Nokia N95 review: Nokia’s crown jewel

Work with files, PC Suite, others

Pros: well-organized image gallery • images can be sent to blog • an interesting function of dynamic presentation of images • high-class service software PC Suite

Cons: Gallery opens slowly • only one and a half games

The phone features plenty of functions and applications using its internal memory (a total of 160 MB). Additional storing space is provided on the memory card.

Basic file management is done through a File manager; files can be moved, copied, deleted, etc… For better transparency the file manager is divided into two folders – the first one contains the phone memory, while the others one is reserved for the memory card.

Images are viewed in an application called Gallery. It takes the Gallery a few seconds to read and open image previews, but on the other hand, it rotates pictures in a flashy way and is able to show previous and following ones as thumbnails. A fullscreen mode as well as direct print is available too. Images can be sent out in MMS, emails or via Bluetooth and Infrared. Besides, Nokia supports Vox and Flickr photo blogs, and you can upload pictures straight from the phone.

Gallery • viewing images • placing images on the web

Pictures can be organized into albums. From camera settings you can even select the option of automatic filing into albums. Both fullscreen mode viewing and automatic presentation are available as well. An interesting option is automatic zoom and move, due to which presentation is no more a boring slideshow, but becomes a real dynamic spectacle.

In the Gallery the phone opens all the images it finds, which blocks user control and is therefore a little bit unpractical. For example, it would have been more energy-friendly if the images of music albums did not open together with camera taken shots.

Nokia N95 has a very good editor for additional image modifications. It offers crops, size modifications, contrast and brightness control, insertion of cliparts, suppressing of red-eye effect, color effects etc.

     
Viewing images on landscape mode • editing options

In the menu you will also find two games – a 3D snake and a 2-round demo version of the space 3D action SRE. A phone so expensive could have had a greater dose of entertainment potential, indeed. Further, there is an application called “Help” and a Flash player. From here you can also access the functions located on the SIM card (SIM toolkit), Chat (Instant Messaging), and PTT (Push to talk). One of our most favorite applications, Lifeblog, is also integrated in the phone.

 
Attractive 3D ride, but only a two-round demo is available

We tried to install the Java program Jimm for communication via ICQ in Nokia N95. It worked seamlessly.

Very high price, no competitors

Till today I have never had the courage to name any phone like the best one on the market with clear conscience. But Nokia N95 does deserve this label. It has no adequate competitors on the current mobile market: it is extremely rich in functions, has a comfortable and detailed user interface with plenty of settings, and on the top of it, it is a relatively light and compact.

The most notable drawback of Nokia N95 is its battery life. It will require daily doses of power, unless you limit its usage to occasional calls and messages, deactivate 3G, Wi-Fi, and GPS, and play no videos. In this case you may happen to postpone charging by a couple of days, but is such use worth the purchase of a phone like Nokia N95? The answer is no. Of course, battery life is an individual matter and depends on many factors. Nevertheless we can assure you that during our intensive tests we had no other option but to charge the device sometimes even twice a day.

     
Do you want me?

The first batch of Nokia N95 hit the market at a high price. Even so it was immediately sold out. The main delivery whose price is said to be a bit lower is being expected at the end of April. Anyway, the price remains rather high, perhaps due to the strong customer demand. Nokia N95 may be very expensive, but it also offers a lot and thus keeps attracting numerous prospective buyers. In this sequence of thoughts it is quite probable that in a few months, when the initial ecstasy falls off, the price of the phone will also fall down a bit. Be prepared, however, that drops in price will hardly be significant as Nokia N95 will continue to be the best phone in the world for a while and will thus manage to easily maintain its price.