CONSUMER
Review: Nokia N95
17-10-2007
by Ciara O'Brien
The N95 is one of Nokia's new 'do-everything' mobile phones. From GPS to MP3, the handset has more functions crammed in than you know what to do with.
One of the N95's biggest selling points is the built-in GPS (Global Positioning System), which gives turn-by-turn directions on screen, with the voice commands as an extra -- at a premium, naturally.
The device also tries its hand at being a digital camera; the 5-megapixel camera included with the handset is perfect for spur of the moment shots, and the resulting images are great quality -- as they should be though. The camera has a Carl Zeiss 2.8/5.6 autofocusing lens and controls to adjust white balance, ISO, flash and other settings.
The N95 organises all your media files into its gallery, including music, images and video. Push the sliding display down and you reveal a new set of buttons for flicking through your photos or music. The music player supports MP3, WMA, M4A and AAC, and the built-in speakers are loud enough to enjoy whatever tracks you have loaded on to it. The memory is expandable too, with a micro SD card included in the box, and a handy SD card adapter so you can use the mini-sized memory in regular card readers.
One of the most useful aspects of this phone, besides its support for HSDPA, is its Wi-Fi capabilities. So instead of having to use your mobile's data bundle, you can simply tap into your nearest Wi-Fi hotspot and access the internet.
Now for the gripes. While the phone has more functions than most people will ever get around to using regularly, the trade off appears to be that the device can be a bit slow. Very slow, in fact. Call me impatient, but I prefer my applications to switch at a decent speed. In some cases, I was counting to five before the messaging started up, and the camera can be very sluggish to initialise.
While the Nokia N95 has built-in GPS, you have to pay for voice navigation. And for GPS systems, that voice navigation is pretty much the difference between sat-nav and a pretty, but expensive, map. The GPS gives you the option of a short licence -- for a week, or a month -- or a longer licence for a year or three years. However, how many people will hang on to their phones for three years? So while it may seem better value to shell out for the three-year licence, the truth is that by the time that licence expires, you may have moved on to a brand new phone.
Battery life is less than impressive. With so many power-hungry functions crammed in -- GPS and Wi-Fi, we're talking about you -- it's not surprising, but that is little use to mobile phone owners who may find themselves stranded without their most basic phone functions.
So to sum it up, the Nokia N95 is a camera, a digital music player, a sat nav and an internet browser in one. The phrase "jack of all trades" springs to mind; luckily for Nokia though, this device manages to do all of the above just well enough to avoid the "master of none" tag.
The phone is available on the Vodafone network and is available to buy for EUR588 pre-pay in Carphone Warehouse. The handset is also available from O2 on pre-pay for EUR799 and bill pay from EUR269.
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