Nokia N96 Review
Phone rating: 
In a nutshell: Nokia's N95 just got upgraded! Complete with
16 GB built-in memory, GPS satellite navigation, a 5 megapixel camera
with autofocus, 3G video calling, and every other gadget you can think
of! On the downside it's large, battery life is poor, and the Symbian
operating system is still not 100% reliable.
Review: September 2008. Last updated November 2009.
The Nokia N96 was possibly the most eagerly anticipated phone release of 2008.
But that's partly because we'd been anticipating it for so long! Lengthy delays
usually mean that the engineers struggled to deliver what the marketing boys
promised, and there were plenty of signs of this when the N96 finally appeared
in the shops.
But first of all, let's take the phone out of its box and just admire it, because
it's a lovely piece of kit. It's big of course - slightly bigger even than the
N95, and a touch heavier too - but it's not the
heaviest phone ever. But putting that to one side, it's still a really nice
phone to look at. It's smoother and curvier than the N95, and the buttons are
less confusing.
Now, looking at the specs, it's hard to see why the N96 took such a long time
to appear, because on paper it's not very different to the N95 8GB. The only
significant differences are the upgrade of the Series 60 user interface from
3.1 to 3.2, the increase in flash memory from 8GB to 16GB, and the addition
of Live TV. Yes, with an internal antenna and a DVB-H TV tuner, the Nokia N96
has been designed to let you watch telly on your phone. But unfortunately there
is no DVB-H system broadcasting in the UK, so you can't! The good old BBC
has made its iPlayer application compatible with the N96 however, so you can
at least stream BBC TV and radio content to your phone, which is arguably more
useful than watching broadcast TV anyway.
We noted above that the operating system has been upgraded. Well about time
too, because we found the N95 to be slow and unreliable. The N96 seems to be
no more stable, and still freezes from time to time. Also, in our reviews of
smartphones we always like to point out that if you're not familiar with the
Symbian operating system, you'll find using a smartphone like the N96 much more
of a challenge than using a mobile phone with a "dumb" OS.
The rest is the same as the N95 8GB:
- Built-in GPS navigation with Nokia Maps application
- 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss & Tessar optics
- Secondary video camera for video calling
- Wi-Fi wireless internet connection
- 2.8 inch display with 16 million colours - one of the largest and best screens
available
- Ultra-fast HSDPA data transfer (3.6 Mbps)
The camera is one of the best in any mobile phone. With 5 megapixels, autofocus
and the Carl-Zeiss optics and Tessar lens, it can match most other phones. But
already a new generation of 8 megapixel cameras has appeared (the Samsung
i8510 is the first phone with 8 megapixels) and the dual LED flash is now
also regarded as second best (the Nokia N82's xenon
flash is more powerful), so it looks like Nokia missed a trick here. Still,
the N96 has an undeniably good camera and a front-facing video camera too, for
making video calls.
We'll also mention that Nokia have improved the built-in GPS navigation system
so that you can now download maps for free, instead of having to pay for a licence.
Of course the N96 has almost everything else you could think of: a music player
with support for all common music formats, a stereo FM radio with RDS and Visual
Radio support, integrated handsfree speaker, speaker independent voice dialling,
talking ringtones, HSDPA (enabling fast downloads at up to 3.6 Mbps) and lots
more! The N96 has the full range of connectivity possibilities, with support
for Bluetooth 2.0, USB 2.0, Wireless LAN, TV-Out and a 3.5 mm headphone jack.
The memory upgrade to 16GB and support for microSD
memory cards is very welcome too, for a device of this power.
There's one area where the N96 actually underperforms its predecessor though:
battery life. Anyone who's used an N95 will know that its battery life wasn't
fantastic. Well, the N96 is worse. With so many gadgets to power, the battery
runs out of juice pretty quickly, and many users are going to find that they
have to recharge on a daily basis.
It's hard to say whether the N96 is actually any better than the N95 that it
replaced. It certainly hasn't been as successful commercially. Whilst Nokia
was busy working on the N96, the market moved on and everyone wanted a touchscreen
phone instead. Now obsolete and replaced by the Nokia
N86.
Features of the Nokia N96 include:
- Series 60 Symbian interface (version 3.2)
- 5 megapixel camera (2592 x 1944 pixels) with Carl Zeiss optics, Tessar lens,
autofocus, dual LED flash (auto redeye reduction), 20x digital zoom
- Video camera: MPEG4/3GP VGA video capture at 640 x 480 pixels and 30 frames/second
with digital stereo microphone (AAC format) and 10x digital zoom
- Front camera for video calling: CIF resolution (352 x 288 pixels)
- Video and still image editors
- Display: TFT, 16 million colours, 240 x 320 pixels (2.8 inches)
- Live TV (DVB-H based mobile TV with internal antenna)
- Digital music player (supports MP3/AAC/AAC+/eAAC+/WMA/M4A formats) with
playlists and equalizer
- Stereo FM radio RDS with Visual Radio support
- Built-in GPS navigation with Nokia Maps application
- Speaker independent name dialing
- Voice commands
- Voice recorder
- Talking ringtone
- Integrated hands-free speaker
- Speed dialing
- Messaging: SMS, MMS, Email (support for attachments)
- Push to talk (PoC)
- Java games
- Advanced contacts database with support for multiple phone and e-mail details
per entry
- Memory: 16 Gbytes plus microSD memory card slot
- Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.0, USB 2.0, TV-Out, WLAN (802.11 b/g), 3.5 mm
stereo headphone plug
- WAP, EGPRS class B, WCDMA/HSDPA (3.6Mb/s download)
- Quadband plus 3G
- Size: 103 x 53 x 20 mm
- Weight: 125g
- Talktime: 150 minutes (3G) - 220 minutes (2G)
- Battery standby: 200 hours
Nokia N96 User Reviews
Love your mobile? Hate it? Please share your experiences to help other
people choose the phone that's best for them. Please do not review this
phone if you have not used it. This is a review site, not a forum, so
please don't just ask questions. Please do not use swear words or offensive
language, and please, no advertising!
Average rating from 104 reviews:
Reviewed by lamarrie from england on 2nd Nov 2012
i was looking for a really good fone for my upgrade i was looking at
the samsung gaxly note 2 however i choose this fone.awesome fone email
me at lamarriemay@mail.com
Rating: 
Reply
Reviewed by Harish sharma from India on 16th Mar
2012
Good,battar,best .
Rating:
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Reviewed by Osei David from Ghana on 26th Jan
2012
I'm so excited using nokia N96, but, i'm encountered a few problems
with it; it always "freezes". Is there some kind of help i can get???
Rating: 
Reply
Reviewed by megan lake from engerland on 15th
Dec 2011
sexyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
Rating:
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Reviewed by Liam from England on 27th Nov 2008
I have this phone on Orange, its absolutely fantastic, I was very unsure
of buying it due to the massive ammounts of bad reviews online but the
majority of them seem to be from Vodafone customers. I find it a very
fast easy to use phone, the battery lasts 2-4 days depending on what
applications are running, I can listen to music for 2-3 hours and make
phone calls, text messages and emails throughout the day and still have
enough battery to last the next day, I love the customization this phone
allows with the Symbian operating system. The only 1 thing that dissapoints
with this phone is no DVB-H signals in England (apart from trials in
oxford ect.) However this isnt nokias fault. DVB-H will be launched
in England in the near future (2-3 years)
Rating:
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Reviewed by dmc from Australia on 27th Nov 2008
After owning and using an N95 8GB for over a year - I was so excited
to recv my N96 and promptly stuffed all my contacts, MP3 files and images
onto the new gadget. Sadly that was the only excitement I had. The N96
is slow and takes up to 10 seconds to get to a function. It didn't keep
the same ringtone on occasion and often didn't ring at all. The buttons
are hard to press individually with regular sized fingers. Who designed
it - a flamenco guitarist? The PC Suite software provided doesn't even
have the great Lifeblog application the N95 has - are they joking??
