Nokia N95 Reviews

Nokia N95 Review

Nokia N95 is one of the most powerful multimedia phones ever released in cellular phone history. The Nokia N95 comes loaded with 5.0-MP digital camera (Carl Zeiss Optics) that snap up to 2592?1944 resolution high quality pictures and zoom (digital) up to 20x at your targeted objects. Since Nokia uses Carl Zeiss Optics to build the integrated digital camera of the N95, the quality of pictures that are snapped by the phone is parable to standalone digital camera. Besides that, the N95 also has built-in GPS system that provides you navigation in case you are lost.

The N95 runs S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1. This is the latest version of the S60 software platform, and although only a relatively minor update compared to the changes between ‘Editions’, still manages to add a number of new features. There is a new version of S60 browser than combines Services and Web into one application and adds a number of new features, including improved RSS and Flash Lite support and a quick access toolbar. There is also support for more Bluetooth profiles (including the aforementioned A2DP stereo audio profile), while SIP functionality (for VoIP) becomes a standard part of the platform. There have been a number of UI changes too, these include a notification graphic over the icons of applications that are open, more application layout options (accessed via an extended Themes application) and a redesigned and reordered Settings application (hoorah!).

In addition, The Nokia N95 also comes integrated MP3 player and video player which makes this Nokia phone more like a multimedia gadget instead of a “cell phone”. One of the downfalls of the Nokia N95 is it only has 160MB of internal memory storage.If you are serious of storing a lot of pictures, music and video clips on the N95, you should get a external 2GB microSD card which is sold separately. Music Player The N95 has the most recent version of the Nseries Music Player application, as seen on the Nseries Music Edition devices.

The application presents your music library in the typical hierarchical approach (All Songs, Play lists, Artists, Albums, Genres and Composers), through which you can drill down to access the music you want to play. Once the music starts, the Now Playing screen is shown, with the usual music playback controls. These controls are associated with the cursor keys for quick access, for example left and right on the directional controls skip tracks on a single press or fast forwards/rewinds them if held down.

Radio Application The N95 has the standard Nseries/Nokia S60 radio player which includes support for Visual Radio. Visual Radio is a little used standard that aims to deliver extra information to listeners over the air. When it’s available it can be a useful extra service, but unfortunately it is not very widespread. Details of the stations using Visual Radio can be found.

For the radio to work, you must plug in a headset or the remote control, sound can then be channelled through the phone’s loudspeakers, but unfortunately can not be channelled to a Bluetooth headset. Radio may seem a bit old-school these days, but is still very popular. It is a nice extra for where you get bored with your onboard music or want to listen to the latest headlines. Outside of traditional FM radio, the N95 also has support for Real Audio streams, thanks to the inclusion of Real Player. There are a great number of radio stations that make Real Audio streams available, there is a comprehensive list for UK stations available.

I tested the N95 with Nokia’s BH-501 and Sony Ericsson’s HBH-DS970 and both gave excellent quality audio. The DS970 includes full remote control of music playback (AVCRP) and was, for me, more comfortable. The BH-501 was better for making calls because it supported voice dialing. TV Out The N95 ships with a TV Out cable, which plugs into the same composite 3.5mm port as the headphones. While the obvious use of this is showing pictures and video on the TV, it can also be used to play back music. The TV Out cable will work with most stereos too (the composite video, yellow lead, can be left disconnected). It may not be as elegant as the wireless solutions mentioned above, but it is available out of the box. Camera The phone carries two cameras – the forward-facing QVGA unit can be activated via the menu, while the main camera starts up automatically once you open the shutter. This might be a potential problem, as should this mechanism break down, then you won’t be able to use the main camera. Though, this is the least possible scenario. The shutter covering the lens consists of two halves that barely touch each other, allowing for dust to sneak in just in one-two days, when the handset is in your pocket. While it doesn’t protect the lens from dust, the shutter does a fine job at preventing it from contacting other items or fingers. All dedicated camera keys are placed on the right-hand side, when the camera is active they are all lit in blue, which enables shooting in the dark, since it is next to impossible to confuse the controls with one another. The shutter key has two positions and is generally easy to use thanks to being not particularly tight. At the same time, the volume rocker, doubling as the zoom key, is somewhat small, which doesn’t allow you to press it with one finger. Or, better to say, it is very challenging to keep the camera targeted at one point and adjust zoom rate simultaneously, though I might eventually get used to that process.