Review: Part II: Nokia N95 8GB
The primary reason to buy the N95 8GB over the silver first-run model is, arguably, its media playback. Having 8GB of storage equates to nearly 2,000 songs of storage and is a welcome relief compared to many phones where having any kind of permanent storage is still considered a luxury. For the most part, the N95 lives up to claims made in this area
Nokia's built-in media players are comparatively easy to use and actually enjoyable in most cases, at least for those not spoiled by touchscreen devices; navigating tracks occurs with little fuss and offers a few very useful touches that are often overlooked on other media phones, like a collection-wide track shuffle mode. Quickly navigating tracks in mid-play is possible with the device itself, though the company thankfully bundles a wired remote with the N95 8GB that makes it much easier to pause or skip songs (and answer calls) without fishing the phone out of a pocket. Unusually, though, it requires that any copied music be "imported" into the collection even after being transferred with an official app.
The same can't be said for the media player supplied by Rogers Wireless. It's the same basic player as found on far simpler phones and is decidedly more limited than what Nokia itself offers. Worse still is that it's set as the default player for the music shortcuts on the device: there may well be users who never see the more powerful player hiding just underneath. While it's easy enough to get in the habit of manually launching the built-in software, it's an unnecessary complication and seems designed to steer inexperienced users towards buying songs from Rogers' own music store.
Rogers does contribute positively to media features through its VISION service; the Canadian carrier's N95 8GB is likely the only Nokia smartphone on the continent to officially support two-way video calling, which gives it a decided edge over simply buying an unlocked version for those who want the feature. A definite catch of the service, though, is the vicious circle of support. With relatively few phones supporting the feature on Rogers' network so far, most people aren't likely to sign up for VISION and spur their friends on to buying a similar device; until a lot of phones are already on the network with video call support, the front-facing camera isn't likely to get as much use.
Audio output is straightforward with this handset. While the pack-in earbuds are nothing special, both the built-in headphone jack and the remote will accept any portable earphones you happen to have. The quality is enough that most mid-range audio equipment (including some in-canal earbuds and studio monitors) can produce a meaningful difference. The stereo speakers are also an unusually welcome twist: their bass is almost absent, but they're loud, clear, and perform well enough that they can be used for an impromptu personal jukebox or the incidental music that often creeps up on some websites.
Finally, kudos should also be given to Nokia for its media sync support, especially on the Mac. While loading the phone is relatively simple on Windows as well, Nokia's Media Transfer app is the closest most non-Apple cellphones will get to a seamless experience transferring content. The software loads nearly every unprotected music and video format that the N95 8GB will play, and includes some very convenient settings for power users that let them auto-compress media at a certain bitrate (for when it might not leave enough free space) or automatically open Aperture or iPhoto to offload images. The N95 is one of the few phones tested here that has been easy to fill to capacity, and the significance can't be overstated.
- Expensive, even on contract.
- Symbian S60 unstable and at times difficult.
- Rogers media software forced on users and less capable than Nokia's.
- Short battery life.
- Video calling nice, but unlikely to be used so soon in North America.
- Symbian S60 unstable and at times difficult.
- Rogers media software forced on users and less capable than Nokia's.
- Short battery life.
- Video calling nice, but unlikely to be used so soon in North America.
- Excellent camera for a phone.
- Surprisingly capable Nokia media player; Mac software a big help.
- Fast 3G and Wi-Fi.
- Stronger GPS features than BlackBerry.
- Good call quality.
- Surprisingly capable Nokia media player; Mac software a big help.
- Fast 3G and Wi-Fi.
- Stronger GPS features than BlackBerry.
- Good call quality.
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