Linked by Eugenia Loli-Queru on Thu 3rd May 2007 19:21 UTC
PDAs, Cellphones, Wireless Hi-Mobile.net was ultra-gracious this month to send us over the Nokia N95, the most advanced multimedia smartphone Nokia ever released. Read on for more information in our review, with plenty of pictures and screenshots.
E-mail Print r 1   · Read More · 34 Comment(s)
Order by: Score:
Correction on HSDPA
by mini-me (1.96) on Thu 3rd May 2007 20:06 UTC
mini-me
Member since:
2005-07-06
Fans: 0

The HSDPA on the N95 works everywhere except north america (so it's not just operational in Europe)

Edited 2007-05-03 20:06

nice review
by JrezIN (3) on Thu 3rd May 2007 20:22 UTC
JrezIN
Member since:
2005-06-29
Fans: 2

Nice review.
So many details and real use experience. =]

Also, note that the US model doesn't include the smaller (second, on the front) camera.


About the device, the camera, even if it's a 5MP, has too many filtering. I would prefer a 3 or 4 MP camera with better quality.
About the review... how about a photo of the device showing its height... in your hand, comparing with something else. I know it's not really "slim", but photos are always good to make comparatives...

...and how the price isn't listed in "the bad"?! ;]

RE: nice review
by Eugenia (Staff) on Thu 3rd May 2007 20:26 UTC in reply to "nice review"
Eugenia Member since:
2005-06-28
Fans: 15

>Also, note that the US model doesn't include the smaller (second, on the front) camera.

Hi-Mobile sells Asian-imported models, so they are the full versions. ;)

>how about a photo of the device showing its height.

There are some here: http://www.mobileburn.com/review.jsp?Page=1&Id=3283

>...and how the price isn't listed in "the bad"?! ;]

Well, the price is not too high compared to similar smartphones with similar features, e.g. some HTC devices.

Edited 2007-05-03 20:27

Might've been a poor day for GPS.
by Beta (4.2) on Thu 3rd May 2007 21:14 UTC
Beta
Member since:
2005-07-06
Fans: 4

Weird that you had GPS problems, I've heard quite the opposite review of the GPS reception - http://digitalurban.blogspot.com/2007/04/nokia-n95-tracking-from-sa...
and
http://digitalurban.blogspot.com/2007/04/nokia-n95-gps-google-earth...
Probably free advertising, but i'm not affiliated with that site ;)

I've had my eye on this phone for a while, and will be probably replacing my p910i with it.

RE: Might've been a poor day for GPS.
by Beta (4.2) on Thu 3rd May 2007 21:17 UTC in reply to "Might've been a poor day for GPS."
Beta Member since:
2005-07-06
Fans: 4

Oh, was meaning to ask:
"the Search application that supports Yahoo! and Windows Live as sources", does that mean no Google option?

Eugenia Member since:
2005-06-28
Fans: 15

No Google in the Search app, no. The Search app is more than a search engine, it's a directory of things and services, and Google does not offer all that AFAIK. So they went with Y! and Live instead.

RE: Might've been a poor day for GPS.
by Eugenia (Staff) on Thu 3rd May 2007 21:19 UTC in reply to "Might've been a poor day for GPS."
Eugenia Member since:
2005-06-28
Fans: 15

I went out to test GPS twice, on two different days. Both days with no clouds in the sky, here in the San Mateo area. Both times I could not lock in to the satellites. It would "see" 1 or 2 satellites (and then lose connection with 1 of them) but it wouldn't ultimately lock in. The device still thinks I am in Helsinki or something. I waited for over 10 minutes on each time.

Thing is, my Bluetooth GPS dongle did not have any such problem when I tested it a few months ago with my PocketPC phone.

Beta Member since:
2005-07-06
Fans: 4

ah, well, if it believes its in Helsinki, it'll be looking for the wrong satellites ;)
Would explain the few visible sats, its finding them on the horizon.

Beats me why else it shouldn't work. From a cold start, my GPS can get 4 to 8 in a minute even in my densely wooded + hilly area.

Eugenia Member since:
2005-06-28
Fans: 15

> it'll be looking for the wrong satellites

No this is not the case, it's just that Europe is its default starting point location. But then, it does try to find satellites, it just doesn't lock-in.

Beta Member since:
2005-07-06
Fans: 4

Yes, I quite understand that. My GPS can take ages if I don't reset it and give it location + time, then it knows which sats might be where, and finds them quickly.

I just looked through the manual for the n95, couldn't see anything about resetting the GPS. Maybe its related to the time / world clock (set as current city) options?

For cases where it just has to find the sats, it shouldn't take more than 6 minutes.
Otherwise it's broken or you're blocking the signal.

Battery life?
by tehehe (1) on Fri 4th May 2007 02:06 UTC
tehehe
Member since:
2006-12-16
Fans: 0

How's battery life with casual usage? Is it possible to disable features to make battery last longer?

RE: Battery life?
by Eugenia (Staff) on Fri 4th May 2007 02:32 UTC in reply to "Battery life?"
Eugenia Member since:
2005-06-28
Fans: 15

>How's battery life with casual usage?

