Nokia N96 Review

The next big thing from Nokia is the Nokia N96! The Nokia N96 has been in the news throughout the year since Nokia announced this handset. It actually took quite a time to launch it, which might not justify its high price. The Nokia N96 has top of the line specs as it is an upgrade to the Nokia N95 8GB. Ranging from latest symbian OS with FP2 to DVB-H functionality, this handset has it all. But as always Nokia does have something missing on this one too which will make you think twice before spending your cash on it.

Nokia N96 specifications :

• Dimensions : 103 x 55 x 18 mm
• Weight : 125g
• Display : 2.8″ TFT with 240 x 320 resolution
• Memory : 16GB internal
• Processor : Dual ARM 9 264 MHz CPU
• RAM : 128MB
• Connectivity : GPRS, EDGE, 3G, HSCSD, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
• Card slot : microSDHC upto 8GB
• Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP
• USB : microUSB 2.0
• OS : Symbian OS 9.3, S60 rel 3.2
• Camera : 5MP, Carl Zeiss optics, flash, autofocus
• GPS : Built-in with A-GPS function
• DVB-H TV broadcast receiver
• FM : Stereo Radio with RDS
• Audio jack : 3.5mm jack
• Approx. price : $700

The Nokia N96 has a long list of features and has almost everything, but if you look closely, Nokia has not included Xenon flash on this phone. We will get to that later. The capacity of the phone has been bumped upto 16GB along with the addition of a microSDHC card slot that can hold upto 8GB of extra space if needed. It is seemingly unclear why Nokia has put a lower processor than the Nokia N95 8GB.

The box of the Nokia N96 is huge and has a lot of stuff in it. Nokia bundles a car charger with the phone which it has not done till now. The headset has a remote attached to it, so you can even use your own earphones along with the remote. Apart from the normal microUSB cable, a TV-out cable has also been bundled with the package. The Nokia PC suite CD, bunch of manuals and the charger make up the rest of the package.

Design and Display

The design of N96 seems a combination of both Nokia N81 and Nokia N95 8GB. The front panel is an absolute copy of the Nokia 81 design which did not go down too well with the users. The dual-slide design has become largely popular with the N95 and same has been incorporated into the N96.

The front part has a 2.8″ display along with the Navi wheel and other buttons. The secondary camera and the earpiece are located above the display. Surprisingly, Nokia has decided to omit the ambient light sensor. The body is made out of plastic which does not feel all that good in the hand.

The display is one of the best part of the phone and is truly stunning. Although it measures only 2.8″, but the clarity and depth of colors make it rich and crystal clear. Contrast and brightness are at an appropriate level too. Sunlight visibility is great and even in strong sunlight, you can continue to use your phone easily.

Keypad and User Interface

The alphanumeric keypad on the N96 bears a strange stretched look to it. The usability of the keypad though is average and just manages to do the task. There isn’t enough tactile feedback of the keys to make it apt for SMS junkies. The top part has quite a number of keys which are used to control the music playback as well as used for gaming.

The OS that comes loaded on the N96 is Symbian OS 9.3, S60 3rd Edition user interface with Feature Pack 2. The FP2 apart from performance updates also has better functionality such as a new layout to the active standby menu. The task manager has got a visual refresh and appears on top of every pop-up menu.

Transition effects have made their way to FP2 which users had longed for. Processor downgrade does show its effect in heavy games which become a bit laggy. The multimedia menu has one of the best interface you will find out there.

Music Player and Camera

The music player is a gem of an application but sadly misses out on visualizers. It supports a wide variety of formats along with album art. Sorting can be done in various ways based on genre, album, artists etc. Songs can be added directly via USB or using the PC Suite application.

The audio quality of N96 has improved since Nokia N95 8GB but still needs some work to be done to be the best in the market. You certainly don’t want to hear crappy music quality on such an expensive device.

The 5MP camera on the N96 has dual LED flash, Carl Zeiss optics and autofocus. However Nokia has surprisingly decided to give the camera lens cover a miss on this one. Autofocus works pretty well with near instant response in daylight. Geotagging is thankfully included in this handset which automatically tags your photos according to your location using the inbuilt GPS.

The camera quality is very good but lags out in comparison to the Nokia N82 which blows you away. Also lack of Xenon flash makes the night shots blurry. The color depth along with brightness are appropriate in the pictures. Video quality is a strong point of the Nokia N96 as it shots at VGA quality at 30 fps.

Browser, GPS and DVB-H

Web browsing is one of the best features on a Nokia phone and N96 is no exception. The pages fit perfectly, mini-map, virtual cursor, zooming and scrolling work smoothly to provide a rich browsing experience.

GPS has improved a lot since the Nokia N95 and the sensor now is more sensitive and fast. It takes only a minute to get a lock from cold start. Nokia Maps is the default bundled application and Nokia has bundled three months of free voice-guided navigation. Overall GPS function works great on the Nokia N96.

Nokia N96 comes with a DVB-H tuner which enables you to receive digital TV broadcasts. Live TV application lets you view mobile television and listen to radio services. The service can only be used only when there is a SIM card inserted. Also DVB-H facility is available only in few countries around the world, so check that before buying this handset for this feature.

Pros :

• Excellent display
• DVB-H tuner
• Good GPS navigation
• massive 16GB storage
• microSDHC card slot
• Bundled car-charger
• Good video recording

Cons :

• Average keypad
• Low battery life
• No camera lens protection
• Bad front design
• Very expensive

Final Thoughts

The Nokia N96 tries to club in a lot of features but leaves out basic things such as battery life, design are left behind. The design isn’t the one you would expect on such an expensive device. The keypad is a bane for SMS junkies. The display is great, DVB-H, GPS function well and the massive storage can house your entire music collection. Lens cover protection is another issue. Overall Nokia N96 does not feel worth the highly expensive tag it carries.

My Rating : 3/5