It lasted less than a day for me & I'll be trading it in for another
N958GB or one of the latest smart fones reviewed on this site. I only
wish the N958GB had the pencil button on the opposite side which would
make cut and paste so much easier since the english language is written
left to right but it's easier to cut and paste right to left and with
regular sized fingers.
Rating:  Reply
Reviewed by andy from england on 26th Nov 2008
this phone is rubbish nothing good about it at all rubbish
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Carl Baxter from UK on 26th Nov 2008
Shocking phone, had it for two weeks and it constantly crashes, it cannot
cope with two different applications running, even receiving an incoming
text with the radio turned on crashes it. Signed up to a 18 month contract
now, e-bay here it comes!
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by chris gray from uk on 25th Nov 2008
3rd review tried to download the bbc i player,it did not work,went into
the voda shop again,i was told the only place in the country it would
work is coventry,so any where else it does not download,message says
on the download section of the cd, phone not compatible,must be a n96
or i phone, it is an n96 what chance have we got,i think voda need taking
to task on this issue, good phone just does not like voda software,
Rating:
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Reviewed by Richard Powell from UK on 25th Nov
2008
I'm happy with my N96 but I have encountered a couple of problems: There
is a flashing grey envelope just above the tool bar which Vodafone tell
me is something to do with un-read messages on my old phone saved on
the SIM card. I've tried deleteing them from my old phone but it's not
worked...on-going investigation on that one. I also found that there
was no ring tone on incoming calls - another call to Vodafone revealed
that it was due to the 3-D ringtone being activated. Switched off -
now it's back to normal...another on-going investigation into the software.
On the plus side - the Sat Nav is the reason that I bought the phone
and I'm very happy with it. Simple but effective (just what i wanted).
Rating:
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Reviewed by Peter from UK on 25th Nov 2008
there is a theme here, seems like all (or at least most) of the unhappy
customers are Vodafone customers. Lesson to be learnt - don't buy it
on vodafone, their firmware is obviously rubbish, a problem they've
had before. Has anyone had any serious complaints on any other network?
It doesn't seem so. Also, to the potential n96 buyer, remember that
people are likely to write a review after buying a product for a number
of reasons but that anger is probably more conducive to a rant [review]
than pleasure, and that a few angry reviews doesn't necessarily give
a fair picture. My suspicion is that the n96 mostly appeals (I guess
i'm in a minority here...) to people with too little time or inclination
to write online reviews of stuff they've bought, leave that to the iphone
showoffs, the n96 is a competent, serious phone for competent serious
people, not gimmick driven style aficionados. If priority number 1 is
how your new phone will play with your mates down the pub, look elsewhere.
if you want a serious phone that is brimming with features and easy
to use, look no further. And if you're that sort of person you've probably
already seen the negative reviews of vodafone n96's so you'll be wise
enough to look elsewhere without needing my sayso.
Rating:
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Reviewed by Dan from UK on 24th Nov 2008
Good spec, more useful than the iphone in principal but extremely buggy,
unreliable and slow,even after firmware update. Have been a loyal Nokia
consumer for 10 years, never switching brand and now feel very let down
by Nokia. Felt confident to sign up for an 18 month Vodafone contract
but untill they issue a proper firmware update I'm stuck with a painful,
unreliable lump of plastic.
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by chris from uk on 23rd Nov 2008
got my second n96 from voda,the phone is class,but if you turn the brightness
up on the screen to full, the screen switches off so you cant see anything,turn
the brightness down to the next scale and it works. voda did not know
this neither did the shop.so they should now.The 3 d ring tones dont
work but a minor glitch. battery life is superb for normal phone usage
but play with the features and its battery is limited.only paid £60
on a 12 month so cant complain, originally was £375 2 days earlier dont
know how they worked that one out, this was an upgrade as well on a
£35/month tarrif.
Rating:
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Reviewed by LuLu from UK on 23rd Nov 2008
If you're thinking about getting this phone to watch the TV. Be advised,
you have to subscribe to your network provider's service, it's not free,
and the only channels available at the moment are limited to news and
some sports channels where DVB-H based mobile TV is available. The only
free service at the moment is via the BBC iPlayer which is downloaded
to the phone for watching repeated BBC content etc. Hope this helps.
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Clever Trevor from England on 23rd
Nov 2008
I'm on my third Nokia N96. Keeps crashing for no reason. Hates non Nokia
Bluetooth attachments. Drops out on wifi constantly. Plays music content
on it's own speakers too quietly (except ringtones). Hangs if two calls
come in together, can't answer either. Sluggish operation in navigating
around and opening applications etc. Plus more problems, too many to
list here. I love the design and concept. The camera quality is fantastic.
Shame Nokia released it before getting it right.
Rating: 
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Reviewed by coachled from uk on 22nd Nov 2008
Do not buy the N96 until all its many bugs have been fixed. Think of
arriving at a five star hotel- the brochure makes it sound fantastic
but the reality is a toilet that doesn't work, no hot water, a lift
that goes nowhere... and you've got the current state of the N96. I
had the N95 8gb and it is the MOST perfect mobile phone, and gave it
away as I got the N96, assuming like a fool that an upgrade would mean
an even better phone. WRONG! The N96 is so slow and full of bugs that
it could do with a good fumigation! I can not understand how a company
can go from producing a superb product to one that is so rubbish.
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Charles from UK on 21st Nov 2008
Although it seems that some people are experiencing problems with the
n96, I've found the OS much more stable than on the old n95. In general
i'm very pleased with the phone, I don't think it is particularly nice
looking - the plastic looks a little cheap and shiny, and the silver
sides would look much better if they were black too, but it is certainly
an improvement over the n95. I put a lot of time in deciding what phone
to get, I choose the n96 for these reasons over its competitors. Unlike
the iphone the n96 can be bought for free on £35/month contracts (I
got mine from Three). BBC iplayer is a really nice feature, something
I use most days, and a genuine USP. Unlike the iphone you can download
content on the n96 which means 5 mins on your home wireless and you
have tv for the day - no waiting for it to stream like you have to on
an iphone. It has a proper camera, the iphone doesn't. (I realize that
the new range of 8MP cameras have arrived, but those phones don't have
iplayer, and the n96 camera is still strong enough to take any photo
i'd likely want to take.) 16GB memory as standard, with a SD slot too.
The music player isn't as good as the ipod feature on an iphone, but
with isync its not far behind, and with potentially more memory capacity
it more than makes up for this. Not locked to one network, unlike the
iphone. Essentially my thoughts were that the iphone is a smooth, easy
to use and impressive phone, but most of what it offers is cosmetic
or novelty (googlemaps or ipint seems cool, but lets face it, how often
are you actually going to use most of those widgets beyond the first
time you take it down the pub to show off to your mates?) I wanted a
phone that was reliable, had a camera that could take the place of a
standalone digital camera most of the time, had sufficient memory to
act as a music player and was free on a £35 contract. The addition of
the iplayer is fantastic - I'd argue the best thing about the phone,
and so all in all, i think while it might not be the best in any category
(aside from tv watching with the iplayer) it is definitely the best
all round phone available at the moment. Admittedly if the Samsung i8510
had iplayer it would be better, but it doesn't so it isn't!
