New Nokia N96 vs Nokia N95 8GB
N96 now available to pre-order. Stock due 1st October.
The Nokia N96 has the same dual slide design as the N95. It’s a very similar phone with the same 5 megapixel camera, 2.8 inch screen, HSDPA, Wi-Fi and excellent multimedia functions. It has 3G, HSPDA and GPS with Nokia Maps and Geo-tagging. It has the Nokia web browser with Mini Map and an RSS reader. The N96 is slightly longer and wider than the N95 8GB but is 3mm thinner, so pretty much the same size.
The name suggests that the N96 might be a successor to the N95 8GB, but in reality it’s more of an alternative specification. The Nokia N96 has 16GB internal memory which can be expanded to a huge 24GB using an 8GB memory card. This is the N96’s main advantage over the N95 8GB and the biggest reason why people might choose the N96. Other minor improvements include a newer version of the Symbian S60 OS, v9.3 as opposed to v9.2 and the addition of RDS to the built-in FM radio. The N96 also has a DVB-H TV receiver but this is of no use in the UK as we don’t have any DVB-H TV broadcasts.
On the downside, the N96 battery offers only 3 hours 40 minutes talk time between charges, whereas the N95 8GB has 6 hours talk time. The dual ARM processor on the N96 is not as powerful as the N95 8GB and it lacks a 3D graphics accelerator, although most users won’t notice any difference. The N96 also loses a few insignificant features such as infrared, nothing worth losing sleep over.
So which is the best phone? The N96 has that huge memory, which is definitely an advantage in a multimedia phone. In terms of design the N96 is more modern, it looks similar to other new Nseries phones. But the N95 8GB looks meaner and more exclusive, in fact it probably looks the more expensive of the two. Which leads me on to the price, you’ll pay around £200 more for the new Nokia N96. Compare deals on both phones and decide for yourself.
