Nokia N96: Review and Comparison with N95
I tested Nokia N96 for over a month thanks to Digital-PR that made the testing available to me and here are my impressions.
I wanted to particularly check the differences on Nokia N95, which I myself paid for, in order to evaluate if it effectively constitutes the natural evolution to its predecessor.
What I liked most
Finally, the GPS has turned usable. I mean the Nokia Maps integrated to the cell phone and not the third parts.
The integrated GPS antenna finally gets the satellites information in acceptable time and it is rather reliable even when walking in impassable areas (it was tested in Rome’s alleys), or even driving in rural roads.
I’m aware that other bloggers have shown distrust towards the N96 GPS, but the tests have been satisfactory for me.
Another improvement is about the hardware resistance increasing under stress conditions. The N95 mobile streaming with QIK has frequently proved to be unreliable: the phone would get heated and blocked after 5/6 minutes of use compelling me to restart it after removing the battery. N96 seems to be more reliable: it gets heated with less frequency and shows more stability.
The photo camera is more sensitive under low light conditions and its antenna is more sensitive when compared to its predecessor. I spent New Year’s Eve in a ranch where there was no signal for N95, only for N96 instead (look the picture).
Here are some photos shot with N96 during daytime.
The memory is another improved feature: 16 Gb integrated in the cell phone, taken as Flash memory by the computer.
Unfortunately, the pros end here.
N96: the cons
Usability and ergonomics
Two malfunctions, to begin with, that annoyed me from a practical point of view (leaving aside technological resources): the slide opening mechanism and the keyboard.
The phone is not ergonomics at all and to slide it open, you must press the thumb against its surface. As a result, you’ll get a permanently dirty display.
Once it’s open, you’ll find out that the tactile references on the numerical keyboard disappeared: you need to look attentively at the keys in order to type the phone numbers.
From an ergonomics point of view, holding N96 or a little brick feels the same: it bothers.
Energy consumption
One of N95 weaknesses was related to battery length. I longed for an improvement on this feature, but Nokia did worst: it equipped N96 with a battery 950 Mah kind (with lower capacity compared to the N95 second series).
It is a fact that some improvement on the system consumption resources has taken place, but equipping this telephone with a less durable battery than the one on N95 is an unexplicable choice.
UMTS/GPRS Connection
I believe mobile connectivity features to be important on new generation phones. It’s a fact, now USB keys do exist, but if I have to carry the phone around with me, why not use it to connect myself with the notebook not having to carry extra objects during a trip?
Here’s the speed test video:
Photo Camera
The photo camera objective lens doesn’t bring the mini-slide for protection and it’s slightly in relief. That turns the copper on the objective a fragile element.
Perplexity
The display has the same dimensions and resolutions as those on N95: you expected N96 to have a better screen, right?
Another integrated feature on this phone is the mobile digital TV decoder: in few seconds, it tunes the channel list for the main cell phone TV operators (there’s a little rod behind the device used to support it on a horizontal position on plain surfaces).
Considerations
According to my modest point of view, there’s no market for this cell phone.
It’s not a matter of technology or functionality, but a matter of time: Nokia N96 was commercialized around €700,00 (at least in Italy) almost at the same time as iPhone’s launching, and a little before Sony Ericsson Xperia X1. Besides, Nokia has even shown N97 in Barcelona, which seems to be higher leveled.
At a lower price, it could have been a phone to take into consideration but, at this price and considering the expectations of someone who owns a N95, it let me down.
Related Posts
- Nokia N95: Review Of The (Almost) Ultimate Geek Phone
- Orange and Vodafone UK Unable VoIP On Nokia N95
- Top 5 Affiliate Programs Comparison
- MidpSSH: SSH and Telnet Client On Your Cell Phone
- TruPhone Free VoIP Calls With Your Mobile
