Hands-on with Nokia's high-rolling N96
The Nokia N96 is here and while it certainly doesn't blow the doors off the current N95 in all its many varieties, it does refresh the form, add beauty, and the TV ain't all that bad to boot. What definitely stands out on the N96 is build quality, the material choices here are not as cheap as they were on its older siblings, it actually looks and feels like a high end device. We also were able to get some TV time in courtesy of some neighbor or another, we've enjoyed SlingPlayer Mobile on our devices for a while now, but there is just no comparing them, the DVB-H looks first rate. Huge gallery follows.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
David Smoot @ Feb 14th 2008 9:15AM
Can you explain what you mean by "We also were able to get some TV time in courtesy of some neighbor or another". I'm not current with understanding DVB-H. Are you saying there are devices that would let you stream video from your cable box to the N-96?
David
Me @ Feb 14th 2008 9:39AM
High quality materials? It looks just like the N81 which feels like a toy at best. Also, how is this different from the other devices in the N series...which are all pretty much the same. I don't get it. Take the N95, give it a different case, add TV and that's the N96?
Cool, in that case why wasn't the red N95 called the N96? It's got just about as many changes from the black N95 as this "new" one. It seems like Nokia is pumping out more phones a month than Steven Segal movies. They need to start taking their time developing phones instead of coming up with "high end", cheap quality, bug ridden devices every 3 months.
R @ Feb 14th 2008 9:45AM
Mr. Smoot,
If you understand English you may notice that it's very hard if not impossible to be able to judge the feel and materials of the phone by pictures alone.
MiniMe @ Feb 14th 2008 11:57AM
Show me where I was rude. Here though, to satisfy your argument:
[MiniMe] You were rude because you told people to get real, like we're all fantasizing. Moreover you generalize things in an sarcastic and un-argumented manner. Just to confirm that you were rude, read for yourself your own statement below:
Let me know when you have moved out of your grandma's basement.
".. [I] assumed that since it looks like the N81 it must be built like the N81".
According to your logic I can conclude that "all the things in the world are the same, but have differences".
Again, English>You. Show me where I said this: "all the things in the world are the same, but have differences". However, if 2 phones made by the same manufacturer, look the same, run the same software, guess what...you can safely conclude that they are largely the same.
Show me where did I say that you said this "all the things..". They look the same? You were able to distinguish this from a couple of pictures only? You're good.. We can "safely" conclude? Why safely? because you said so??
"I have a Nokia E61i which has body parts made of aluminium. So not "ALL" their phones are made of plastic. Similarly, their "usual plastic" is not cheap."
Next time we are talking about N series devices please restrict your comments to these devices. I have an 8800 which is also not made of plastic. Their usual plastic is cheap as long as it creaks and the paint comes off from normal use (N95-8GB, N95, N81 etc). Also, I would like to know how many of these phones you actually own because obviously you know NOTHING about them and how well they are built.
You made a general statement about the Nokia phones. Quote: "the usual cheap plastic all their other phones are made of." Please note your own words: "all their other phones" not "all their other N-series phones". You "obviously" know all the phones I have.. Wow..
Facts:
N95-1: requires tape on the back of the sliding part so it doesn't wobble. Paint comes off after 3 months of regular use. Light leaks out of the device like it was meant to be a flashlight.
N95-2: requires tape on the back of the sliding part so it doesn't wobble. Paint comes off after 2 months of regular use.
N81: cheap plastic, crappy slider, easily scratched, paint comes off.
N80: requires tape on the back of the sliding part so it doesn't wobble. Every part that could be loose is loose.
Just how did you exactly determine which part could be loose before it became loose?
That was my last comment. My time is valuable.
Numetheus @ Feb 14th 2008 1:26PM
So, by the Steven Segal comment you mean that they aren't releasing very many new phones? Because I dont see any new Steven Segal movies, if at all, within the past few years.
Me @ Feb 14th 2008 9:50AM
I guess I just took a chance there and assumed that since it looks like the N81 it must be built like the N81...Or hold on, maybe they went with the high quality materials instead of the usual cheap plastic all their other phones are made of. Get real.
