Nokia N96 Mobile Phone Review

Reviewed on 10 October 2008 by Mallesh Bonigala

The N-series seems to be taking on every smart phone that hits the market. After the impressive 8GB Nokia N95, comes the multimedia rich 16GB Nokia N96, which is lighter and is equipped with a double LED flash and an enhanced 5 megapixel camera. The questions that most people are asking are whether it is worth upgrading from the N95, and also how the N96 compares to the iPhone.

The beautifully finished N96 handset sports a 2.8 inches large screen (2.6 inches in the N95) with 240×320 pixels and 16 million colors. The display is set on a two-way sliding panel that consists of a navigation key surrounded by a dedicated multimedia key, and other keys for multimedia operation. The screen can be pushed up to display a beautiful white lit number pad.

The dedication to multimedia is further shown by a 3.5 mm jack on the top side of the phone. One can even use heavy Sennheiser headphones for listening pleasure. The right side has two external speakers, one on top and the other on the bottom with the dedicated camera button and the volume button in between. When turned in landscape mode, the speakers orient to the top right and left. The bottom has a microUSB port and a recharging jack. On the left is the memory hot-swap slot. The N96 allows an additional microSD card for additional storage.

Being a Series 60 phone the N96 comes with an updated 3rd edition, Feature Pack 2 multi-media User Interface. The accelerometer function enables the screen orientation to change from portrait to landscape. Along with the tilting action, one must slide the screen up for portrait view and down for landscape view. The N96 runs on a Dual ARM 9 264MHz CPU while the 8GB N95 runs on a Dual ARM 11 332MHz CPU. Why Nokia chose to downgrade the processor in spite of boosting up storage and some video capabilities, is a question that remains unanswered.

Music can be played on the media player in mp3, AAC, eAAC, eAAC+ and WMA format and has an 8 band Audio Equalizer with a number of presets. The N96 claims to hold up to 12,000 music tracks. WAV format is not supported. A2DP audio output is supported by the N96. It also has stereo FM and Internet Radio. The N96 plays video in 3GP and mp4 formats. It can also shoot mp4 video at 30 fps and at a 640×480 resolution. Around the camera is a foldable stand that enables the phone to sit in landscape position on a table top for video viewing.

Nokia has complemented its entertainment package with N-Gage gaming software that is preinstalled. The activation code for the exciting N-Gage racing action Asphalt 3: Street Rules is included in the box. The demo versions of a few other N-Gage titles are also pre-loaded on the device for review before buying.

Although a number of apps run at reasonable speed, the phone slows down when loaded. The 5 megapixel CMOS camera is very impressive and comes with preset modes such as Auto, Close-up, Portrait, Landscape, Sports and other modes. The user can create his own customized mode by adjusting the white balance, EV compensation, contrast and sharpness. Pictures can be taken at an amazing resolution of 2592×1944, and can even be geotagged. Photographs can be organized for easy access and browsing.

The N96 has a built-in GPS receiver and a three months trial version of Nokia Maps 2.0 with step-by-step voice guidance. The Wi Fi connectivity does well in providing quality surfing speed and email support. There is also a DVB-H receiver which is almost non-functional and works only in certain countries. The 3G enabled N96will hit the American markets in Q4. It is expected to sell for $895.

The N96 weighs 125gm and is slightly lighter than N95 and the iPhone. One wonders if the N95 user would chip-in some extra dough to go in for some extra storage and extra video functionality that the N96 provides. Although the iPhone is a complete multimedia package, the N96 comes amazingly close; but the N96 beats the iPhone hands down with its enhanced camera and video capturing capabilities.

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