponding setup. Another innovation the Finns have introduced is Videocentre- a classic videopodcast providing direct access to video archives on the web. It's greatest seduction is the beta version of the mobile YouTube. Nokia Video Service Catalogue- a non-brainer website provides access to all the offered services. You can also conncect the phone to a TV and view videos, pics and even browse the Internet on the big screen. Bluetooth works very smoothly and you can connect more than one device to the phone concurrently. Being a a quad-band phone, the N95 works in all four standard GSM frequency bands – 850, 900, 1800, and 1900 MHz.

Data transfers are via GPRS or EDGE. The phone also works with 3G UMTS networks. You can also transfers data as fast as 3.6 MB/s thanks to the HSDPA support, but the tragedy is that you will have to wait for some more years to unleash its full potential as there aren't any networks with speeds above 1.8 MB/s!!! The N95 offers all the usual sat-nav features, including route planning, search and local points of interest. The GPS application, named unimaginatively as Maps, provides provide local mini-maps and routes.

Each map covers about 0.5 mile area around you.

Features: 9.00

Performance

The Nokia N95 works on the OS Symbian 3rd edition. It's quite fast and scores high in direct comparison to other smartphones, but like any smartphone it always takes longer to run applications that are not cached into its memory. The phones often crashes once you exit and re-enter the GPS application Maps. The sat-nav feature is more suited for walking rather than driving and severely drains the already "weak" battery. Infact, poor battery life is most significant weakness of N95. However, if you do not give may to temptation and watch movies and browse Internet moderately the battery can last whole-day long. Even though the 5-megapixel camera is a scale up it takes 6 seconds to get the camera application running, which is very slow.

The N95 simply cannot match the image quality and flexibility offered by lets say a compact Fujifilm Z5 camera.

Another break from Nokia's "absurd" tradition is the voice recorder that can create tracks longer than a minute... infact, for as long as an entire hour.

Calls can be made through standard GSM network, via Internet, or in a 3G network with video. Voice calls, as usual, are clear and distinct. Incoming calls can be denied or simply silenced. SMS text can be automatically sent to the person, whose call you have denied. Calls are received by opening the phone, but they cannot be ended by closing the device. They simply go on and on and on!!! On the messaging front nothing new is offered besides a great

T9 dictionary. The N95 can receive and send emails with attachments, even Zipped files. Office formats including Excel and even PDF files can be viewed, but strangely cannot be edited. The Internet browser is extremely comfortable to use and works amazingly even with complicated websites.

The "huge" display and the stereo-effect would undoubtedly provide trills and chills to the gamers. But they are in for a huge shocker as the N95 provides only one and a half game: a 3D snake and a 2-round demo version of the space 3D action SRE.

Performance: 8.5

Conclusion

The Nokia N95 is as expensive as a laptop. But the high price is justified as the N95 is in a entente of its own. There is no phone in the market which can actually take on the N95. It loaded with tonnes of features and represents the very peak of tech miniaturisation without scarifying neither usability or style. If the few bugs and general laziness of it is ironed out, the N95 is likely to reign over the mobile world for quiet some time.