I recently decided it was time to upgrade my phone, since my previous phone was starting to fail me in several ways (i.e. the battery was fecked). So I opted for the Nokia N95. (Note: if you’ve ever had my mobile number, it’s still the same. I haven’t changed it since my first phone.)
I had a couple of good reasons for making this choice. First, after my last phone, I’m a big fan of Nokia phones and the Symbian OS. Everything nice I said about my previous phone still applies, but I can now appreciate features like the active desktop style interface a bit more. It had always annoyed me that the screen you get upon unlocking a mobile is near enough useless; basically, a glorified splash screen. Nokia S60 phones are different: switch on active standby and you get 5 icons on your desktop which are shortcuts into your favourite programs (customisable). As well as that, you get the next few events from your calendar displayed clearly and prominently, plus the next items on your to-do list. That’s exactly how it should be, the most important info clearly displayed.
Another major selling point of the N95 is the camera. The previous camera I had was only 1.2 megapixels and performed poorly in all but the best light conditions. My new phone has a 5 megapixel chip, a much better lens, and a two stage auto-focus, which helps the camera pick out the best lighting conditions.
There are plenty of other nice little features (wifi, visual radio, enough oomph for 3D games) but what does it get wrong?
- It breaks the Nokia charger standard. Every Nokia phone I’ve ever seen used a standard charger, making it easy to find a spare if you’re away from home. The N95 uses a much slimmer charger. Not good.
- The battery life. With great new features, comes great power consumption. If you don’t use the bigger features you get a fairly standard charge for a modern phone (2 days+). If you hammer the features, you could easily wipe it in half a day.
- It came with Moby as the standard track. It’s not 1999, and I’m not doing a car advert, thanks.
Other than that, I’m very happy with it. Highly recommended.