One would assume that with the Nokia N95, N96 and N97 having
sequential product numbers, there would be a common aim for their use
in the minds of Nokia's design team, along with a clear technical
evolution. To be fair, you can see the former, in their focus on
multimedia in conjunction with a decent camera. However, the latter
isn't that easy to demonstrate, as I found when comparing the three
Nokia flagships (from 2007, 2008 and 2009) head to head - it seems
there are plenty of attributes for which the N95 wins and still more
for which the N96 wins.... Before I draw any conclusions, let's look at the raw
feature/specs list, putting the three devices head to head. Oh, and for
each row, where appropriate, I'm going to pick a (admittedly
subjective) winner (or joint winner, in some cases), with the table
cell shaded in green - will the latest device necessarily light up all
the greens? | Nokia N95 | Nokia N96 | Nokia N97 | |  |  |  | Form factor | Dual slider | Dual slider | Touchscreen/Qwerty hybrid | Thickness of main body | 19mm | 16mm | 16mm | Interface | S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1 | S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2 | S60 5th Edition (as of v20 firmware, with Symbian^2 code) | Display size and contrast | 2.6" transflective screen, good in sunlight, bright enough indoors | 2.8" transflective screen, slightly brighter and clearer than the N95's in all light conditions | 3.5" transflective with touchscreen layer, visibility not brilliant
in sunlight, display not particularly vivid indoors either. Large, but
perhaps the ultimate compromise screen? | Capacity | 160MB user storage on C:, microSD expansion only | 80MB user storage on C:, mass memory 16GB, plus microSD | 50MB user storage on C:, mass memory 32GB, plus microSD | Performance, free RAM | Fairly brisk until the 30MB of free RAM (with v30 firmware) is used up. Ultimately limited. | Average speed, due to
underclocked processor, but 50MB free RAM means that you're unlikely to
run out of memory when multitasking, at least | Even with v20 firmware, the N97's interface is still not exactly
quick. Again, the processor seems underpowered, there's not enough free
RAM (around 50MB after booting, depending on configuration) for such a
large-screened S60 5th Edition device. Lowish free space on C: is also
a factor - it's too easy for the OS to run out of workspace. | Graphics, multimedia playback | A TI OMAP 2420 graphics acceleration co-processor means that
there's potential for iPhone-quality real time graphics - though almost
no software was ever created to use this power. Video playback is
generally good, helped by the chip but slightly restricted (e.g.
codecs) by the older version of S60 used. | Uses
a STn8815 multimedia co-processor, which specialises in decoding video
and audio streams, resulting in super video compatibility and
performance with better battery efficiency. Audio playback is also of
higher quality than any Nokia since the N91. | A single chip design from Freescale, the N97 struggles on the
graphics front. Action games have slowish frame rates and real time 3D
rendering is all but impossible. Video playback is surprisingly good,
considering the limitations, thanks to clever software and some custom
electronics. Audio playback is also good. | GPS performance | The antenna is good, but placed awkwardly at the base of the number
keypad, meaning that the phone has to be slid open for decent GPS
reception. | Excellent GPS reception, even when closed. | A poor GPS antenna design. Even with the Care Point-applied
'shielded' version, keeping a GPS lock in open countryside is not
always a given. | Keypad/keyboard quality | A pretty good keypad, with discrete keys. Spoilt only by amateurish case surround in places. | One of Nokia's poorest numeric keypads, with plastic strips for each 'row' and very poor * and # keys. | A quirky three row
qwerty keyboard that's actually a lot more useful than it looks. Only
spoilt on the white model by the key backlight making the legends
invisible in a wide range of lighting conditions. | Stereo speaker volume and quality | Terrific. One of the best sets of phone speakers that Nokia has made. Loud, decent quality. | Average volume and quality at best. | Low volume and harsh, tinny sound are a direct result of not enough
space being allowed behind each speaker for acoustic reverberation. | Camera quality (incl video) | Excellent stills, excellent pre-focussed VGA video, excellent sound. | Excellent stills, spoilt only by the potential for grease and
scratches on the exposed lens. Video now pre-focussed (as at v30
firmware), but spoilt by over-eager automatic gain control on the sound. | Excellent stills, spoilt on early models by an easily scratched
lens, leading to light flare and unusable flash. Video spoilt by
infinite focus, leading to blurry videos of family and friends. | Extra hardware controls and buttons | Top slide multimedia controls, plus a dedicated 'multimedia' key. | Top slide multimedia
controls, plus an extra set that light up around the d-pad if media is
playing when the slide is closed. Plus a dedicated (and not much liked)
'multimedia' shortcut key. Plus a useful keylock toggle. | The keylock toggle is the only extra control here. | Battery, power | 2mm charging, 950mAh battery | 2mm charging, 950mAh battery | microUSB charging, 1500mAh battery | Connectivity to desktop | Slow USB (1MB/s) | High speed USB (4 to 6MB/s) | High speed USB | Unique extras |
| BBC iPlayer DRM (download compatibility) | Touchscreen, FM Transmitter, Digital compass, BBC iPlayer DRM (downloads, etc.) | Updatability | Via Nokia Software Update, backup/restore needed | Via NSU or Over The Air, has User Data Preservation | Via NSU or OTA, also has User Data Preservation | Dec 2009 pricing (unlocked, SIM free), value for money rating? | Hard to find brand new. Around £230 'refurbished', £150 second hand. | Still available from many places. Around £300 new, £150 second hand, good value for money, either way. | Around £420 new, average value for money. |
Looking at the 'green' panels, it's evident that, on balance, the
much-maligned N96 gives you more functionality and usability. Though
there are enough green cells in the other columns to show that, yet
again, there's not really an overall winner - you'd have to look at the
attributes and specifications that are important to you, personally. The aim of the N9x series, as I understand it, is to be a multimedia
flagship, and all three do a pretty good job in this department. All
three models, N95, N96, N97, have also had numerous firmware updates,
Nokia do seem to have a good track record at supporting their
flagships, thankfully. The very fact that even the most informed user
would have to think hard before picking an overall winner shows that: - all three are still viable flagships
- all three still have their weaknesses(!)
- you shouldn't write off older devices - newer is not necessarily better(!)
The n95 was good but is old now. The n96 is more or less - an "updated"
n95 only, and kept that small batt. The n97, was buggy at the start,
and even with v20 - tends to be still slow, and is "disabled" by having
lots of low memory errors. The mini is, and should be, the flagship
symbian for today. It's even better than the E72 (with its build issues
and erratic optical dpad).
Comments welcome if you'd like to pick an N9x champion! And don't
say "Get a Samsung i8910 HD", please. That's a debate and an article
from me for another day....
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