Is Nokia readying a 3G N95 for America?

by Joshua Topolsky posted Aug 9th 2007 at 9:29AM

Nokia's N95, like many phones in America, has been a consistent letdown to those hoping to rock any decent online content on their phone, mainly because of the prohibitive EDGE data speeds which currently dominate the GSM market here (a matter of fact, no matter how much Mr. Jobs may protest). Well, it appears that at least Nokia is feeling our pain, because according to a recent GigaOM rumor, the company is readying a 3G variation of the N95 -- presumably with a US carrier in tow -- due out this September, which makes sense considering some of the company's recent shenanigans. If (and when) this happens, it should make the do-it-all phone, which boasts a 5 megapixel camera, built-in GPS, WiFi, and all sorts of multimedia functions, considerably more attractive to consumers in the States, even with its $749 price tag.

Filed under: Handsets, Nokia, Symbian, GSM, EDGE, HSDPA

Tags: 3g, edge, gsm, n95, nokia, rumor

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

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Mike @ Aug 9th 2007 11:11AM

If A US customer were to buy the current version of Nokia N95, what data speeds would be available to him? Are any of the conectivity options of the N95 available from US carriers such as HSDPA, GPRS, and EDGE?

Neutral

Eric @ Aug 9th 2007 11:04AM

You will not find the N75 at AT&T Stores. You never see anyone playing with the e62. S60 fans hate carrier branded handsets. I doubt AT&T will carry the N95. Launched the same month as the HTC Kaiser? nah. Nokia is due for a refresh.

Neutral

Jevon @ Aug 10th 2007 1:23AM

thats not true many of us want the s60 phones but cant afford to buy a import version. many of the people I know leally want the N95 and N93i so I am looking forward to this phone hitting the US market

Neutral

Joe Mobile @ Aug 9th 2007 11:43AM

Well it certainly won't be T-Mobile. Who else other than AT&T would possibly carry this? And it would be only the third GSM handset with GPS offered by a U.S. carrier:
http://www.thegpsinsider.com/2007/08/09/coming-to-america-nokia-n95-with-3g/

Neutral

Stephman @ Aug 9th 2007 11:49AM

Mike,
If a US customer buys the current version of the N95, they'd be able to utilize GPRS and EDGE on AT&T or T-Mobile. no HSDPA

Neutral

absolut_ian @ Aug 10th 2007 1:31AM

This rumor is %100 TRUE. I work for Motorola Canada and I spoke with a good friend of mine, the Nokia Brand rep, and the North American version of the N95 is on its way in Canada to Rogers Wireless.

THIS IS TRUE!!

Highest Ranked

Jonathan Bruha @ Aug 9th 2007 2:06PM

Oh, so when the N95 doesn't have 3G it's a letdown, but when the iPhone comes out without 3G, it's still the perfect phone?

For those who asked, you can use the N95 on either T-Mobile or At&T (or any GSM carrier for that matter) and still take advantage of EDGE speeds.

Noob disclaimer-The WLAN is free, the GPS positioning is free, and the only thing you'd have to pay for is the navigation for around $11/month (from Nokia, not your carrier) depending on how large a subscription you purchase (while routing and tracking without voice directions is still free).

Neutral

Joe Mobile @ Aug 9th 2007 2:18PM

Jonathan - Nokia doesn't have a subscription navigation app. You'd be paying TeleNav, Telmap or some other turn-by-turn provider. Plus $ for the data plan that you would need. Yes, GPS positioning is free, but all those maps and routing eat up the KB fast...

Neutral

Jonathan Bruha @ Aug 9th 2007 3:10PM

I don't know how the royalties work out, but either way, the payment system is indeed setup through the Maps application on the N95 on the device itself, not through any carrier. And no, you don't need a data connection for the maps either. You can download them in advance onto a the memory card from the same source and like I said, routing is free with those free maps. The only thing you pay for is the voice prompts. You can read about it at smart2go.com, or pick up an N95 for yourself.

Neutral

Joe Mobile @ Aug 9th 2007 4:56PM

I have an N95 - and you're right, I forgot about the Maps upgrade. But I can't imagine many people really take the time to use the map uploader. What if I'm on a business trip to NYC and didn't upload the right region?

Neutral

Jonathan Bruha @ Aug 9th 2007 5:51PM

Then it sounds like it'd be in your best interest to download the NYC map before your flight. Otherwise, yes, you will eat up a massive amount of data downloading maps on the fly. Either way, you don't pay anything on top of your data plan for them.

Honestly, who has a smartphone without an unlimited data plan? That's like buying a car without wheels because the wheels are too expensive.

Neutral

db @ Aug 10th 2007 12:01PM

I just bought an n95 this past spring and the lack of U.S. 3G doesn't really bother me at all. Most of the time if I have to go online to get content and I have no access to a computer, I can usually use a nearby local WLAN anyway (which is probably faster than the data speeds I would get if I used AT&T's network). Like Jonathan said, WLAN is free. Good thing the phone has WiFi. But hey, I can understand why 3G could be such an important buying factor for some people . . .

And also, from my past experiences with my previous phone, using 3G sure seems to eat up more of my battery.

Neutral