About 2-3 days.

>Is it possible to disable features to make battery last longer?

Yes, I put the display down to 25% brightness, and disabled 3G, Bluetooth. I try to not open the GPS apps so the hardware doesn't get started. WiFi I do use while at home because of VoIP.

>So when are they going to release a smart phone that runs Maemo and that has a touch screen interface?

Possibly never. The N800 has enough problems and slowness as it is.

Merging Product Lines?
by Best (1.8) on Fri 4th May 2007 02:28 UTC
Best
Member since:
2005-07-09
Fans: 0

So when are they going to release a smart phone that runs Maemo and that has a touch screen interface?

Good review
by melkor (2.48) on Fri 4th May 2007 03:41 UTC
melkor
Member since:
2006-12-16
Fans: 3

I'm not really a fan of mobile phones, I'm one of the old fashioned type of guys that thinks that a phone should just simple take and receive calls, nothing more and nothing less. These new phones do everything, including washing the kitchen sink.

I'm glad you mentioned image quality as being average, and not able to compete with a DSLR (unlike a certain notorious cnet review that was recently done on this very camera). Mobile phone cameras will NEVER compete with DSLRs in terms of pure IQ (image quality) for a variety of technical reasons, but for the average snapper, they're fine. Interestingly, whilst camera phones are becoming more common (and popular) more and more places are rightfully banning them imho.

Dave

PS Nice Canon EOS 5D :-)

RE: Good review
by Eugenia (Staff) on Fri 4th May 2007 03:57 UTC in reply to "Good review"
Eugenia Member since:
2005-06-28
Fans: 15

> and not able to compete with a DSLR

It is not able to compete with a non-dslr either. E.g. a $100 HP or Samsung 5MP camera will still yield better quality.

>PS Nice Canon EOS 5D :-)

Thanks! It is my husband's, he is a prosumer photographer in his free time (when he is not a engineer). ;)

Edited 2007-05-04 03:57

RE[2]: Good review
by melkor (2.48) on Fri 4th May 2007 09:26 UTC in reply to "RE: Good review"
melkor Member since:
2006-12-16
Fans: 3

[OT] Lucky him! I have an aging 1D and D60, but will be selling both of them for the 1D Mark III later on this year (as well as my eos1n film camera, which I can't justify anymore). Link to any of his images (I'm curious)?

Dave

RE[3]: Good review
by Eugenia (Staff) on Fri 4th May 2007 20:15 UTC in reply to "RE[2]: Good review"
Eugenia Member since:
2005-06-28
Fans: 15

> Link to any of his images (I'm curious)?

http://pics.livejournal.com/jbq/gallery/00001z2d (newer)
http://www.geocities.com/jbqueru/ (older)

GPS and WiFi
by ealm (1.57) on Fri 4th May 2007 06:06 UTC
ealm
Member since:
2005-11-11
Fans: 1

From every review and user testemonial I've seen here in Sweden, both GPS and WiFi are reported to work perfectly.

RE: GPS and WiFi
by Eugenia (Staff) on Fri 4th May 2007 06:36 UTC in reply to "GPS and WiFi"
Eugenia Member since:
2005-06-28
Fans: 15

Are you sure that your users are using VoIP all the time? Wifi connects here too, there is no problem there. BUT, it disconnects out of the blue every 30-40 minutes. And if at some point try to browse something, chances are that it will again disconnect out of the blue too and it will need to reconnect. I even went as close as 2 meters from the router, but the problem remains. My E61 and N80 do NOT have this problem on the SAME network.

As for the GPS problem, check the link I gave earlier. There are many people where lock-in takes impossible time to complete. For me, it never did.

RE: GPS and WiFi
by ealm (1.57) on Fri 4th May 2007 07:06 UTC
ealm
Member since:
2005-11-11
Fans: 1

I don't know about VoIP, but users in swedish forums haev used wlan for extensive browsing and our largest mobile magazine stated, after extensive testing, that the wifi support is excellent and stable.

A friend of mine got his N95 yesterday and walking around with the GPS outside, we managed to get repositioned every ten steps or so - very accurate in other words.

Since the US version doesn't support 3G(!) or PTT I suppose it's a slightly different phone. Maybe the WiFi and GPS issues are US-model specific?

RE[2]: GPS and WiFi
by Eugenia (Staff) on Fri 4th May 2007 07:18 UTC in reply to "RE: GPS and WiFi"
Eugenia Member since:
2005-06-28
Fans: 15

I do NOT have the US version, I have the world version which is the same as the European one. My phone arrived from Hong-Kong and besides, I upgraded the firmware and made things a bit better already, just not perfect.

The fact that your phones worked does not mean that the bug does not exist. We don't have the same routers. I use a Netgear with WEP 64bit (I use WEP because most of my PDAs don't support WPA).

But as I said, create a Gizmo account and let your phone registered to VoIP. Then, time it as to how long before you hear the "beeeep" to tell you that it's got disconnected. With the first firmware it was within 10 minutes. With the new firmware, it is between 30 and 45 minutes.

