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Overview
As is probably obvious by its model number, the Nokia N96 is an evolution of the all-conquering Nokia N95, retaining its kitchen-sink approach to features while improving build quality and style. It's a tough act to follow however, and the N96 has got to be pretty special to lure dedicated N95'ers away from their beloved handset. So has Nokia succeeded? Of course they have! Luckily for us, the N96 is just as much a range-topping flagship as it's predecessor.
Features at a Glance
- A 5 megapixel, autofocus Carl Zeiss lensed camera sits on the back of the handset.
- This is a 3G phone with HSDPA support and Wi-Fi too.
- It features Assisted GPS.
- The N95's dual-slide returns, with a twist!
- It's great for playing the latest N-gage games.
- The huge 16GB of internal memory can be expanded using a MicroSD card.
Why You Should Buy the N96
As the N96 is a slider phone, the 2.8" screen dominates the front panel. With a resolution of 240x320 and capable of displaying 16 million colours, it looks superb in the majority of situations. The N96 runs the Symbian S60 9.3 operating system with the excellent Feature Pack 2 installed, bringing with it very welcome upgrades to performance and stability, plus a wealth of visual tweaks and the very handy Active Standby screen. Underneath the screen is the usual array of call buttons and softkeys, plus the introduction of a Navi-wheel, which works by moving your finger around the edge of the D-pad in order to move the onscreen cursor.
Just like the N95 before it, the N96 takes great pictures with its 5 megapixel camera. Once again it benefits from Carl Zeiss' input and is of course autofocus with a dual-LED flash for those darker situations. The camera perhaps doesn't have the vast array of software tweaks found on the latest 8 megapixel camara phones, but it allows you to adjust the basics such as the ISO and picture contrast levels, it also shoots 30fps VGA video. The built-in Assisted GPS receiver can add geo-tagging data to your photos and uses Nokia Maps for guidance, plus you get a nice free trial of the full-on voice navigation package too.
The N96 is perfect for anyone wanting to make the most of Nokia's N-gage gaming service, as not only do you get a selection of titles pre-loaded - and the chance to activate the full version of one for free - but the dual slide mechanism brings the gaming experience to life! It does this by the buttons hidden under the upper slide adapting to the function you're using, so when you're playing a game they become gaming keys, instantly giving two handed operation!
Of course, this wouldn't be an N-series phone without all the connectivity options you could want and unsurprisingly, it's all here, from 3G with HSDPA support to Wi-Fi and A2DP Bluetooth. The media side is well covered too, with the usual music and video player, FM RDS radio, a 3.5mm jack plug and TV-out, plus a DVB-H tuner. It even has a little flip down stand for resting the N96 on your desk and watching the latest iPlayer downloads!
Summary of the Nokia N96.
As is probably quite clear, we love the Nokia N96; it's everything the N95 was with enough additions to keep it fresh and enough overall performance improvements for it to keep up with the plethora of multimedia handsets available today. With Symbian onboard there is plenty of online content to continually update your phone and it has arguably every major feature inside to not have to carry any other gadget in your pocket. It's without a doubt, one of the most complete mobile phones you can buy today.
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