Rating:
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Reviewed by chris from west sussex uk on 20th
Nov 2008
mhhhh, where to start lol. I'm with vodaphone, my n95 was nicked, and
i had no choice really, vodaphone don't do the n95 8gb on contract anymore
apparently, so i got the n96 which, until i got it, i was happy with,
all the hype made it something to look forwards too . . . Mistake lol.
Very very slow menu's and screens make using it a nightmare. Takes ages
sometimes to load a screen, and locks up a lot. No update on the site,
and a music station software is on the phone that can't be used its
not compatible lmmfao. Wished i got an i-phone!
Rating:
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Reviewed by Paul from Dorset, UK on 20th Nov 2008
When is a mobile phone not a mobile phone? When it's a Nokia N96 on
Three. To summarise - Battery life: rubbish. Sound: rubbish. Keypad:
average. Screen: very good, as is the camera, but what's the use when
the reliability is non-existent! This is an absolutely RUBBISH phone
and unfortunatley I have to give it one star as there are no lower options.
I'm now on my 2nd N96 within 2 months and I'm still not happy - this
one even crashes when receiving phone calls! I have tried using the
in-built updater utility via 3G and WLAN, and it conveniently tells
me there aren't any. Now I'm locked into an 18-month contract and I'm
not looking forward to taking the phone back this next weekend. People
can't say that it's problems with the firmware being modified by the
network provider - my first N96 wasn't even Three-branded! Come on Nokia
- DON'T RUSH THINGS TO THE MARKET! If you want an iPhone killer, make
sure your product actually has the reliability to do it! It's all very
well having a massive weapon to pound the competition with if the engines
broken! I'm now using my ever-reliable Nokia E65 which has never crashed
on me; it's lacking a Zero key at the moment but at least it works...
probably the last decent Nokia phone before everything went T*Ts up...
Paul (Dorset, UK)
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Mark Shaw from UK on 19th Nov 2008
The Nokia N96 is a great phone, no doubting that. It can give the iPhone
a run for its money any day. Some people will prefer the touch screen
on the iPhone, but the N96 performs better all round. Only downside
is it weighs a bit more, but that's a smae price to pay for a superior
phone. What's more, the phone isn't tied to one network!
Rating:
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Reviewed by chris gray from uk on 18th Nov 2008
Just reviwed storm yesterday,and i said that was rubbish,got my n96
today,and guess what it does not work,when the backlight goes off it
does not come back on unless you switch the phone off,so you cannot
see the screen,very slow interface, and if you try and watch the videos
on the full screen it breaks up, so its awful to watch.Thats going back
tomorrow,up till now not as good as n95 8gb which ive had nearly a year
without a hitch,must admit voda are good in sorting replacements out
but thats if you can get touch with customer services which takes forever
to get them to answer.Ill let you know how my new one fairs up.
Rating:
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Reviewed by Tris from UK on 15th Nov 2008
If you are the owner of a N95 and are thinking of upgrading to the N96
then don't bother.This is not the step up it should be.For a start it
does not have the build quality of other nokia phones.More importantly
it does not have the software either.It has a tendencey to crash and
for some reason the ring volume becomes mute if you switch profiles
sometimes.All these things can be corrected by either performing a factory
reset or simply taking out the battery but why should you have too!
I have had this phone two weeks now and it keeps letting me down.Its
shame because its a nice phone besides these problems and it does have
some very cool features.My advice is simple,go to a phone shop and try
out all the smart phones before you make your choice!
Rating:
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Reviewed by dave from u.k on 15th Nov 2008
without doubr the worst phone i have ever owned it should never have
been released as the software is useless...continually crashes even
with software update....im not alone 3 people i work with have dumped
this phone already..i wish i could...but no such luck stuck witht it
...i would go for the c905 eerytime
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by liz from australia on 14th Nov 2008
how bout the 3D tone cant b play? su ck ya...
Rating:
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Reviewed by sara from us on 14th Nov 2008
people clearly the phone uses more battery power cause it has better
features duh!!!!
Rating:
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Reviewed by Nick from Exeter on 13th Nov 2008
I think who every reviewed this phone must be an employee of Nokia,
who an earth can anyone rate this phone as being excellent? There is
no doubt, that this phone is the worst Nseries ever produced. I can
see why O2 are not stocking this phone in their shops. The phone keeps
crashing, and it feels very cheap too. I have done all the software
up-dates and the phone crashes even more now. What is the point of adding
the TV function on this phone, when we are unable to use this function
in the UK. How can Nokia justify a price tag of £535.00 for such rubbish.
I have gone for the Samsung i8510 this is a much better phone than the
Nokia N96.
Rating: Reply
Reply by Mobile Phones UK from UK on
13th Nov 2008
No, I'm not an employee of Nokia. Just an independent reviewer! I seem
to remember that our review recommended the Samsung
i8510 as a better alternative.
Reviewed by Mark from UK on 13th Nov 2008
DANGER KEEP CLEAR!!!!! I heard all the hype with N96 and decided to
take a new contract out to get my hands on one, Glad I got the phone
for free and I really do feel sorry for people who have paid cash for
them. The phone does look very stylish, and 1st impressions were good,
after just hours I noticed the phone freezing etc whilst browsing through
menu, this was the start of it, I then went on to watch demo video clips
etc, the phones screen then went black and I had to take battery out
to un-freeze, it has now started freezing on basic things like scrolling
through contacts and im finding myself taking battery out more or less
every time I use it. Been in touch with company I got it off and due
to me using for calls etc I cannot select different mobile so got another
N96 on way to me and im stuck with it for 18mths, please just look through
reviews before buying, other smart phones out there 10 times better.
Mark-Doncaster
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Gareth M from Northern Ireland on
12th Nov 2008
I ordered this phone as it seemed to be perfect. Huge storage with so
many features. And when it arrived, I was so pleased. Pictures and videos
look absolutely fantastic on it. It has enough storage to keep thousands
of songs and videos! Then on the first day of using it (having fully
charged battery obviously), I picked it up and realised it was 'off'.
A bit strange but didn't think much of it. Thought maybe I had pressed
a button without realising. Then two days later, the same thing happened
again while at work. Picked it up from my desk and it was off. "Weird.."
I thought but ignored it once again. I set up the alarm for the next
morning but the alarm didn't wake me up. Pretty annoying as I could
have slept in. I checked the phone and it was off again. It was at this
point I decided to check the web to see if other users had been having
the same problem and voila....seems most reports on here are about the
same problem. Such a shame! I love the phone but it kind of defeats
the purpose when it is so unreliable like this. Can you imagine an emergency
situation, reaching for your phone and finding it's just randomly died
on you!!? Also noticed battery life seems pretty rubbish compared to
all previous phones- requires charging daily (reminds me of the Nokia
3210 days). Sad to have to say goodbye to it already -am going back
to good ol Sony Ericsson. And have to give it a 1 star rating despite
all the great features it has.
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Peter Lai from UK on 12th Nov 2008
The phone is rubbish, I've had it for 3 weeks and i abosolutly hate
it. Battery life is shocking, i left my phone on the bed stand with
4 bars out of 6 and it was empty in the morning. The phone is constantly
crashing, at least 1 a day, often 2 -3 times a day. The MP3 players
keeps going weird ever 10-20 minutes. The phone in general is very slow
and often just don't respond at all. This reviewer is abosulte disgrace
to give this phonbe a 4 star, when half the funtionality dosen't work
without crashing at least once.
