So this is how I came to part with £469.99 for a mobile phone. Of course I was aware it's expensive. Everyone has had that advert tattooed into their retinas. The man pulls lots of things out of his pocket. A map, a stereo, a photo. But wait! It's all in one phone! Who exactly would assume that a 5 megapixel camera, DVD camcorder, Satnav system with a mobile phone thrown in for good measure would be cheap? Silly mare.
So at this point you may well be wondering why I would part with nearly £500 for a phone. Well, I'm an idiot. But my idiocy is for another review. Needless to say you can get this phone for far less on contract, but I am aleready on contract, so that's not doable for me. But as a sim free handset, I guess you could argue that it isn't reasonable value for money. Or is it?
At the time of writing this, the N95 is pretty much the best phone money can buy. It is the only phone with a 5 megapixel camera (Samsung have announced a 10 megapixel camera phone called the B600 but it's debatable if it will be sold here). It is the only phone that can work as a satnav system. It is the only phone with a 2 way slide mechanism. It is also the only phone with a barcode scanner. No, I don't know why either.
Anyway, there's your overview. Let us now break up this bad boy
into digestable reviewing chunks.
LOOKS
Being an N series phone it retains it's metallic grey colour, with a choice of either dark grey on the back, or plum. Surprisingly, the phone feels incredibly sturdy. You'd expect it to be as fragile and jittery as Vanessa Feltz after a pint of moonshine, but everything feels robust and chunky. It is also pleasantly petite. Ok, it's no RAZR, but that's because this phone is more function than fashion. Because it's a slide phone it is very compact, although probably a bit chunkier than other phones. Not a lot though. I can forgive it. The keys are curved in the middle and bigger than other N series phone keypads, which is a godsend to a ham fisted buffoon like myself. Tiny keys were the main reason I parted with my N73. The media player mode (where you slide the screen down instead of up, presents play, pause, forwards, backwards and stop keys which light up in blue when it's dark. I have no idea how it knows when it's dark. The camera is on the back, and is protected by a lens shutter.
EASE OF USE
Once again, Nokia stick with their tried and trusted menu method. If you're used to Nokias there is nothing here that will baffle you, and everything on the screen is big and clear. Navigation is done with the large central button, and the texting system is the same as always - still the easiest predictive text system in the world, by the way. On the side you have your camera buttons, fast access to your gallery, and your volume/zoon switch. Absolutely nothing revolutionary about it, but that's a good thing. The camera will automatically come on just by opening the lens cover, and while you can adjust light exposure, contrast and whatnot, everything defaults to automatic, so you don't need to be a photographic genius to get a good picture.
Well, the 5 megapixel camera is as good as many digital cameras, and the clarity is amazing. You can take printworthy photos with a mobile phone. Try telling that to someone 2 years ago. The video camera records at 30fps, so it is basically a DVD camcorder. Contained in your N95 box are leads to connect it directly to the TV, as you would a camcorder. That is how good it is. Also, the software disc also comes with a version of Adobe photoshop, which will automatically touch up your photos for you when you upload them onto the computer. The camera also has night mode, and a proper flash on it. You can't think of this as a camera phone, more a digital camera you can call your mates on.
FEATURES
Hoo boy, where to start? Ok, I'll start witht he barcode scanner, because it confuses me. Mobile phones are about accessing information and communication on the go. Why do I want to scan things? Do I work in Tescos? Apparently certain barcodes will bring up websites and information on the product. You hold the camera over the barcode while it scans it. I've yet to get this to work. Ok so it's cool and gadgety, but is it really necessary? Ok I dwell. The good stuff. Wireless internet access. If you are near a wireless hub that you can access, you can go on the "proper" internet, by which I mean you get proper websites up as you do on a computer, not simplified mobile versions. This is good for being able to visit a wealth of websites you couldn't beforehand, and secondly because the browsing won't go on your phone bill. The satnav. You can download all the maps of all the world for free via the nokia website. After you've done this you can bring up local points of interest - hotels, restaurants and whatnot. In order to get the full satnav curry you do have to pay a subscription charge to Nokia (£40 a year). I guess that's what you'd pay for regular satnav, so that's fair enough. You have instant access to lifeblog onlinem where you can upload photos directly from your phone to the site, and as usual you have all the regulars, multimedia messaging, WAP, quad band, mp3s etc etc. Oh, and on a juvenile note, the new game on the N95 looks amazing. It's only a demo, but has the kind of graphics you'd find on the original playstation, which for a hpone is pretty special. Oh, and if you get this phone to replace your existing Nokia, there is a program where you can transfer all your contacts and settings over to the new phone wirelessly. Which is lovely.
OTHER STUFF (MEMORY / BATTERY/ RECEPTION / ACCESSORIES)
The internal memory of the phone is 140MB. You can buy micro SD cards for it (I bought a 2GB one from Ebay for £13). Because of the power of the camera, you won't squeeze as much onto the card as you could on a less powerful phone, so I am hoping they will start to release larger capacity cards. The phone can be connected to the computer via USB cable, or simply popping the micro SD card in the computer, if your computer has a slot for it. The battery has a very good lifespan (about 24 hours regular use to start wearing it down), and when you consider all the stuff this phone can do, it is mightily impressive. The reception has been fine so far. Obviously it can only be as good as the network you're on (I'm on 3), but I've heard in the tech spec that you could pretty much use this phone anywhere in the world. Accessories include an adaptor so you can listen to the radio (the phone has a standard jack plug so you could plug any set of headphones directly into the phone). The software disc contains Adobe, as previously mentioned, and Life blog, as well as the usual Nokia PC suite.
IF I HAD TO CRITICISE...
And I do, my complaint is twofold. Firstly, the price. As good as this phone is, and although it would cost a million times more to buy a camera, mp3 player etc separately, £500 for a phone is a lot. But it can save itself if Nokia don't cater to my second worry. Every time I have gotten a state of the art Nokia, I could garauntee that 2 weeks later, they announce a new one which will be twice as powerful, does a million more things and so on. When you've parted with a lot of cash for a state of the art phone, it is nice to think that it will be a worthwhile investment for at least 6 months. This phone came out in March, so if Nokia could refrain from making a superior one this year, I might feel less guilty about spending so much money on my N95.
OVERALL
It is so, so hard to fault this phone. I couldn't cover every little thing this phone does as I would be here all day. But what is most impressive is how simple it all is to use, and how quickly it does it. Smartphones are notorious for freezing up a la Microsoft Windows, but this one just doesn't. It does everything quickly and simply, and it is all packaged up very neatly in a phone that feels sturdy and well put together. I just hope Nokia stop and admire it for a while too, before reminding us that it will be out of date in just a few months when another N phone comes out.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
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Advantages: Good Music Player, Awesome Camera, Gadget packed Disadvantages: Crashes, hangs, poor battery life, internet browsing using Wifi is very slow
wzwukdotcom 19.12.2007 ·
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Review of Nokia N95
Jun 5th, 2007
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