- Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 108 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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27 out of 27 people found this review helpful
4.5 stars
"1st Class Phone"
Pros: Great all-round device that does everything
Cons: Slight delays when using some functionality
Summary: Having read the editor's review you'd end up thinking that the phone didn't look that good, have great build quality or respond well, and possibly also that it wasn't the best thing since sliced bread.
The truth is that this is one of the best looking and feeling handsets out there. The build quality is very solid and it's snappy for all the key phone functions.
Having used every kind of handset ranging from the Palm based Treo to a multitude of Windows and Series 60 phones over the recent years they've all fallen well short of being an ideal phone. This is the first one which genuinely starts to deliver the goods.
The overall feel of using the N95 is that it is simply phenomenal and without doubt is a milestone in mobile phone development. I'm fortunate to be based in London and get to benefit from all the 3G goodness and speed, and have to say that the browsing, navigation (GPS) and multimedia goodies such as playing the games on my wide screen television make this handset an unbelievably useful and fun device.
Other great features are the performance for syncing, it used to take ages to sync a Nokia phone, but this one syncs faster than you realise, so much so, that I've set it to auto sync via Bluetooth whenever it's near my laptop.
The 3G connectivity means that surfing and emailing through the PC or N800 are now a joy on the move as well as in the office.
The other thing to note is that the connectivity in general and especially the Wifi works extremely well. The phone seems to instantly detect wireless networks, at least three or four times faster than Windows and allows easy switching between the wifi and 3G connections allowing you to save on your bandwidth bill.
What is clear though is that some of the functionality is in effect 'back-up' to dedicated devices. I'd always prefer to take photos with a dedicated digital camera although the camera works very well in good light (although it is slow).
The GPS (Maps) application is great and the ability to drill down into street level in villages in Hungary (where my wife is from and currently visiting) is something I've never found before in a GPS device. I would still use my Nuvi though to navigate around most of Europe since it does a great job and has a bigger screen.
This is also the first Nokia which is 'standard' in that it has standard headphone jack and USB connectors. It means it actually starts to feel like a tiny computer rather than simply a phone. If you compare the performance of this device with PCs it comes on top in all kinds of scenarios.
The multi-tasking nature of the N95 is also great. It allows you to flick through songs using the dedicated keys, whilst reading a travel guide and plotting your route to the next destination, all to be gently interrupted by an incoming call with a 3D ringtone which zooms from one side to the other.
Having looked at some of the reviews and my own experience, and compared them with the editor's review it's clear that the editor has got this one seriously wrong. I can appreciate that there's a couple of disadvantages in using the handset in the US but even then the general performance should simply blow you away.
There's no device that comes close to this phone as an all-round handy device which really works. It certainly means I'll be carrying a lot fewer devices on a day-to-day basis
- 1 reply to this review
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This really sums up my experiences with the N95 as well.
My camera is better than the built in camera
My MP3-player has slightly more features
I don't own a stand-alone GPS and don't really need to when I have the N95.
My computer has a better browser and is better for writing email.
But to have all this and more in one device is certainly worth the N95's price.
Where to buy
Nokia N95 - black/silver (Unlocked):
$11.99
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Amazon.com Marketplace
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$11.99 | Yes |
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