TamsS60 giving the N96 the once over, also a physical comaprision with the N95 8GB

[Micky]

Great review, and side by side comparison from TamsS60 of the N96. See full detailed article in the link at the bottom of the page, where you will find more photos.

After having looked at the N96’s size, it’s time to look at what Nokia managed to squeeze into the space. Read on for our now-classic physical review!

The dual-slider format that debuted on the N95 is back again for the third rehash: unfortunately, the buttons and the slider mechanics of our sample unit felt much worse than the ones found on the comparison N95 8GB.

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As usual, a 3.5” headphone jack and a power button can be found at the top of the box. However, Nokia now added a slider for removing the keyguard: this was a pretty nasty surprise for me…

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Charging is accomplished via Nokia’s usual power port at the bottom of the device. Unfortunately, the company killed the MiniUSB port and replaced it with a useless MicroUSB one used by nobody else in the industry:

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Nokia killed the Gallery button found on previous devices…and made the camera button even worse. I pushed the button to the point of bending the planar, and many presses were ignored – even though this is a nice way to limit the life span of the device, this is totally unacceptable for a device in this price class:

The left side of the box now contains a memory card slot – unfortunately, the miserable slot cover found on the N82 was transferred over…

A flip-out stand around the camera lens allows the device to stand up on a table. Amazingly, the stand feels well-built…this definitely is a great idea:

Finally, here’s a picture showing the device’s screen at full brightness next to an N95 8GB:

In the end, the Nokia N96 feels like a more expensive rehash of the N78: the annoyingly bad build quality found on the low-end device has been passed onto the high-end device. While customers getting a free phone may tolerate this, high-end customers will not. If I had purchased this device, it would have gone straight back home.

I personally consider it a pity – I could feel the effort the designers invested into fixing the weaknesses of the predecessor device (no memory card slot, added stand). Unfortunately, the basics were forgotten…which is to the device like a drop of sewage is to a bottle of expensive wine…

Tune in soon for a detailed look at the camera…

Nokia N96 preliminary review - physical -> TamsS60 - the S60 Blog - The S60 news and opinion source

[Lanod]

Wow - the micro-USB port would be a deal breaker for me. I love the fact that I can use one of the many standard USB cables lying around my house to plug my N95 into my laptop.

[Bartmanekul]

Thats being overly harsh. I would have thought that the reviewer had realised that micro USB is set to be standard across the industry.

Build quality comments are not very heartening though.

[Tommie]

Originally Posted by Bartmanekul

Thats being overly harsh. I would have thought that the reviewer had realised that micro USB is set to be standard across the industry.

Yes strange ? I have never see tams60 reviews before ??

I belive more of allabout symbian >

First impressions of the Nokia N96, plus photo samples: Updated

[Micky]

Just sharing a owners experiences thats all Tommie

@Bart - The Micro USB differs on some Nokia models, such as the N81 8GB for example, its different to the N95

[Bartmanekul]

Yeah, but wasnt the N81 released after the N95?

Im pretty certain that Nokia is doing as standard now on all models.

The N95 has mini USB. The new standard is micro USB.

[Micky]

Oh right, I stand corrected in that case mate.

The E71 I have received today from WOM uses the MicroSD (CA-101)

[tom_moran]

Originally Posted by Micky

Just sharing a owners experiences thats all Tommie

@Bart - The Micro USB differs on some Nokia models, such as the N81 8GB for example, its different to the N95

hmm id have to agree, sounds uch like my feelings wheni got one on monday. just so not impressed at all. disappointed...........


is that so? i never knew that, we had an n81 and an n81-8gb and they were the same. how does it differ?

[hairil.abubakar]

Originally Posted by Micky

The E71 I have received today from WOM uses the MicroSD (CA-101)

micro usb you mean?

[TheLoz]

I'm quite disappointed with what I've seen of these two new phones (this & N85) so far...

It works out, though, cuz my N95-2 doesn't have to feel threatened just yet ;)