Nokia N96: Hands-on experience
Frazier Barretto, Sep 09, 2008 1855 hrs IST
Here's a preview of Nokia's most awaited model - the N96.
Today Nokia released their most awaited model - the N96 - that has been in the news since December 2007. We have been all excited to see what the handset was all about and then there were the final product images all over the World Wide Web. However, the handset will not be available for purchase till the 16th of this month. So for now I'll shed some light on my experience with the handset I got to toy with at the press conference.
Look & Feel
The N96 is a surprisingly light handset and fit well in my palm. Even though the handset is large it doesn't feel all that heavy or bulky. The N96 has a plastic build, which could be one of the reasons for the reduced weight. The next thing you spot on the device is the obvious large screen. It's not a first for Nokia as the N95 8GB has a similar screen size.
The N96 is long, which is reason why they have managed to place even playback keys along with the D-pad and the soft keys. It is a bit cramped, especially the corner keys and there isn't much ergonomics unlike the N95 8GB. All buttons are more or less on the same level making it prone to mistypes. The N95 8GB on the other hand only seems like it's got a cramped keypad but the use of the ergonomics makes it easy and comfortable to use. The N96 is a dual-slide; the buttons that are exposed when sliding down the screen are in fact very comfortable to use and makes for easy control over media and even in games.
On sliding the screen up the alphanumeric keypad of the phone is exposed. The alphanumeric keypad has well spaced out columns, so even though you have a keypad that's flat it's difficult to make a mistake. However, I didn't gt much time to do a lot of texting so can't say for sure if its good for texters.
The right side of the phone has stereo speakers. Strangely the speakers are placed right at the corners so I can't really say what would happen if the phone slipped out of your hand and fell down. Nonetheless, the speakers are very loud, so much so that at max volume I was disturbing people around.
The N96 is a whole media package and with its large internal capacity of 16GB, watching video on it is part of its functionality. To make watching movies more fun you can have the phone placed on the table instead of having to hold it all the while.
There is a stand at the back of the phone that can be pulled out to have it placed on a table at a decent viewing angle. I tried placing the N96 on the table and well the stand couldn't really support the phone.
It's not the weight that was the problem but the build of the stand. After exchanging a couple of demo handsets I found one that could do the job. I hope it's a problem only among the demo handsets.
Anyways the overall build and usability of this large (as usual) "N-Series" handset from Nokia seems to be decent.
USER COMMENTS
i am thinking of buying a good mobile with almost all great applications.do u think i should go for N96 or some other.can u guide me.ready to shell out 25k.the cell phone wich i buy must really be worth the price!!!
by siddhesh, mumbai, on Oct 02, 2008 01:50 PM, Report abuse Reply
me too in same confusion..... but if u confused b/w iphone & N96... then go 4 N96..... it's far better.... but i suspect Nokia's other models that r cheaper r almost the same as N96 & r giving it a tough chase....... like N95, N85...... N85 is told to have a better camera than N95.....so... but i thnk i'm gonna buy N96.....
by Shivam, Aligarh, on Oct 04, 2008 08:54 AM, Report abuse
hllo can i know the market prize of this nokia phone can i get a better discount on it i wnna buy a gud phone
by praveen jhamb, faridabad, on Sep 25, 2008 08:16 PM, Report abuse Reply
I am very interested in the release of the N96. I have done sone technical research and found that it has ST's Nomadik processor. Nokia phones usually have TI processor. Nomadik is far better than the TI proccesor in terms of performence. N96: 1. Superior texting (iPhone doesn?t have T9 texting) 2. More memory space 3. Looks good 4. Accepts business card texting 5. Superior phone functions N96 Cons: 1. Probably won?t sync with iPhoto. 2. Probably won?t sync with iTunes. iPhone pros: 1. Sync with Apple applications 2. Looks great! iPhone cons: 1. Awful texting (tiny querty keyboard and no T9) 2. No cut and paste function 3. Won?t accept business cards texts 4. Friend tells me its slow on the Internet 5. Less memory than N96 I am leaning towards the N96 as phone functions are the most important features for me.
by Krish, Bangalore, on Sep 18, 2008 10:16 AM, Report abuse Reply
can i know wats the rate of n96
by tararanjan, bbsr, on Sep 15, 2008 07:18 PM, Report abuse Reply
It is available for Rs. 34,999/-!!!
by Ricky, New Delhi, on Sep 17, 2008 10:20 PM, Report abuse
Todays mobile phone(actually we should change the term phone) not actually built for storing / viewing videos,images or for audio play back, but much more than that. We really expect a better device from a well dominated leader in this Industry to compet iphone,sony,samsung & Htc who have gone so far ahead.
by Raymonds, Riyadh-11444, on Sep 13, 2008 08:51 AM, Report abuse Reply
The Sony Ericsson G900 rocks,Touch screen and normal phone, wifi ,bluetooth 5 megapixel cam with flash auto focus,touch sensitive technology camera 2.4 in screen etc etc
by nadz, Mumbai, on Sep 11, 2008 03:10 PM, Report abuse Reply
very nice phone I Whant this model
by santosh kumar, mumbai, on Sep 11, 2008 01:32 PM, Report abuse Reply
N 96 is not much of a upgrade over N95.just DVBH which is far away from launch and more memory thats the difference.better wait for N85.
by sachin, goa, on Sep 09, 2008 10:55 PM, Report abuse Reply
Try any 'Bleu' Phone - they are always better in video resolution & FPS, as compared to any other Nokia/Moto/Sony Phone.
by Deepak, Mumbai, on Sep 11, 2008 05:51 AM, Report abuse
Disappointing phone.. For a company that used to have "Human Technology" as its marketing punchline, the ergonomics of the phone are very bad.
by Wilderness, Pune, on Sep 10, 2008 02:47 PM, Report abuse Reply
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i want india price
by latha, bangalore, on Oct 25, 2008 11:04 AM, Report abuse Reply