Review: NOKIA N95 8GB
A cellphone is a cellphone is a cellphone.
That is what my brother and many other people I know say when it comes to that gadget they have learned to trust with their lives.
Sure, I think to myself, as I smile and wonder how they are able to survive on those cellphones that look like they had seen better days.
Cellphones, like people, are ever-changing. And that is what makes them exciting gadgets to have and to own. Once a person stops learning, he stops living or so they say. The same goes for the stiff competition that cellphones face nowadays. It is precisely why, when a good model comes along, a newer and more improved model is re-launched in the market.
Take the Nokia N95 8GB.
The Nokia N95 8GB is simple to handle because the original N95 is so well known and has been written about so many times.
The original N95, it seems, was intended to be the last word in the classic S60 phone line. The N95 comes loaded with features like S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1, with the combined Web/WAP browser and miniUSB connectivity; HSDPA, UPnP and Wi-Fi; a largish, recessed 2.6 inch screen; a five-megapixel still camera with great optics, light sensitivity and options, protected by a physical shutter and spoilt slightly by slow image processing and slow camera startup; a great VGA-resolution video recorder (producing good video images but only mono sound); a very full set of media software, with all audio and video codecs, video and image editing suites; online integration; the facility to work in portrait or landscape mode; and TV out for video echoing of any application or media item to a TV or other video equipment.
When the N95 first made its way into the Philippine cellphone market it was met with much aplomb. It was even called a handheld computer.
But not one to rest on its cellphone successes, Finnish company Nokia set about revamping the N95 and fixed some of the bugs that came with it.
Enter Nokia N95 8GB.
Although much of the N95 8GB’s hardware and software are identical to that of the original, there are quite a few interesting changes, too.
The microSD slot is gone, replaced by a fixed 8GB flash disk mounted internally. This appears as disk “E” in the usual Symbian OS way and all programs should treat this just as if it were an 8GB microSD card.
The system RAM has been doubled to 128MB, meaning that there’s now around 95MB of free RAM after booting. What this means for those of you who love to store tons of stuff in your cellphone is that you won’t run out of RAM with the N95 8GB.
It’s also worth noting that the camera operation has been improved slightly, with five-megapixel images now handled more swiftly (a second or so) and with a message telling the user what’s happening at each stage. The screen is better in every respect; it’s larger, at 2.8-inch diagonal, it’s clearer and brighter in all lighting conditions and it’s better protected, with a hard top layer that’s flush with the also-redesigned top slide, whose sides now encompass the N95’s edge better.
The multimedia controls (visible when the screen is slid down and the unit turned 90 degrees anti-clockwise) are now dimpled/contoured, making it easier to locate the right pressing point in the dark. The standby screen now has seven quick-launch icon slots, and there’s a new standby shortcut/strip, a whole new version of Nokia’s Mobile Search utility.
Indeed.
There have been quite a few changes in the N95 8GB and these have made it such a desirable cellphone. There’s no doubt that the N95 8GB is an improvement to its predecessor and how. The improvements in speed, battery life, free RAM and screen size all stand. When holding and using the N95 8 GB there is a feeling of holding a phone that was built sturdy.
And, no, a cellphone is not just a cellphone. In this world we live in life would be a spin if we didn’t have that trusty cellphone with us. And, yes, the more techie the functions the more wonderful to own.