15 March 2009

Weekend Reading:
...About a Flagship that forgot how to sail...

Some quick Words on the Software: The Nokia N96 is running on the S60 3rd Edition, Feature Pack 2.

This is the 2nd Phone running on the N-Series Version of Feature Pack 2, the other One was the Nokia N85 which I trialed, but didn't make it to a proper Review due to the Lack of Time Anyways, I already stated above, that FP2 improves the Battery Life significantly and that I was able to get through 2 straight Days with my N96.

This has impressed me big Time honestly and I don't hesitate to mention this twice in my Review. But that is not the only good Point about FP2!

I also felt in Love quickly with the Eye Candies like the big Caller Avatars and cool Call Effects, showing a smaller Avatar in the Bubble while you actually talk to the Person. I'll post some Screens later on, so you'll get the Idea what I’m talking about.

Also, the Active Standby, features the new vertical Navigation Bar, which looks good at first, but could be enhanced with further Features like SMS Inbox/E-Mail Inbox Possibility, so f.e. you can read the 5 latest Message on it or else. The Message Editor has also slightly improved, unifying the SMS/MMS Option, giving an animated "Toolbar" to insert the desired Picture/Video, automatically transforming your Text Message into a Multimedia Message.

Another cool new Thing is the new Photos Application. This basically replaces the old Gallery (which still exists deep down in the Media Folder), spicing your Picture Viewing with some nice Animations! Overall the Photos Carousel builds up quickly, but has some annoying Hang-Ups in the Middle of it, slowing down the whole Phone sometimes, and I have only 150 Pictures stored! While browsing through the Photos App, I have discovered yet another great Feature of FP2, called Mark Multiple!

This simple but yet effective Option has proven to be very handy. It does just what it should do, marking multiple Images in just one Process. This comes in very handy if you f.e. like to upload multiple Images to OVI, which the N96 does greatly, thanks to Share on OVI Version 4.0 Beta!!

Although FP2 has definitely improved using a S60 Phone, I have experienced some horrible Hang-Ups, Software Crashes, Slow-Downs and whatnot on my N96, even with the latest Firmware running. I have also noticed huge Compatibility Problems with Applications, even coming from Nokia itself, so the Lines "Not Compatible with Nokia N96" were something I read quite a Lot in the past Weeks!

Apart from that Nokia has not given the N96 a Piece of E-Series, meaning that the Active Standby Screen remains N-Series-like, since trialing the Nokia E66 and Nokia E71 I was highly impressed with the E-Series Version of 3rd Edition Software, especially predictive Dialling and those awesome Notifications in Case you get a Text Message or missed a Call! Unifying Parts of N- and E-Series Software is something I dream about at Night hehe ..

More gathered Impressions of the Nokia N96:

Storage: A very important Thing about the Nokia N96 is it's whooping 16 GB of internal Memory, PLUS expandable MicroSD Slot, so if you have some extra Money in your Pocket, 32GB is no Problem at all. Having a N96 in your Pocket is like having a multifunctional little HDD with you, and that's a good Thing to have. Whenever you need something, plug in the N96 with the enclosed CA-101 Data Cable, connect in Mass Storage Mode and there you go! I usually have around 5 GB of Music stored, Tons of Pictures and Messages, but never realized any noticable Slow-downs of the Software, apart from normal ones, which appeared from Day 1, without having anything stored yet.

GPS: GPS is also present on the Nokia N96, giving a equal good Performance than other Phones. I don't do much navigating on my Phones, but i just love to geotag my Pictures and Videos, upload them on OVI etc.

Live TV: Another heavily advertised Feature of the Nokia N96, was the built in DVB-H Antenna, promising to give a whole new TV Experience on your Mobile Phone. This sounds great first, and it does indeed work. I first had to suscribe for a TV Plan, which was around € 9,--/Month, then i was set to go. The TV Playback comes in a good Quality, offering some nice additional Features like Programm Guides, Replays and even Possibility to record some Programs. Problem is, like in a lot of other Countries is, that the DVB-H Coverage was very poor, only being able to watch live TV in one City i was in the 3 Weeks of possessing the N96. Apart from that, 9 Euro per Month is quite expensive to watch TV on such a tiny Screen, with the Risk of losing Signals in Fact you're traveling etc..

Connectivity: Nokia has not been saving on Connectivity Features on the Nokia N96. We have yet another wide Range of Stuff like WLAN, 3,6 Mbit (at least i think) 3,5G aka HSDPA, 2.0 microUSB, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP stereo audio and EDR, thus only missing Infrared, which i haven't used on any Mobile Phone for Years now.

Conclusions:

Pro's:

• Feature Pack 2 (new Features, better Battery Life)
• 16 GB internal Memory + MicroSD Card Possibility
• Notification Light
• Improved Slider

Contra's:

• Feature Pack 2 (Compatibility Problems, Hang-Ups, Restarts)
• Horrible Keypad
• Absolutely outdated Display Resolution
• Only very average Speakers
• Very top-heavy
• Overall quite big Phone

The Nokia N96 is a solid Symbian Phone (not in Terms of Materials), having it's Pros but Contra's as well. It's definitely nothing for People who like slim, handy Phones, but it sure has found some Fans all over the World.

• Would I recommend the N96 to a Newbie to Symbian in General? Maybe, but then again, considering the Software Issues, better not.
• Would I recommend anyone to upgrade from N95/N95 8GB? Surely not!
• Would I recommend it to anyone who REALLY wants this Phone for all it's Features? Probably yes
• Is this a Nokia Flagship Phone? Definitely NOT!!

Thanks for stopping by and reading through!

SF Review: The Nokia N96 - A Flagship that forgot how to sail!
Originally posted: 10.03.2009
Last Updated: 15.03.2009
Author: Michael Hell (a.k.a MichaelSF)
Copyright: Symbian Freak 2009; all rights reserved