Rating: Reply
Reply by Mobile Phones UK from UK on
12th Nov 2008
Peter, many of the problems are actually due to network providers' firmware.
Which network are you on?
Reply by Peter Lai from UK on 12th
Nov 2008
Three, they're rubbish as well, internet bearly works most of the time,
but that's to do with the network so i didn't mention it here. I just
got the firmware updated from the nokia website and it's even worst
now. The mp3 players just goes crazy ever 10-20 minutes, before it would
go crazy once every few hours. Camera is god awful as well, just dosen't
focus on close up pics.
Reviewed by Fizzer from Uk on 12th Nov 2008
Having loved the N95, I was drawn to getting the N96 thinking it would
be better than any other phone in the world ever. WRONG! The N96 looks
good, sounds good, has everything. So whats the problem? Its toooooooooooo
Slow! Ever wondered what its like to wait nearly 30 seconds to get a
message menu up. Or 15 seconds to wait for a picture you selected to
come up. If you want the answers get the N96. I actually now hate it
more than any phone I ever had. Oh another problem as well, games. It
has a real problem dealing with a new game you've downloaded. It likes
to overwrite previous games you have PAID for. Over all. Come back Sony
all is forgiven, my Nokia days are over!
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Rich T from UK on 12th Nov 2008
My N96 was very unstable, & kept freezing between applications, I have
tried to update the firmware from 10 to 11 but have found that because
my N96 was supplied by T-Mobile they have locked it down from updating
any software, this upgrade should improve things greatly (come on Nokia
don't let the network providers mess with your hardware as it's ruining
your reputation), and as many the battery only last a day, apart from
that it's a gr8 phone
Rating:
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Reviewed by Chris Courtney from England on 11th
Nov 2008
Ive had this phone since the day it was released and all I can say is
WOW. This phone is basically the N95 but looks like the N81. I have
had no problems with this phone at all and my battery lasts at least
3 days. All these haters on here must be fanboy/girls of other phones.
Much like the Xbox 360/PS3 fans. Seriously I love this phone and have
no complaints what so ever.
Rating:
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Reviewed by ??? from uk on 9th Nov 2008
i think its a great phone and i dont know how people can give it a bad
review. maybe they arnt treating it very well or something because mine
has no problems. also, a lot of people have been saying that it is slow
but it cant be slower than the n95, the n95 was my old phone and it
was slow but i still loved it. ONLY bad point is the battery seems to
be a it shorter than my old phone but its not really a problem. great
phone :)
Rating:
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Reviewed by Marc from UK on 9th Nov 2008
had the phone more plugged into the wall than in my hard, what a useless
battery, selling it on e-bay after just a week of having it. what a
waste of a man good hard working money.... Dont get me wrong the phone
looks, feels and has some great features and downloads but you play
with them a wee bit and the battery dies and makes you plug the dam
thing back into the plug... NOKIA GET YOUR FINGER OUT AND GET YOUR UNHAPPY
CUSTOMERS SORTED OUT WITH A FREE BATTERY UPGRADE.... Getting my out
lg, and samsungs out again till I can get a new phone when I sell this
thing..
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by David Roberts from Bath UK on 7th
Nov 2008
Nokia has seem to have taken a backward step in developing this phone.
I had the N96 the second week it came out, and I experienced a lot of
problems with is, it kept crashing, the response time flicking to menu
to application very slow too. I expected this phone to be the ultimate
entertainer, but unfortunately it’s a let down. The build quality
is so so cheap and tacky. I agree with Shannon the N95 8 GB Is far the
better phone. Just like when the N95 first came out there were software
problems, so Nokia decided to resolve all the issues with the N95 and
produce an up-dated version of the N95 being the N95 8 GB. Give it 6
months down the line, Nokia will bring another version of the N96 out
with all the software patches resolved. To date, I can Truly say, the
best Symbain operated phone is the Samsung i8510. The whole thing about
the phone is amazing. Build quality, it never crashes and the performance
is out of this world. So, Nokia if you thought, the N96 was going to
be the iphone killer, Nokia has thought very wrong. I guess the guys
from Nokia need to spend sometime with the boys and girls from Samsung
to see how a phone is really made. The only problem with the Samsung
i8510 it’s not available on the 3 network. To all you N95 8 GB
lovers, you can download BBC1 iplayer to this phone and it works. Anyway,
to sum it all up, I would not recommend anyone to buy the N96 if you
already have the N95 8GB. But, if you are looking for any upgrade from
your N95 8 GB I suggest that you go for the Samsung i8510 this phone
is amazing. I am giving the N96 1 star as it’s probably the worst
N series phone they have ever made. David Roberts (Bath UK)
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Supa from UK on 7th Nov 2008
Great Specs! But useless
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Shakiru from UK on 6th Nov 2008
Nokia have made a mess of the N96. Nothing on this phone works properly.
Very slow and poor battery life. Back to Sony Ericsson!
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Ivan from Serbia on 5th Nov 2008
Awesome phone
Rating:
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Reviewed by shannon from barnsley on 5th Nov 2008
i've had the nokia n96, and honestly am very very disapointed. i had
the n95 8gb before and believe it or not i would prefer to go back to
that. i loved the n95 8gb and must have had too high expectations on
nokia because this grade of phone has really really disapointed me.
i am doin a swap tomorrow. The n96 is very flimsy, plastic and cheep
looking, it is very slow and crashes alot, some of you may think i have
a faulty phone but thats not so my friends are sending and have sent
theirs back too.
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by connietiglao from philippines on 5th
Nov 2008
i bought the unit 2 weeks ago, and as excitement sets in, when i get
hold of it, it seem that the glitches such as composing message seems
to be hanging, and opening at least 2-3 applications made it much worse.
when i got it, there were 6 tv channels incorporated in it, namely the
mtv, kfc (PBA), dzrh test broadcast, tv02 and tv04 which are both non
existent yet (to be available soon as it says). after 2 days, mtv is
no longer accessible, then the next day after, KFC (PBA) is also no
longer existent. during its 6th day, guess what happened? the memory
collapsed! i was very frustrated because the video shoot i had made
in my daughter's field demo presentation was not yet downloaded in my
laptop. since nokia diagnosed the problem as "OS" related problem, they
informed my supplier, that they just need to reformat it. after almost
4 days, the unit was returned to me, with the assurance that i would
not encounter any more problems with it. but guess what again? after
4 days again , the phone while in locked status hanged! it refuses to
be unlocked and therefore could not be turned off, and operated on.
i opted to get the battery out so that it will restart. and 3 hours
after, even if the battery is still 3/4 loaded, the power just shuts
it off! now, i am again returning the unit to the supplier for them
to coordinate AGAIN with nokia service center ANOTHER problem which
i think they would again pinpoint to the OS????? C'mon i paid almost
Php 42k for the unit! Is this worth all the trouble i am experiencing
with the unit?????
Rating:
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Reviewed by kelllly from durham, england on 1st
Nov 2008
i got one of the first batch of N96's and it sounds like i got lucky
after reading the other reviews. I get 2-3 days battery life depending
how much i use the internet (which is dead fast bt, especially as you
can connect to your WLAN), had no problems with anything so far, great
picture quality from you tube & iplayer, the sound is a bit on the low
side, but that might be because of how it stands. as for the nokia maps,
mine came with Google maps which is loads better and works indoors too.
I love this phone, and the camera is great, quicker than any other phone
ive owned and definatly better looking, i would recomend this phone
to everybody! its brilliant!
