Phones: Nokia N96 Smartphone – Review – 75

A super-successful and smug older sibling is never easy to rival. Imagine how Brad Pitt’s little brother Douglas feels when he sees the god that is his flesh and blood on the big screen? Nokia’s new N96 is in the same boat. After all, it has to follow in the very big footsteps of its predecessor, the N95.

You couldn’t forget the Nokia N95, even if you wanted to. The epitome of convergent technology, it was a truly significant smartphone at the time of its release. A bag full of tricks, the incredible mobile device combined HSPDA, GPS and Wi-Fi and was a big crowd pleaser. Tone loved the N95 so much we gave it ‘Best phone of the year’ in our 2008 product awards. It has set very high expectations for the N96.

So how does little brother stack up? The tagline on its packaging reads ‘Your videos set free’. Free from what? Mostly, from the confines of a crappy screen. The N96 has a stunning display. At 2.8 inches, it’s quite sizeable and has a substantial 16 million colours. It’s bright and clear, and is very well shown off with the free BBC videos available for download through Nokia’s exclusive partnership. I watched DreamTravel Destinations and was blown away by the impressive quality 
of the picture.

The best part about watching videos on this phone, though, is the kickstand. Placed around the camera lens, you simply open out this little stand so that your phone can support itself on a table for easy viewing. That little piece of plastic is what I love most about this $1699 phone. That and the 16GB of memory and microSD expansion slot.

The external speakers rock and make playing music directly out of the unit a pleasure. They remind me a lot of the excellent speaker quality of Nokia’s XpressMusic phone. Indeed, they pumped out enough volume to fill my study and weren’t tinny sounding, as many phone speakers are.

The N96 has all the bells and whistles the N95 boasts but there aren’t any major technological advances. Oh, apart from the built-in DVB-H TV tuner that is effectively useless here in New Zealand (see breakout box). In terms of looks, the N96′s body is a tad slimmer, but it still has the two-way sliding design. Its numeric/alphabetical keys aren’t raised like the N95′s and are entirely flat without definition between each key, meaning more potential errors when typing emails and texts.

Battery life could do with some work, just like big bro’s. Using full internet and media functionality, I didn’t get more than a working day out of this phone. As for the camera, it’s brilliant – hardly surprising, since it has five megapixels and quality Carl Zeiss optics. It takes beautiful photos and captures images quickly using autofocus, unlike a lot of camera phones on the market.

The N96 has the same basic genetics as its predecessor, but there are some subtle differences that are advantageous, such as the great kickstand and all that memory. There’s certainly much to love about this powerful smartphone, though its huge price tag may be a little off-putting. Regardless, you’d be making a good overall purchase, even though there are a few sticky points.

JESKA INNES

TECH SPECS

N96
Smartphone
$1699

NETWORK: Vodafone 3G HSDPA
MEMORY: 16GB onboard, expandable via microSD
STANDBY: 9 days standby, 230 mins talktime

GENERAL FEATURES:

• 5-megapixel camera

• Carl Zeiss camera optics

• 2.8-inch display

• TV-out cable

• Dedicated music keys

• 3.5mm headphone jack

• Built-in GPS/AGPS mapping

• Nokia maps

• Music player

• FM radio

SIZE: 103 x 55 x 18 (H/W/D)
WEIGHT: 125g

CONTACT:

www.nokia.co.nz

PROS

• That little plastic clip

• Good external speakers

• Steroid memory

CONS

• Battery life

• No big developments on N95

• Pricey

VERDICT

• Nice enough, but lacks the N95 star factor

This Review is from Tone Issue 75.