Nokia N96 is the latest Nokia smartphone in the N-Series range of products. The handset was publicly announced at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, February 2008, and started shipping in September 2008.
Design
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. 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.
Camera
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 allows you to adjust the basics such as the ISO and picture contrast levels, it also shoots 30fps VGA video.
Maps
The Nokia Maps GPS navigation program was pre-loaded into the phone. It is possible to install maps of selected regions to the device, or to download them as needed while on the move. Searching addresses and using the maps doesn't cost anything. A GPS-assisted turn-by-turn speech navigation is available for a small fee. You can find more information about the application in our Nokia Maps review.
GPS
The GPS on the N96 can do more than just maps. It can automatically mark the location of every photograph taken on the built-in five megapixel camera. The exact geographic coordinates are saved in the image information. When a photo like this is uploaded to a digital map on the Internet, like Google Maps, the picture is automatically attached to the correct location on the map.
Gaming
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!
Connectivity
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!
TV
DVB-H digital TV signal wasn't available in the location where we tested the N96, but access to the TV has been made easy. A dedicated button on the control panel below the display takes you directly to TV screen. It is one of the best displays on a mobile phone have seen.
Summary Nokia N96
Feature-wise, the N96 has everything we expect a high-end smartphone to have (phones with touch screen or qwerty keyboard are another matter). Nokia has also integrated some of the features, like GPS and photos, into easy-to-use solutions. There are thousands of free and commercial applications available for the N96 and other Symbian OS/S60 smartphones. Additionally, new N-Gage games and Nokia's music store are compatible with the device.
Features Nokia N96
Series 60 Symbian interface (version 3.2)
5 megapixel camera (2592 x 1944 pixels) with Carl Zeiss optics, Tessar lens, autofocus, dual LED flash (auto redeye reduction), 20x digital zoom
Video camera: MPEG4/3GP VGA video capture at 640 x 480 pixels and 30 frames/second with digital stereo microphone (AAC format) and 10x digital zoom
Front camera for video calling: CIF resolution (352 x 288 pixels)
Video and still image editors
Display: TFT, 16 million colours, 240 x 320 pixels (2.8 inches)
Live TV (DVB-H based mobile TV with internal antenna)
Digital music player (supports MP3/AAC/AAC+/eAAC+/WMA/M4A formats) with playlists and equalizer
Stereo FM radio RDS with Visual Radio support
Built-in GPS navigation with Nokia Maps application
Speaker independent name dialing
Voice commands
Voice recorder
Talking ringtone
Integrated hands-free speaker
Speed dialing
Messaging: SMS, MMS, Email (support for attachments)
Push to talk (PoC)
Java games
Advanced contacts database with support for multiple phone and e-mail details per entry
Memory: 16 Gbytes plus microSD memory card slot
Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.0, USB 2.0, TV-Out, WLAN (802.11 b/g), 3.5 mm stereo headphone plug
WAP, EGPRS class B, WCDMA/HSDPA (3.6Mb/s download)
The Nokia N72 is one of Nokia's high-end N-Series mobile phones, it is effectively a re-branded Nokia N70 with a reduced feature set. For an N-Series phone its features are quite limited, as it has only a 2MP camera, lacks WiFi, 3G, and runs on Symbian 8.1a operating system.
The N72 is based upon the N70 and is actually a remake of the N70 but was redesigned and is targeted at the mass market just like its prior model the N70 by the removal of the 3G hardware, making it much cheaper. However, it retains the same edition of the Symbian OS as the N70, as well as a similar set of features.
The Nokia N72 is a feature-rich phone with a 2 megapixel camera, a built-in flash, FM radio, Bluetooth 2.0, digital music player functionality and support for 3D Java games. It also sports Bluetooth 2.0 and USB 2.0 - Pop-Port interface.
It uses the S60 user-interface and the Symbian 8.1a operating system. It is available in two colors namely glossy black and pearl pink.
The N72 uses Dual-Voltage Reduced Size MMC (DV-RS-MMC) cards which are also marketed as MMC mobile. The user memory for Nokia N72 is expandable up to 2GB.
