Review: Nokia N95 smartphone
Boasting features such built-in GPS and Wifi Nokia's latest N-Series looks set to take the market by storm

Review: Nokia N95 smartphone

Boasting features such built-in GPS and Wifi Nokia's latest N-Series looks set to take the market by storm

Written by Will Stapley

Larger Image

Since firmly establishing itself as a major mobile phone manufacturer in the 90s, Nokia has been through some turbulent times and released its fair share of duff handsets.

Its feature-rich N-Series, however, has gained a loyal following, and the new N95 ticks more boxes than ever before with the likes of Wifi, GPS, HSDPA and a 5megapixel camera.

The silver chassis looks similar to other N-Series phones, with the 2.6in (240x320) screen taking up the majority of space on the front of the chassis.

Eight buttons and a four-way directional pad sit just below the screen. While many of the phone's features can be accessed using these controls, you'll need to slide the screen up to reveal the alpha-numeric keypad when bashing out text messages.

Highlighting the phone's multimedia capabilities, if you slide the display down (and at the same time tilt it to a landscape orientation) four music/video navigation buttons are revealed.

The sliding mechanism isn't spring-loaded, but has a solid feel and clicks into place when fully extended. A nice touch is the keypad lock automatically engaging whenever you slide the screen back to its home position, although it also means it unlocks when you open the screen up - something to be wary of when placing the phone in your pocket.

Situated just above the display is a 352x288 camera for video calls and an ambient light detector to automatically adjust the screen's brightness. Volume controls are located on the right side, along with camera shutter button and another to jump straight to the image gallery.

A microSD card slot joins a standard 3.5mm headphone jack and Infrared port on the left side of the phone. Meanwhile the power socket and USB port are found at the bottom, with the on/off control at the top.

Completing the line-up is the 5megapixel camera at the rear, complete with integrated lens cover, and an extra-bright LED illuminator. Take a look at our N95 digicam sample shots to see what the quality is like.

At 120g, the phone feels comfortable in the hand, but measuring 21mm thick it's a fair bit chunkier than most other phones on the market and you'll certainly notice it in your pocket.

Continue to next page for GPS and Wifi features...

Product overview

  • Price: £129.99 with £35/month contract (alternatives available)
  • Manufacturer: Nokia
  • Specifications: HSDPA, 3G, Edge GSM

Best prices

Ratings

  • Overall rating: 4
  • Features: 5
  • Performance rating: n/a
  • Value for money: 4
  • Average user rating:
Rate this product

Verdict

Pros: GPS; Wifi; excellent design; multimedia features
Cons: Battery life; GPS time to first fix
Overall: It's an expensive piece of kit, but as far as smartphones go this is most definitely the current king of the hill

Tags:

See also:

image: RIM blackberry 8800

Review: RIM Blackberry 8800 smartphone

Stylish smartphone complete with built-in GPS   More...

Review: Nokia N800 web tablet

Review: Nokia N800 web tablet

Open-source web tablet, video-phone and media player has potential - shame about the Vista-style mark-up   More...

image: nokia e51

Preview: Nokia E51 mobile phone

We get a sneak preview of Nokia’s new business-focused handset   More...

image: LG Viewty

Review: LG Viewty smartphone

A technological beauty?   More...

Advertisements

Do you agree?

Advertisement

IT white papers

Search vnunet IThound

Top categories

Advertisement

Poll

EUROPEAN E-COMMERCE

EUROPEAN E-COMMERCE

Are you happy making an online purchase from another European country?

Previous poll results

Spotlight

Online pornography

US rebate cheques spent on porn

Economic stimulus package works wonders   More...

Louis Vuitton

UK online fake goods market worth £800m

Legal experts warn of dramatic rise in 'e-fencing'   More...

Advertisement

Fibre-optics

New fibre-optic connections overtake cable

Broadband first-timers choosing fibre where possible   More...

Stars and Stripes

Cyber-crooks celebrate Independence Day

Security firms warn users to take extra care   More...

Advertisement