RE[3]: GPS and WiFi
by Wacky_ (1) on Fri 4th May 2007 16:29 UTC in reply to "RE[2]: GPS and WiFi"
Wacky_ Member since:
2007-05-03
Fans: 0

Have you disabled the WLAN power saving mode?

Settings -> Connection -> Wireless LAN -> Options -> Advanced Settings

Continue anyway - yes, disable automatic configuration and try with different parameters/power save disabled.

It atleast makes the WLAN speeds faster.

I've not had any problems in the SF downtown are to get a GPS satellite lock. Seems to hold the lock quite well even in between tall buildings. Keep the slider open when trying to get GPS to lock. After locking on I've been able to close the slider and keep the phone in pocket without losing GPS.

The Maps application is done by Nokia, only the maps are licensed.

N95 is able to playback video clips with resolution higher than QVGA, nice for playing them through TV-OUT.

RE[4]: GPS and WiFi
by Eugenia (Staff) on Fri 4th May 2007 17:05 UTC in reply to "RE[3]: GPS and WiFi"
Eugenia Member since:
2005-06-28
Fans: 15

>Have you disabled the WLAN power saving mode?

Yes, it has helped a bit. But it also disconnects after a while, AND, it eats battery like hell. I don't want to use this feature all day.

And as I SAID, the E61 and N80IE do not have the problem on the SAME network. The bug is in the N95 S60 3.1, nowhere else.

MicroSDHC
by ealm (1.57) on Fri 4th May 2007 07:09 UTC
ealm
Member since:
2005-11-11
Fans: 1

Oh, and by the way - reports from SanDisk UK and german memory card previewers suggest that the N95 in fact supports the HC (High Capacity) standard. First generation HC sticks (4 GB) are coming out this month...

RE[2]: GPS and WiFi
by ealm (1.57) on Fri 4th May 2007 08:39 UTC
ealm
Member since:
2005-11-11
Fans: 1

I've now scanned through two entire N95-threads in swedish forums, with over a thousand posts. No-one has had the problems you describe, and people have used both SIP, GPS and WEP.

Your phone is probably broken and at least in Sweden the kind of trouble you've had doesn't seem to be very common.

RE[3]: GPS and WiFi
by Eugenia (Staff) on Fri 4th May 2007 17:04 UTC in reply to "RE[2]: GPS and WiFi"
Eugenia Member since:
2005-06-28
Fans: 15

My phone is NOT broken ealm. As I said, not everyone uses the same router. If it was broken, the firmware upgrade WOULD NOT make it work better. But it did. The bug exists.

Edited 2007-05-04 17:06

I like it
by roberts (1) on Fri 4th May 2007 15:38 UTC
roberts
Member since:
2007-05-04
Fans: 0

Slightly larger than Sony Ericsson's W810i Walkman phone, compared to other slimmer phones on the market this is no size 0 model. The design is dominated by the 2.6-inch screen on the front of the model and this slides both up and down to reveal the controls.

RE[5]: GPS and WiFi
by ealm (1.57) on Fri 4th May 2007 20:15 UTC
ealm
Member since:
2005-11-11
Fans: 1

Umm... your GPS doesn't work at all, but still you're capitalizing sure that your phone isn't broken ;)

Ok, if you say so...

RE: RE[6]: GPS and WiFi
by Eugenia (Staff) on Fri 4th May 2007 20:17 UTC in reply to " RE[5]: GPS and WiFi"
Eugenia Member since:
2005-06-28
Fans: 15

I waited 10 mins for GPS to lock in. IT DID find satellites, so it is NOT broken. It just didn't lock in. Maybe it needed more time than 10 minutes. Maybe there were no satellites directly above San Mateo and in conjunction to the GPS antenna not being very strong, the problem happened.

So no, my unit is not problematic. There are other factors to consider. If it was "broken" it wouldn't work at all.

RE[2]: RE[7]: GPS and WiFi
by linux-it (1.96) on Sat 5th May 2007 09:23 UTC in reply to "RE: RE[6]: GPS and WiFi"
linux-it Member since:
2006-07-13
Fans: 0

It very well could need more than 10 minutes. this *is* normal. Moving the unit negatively will affect the initial lock as well.

Re: GPS and WiFi
by Bunsen Burner (1) on Thu 10th May 2007 15:46 UTC
Bunsen Burner
Member since:
2007-05-10
Fans: 0

GPS on my Let'sTalk purchased (NOKUS) works a treat. Out of the box, it locked on to four satellites within two minutes. The same after a firmware upgrade. It will lock on upstairs in the house as well. Have you downloaded the California map from
http://www.smart2go.com/en/
?

WiFi works similarly. Using 256 bit WPA, I can surf until the battery drains without a hiccup. Maybe a hard reset is in order for your phone?

As far as the hardware goes, their is no US version of this phone. Nokia, realizing the popularity of the handset, has begun to offer the phone in the States (though they originally had no intention of doing so) with one change; a US honored warranty. Those who have purchased APAC or European 'versions' for use in the US will be SOL should some type of warranty work be... warranted. :^)

All the best-

BB