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Reviewed by Annie from UK on 1st Nov 2008
Had this phone now for 5 days. Quite like it. Only downside for me is
battery life. Have to charge every day which is a bit of a pain. Although
quite happy that it comes with Car Charger in the box. The other thing
not totally happy with is the size of the buttons when typing a text
message. They seem very small. Maybe cos i'm used to a motorola. I got
this phone cos i like voice activated dialling although i have not really
sussed this option out yet. You need a good few days to sit down with
the phone and set all the options to your requirements. Great if you
have the time. Must admit i prefer the Samsung Tocco but that doesn't
have Voice Activated dialling.
Rating:
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Reviewed by Carolina from Uk Liverpool on 31st
Oct 2008
Hi, got ny N96 it's been a week now and i have to say, it's brilliant
. i read all the reviews before buying and i was still very reluctant
to buy after reading so many bad reviews.. i've always been a sony ericsson
girl mainly because the walkman . i have to say that now i regret not
having bought a nokia N series before.. the camera is great, the phone
is fast, the music is far much better than sony . i think this phone
has all to do with how much you use and what do you need the phone for.
the battery is working perfectly im only charging every 2 days..and
i use as ipod everyday and also use internet everyday . didnt have any
crash so far. i love this phone , it's a great technology , well done
nokia. it's a great phone. i cant recomend enough . and as someone said
in one of the reviews.. it's only a phone !
Rating:
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Reviewed by Eddy from UK on 30th Oct 2008
Usual Nokia software problems slow to use poor battery life big disapointment
sending back asap . Had Nokia for 5 years have slowly got worse and
worse cant decide what to get SE C905 , Samsung Pixon , LG kc , Nokia
even slow to keep up anymore as new releases are 8 Mega pix cameras
Nokia are phones of the past !!
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Reviewed by Matt from UK on 28th Oct 2008
I have had this phone for just over a week now and i am impressed with
it until yesterday afternoon. On the last numbers dialled list i cannot
call a number if i select it from that list or from contacts. I can
only call a number that i physically type the number in the screen,
great if you know all your contacts of by heart!! Also on general profile
the ringtone is ridicuously quiet, texts are loud but since yesterday
calls have been quiet so i miss them. Have spoke to my friend who works
for orange and he said they had recalled loads of N96's because of problems.
Wait u couple of months to buy this phone once patches and software
updates are avaliable.
Rating:
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Reviewed by aaron from uk on 28th Oct 2008
dont buy!!!keep having problems uploading muic n is just poo
Rating:
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Reviewed by Eddy from UK on 27th Oct 2008
General In use keeps displaying each time an attempt is made to delete
a text or draft looks like usual Nokia problems or is it orange software
messing the phone up ?
Rating:
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Reviewed by ash from ENGLAND on 26th Oct 2008
the worse phone ever, not tested, too big as soon as u put it in ur
pocket it slides either way. if changing from lanscape to portrait it
take 9 secs to change and thats if u have a low quality background.
VERY VERY SLOW AND CRASHES OFTEN AND SHUTS DOWN WITH NO WARNING, ITS
GOT RUBBISH BATTERY LIFE AND MOBILE TV QUALITY IS RUBBISH SOUND AND
VIDEO QUALITY NOT TO MENSION THAT THE GPS MAPS IS ONLY 90 DAYS TRAIL,
SO IS A TOTAL CON.MUSIC WILL NOT PROPERLY GO ON THIS PHONE AND THE POOR
MUSIC PLAYER ON THE PHONE CARNT FIND OBVIAIOUS MUSIC. NOKIA HAVE BECOME
1 OF THE WORST PHONE MANUFACTURERS IN HISTORY THANKS TO THIS PHONE.
IF U ARE EXPEXTING A PHONE THAT WILL HAVE NO PROBLEMS AND WORK STRAIGHT
AWAY OUT OF THE BOX, WELL THIS PHONE ISN'T ANY OF THESE! ALSO SOFTWARE
UPDATES ARE NON EXISTANT AND THIS SHODDY BUILT PHONE WITH POOR LOCK-SYSTEM
SHOULD NEVER BE BOUGHT. aLSO THE NEW SONY ER - 8MP IS BULKY AND STILL
BOORES US WITH THE SAME MENUES- THE ONLY DIFFERENTS IS THE CAMERA STUCK
ONTO IT- UP CLOSE IT LOOKS TERRIBLE. bEST ADVISE- BUY THE SAMSUNG TOCCO
WHICH IS BETTER THAN ANY INCLUDING THE IPHONE
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Eternity from UK on 23rd Oct 2008
I got N96 because of the memory slot. This N96 is driving me mad, constantly
switch off, keeps crashing, and worst from i use to watch real player
on my N95 8gb. With this it keeps stuttering. The biggest downfall has
i travel abit. I had it exchange with the a new one thinking that maybe
it is the handset fault, but with suprise did the same thing. NOKIA
IS FOOLING US. They did it with Nokia N95.. had it faults,, then they
took out N95 8GB to correct those fault,, like everyone who loves mobile
purchase it. I THINK NOKIA KNEW THESE FAULT. EVERYONE BUYS IT THEN REALISE
IT HASN'T BEEN WORTH IT. IN FEW MONTHS TIME THEY WOULD TAKE ANOTHER
HANDSET OUT TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM. NOKIA DAYS ARE OVER AND I AM GOING
TO LOOK FOR A ANOTHER HANDSET.
Rating:
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Reviewed by Joe Farrugia from Malta on 22nd Oct
2008
perfect
Rating:
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Reviewed by Harry from UK on 22nd Oct 2008
Had the phone since Sunday, and have had no problems. Everyone is surely
aware that DVB-H doesn't exist in the UK, so should know better than
saying that TV feature "doesn't work". iPlayer works brilliantly, although
I have to do this through wifi at the moment. It is great that you can
save the programmes to watch offline. T-Mobile advised a new firmware
patch was coming out on Monday, but I've not seen it yet. Other than
this, the phone is great. I don't want to use it for gaming, so don't
really care about the frame rate. Photos seem OK, videos seem OK, phone
is stable and has lots of good features. Both my cars have satnav built
in, so the phone's GPS will only be used for walking, and the N96 does
that brilliantly. No problem with crashing, and I've charged the battery
once since Sunday, despite playing with the phone constantly! Only problem
I've had is the videos sometimes stop and drop sound for a fraction
of a second when they first start playing, which is a bit annoying,
and hope this will be sorted in a firmware update. I can only rate this
phone as 5 stars - does everything I expected, because I did my research
before buying. Anyone who does this will know what they are getting,
and cannot complain.
Rating:
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Reviewed by Stu M from England on 22nd Oct 2008
I got my N96 yesterdat morning. Charged it for 6 hours. Messed about
with it as you do, installed Opera Mini went on the net, took pictures,
made a couple of calls and sent a load of texts. Battery is still at
full capacity. I absolutely love the phone. My only small gripe is the
keys are a bit to close together and unresponsive for my sausage fingers.
Other than that I like it. Remember...it's just a phone!
Rating:
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Reviewed by mark from england on 22nd Oct 2008
not worth the 2 months i was waiting to purchase this phone, this was
my first nokia phone having always had sony's, it has now gong back
to vodafone and i'll be getting the sony c905 on friday. battery was
rubbish, phone was slow, camera defo not as good as i was hoping for.
Regularly freezes. and couldnt hook it up to my hi-hi using bluetooth
for some reason. for such an expensive phone it should be alot better.
