Anyone for Smartphone? Here’s Nokia N96

Here’s the official successor to Nokia N95, the latest Nokia smartphone in the Nseries range. This model started selling last September. I’ve “played” with an acquaintance’s N95 before and if this is indeed a marked improvement, then this upgraded model (N96) should be another winner. Of course, Nokia is probably the best-known name in mobile phones so there’s no need for me to vouch for the product quality.

The big question is, what’s new about this model? It has a 2.8-inch display with 16 million colors (N95 has a 2.6-inch display). It has a double LED flash for the 5-megapixel camera, which uses Carl Zeiss optics. Internal memory is 16 GB, expandable up to 48 GB using 32 GB microSD/microSDHC cards. Of course, there’s still the VGA camera in front of the phone for 3G video calling. It’s also said to be thinner and lighter than N95.   

Here’s the full list of features of the N96 from its Wiki entry:

• Quad band GSM / GPRS / EDGE: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
• Dual band UMTS / HSDPA: UMTS 900 / 2100 N96-1 (RM-247, Global), UMTS 850 / 1900 N96-3 (RM-247, Global), no UMTS N96 (RM-297, PR China)
• HSDPA and Wi-Fi access (RM-297 variant (PR China only) does not have WCDMA, WLAN and DVB-H).
• DVB-H Mobile TV (network-dependent feature).
• A-GPS Navigation using Nokia Maps, map data fetched using 3G or downloaded over the Internet and transferred to the phone over USB.
• Access to Ovi
• Instant upload to Flickr, Vox, Yahoo! and Google.
• Full-HTML browser.
• Symbian OS v9.3 S60 3.2 Edition, user interface.
• 16 GB of internal flash memory.
• Memory expandable to up to 48 GB with 32 GB microSD/microSDHC cards (maximum available card storage capacity 16GB/32GB (once released in 2009) ).
• 2-way slide, as in Nokia N95.
• 5-megapixel camera, Carl Zeiss optics.
• High quality VGA camera in front of the phone, for video calling and self-portrait use.
• Double LED flash for the camera.
• Pre-bundled with WaveSecure in India variant
• Plays music files, and lets you download easily via Nokia Web.
• Allows high-quality video calling using 3G
• A built-in accelerometer when tilted as on the Nokia N82.
• New design:

1. Landscape-oriented design (landscape oriented speakers, connectors and buttons located optimally for landscape use)
2. Flip-out kickstand
3. Media keys available in all modes (even when slide is closed, for background control of music)
4. Media keys on short side can transform into gaming keys
5. Lock switch (enables quick lock / unlock of keypad)