MiniMe @ Feb 14th 2008 10:34AM
You are rude and have no arguments. I quote:
".. [I] assumed that since it looks like the N81 it must be built like the N81".
According to your logic I can conclude that "all the things in the world are the same, but have differences".
"Or hold on, maybe they went with the high quality materials instead of the usual cheap plastic all their other phones are made of."
I have a Nokia E61i which has body parts made of aluminium. So not "ALL" their phones are made of plastic. Similarly, their "usual plastic" is not cheap.
"Get real"
Get lost.
Me @ Feb 14th 2008 10:52AM
Show me where I was rude. Here though, to satisfy your argument:
Let me know when you have moved out of your grandma's basement.
".. [I] assumed that since it looks like the N81 it must be built like the N81".
According to your logic I can conclude that "all the things in the world are the same, but have differences".
Again, English>You. Show me where I said this: "all the things in the world are the same, but have differences". However, if 2 phones made by the same manufacturer, look the same, run the same software, guess what...you can safely conclude that they are largely the same.
"I have a Nokia E61i which has body parts made of aluminium. So not "ALL" their phones are made of plastic. Similarly, their "usual plastic" is not cheap."
Next time we are talking about N series devices please restrict your comments to these devices. I have an 8800 which is also not made of plastic. Their usual plastic is cheap as long as it creaks and the paint comes off from normal use (N95-8GB, N95, N81 etc). Also, I would like to know how many of these phones you actually own because obviously you know NOTHING about them and how well they are built.
Facts:
N95-1: requires tape on the back of the sliding part so it doesn't wobble. Paint comes off after 3 months of regular use. Light leaks out of the device like it was meant to be a flashlight.
N95-2: requires tape on the back of the sliding part so it doesn't wobble. Paint comes off after 2 months of regular use.
N81: cheap plastic, crappy slider, easily scratched, paint comes off.
N80: requires tape on the back of the sliding part so it doesn't wobble. Every part that could be loose is loose.
frank @ Feb 14th 2008 10:00AM
For the love of god you guys HAVE to have a contest to win one (or several) of these! I held off on an N95 because of all the reviews saying that it felt cheap and plasticy.
Anthony @ Feb 14th 2008 10:47AM
This is a nice looking phone, but the only reason I can see for me to switch from an N95 8gb to this is:
1 - Slightly thinner (though longer)
2 - updated asthetics
Question: What happens in mass memory? - do you have 2 new drives - one for the 16gb on-board & another for the micro?
namtastic @ Feb 14th 2008 11:47AM
How does the N95 8GB deal with it? Does the 8GB appear as a different source than phone mem?
I would hope that the 16GB is phone memory, card memory is whatever you insert.
Anthony @ Feb 14th 2008 12:02PM
No. The 8gb appears as a separate drive entry. So when you go in as phone it shows phone & memory "card". When you go in as mass storage it only shows the card.
Technically there could be 3 drives present when you go in in PC mode:
Phone
Internal memory
Micro SD
I'm not a fan of partitions so I don't think I'll care for that too much.
Travis @ Feb 14th 2008 1:31PM
This thing is just begging for a QWERTY keyboard slider.
Ryan @ Feb 14th 2008 2:07PM
Hey MiniMe......FYI, the majority of a mobile phone is entirely made of plastic. Just because there are phones with a metal battery cover or a metal bezel attached to a plastic frame does not mean these phones are made from metal. These metal trim pieces simply enhance appearance.
Secondly, Nokia holds just over 40% of WORLD mobile phone market. It is probably more then the next three competitors have combined. I think this is because they sell cheap plastic phones nobody every buys, or rebuys???. If Nokia dropped the US mobile market entirely(so people like you in US could be happy with an Iphone,RAZRs, Chocolates etc)they would still DOMINATE in marketshare.
Skymax @ Feb 14th 2008 3:13PM
Well it was all very interesting until some bitter, rude guy lobbied in with unjustified, snarling, unconstructive criticism.