Rating:
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Reviewed by Dale from Stockport, England on 21st
Oct 2008
I've had this phone for a week now. Only problem I've had is it has
crashed about 4 times on me which with everything thats on the phone
I think that should be expected when you first start using it. I've
had no problems with the battery, I reckon people with battery problems
will be from over charging it at first, you are only suppose to charge
it until the battery is full!!!!! All in all I think this is a great
phone so far and the updates will hopefully solve any problems everyones
got anyway!!
Rating:
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Reviewed by J from UK on 21st Oct 2008
Upgraded from N95 first edition, I am very pleased with this Phone.
I originally upgraded a while back to the N95 8gb although i sent it
back as apart from the screen size which for me ended up giving the
phone too much of a larger feel, it just felt like no improvements had
been made. However this Phone so far has come out on top with all my
comparisons to the N95. Battery can be short lived but that is something
i am now used too after owning almost every Nokia Symbian.One trick
is to disable the GPS this should increase batteries life as it is similar
to leaving your bluetooth activated. I can understand there being a
lot of buggy N96's out there as this has happened with many symbians
when they were first released, Thankfully mine has had no problems whatsoever
and runs better than any n series i have used to date, once the Firmware
updates are available these problems will be forgotten. my only downsides
are why waste time flipping the screen downwards for the music players
keys when they are also now located on the front? Does feel like cheap
plastic. Apart from this all the extra features this phone has to offer
makes this a worth while upgrade.
Rating:
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Reviewed by Brido from UK on 21st Oct 2008
Had the N96 for a couple of weeks now and was very close to returning
it within the first couple of days. Software wise its no better than
the N95, infact its even slower and more prone to hang ups. Actually
used my old N95 as my alarm clock but cannot do that with the N96 anymore
as the thing crashed when I pressed snooze the other day. made me late
for work Bah!... The Camera is supposed to be the same as the N95?...
The colour seems washed out, no where near as vivid as the N95..Video
capture can be riddled with pauses and sound drop outs. The microphone
seems to pick up a lot of background hum and when played back through
the built in speakers its nowhere near as good as the N95. What I do
like is the added feature that allows you to check at a glance what
apps you have left running,(helps to squeeze a few hours more from the
short battery life) 16Gb flash AND memory card slot are a step in the
right direction as the N95 8Gb had no expansion slot. All in all the
N96 feels like it was rushed out the factory. "Navi wheel" for example.
Whats that about... Id prefer it if the software on the phone actually
had a purpose. As the N96 has no Navi Wheel to speak of. I have decided
to wait a while to see what happens with Firmware updates, hopefully
this will cure some of my woes, if not then it'll be on ebay after xmas.
Rating:
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Reviewed by john morris from uk on 18th Oct 2008
I have used this phone for 1 week and took it back yesterday. It has
been a total failure from day one. Wi-Fi is barely useable, Regularly
freezes. Will not recognize memory card. Goes into offline mode spasmodically.
Says sim not inserted. If online on wi-fi asks for you to connect to
wi-fi when on iplayer. Was told by t-mobile shop that they are aware
of these problems and that a new software version will be out on Monday.
I shall try it (even though they wont download it for me) and any problems
and they will get it back. Bit like selling a car with faulty brakes.
Why there problems were not solved prior to launch beggars belief. John
Morris UK
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by George from UK on 17th Oct 2008
OK..AVOID THIS PHONE. Received my N96 upgrade from my n95 8gb today
and its gone straight back in the box and being returned. What the review
above fails to mention is the fact that the processor is slower on the
n96 and it is also missing the 3d chip used for gaming and other apps
such as gps mapping. Look on Youtube for n96 vs n95 and look at the
framerate that the preinstalled racing game runs at. the n96 feels very
platic and flimsy. Also the camera takes very pale looking pictures
(agreed this may be fixed in a firmware update).. Yes it has 16gb and
looks pretty but that really is the only improvement. If you have an
n95 then wait before you upgrade!!! I've had just about every N series
phone and the N96 is the only one i've been really dissapointed with.
I'm going to check out the samsung innov8 with 16gb and an 8mp camera.(with
online video editing to 120fps)
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by andrew cross from uk on 17th Oct 2008
fantastic phone, but battery is useless. mine only does 6-7 hours without
even making a call
Rating:
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Reviewed by Fazila Patel from England on 16th
Oct 2008
A bit complicated at the start but after u get use to it its the best
phone EVAAAA!!!!!!!
Rating:
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Reviewed by Tim from England on 16th Oct 2008
Absolute Rubbish, on my third phone now in less than two weeks, phone
is slow , freezes, then it turns itself off and you cant turn it back
on,ok yes its got loads of features but reliability is not a patch on
my old k850i, wish id never upgaded to this phone cos its useless. DO
NOT BUY ONE, YOU WILL ONLY REGRET IT.
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Bagz from UK on 15th Oct 2008
Bilal, i disagree. There are people in this forum that DO know about
symbian phones and i suspect from your comments you may have a phone
that was bought unlocked. Unlocked phones have already had their firmware
upgrades and are problem free, where as locked down phones i.e. vodafone
devices have bugs. It may well appear to be better than it's predecessor
as you put it but for those that have had to have their phone replaced
3 times, i disagree. This phone is by far the worst nseries device nokia
has released and it's a shame.
Rating: Reply
Reply by Mobile Phones UK from UK on
15th Oct 2008
This is clearly a developing theme. It would be helpful if people could
mention in their reviews which network they use. That would help everyone
to understand where the problems are coming from. It does look like
Vodafone have messed with the firmware of this phone, which wouldn't
be the first time they've done this.
Reviewed by bilal from pakistan on 14th Oct 2008
nobody knows about symbian phones who say that n96 is not good. Its
the best fone i have ever used. Its much better than n95 8gb and samsung
i8510 that i have used recently. Honest advice to everyone dont miss
the chance for getting this fone.
Rating:
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Reviewed by Rampant Rabbiter from UK on 14th Oct
2008
I don't own this phone but my brother does and I have to say that the
phone is incredible. I've played with it a bit and it is very speedy
with no freezing or crashes.I can't really comment on individual features
as I don't know enough about it, nor do I have much experience with
it. However, my brother has had this phone since late September and
has experienced none of the issues stated on here. He bought it completely
SIM-free, which I think makes a huge difference. Networks like to put
their own version of software onto phones, especially Vodafone, which
makes them buggy and also you can't update them as soon as updates are
released. My advice - don't bother with a contract or an upgrade. Just
buy the phone outright and SIM-free. That way, you'll get it exactly
as it should be straight from the Nokia factory. No rubbish software,
no freezing. A few other people on here have advised the same thing.
I always buy my handsets SIM-free for this very reason. I can't stand
all th e rubbish network software they stuff it with. If you can't afford
it SIM-free, just wait until you can. You'll only get problems otherwise.
Rating:
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Reviewed by Gavin from London, UK on 14th Oct
2008
I got my N96 on Sunday 12th October, unpacked, activated it - all seemed
well, transferred all the numbers from my old phone, left it on charge
overnight - used it on Monday morning (13th) and then in the afternoon
it turned itself off and wouldn't turn on again. I put it on charge
again and when I turn it on now, all I get is a blank white screen for
about 6 seconds and it turns itself off again. It's going back to the
store !!
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Foggy from Isle Of Man on 11th Oct
2008
Very slow. Poor Battery. TV does not work. Too Large and too expensive
!!! Other than that it's fine !!!
