Is the N95 right for me?

[Jay Levitt]

Briefly

I'm a programmer in Boston. I want a phone that can easily surf the web when I'm travelling, sync with my Mac for contacts and calendar, work nicely with Bluetooth headsets and syncing, and (ideally) act as a VoIP SIP client over WiFi. I miss the days of Palm, but they're gone; Windows Mobile is unusable. Is the N95 right, or should I wait?

History

My first Palm was a PalmPilot Professional, and I bought at least a half-dozen more, all the way through the last color, flip-and-swiel Sony CLIE, before it became clear that Palm was a dead end.

I switched to an HP iPAQ 4705; it was a bit big, but it was finally fast enough to make PPC work, and the VGA screen was nice. Meanwhile, I kept my cell phone separate.

I lost the iPAQ, and I was sick of carrying two devices, so I finally broke down and bought a Verizon VX-6800 (Sprint Mogul/HTC TyTn II). I hate it, hate it, hate it. It's slow, it's buggy, it keeps powering on in my pocket, it's slow, the UI is clunky, it randomly resets, it doesn't really support Mac, it's slow. And, as far as I can tell, this one is the best of the breed.

My setup

Net connection:I'm not dependent on VZW anymore. I have an 8Mb/1Mb cable modem with a static IP; it bursts to 16Mb/2Mb and that's where it usually stays. I have a VoIP line (real, not Skype/Vonage), on which I'm setting up an Asterisk PBX. I have an ASA-5505 firewall which can be configured to do just about anything.

There are four cell networks in Boston: Verizon and Sprint are CDMA; both have EV-DO rev A. AT&T and T-Mobile are the GSM providers; AT&T has 3G working, while T-Mobile does not. So I think that leaves me with AT&T by default.

Local network:I have wired Gigabit ethernet throughout my apartment. I also have 802.11n with WPA2. Both Macs have Bluetooth 2.0+EDR built in, although the audio quality is a bit static-y at the moment.

Hardware:My desktop is a Mac Pro (8-core 3.2GHz, 16GB RAM); my laptop is a MacBook Pro 17" (2.4GHz, 4GB RAM).

Software:The Macs both run Leopard 10.5.2. I also have Parallels Desktop 3.0, so I can run most Windows programs (though driver support is iffy). I have Missing Sync 4.0.2 working. So far, my calendar is in iCal, my address book is in Address Book, my to-dos are in OmniFocus, and I haven't figured out where my notes go yet. But I'm happy to buy whatever software or hardware I need to make this work.

What I want to do

In my dream world:

• I can sync iCal, Address Book, tasks and notes with the phone via Bluetooth
• When home, I can use the phone as a SIP client via WiFi, using a Bluetooth headset
• When out, I can use the phone as a cell phone, using a Bluetooth headset
• When travelling, I can use the phone as a lightweight Web browser via both WiFi and 3G cell networks
• I want a good way to enter text; I don't like switching between stylus and hard keyboard. On Palm and PPC, I have Fitaly; that doesn't exist for Symbian, but perhaps there is a similar product?
• I want to see alarm reminders, but not the ones I've already acknowledged on my desktop. And I don't want to have to go find the phone to shut off the alarm when I'm home!
• I want to quickly and easily create voice memos for myself to transcribe when I get home - without making a cell phone call to do that (i.e. no voicemail-to-self or transcription services)
• I want to use my phone as a network tether - ideally, via Bluetooth - so I can use my laptop to access the Internet while travelling
• It must be easy to switch my phone from "ring" to "vibrate" to "silent" and back
  
  And optionally:
  
  • Maybe I'll listen to MP3s, but realistically, I rarely do
  • I want to connect to my IMAP server for e-mail; it uses TLS for both IMAP and authenticated SMTP. (I could always set up a web interface if this is hard to do.)
  • I would like some solution for navigating telephone voice menus (press 1 now, etc) via my Bluetooth headset
  • I'd like an AIM client
  • GPS maps would be nice if they aren't painfully slow
    

Things I don't really care about:

• Camera
• Playing videos
• Themes and ring tones and skins
• Games
• MS Office
• text messaging or MMS
• saving five cents per call
  

My choices
So far as I can tell, there's nothing that can do this right now except (maybe) the N95. The iPhone has no 3G, and is very limited in software. Windows Mobile is universally clunky. Palm is dead. Android isn't out yet.

So I think that means: Either the N95 can do what I want, or I need to wait six months. By winter, we'll hopefully have some Google Android betas, some certified third-party Verizon devices, T-Mobile 3G, the Sony X1, and some better responses to the iPhone.

But for now.. what do you think? I've never used Symbian; if there's a big learning curve, I might as well just wait. Can the N95 meet my needs?

[jkoppee]

well you are quite specific on your needs.
I'll answert the parts that I can for you, NON Mac stuff.

You CAN make calls obviously with a BT headset.
Works great as a lightweight internet browser via WiFi or 3G, there's a couple browsers available.
Entering text is via the keypad or with a portable BT keyboard. NO STYLUS. There's a couple different predict text type apps.
Voice memos I think you can do easily, and there's probably a couple 3rd party apps to do this
You can tether or turn your phone into a HotSpot to connect any device to.
Very Easy to switch between vibrate and silent and such

Additionally
Mp3s you can do easily
you can connect to email easily
there are SEVERAL AIM clients available
LOTS of choices for GPS maps also

[Jay Levitt]

Ah, ok, I didn't realize the N95 had no touch screen. I think that pretty much answers the question!

[jkoppee]

I'd have to say just reading over your needs that the N95 would be a great phone for you, or something along the lines of an E90 or sorts. Depends if you're more business or pleasure

[Sp00k]

You're a programmer who can list their needs so precisely, yet who never thought to ascertain whether or not the N95 had a touch-screen?

Judging from your Apple-centric home set-up, I'd say that you're just the kind of customer that Steve loves and that the iPhone will be the ideal phone for you... If you can wait for the 5th or 6th generation version of it, that is... ;)

Meanwhile, despite the lack of a touch-screen, the N95 is capable of doing the majority of what you desire...

[cambo]

i agree with jkoppee, the n95 would cover all your needs.. and then some

[psood21]

ig you getting an N95 then get the US version Of N95-8gb...this will cater to your 3g needs better than anything else...but yeah as spook was mentioning a 3g iphone will suit you and they say it is due in couple of months,,...see what suits you.....E90 is an good option as well...

[Laynie]

Why chose the iphone if you want all of that? The n95 will definately do you good. You see to be more of a business person tho. Why not get the e90

[Bartmanekul]

Id say wait for the X1, I know its WM but Im afriad thats the best your going to get with all that list, and wanting touch screen.

I think it will be more suitable than the N95, and iphone.

The shortfall your likely to hit most is the syncing with Macs. Thats the downside of Macs, something your just going to have to workaround with if you go for non apple phones.

Thats assuming the iphone does sync with the apps you gave, I dont know if it does.