Nokia N96
3 DirectThe screen conveys the Nokia N96’s status as a smartphone with great usability when browsing or texting even in direct sunlight
Our Nokia N96 Review
Design
The Nokia N96's design is sophisticated yet bulky. From the very first moment we turned the handset in our palm, we felt the 2.2in wide frame that can be quite a handful for your pocket. Made with a glossy metallic feel, the Nokia N96 looks modern and chic. The plastic battery cover does not complement the design and looks quite flimsy.
Screen
At 2.8in, the Nokia N96’s screen sports a QVGA 240x320 resolution with 16 million colours. One neat feature is the light-detector that adapts to the lighting conditions present. The screen’s performance is stellar, but it comes with occasional freezing and sluggish menus – which is not to be blamed on the screen rather the user interface. The screen conveys the Nokia N96’s status as a smartphone with great usability when browsing or texting even in direct sunlight.
User Interface
The Nokia N96’s user interface is rich with performance and visual enhancement from previous handsets in the same line. The standard Active Standby home screen is great to keep track of your important dates and notifications. The photo gallery is equipped with a great geo-tagging feature for future reminders of the photo’s location. The home screen also includes handy shortcuts to different multimedia and games applications. Navigating through the menus is smooth with beautiful transition effects.
Keypad
We found the Nokia N96’s to be as equally adequate as the user interface. We loved pressing the buttons as they are properly spaced out, comfortable to press, and accurate. The keypad also includes dedicated music controls backlit in the background. The buttons on the side are slightly harder to press and handle but still within our comfort zone.
Camera and Multimedia
The Nokia N96’s camera is commendable with its performance At 5.0 Megapixel equipped with Carl Zeiss lens, the camera’s photos are rich with color and vibrant with sharp contrast. It comes with a dual-LED flash for better quality in poor-lit areas. This works perfectly for video capturing as you can never worry about shooting in less-than-perfect lighting conditions. You’ll also find a secondary video-conferencing camera with great performance. We found video playback and recording to be smooth and up-to-standard at 30 frames per second.
The music player delivers great playback with great syncing and data transfer options. The dual speakers and standard 3.5 mm audio jack are a plus, as you can plug in your favourite headphones or just put the handset nearby and listen through the speakers.
Connectivity and Battery Life
The Nokia N96’s has great connectivity with 3G HSDPA, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 2.0. The web browser is snappy with rapid loading rates. You can easily switch to landscape mode to browse pages for easier viewing.
Battery life is currently rated at 2.5 hours talk time and over 9 days on standby. It isn’t quite up to par with other Nokia handsets, but you can safely go for numerous days without recharging if you’re an average user. A heavy web browser or multimedia fiend should expect recharging on a daily basis when using Wi-Fi.
What We Liked
We liked the N96 for its great multimedia features, 5 Megapixel camera, and connectivity.
What We Disliked
We disliked the occasional freezing and price tag
Our Final Verdict
The Nokia N96 comes with a price tag expected for its feature bundle. If you’re looking for overall performance in the multimedia, user interface, and connectivity departments, the Nokia N96 is your choice. Of course, you’d have to keep in mind the obvious battery life and occasional freezing associated with heavy use.
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| Read Review | |||
| Nokia N96 | |||
General | |||
| Form Factor | Slider | ||
| Dimensions | 102 x 54.5 x 17.5 (mm) | ||
| Talk Time | 161 mins | ||
| Standby Time | 174 hours | ||
| Weight | 127 g | ||
| Quad Band | Yes | ||
Photo and Video | |||
| Integrated Camera | Yes | ||
| Camera | 5.00 megapixels | ||
| Video Player | Yes | ||
Phone | |||
| Vibrating Alert | Yes | ||
| Smart Phone | Yes | ||
Messaging | |||
| MMS | Yes | ||
| Photo Messaging | Yes | ||
| Predictive Text | Yes | ||
| Video Messaging | Yes | ||
Screen | |||
| Colour Screen | Yes | ||
| Touch Screen | Yes | ||
Connectivity | |||
| 3G | Yes | ||
| Bluetooth | Yes | ||
| Yes | |||
| GPRS | Yes | ||
| HSDPA | Yes | ||
| WAP | Yes | ||
| Web Browser | Yes | ||
Music and Radio | |||
| FM Radio | Yes | ||
| MP3 Player | Yes | ||
Additional Content | |||
| Downloadable Content | Yes | ||
| Downloadable Games | Yes | ||
| Downloadable Ringtones | Yes | ||
Nokia N96 Full Specification
General
| Form Factor | Slider |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 102 x 54.5 x 17.5 (mm) |
| Talk Time | 161 mins |
| Standby Time | 174 hours |
| Weight | 127 g |
| Quad Band | Yes |
Photo and Video
| Integrated Camera | Yes |
|---|---|
| Camera | 5.00 megapixels |
| Video Player | Yes |
Phone
| Vibrating Alert | Yes |
|---|---|
| Smart Phone | Yes |
Messaging
| MMS | Yes |
|---|---|
| Photo Messaging | Yes |
| Predictive Text | Yes |
| Video Messaging | Yes |
Screen
| Colour Screen | Yes |
|---|---|
| Touch Screen | Yes |
Connectivity
| 3G | Yes |
|---|---|
| Bluetooth | Yes |
| Yes | |
| GPRS | Yes |
| HSDPA | Yes |
| WAP | Yes |
| Web Browser | Yes |
Music and Radio
| FM Radio | Yes |
|---|---|
| MP3 Player | Yes |
Additional Content
| Downloadable Content | Yes |
|---|---|
| Downloadable Games | Yes |
| Downloadable Ringtones | Yes |
User Comments
PeytonJ submitted on 29 August 2008Battery life is indeed an issue with this handset if you're a heavy multimeida user. That didn't discourage me however, I just charge my mobile at the end of each day
Parker E. submitted on 15 June 2008The review mentioned occassional freezing, however; I did not come across us with my N96…overall its performance was ok
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Images of the Nokia N96