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by aaneesh from kerala on 11th Oct 2008
it is very usefull phones for the this generation people
Rating:
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Reviewed by Bagz from UK on 10th Oct 2008
I have to say reading the comments below that Nokia shipped the N96
without thorough testing. The N96 is a great handset and is better than
it's predecessors, however, as most of the posters below have noticed,
the battery is poor (not talking about not charging it from the first
day because i did) merely because it's the same battery that was in
the n95 which we all know caused issues. My main beef is with the music
player. someone below mentioned they got two handsets with the same
problem, so did i. the music player goes in a constant loop looking
for new music but finds 0. You have to turn it off or have quick fingers
to navigate to the exit option out of music. I'm extremely disappointed
with vodafone in particular for not taking better control of this situation.
if there really is a dodgy batch of these handsets (clearly there must
be) then why didn't vodafone stop distributing them until the issue
was solved? if it's because of a firmware upgrade, then GET IT OUT TO
US NOW!!! there's already a general firmware update out so what's the
holdup vodafone?? The other disappointing thing is you can change the
programs under the first smart/active menu but you can't change any
of the others. I hope you do a firmware upgrade to allow us to put our
own programs in each section (i.e. media player, web, applications etc).
I see most of you are counting the 14 days, like me, to decide whether
to keep this phone or not. this is the first time i've had to think
like this. the n95 8gb is absolutely solid. you'd have thought nokia
would've learned from that handset when making the 96. i guess not.
oh well
Rating:
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Reviewed by Y from UK on 10th Oct 2008
I dont understand people, WHY CANT YOU WAIT AND LET IT CHARGE! your
having all these probs with battery life cause u dont let it charge
when u open it! The phone is amazing!
Rating:
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Reviewed by Danjamouf from UK on 9th Oct 2008
Sounds like Voda have a dodgy batch.I have a generic 16gb version and
its excellent. If yours is running slow shut down background applications.
I've got two days use put of mine without having to charge and i've
put it to use trust me. It does everything it says on the tin. Well
done Nokia
Rating:
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Reviewed by Pabel from United Kingdom on 9th Oct
2008
Great phone, some problems, too slow, freezes quit alot, and too big,
the featurs are excellent, n96 is simular to n95 8gb, just with more
memory and tv built in, il rather save money and buy an n95 8gb, no
point spending £600, overall phone is decent, and quality is excellent.
Rating:
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Reviewed by Chris from Oxford on 9th Oct 2008
I have had the N96-1 since 25/09/08 (an a cracking 18m deal for £35),
and having got used to it, I feel I can comment more thoughtfully on
it. The first 2/3 days were infuriating, as it takes that long to get
the new battery up to charge. The menus & features are genuinely great,
but still a bit slow, despite the hyper-fast processor. Battery life
is worse than the N95-1 I previously had. To be honest, this was the
same when the N95-1 came out as well, and I expext firmware updates
in the near future to make it far far better than the N95 was after
its last update. Its quite annoying to have to wait for it, but it will
be worth it, as it was with the N95-1 each time. Still far, far outstrips
the iPhone... I give it 4 stars now, once updates are available, it'll
be an easy 6 stars plus
Rating:
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Reviewed by docurley from UK on 8th Oct 2008
My god this phone is bad, I love Nokia's and have a N95 first edition
which I love but I have had this phone since last week and it going
back. Problems: General system errors when playing music, Phone keeps
rebooting its self, Slow between Apps and trying to hang-up a call,
Battery is a joke. Now I understand there is new firmware upgrades on
the way but my Vodafone will not extend my 15 day return option till
then so it going back. I have to say I’m very disappointed with
this phone and will say the N95 is way better and this should never
have been released like this and Nokia should have learnt this by now.
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by OldWolf from UK on 8th Oct 2008
Right, I'm going to take back a part of what I said in my previous comment.
Charging helps, but the phone is still slow quite a lot of the time.
Having some problems with video as well, as it stutters sometimes. Note
- sometimes. other times it flies along. Would be interested to find
out if supplier firmware is a part of the issue, since that's been mentioned.
Rating:
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Reviewed by James from England on 7th Oct 2008
This phone is great in principle, but here are a few advisories for
you: 1) don't use the N series software disc supplied, go onto www.nokia.com/pcsuite
and download pc suite 7, you'll get more functionality out of the phone
and can use more features. 2) the digital tv won't work in this country,
go to Italy if you want to use it! 3)BBC i player won't play tv shows
if you're on a 3g connection on o2, it states you must be on a wifi
connection to do that. 4)The battery life is appauling. I'm having to
charge mine 3 times a day, when i only charged the N95 once a day.
Rating:
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Reviewed by Ali S Omeri from Yemen on 7th Oct
2008
Always greet what ever Nokia manufacture, and specialy N96 ?, very good
mobile phone.
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Reviewed by Shiva from India on 6th Oct 2008
My N96 froze three times in as many days. Nokia care informs me that
there is software update that would solve this issue. The retalier replaced
the first set, same problem with the new set too.
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by R from UK on 6th Oct 2008
There's Alot Of Dumb People Out There That Don't Know How To Charge
A Phone Before Using It!
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Reviewed by Jonathan from UK on 6th Oct 2008
The phone performs wonderfully, but that was only after I debranded
the phone (Vodafone - which was sluggish) to the generic Nokia firmware!
Rating:
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Reviewed by Scott from Edinburgh, Scotland on
6th Oct 2008
I have had the phone since 2nd October and am more than happy witht
the phone. I had the N95 and it is far superior. It has most things
the N95 had but the phone is far more stylish. It is an excellent phone
and all the comments below I am shocked at. I have no problems about
the phone swithcing itself off or being slow. NOKIA N96 ALL THE WAY!!
Rating:
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Reviewed by OldWolf from UK on 4th Oct 2008
To anyone who has had problems on the first day with the menus being
slow... charge your damn battery. I had this problem on the first day,
but it was fine on the second. Not saying its a full fix, but it will
certainly help. As far as the phone goes, video playback is excellent
and the whole build is good. It is a 'fingerprint magnet' though, and
somewhat too slippy. Will definitely need firmware tweaks though.
Rating:
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Reviewed by Zack from Sunderland on 3rd Oct 2008
Poor, shocked by the poor performace by this phone. sending it back
and getting Google Phone
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by iain from UK on 2nd Oct 2008
Yet again Nokia have shot themselves in the foot with the N 96. It Has
the same dodgy battery that was in the 95.Thanks for that nokia at least
I have 2 spare batteries. Rating wise looks and feels better than the
95 so 5 stars. But the old battery only rates it as a 1 sorry I can
see it going the same way as the 95 battery problem /firmware and software
problems lucky I have 14 days to return. Be lucky to keep for 14 hours
returning to store tomorrow
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by adam farrell from england on 2nd Oct
2008
Had the phone 24 hours and ... yes its going back ! hideously slow between
menus! no battery, and the worst thing of all...... its looks and feels
really cheap, does not look or feel how expensive it is! ive used an
iphone since they were launced and bought this cause its new, no other
reason! yes it might have more features than the iphon however the iphone
is the most easy phone to use ever. nokia, its rubbish, slow bulky and
cheap looking! glad vodafone do a 14 day returns policy! lol
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Michalis from Cyprus on 2nd Oct 2008
I've had this phone to 2 days changing from a N95 8GB. :( This phone
keeps on restarting and swiches off. I want my N95 back :( I am very
dissapointed. Sorry nokia but my 740euros went down the drain. As soon
as I get rid of this phone I will try a Windows Mobile hoping to be
better or go back to the satble normal OS we had in the old days, my
wife's SE C902 battary last 4 days and she is a heavy user. My N96 last
1 and 1/2 mostly on standby.