Mario @ Feb 14th 2008 3:44PM
*sigh*
I live the N95 and the N96 looks just as impressive, but can Nokia please make these phones with a qwerty keypad....even a Pearl-esque keypad would be fine.
AndyP @ Feb 14th 2008 4:09PM
I read an article someplace online (not Engadget) that was comparing N78, N82, N95 8GB, and N96. They talked about which was better for which tasks. There was some discussion about one of them had a dedicated headphone jack and another had the Xenon flash instead of LED. Some of them had a microSDHC card slot and one or two didn't. Then there was the issue with a lot of the newer ones having very bad battery life like older Nokia smart phones. Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the N95-3 solve just about ALL these issues? It has the headphone jack, it has the Xenon flash, it has the larger battery (model 6 or something), and it even has a microSDHC slot. It seems to me that the N96 drops the Xenon flash, the longer battery life AND the headphone jack (from what I can tell in these photos). How is that progress?
mikeed8986 @ Feb 14th 2008 5:50PM
i wish i could find an n95-3 with a xenon flash. =D
Poom @ Feb 16th 2008 3:17AM
You are totally confused. Totally.
All NSeries phone has 3.5mm port since the launch of the N95. Yes, those four phones all have 3.5mm ports. The only phone with Xenon flash is the N82. The N95-3 is not the best, by far.
It's either the N96 without Xenon flash but 16GB+MicroSD (=FRIGGING NICE) and DVB-H OR the N82 with Xenon-flash. The N82 is really well-built. Don't know about N96. The N95 has bad build quality. The N78 is just... seriously lacking Xenon-flash, which it should have as a succeeder to the N73.
Bob @ Feb 15th 2008 2:37AM
I've had a mobile phone since the early 80's. My first was an NEC 9A - a hideous brick of a thing. That's if you don't count the car phone which I suppose you could call portable if you were prepared to lug around the car battery-sized base unit...
Since then, I've had many, many phones and for the past 7 or 8 years they have all been Nokia. Apart from anything else I do a lot of text, and having gotten used to the T9 I have never been comfortable with Moto, or Sony even after a few days of perseverance. Most of my phones have been models somewhere in the middle - not the cheapest, but nothing extravagant. I still have a 7110, 7250, 6230i and a few others kicking around, for instance.
The N95 was my first visit to the bleeding edge, I bought an N95-1 not long after they came out.
I mention all this, to point out that I feel eminently qualified to make the following observation:
The N95 is truly, aesthetically the worst phone I have owned. Ever. In terms of functionality, I couldn't live without it - I use it to the full - email, web, voip over SIP, IM client, GPS, etc etc. I've filled it up with music. BUT. For the love of God. The build quality??!!!
I have to agree with some other posters. My battery cover failed after 2 months. It's now held in place with a strip of sellotape. The paint job is exceedingly tatty. And yes the top slider bleeds light. It looks like it's been to a war zone and back. Obviously I'm "careless" with the way I handle it - but then, how come my other Nokia phones still look like new? Bar a few scratches and dings even my *oldest* phone looks newer than my N95 - and most of the time they live in the same pocket (I always carry two - one for work one private number).
Don't even get me started on the battery. They must have spent all of 5 minutes redesigning the camera and battery housing to accommodate the 1.2Ah battery in the newer models. WHY didn't they think of this from the start, knowing how hungry the N95 was?!
Sorry for the lengthy post, I do so in the hopes that it will either encourage Nokia to have a re-think or encourage people hesitant to make the leap to an expensive phone, to continue to be hesitant.
I, for one, will be waiting three or four months after the N96 comes out before I even *think* about buying one. Let some other sucker take the fall, and find out whether the bloody thing looks like a cheap knock-off after 3 months. Fool me once, shame on you...
Stuart @ Feb 21st 2008 2:32AM
I just bought an N95 8G which I can still return and am considering doing so. But Im disappointed that Nokia didnt re-introduce the lens cover in the N96 model, as well, I am very skeptical about the dual LED flash? I cant believe Nokia would foul this up, but will two LED bulbs really compare to the single Xenon flash in the N95? Have any tests been run on the camera in comparison to the N 95's camera abilities.