Features Nokia N72
Series 60 Symbian SmartPhone
2 megapixel camera with CMOS sensor, 20x digital zoom and flash
Video capture: 352 x 288 pixels at up to 15 frames per second (MPEG4 format), 4x digital zoom
Photo & video editors
Display: TFT, 262,144 colours, 176 x 208 pixels
Digital music player (supports MP3, AAC, eAAC & eAAC+ formats) with playlists
Stereo FM radio with Visual Radio support
Messaging: SMS, MMS, email (SMTP, IMAP4 & POP3) with support for attachments
Speaker Independent Voice dialing and commands
Push to Talk
Java & Symbian applications
Advanced contacts database
XHTML web browser WAP, EGPRS Class 10 (236.8 kbps)
Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.0, USB 2.0
Memory: 20 Mbytes plus 128 MB Reduced Size MMC card
The Nokia N71 is a state of the art 3G mobile phone that has been designed with great attention to detail. It is similar to the Nokia 6680 but the N71 has a flip open mechanism & a few different features but they both have 3G Technology & a beautiful smooth design concept. The N71 comes in a sleek silver finish & is very comfortable to hold & use in the hand.
The N71 comes complete with a built in music player that allows the user to listen to their favourite music when ever they desire. The integrated music player allows the user to listen to their favourite music in most of the common digital formats available. The N71 comes with hot-swap miniSD cards which allows the user to store their music on the cards & have a collection of cards on them at all times.
The Nokia N71 has a crystal clear 2.4 Inch colour screen which provides a high picture quality for all those photos & videos that need to be viewed. The flip open design ensures that the large colour screen is always fully protected & this provides the user with the reassurance that it won't get scratched or damaged in their bag or briefcase.
The built in 2 megapixel camera is perfect for capturing those all important moments & the camera comes complete with a digital zoom & flash. It is possible for the user to swap between camera & video modes which can record all of the action on digital video. The N71 includes some very easy to use editing software which makes it possible for the user to make changes to their photos & recording. It is possible to print & share the photos instantly using either USB connectivity, Infra red, Bluetooth technology or online printing & storing services using the fast 3G network.
It is very simple to access the Internet with the Nokia N71 & with the 3G technology which provides the speed to make mobile web surfing a pleasant & instant experience.
The N71 can carry files between the user place of work & their home & allows the user to keep all the files in order by using Nokia Xpress Transfer storing solution. The user simply connects their N71 to their PC using either USB cable, infra red or Bluetooth wireless connectivity & the software transfers all the relevant files. Nokia Xpress Transfer can really keep your life in order & so can the N71.
Features Nokia N71
Series 60 Symbian SmartPhone
2 megapixel camera with 20x digital zoom and flash
VGA camera (0.3 megapixels) with 2x digital zoom
Video recording (352 x 288 pixels, 15 frames per second)
Video and still image editors
Internal display: TFT, 262,144 colours, 320 x 240 pixels
External display: 65,536 colours, 96 x 68 pixels
Stereo music player MP3, WMA, eAAC+, AAC+, MPEG-4, RealAudio Voice and other formats) with equaliser
Visual Radio
MP3 ringtones (64-voice polyphonic)
Messaging: SMS, MMS, email (with support for attachments), Instant Messaging
Integrated handsfree speaker
Java & Symbian applications
Push to Talk
Speaker Independent Name Dialing / Voice commands
Voice recorder
Advanced contacts database
Connectivity: Bluetooth 1.2, USB 2.0 (USB mass storage), Infrared Memory: 10 Mbytes plus 128 Mbytes miniSD memory card (expandable to 2 Gbytes)
WAP 2.0 web browser, GPRS, EGPRS, 3G data transfer (384 kbps) Triband plus 3G (GSM 900/1800/1900 and WCDMA 2100)
On 27 April 2005, Nokia announced a new brand of multimedia devices at the press conference of mobile phone manufacturer in Amsterdam. The first three Nseries devices introduced at the conference consists of N70, N90 and N91.
On 2 November 2005, Nokia announced the N71, N80 and N92, and on 25 April 2006, Nokia announced the N72, N73 and N93. On 26 September 2006, Nokia announced the N75 and N95.
On 8 January 2007, Nokia announced the N76, N77 and N93i.