Flashback: the Nokia N91 was legendary for its audio quality, but was a one-off

22 December 2019
It failed to kill the iPod as it was intended to do. Also, its micro HDD and slider with music controls design didn't catch on.

Sort by:

  • S
  • Steve Dojob
  • uC4
  • 22 Dec 2019

Aka911, 22 Dec 2019What an absolute beauty . I remember the shopkeeper pus... moreYeh! That how they want tell between N70 and N90 with Carl Ziess lens at that time..

    • L
    • Love the Community
    • Fv4
    • 22 Dec 2019

    Unfortunately, no one makes phones that has more powerful audio capabilities like this and the recent LG flagships with Quad DAC. How come no one miniaturises a Sabre DAC to be used on phones. People who bought Sennheiser, AKG, Beyerdynamic, Audio-Technica instead of Beats by Dre since 2009 which is the majority, would've benefit from that so much.

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • 7Ac
      • 22 Dec 2019

      Mnevil , 22 Dec 2019Look at those massive forehead and chin. I know right? Sooooooo 2006

        • ?
        • Anonymous
        • atg
        • 22 Dec 2019

        In those days we used to get innovative features and different form factors every couple of month now its all boring rectangle with notch and hole and designs copied from one another

          • S
          • Suga
          • NsB
          • 22 Dec 2019

          You can do 9300 communicator next time

            • A
            • Anupam SADH
            • 7kk
            • 22 Dec 2019

            I got both the phones back in 2005 then..

            N91 4gn Silver and N91 8gb BLACK

            never got the audio quality like it.. on other models back in 2005.. I am not a apple guy, but I think even it can beats to be equal to iPhone/ipod at that time.

              • M
              • Mnevil
              • Hxe
              • 22 Dec 2019

              Look at those massive forehead and chin.

                • 6
                • 6288
                • sm1
                • 22 Dec 2019

                Nokia failed because they didn't knew how to make good touch screens, they clearly wasn't ready for this technology.

                  • ?
                  • Anonymous
                  • mcB
                  • 22 Dec 2019

                  Bad protected plastic garbage and expensive.

                    I had listened to music on an N91 way back in 2007. Sounded way better than the competition then. The build quality and steel body was fab.

                    The 3.5 mm jack wasn't something one took for granted back then- not many competitors had it (Sony Ericsson phones, while nice had the lousy FastPort with a dongle. Only towards the end of the life of the Walkman phones eg. W995 did SE phones have a standard 3.5 mm jack. Moto had a lousy proprietary adapter except in some ROKR phones, IIRC. Similar story with Samsungs and LGs.)

                    High price and the hard drive made me run away. I don't regret having missed it, though. I think I've got its spiritual successor in the form of the LG V20 (similarly tough, semi modular build and fantastic audio quality).

                      • P
                      • Pythagoras
                      • XA3
                      • 22 Dec 2019

                      This article is what memories are made of. It was quite a special experience to own any N series. My favorites were N70, N80, N73 and N95. None of the current smartphones have excited me the way N series did.

                        • R
                        • Rokka
                        • fIP
                        • 22 Dec 2019

                        I had the Nokia N85, the extra button on the top slide is really amazing

                          • B
                          • BeeAnt
                          • tDS
                          • 22 Dec 2019

                          By the time this thing released, I got my W950i. And by the time the 8GB version released, I got my W960i.

                            • T
                            • Travis999
                            • 3Jn
                            • 22 Dec 2019

                            The Nokia was nice, but was pricey and quite hard to find in the UK, I preferred the Sony versions, but I was already using the sony/Ericsson p series and Htc's HD2's by then,far easier to use in everyday life than the nok91 and HD2 could leave standing in so many different ways, it was realy no competition.

                              • a
                              • anonymous
                              • u7V
                              • 22 Dec 2019

                              At this point, we understand. Current nokia phones (HMD) wont share same success story from old nokia.

                                • R
                                • RV
                                • Hkr
                                • 22 Dec 2019

                                I just love the flashbacks by GSM Arena. One of the finest reads on a holiday to sink in the perfect mood and into the golden era of cellular phones.

                                  • M
                                  • Maria
                                  • u7V
                                  • 22 Dec 2019

                                  Nokia, you are still the #1 designer of "keypad phone" and I still love your design very much. I love the way you design the keypad and the overall phone.

                                    • ?
                                    • Anonymous
                                    • LQu
                                    • 22 Dec 2019

                                    And we are about to end 2019 but there are brands that use mono speaker for their best phones.

                                      Whoever says that wireless headphones or earphones are better, keep that to yourself. Already long left the wireless audio bandwagon and definitely would never want to go back.

                                        • D
                                        • AnonD-492870
                                        • IA5
                                        • 22 Dec 2019

                                        be nice if someone like Sony would release a similar device much like Onkyo did with the Granbeat.