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Lee from Suffolk, UK on 2nd Oct 2008
Hate it already, only had it a day, My N95 is far superior. N96 crashes
repeatedly and very sluggish when opening menu's. Not impressed so far,
hope a firmware update resolves the issues. Other than that when it
is working it has a nice menu structure just like the N95, although
the screen res doesnt appear to be any better than my n95
Rating:
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Reviewed by kevin dorman from uk on 2nd Oct 2008
Just got the N96 Yesterday an was sourly dissapointed, my previous phones
is the 6300 and in comparisson the N96 feels very very plastic, the
6300 has many batter functions for example you can have a security cod
eon the keylock, u can copy an paste things in the calendar, very usefull
if you see similar clients each week.Wehn your tying to select a name
to text on the N96 it has a very long way of going about it. I am seriously
considering going back to my 6300 and abandoning the N96, not a happy
bunny.
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Reviewed by Paul Johnson from UK on 30th Sep 2008
Just got the phone today and within an hour I have 2 faults!! Dissapointed
everytime I take a pic or a vid it switches the phone off!!
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Reviewed by jason from england on 30th Sep 2008
David Thompson writes below that shops have it sealed up and not available
to have a look and play with this phone. That is not true the Nokia
shop in Manchester UK had the phone in early september and was available
to buy from the 24th September, so it is out there. I myself have had
a play around with this phone, all looks good, not sluggish, the only
thing i couldn't test was the battery life
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Reviewed by Petre Krell from Botswana on 29th
Sep 2008
I bought the N96 from Uncle Chan's Technik Store at Granges. It is a
great phone. It beats the pineapples out of the iphone and kicks the
Zebra zings out of the 850. Love the stand at the back and the unlimited
runtime rasterisation of the diacritics. Go Nokia!
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Reviewed by Dr T from UK on 28th Sep 2008
Just received my Nokia N96 earlier today. It was a free upgrade so well
worth it. However, if you already have the N95 I would not upgrade to
the N96 if it is going to cost you anything over £50. The features are
more-or-less the same, with some additional enhancements of course.
Overall, very happy with the handset, but no doubt I will come across
its problems like I did with the N95. I love fault-finding.
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Reviewed by Adrian from UK on 27th Sep 2008
Just come back from my local Vodafone shop very proudly holding a brand
new n96. Had a quick play with the demo in the shop and found they have
put an episode of Top Gear on it, great for a petrol head like me. I
was offered the phone on 18 month contract at £45 per month or, £75
as an upgrade. Went for the £75 upgrade, everything else on the tarriff
stayed the same. Gonna have a look at it now, will post again with first
impressions and any niggles that may arise.
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Reviewed by Kees from Netherlands on 26th Sep
2008
I actually own this phone. KPN (Dutch telephone provider) is the first
provider to bring out the Noke N96 in the entire world. Costumers were
able to purchase the N96 on the 15th of september. I love this phone,
because of the fact it is a multimedia phone, wich you can watch television,
movies, pictures on and listen to music. It has an internal memory of
16GB, wich is more then enough for your music, pictures and movies.
If it is not enough for you, wich is almost impossible, then you can
always watch live TV, listen to FM radio and even internet radio! It
also has an extraordinary good 5 mega-pixel camera. Two LED-flash lights,
wich can be turned on for filming to. The Nokia OS let's you organize
all your media very synoptic. I think all and all this phone is a very
good product of this time. The price is very high, but if you, just
like I did, haggle a bit, you can always get a nice discount. I think
I got a very fair price for this phone. With free TV and internet. I
will leave you all alone now, please all keep the forum clean and don't
hate eachoter as it is just an internet forum. Goodbye
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Reviewed by Nick from UK on 25th Sep 2008
we got this in store yesterday!!! not allowed to sell till the 1st of
oct. we have had a play. it feels disapointlingly plasticy and the OS
is the same as the current n95. however, the screen is AMAZING as is
the camera the internet radio is a novel item however it will charge
you internet data costs to use it. as well as this it has a 'prop' at
the back so you can watch movies and videos with on it without having
to hold it which is handy on a small train seat table if you want a
drink as well. despite the OS being the same, it is faster and more
reliable. overall, a good phone. just a shame it doesnt have the stainless
steel construction of lots of modern phones
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Reviewed by usman from pakistan on 25th Sep 2008
i've bought this fone b4 2days no battrey life lazy fone slow prcessing.so
dont waste mony on rubish fone.k850 is much better camera....
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Reviewed by Mark from Guyana on 23rd Sep 2008
I wasn't lucky as some of you guys to have the experiene to actually
play with the phone. I just saw a picture of the phone in the local
news paper. It is selling in Guyana at some stores for $256000 guyana
dollars. Which is about us$1280.I like the idea of the 16gb memory since
i was planning to buy the n95 8gb but the only thing i am not so happy
about is the phone not having a touch screen since it is"the going thing".
I will also be happier if the phone can have a larger screen maybe like
the iphone. But over all i think the phone will be cool.
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Reviewed by Damion from AUSTRALIA on 19th Sep
2008
I've owned one of the first series nokia N95 phones for 2 years and
there is one thing you other reviews never seem to touch on.....sure
all the gizmo's like GPS, VGA output, 5 mega pixel camera, radio, web
browser etc etc are good but to be honest they aint worth a thing for
one simple reason......the N95 battery life is an ABSOLUTE DISGRACE.
I would barely be a medium user and have to recharge the N95 every 2
days. Another thing to compound this problem is that the newer N96 8Gb
phone has a longer lasting battery.....but this doesn't fit the old
N95. I've also read the N96 is no better for battery duration. When
will Nokia see the light and produce a phone with all this functionality
but with a battery so you don't need to charge it so often ??????
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Reply by Mobile Phones UK from UK on
19th Sep 2008
Battery life is an important issue, and we always discuss it in our
reviews. Recharging every other day is not unexceptional for a phone
of the N95's calibre, but it very much depends on usage and how well
you treat your battery in the early stages of ownership (fully discharging,
then fully recharging again, etc.) Besides, the N96 hasn't yet been
released yet, so this is just speculation.
Reviewed by David Thompson from UK on 7th Sep
2008
I got a chance to play with this phone in a shop and its simply fantastic.
I don't think that come October there will be a better phone than this
on the market. It has 16GB memory, a 5mp camera and mobile T.V. Yes
I know the price is a bit steep but this will be the phone that everyone
will want santa to bring them for christmas. It gets my five stars hands
down!
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Reply by Nick from UK on 21st September
2008
There is no way you have played with one of these yet. nokia has asked
ALL suppliers that NO ONE open a box or show them to potential customers.
in fact they have asked them to seal the box's inside bin liners inside
the shop as soon as they are delivered. these then have to be tied up
with security tags! so not a chance have you laid eyes on there regarding
the phone, i would avoid and get the 6600 slide instead.
Reviewed by Broomster from UK on 3rd Jul 2008
@ Daniel from India: with grammar like yours, I highly doubt you are
a reviewer, and thus completely faking the story about getting one for
free. I, on the other hand, have used one this phone, and also own an
N95. Sure, it looks nicer, sure, it offers some new stuff, but if you
own an N95, I personally don't think it's worth the upgrade. If you
are in the market for such a phone, wait and get the iPhone 3G instead,
then wait for Nokia to bring out the N97.
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Reviewed by harry from uk on 15th Jun 2008
i have seen the dummy of it and i can tootally say tha it is the worlds
best phone at the moment. phurnomenal phone buy it. launching on october
2008.
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