Home > Consumer Reviews > Nokia N95 Sim Free Mobile Phone

I remember someone once calling the N95 the swiss army knife of mobile phones. This is a pretty accurate descripton of the N95. It has a hell of a lot of different features all packed into one device. So, why only 3 stars? Have you ever tried to use anything on a swiss army knife? It's a real pain compared to using the real thing. This is also true of the N95. Camera, GPS, media player, internet browser... All of these things are far inferior to using a dedicated device for varrious reasons. But what can you really expect from a device that 'does it all'?

First of, I know a lot of people have complained about the battery life on the N95. After following the instructions of another amazon reviewer (turn off 3g and auto wifi when you're not using them) it has never been an issue. If you really need the battery to last all week, buy a spare one. They cost about £10 and will fit in your wallet.

As a phone, this thing works pretty well. As you've come to expect from Nokia, everything loads quickly and the phone is very responsive. No problems there.

Getting UK maps onto your N95 requires you to download some software for your PC and then download the maps to your N95 from there. It's slightly more hassle than it should be but you should have any problems. A map of the UK takes up a bit over 100mb but you can choose to just download more specific regions if you don't travel much (England, Scotland, Wales and N Ireland). Unfortunately the GPS is absolutely terrible. I have the A-GPS firmware update and it's still very rare thar I every get a lock. I can leave it running for 10 minutes and still, nothing happens. I've been up and down the country with this phone and it makes absolutely no difference where I am, the GPS may as well not exist on the phone. However, having a full map of the UK is still handy, even without GPS, and using the internet to find nearby pubs, resturants and hotels is easy and acurrate.

The camera on the N95 is, in my opinion, extremely overated. Yes, it shoots at 5 megapixels, but this is utterly pointless considering the quality of the lense and the sensor. Yes, you can zoom right in to your blurry, out-of-focus photographs, but why bother? Most pictures taken with the N95 look good at about half full screen size. After that they begin looking more and more like an extremely compressed jpg. If you buy this phone, don't bother shooting at 5 megapixels, save yourself some memory and shoot at a lower resolution. The only reason I can see for the camera shooting at 5 mega pixels is for a selling point to impress the ignorant.

Having that little rant out the way, the camera, for a phone, is actually quite good. Movies look good so long as you shoot in good lighting and they run at a smooth frame rate. My only real annoyance about using the camera is the fact that it's so sluggish. It takes a good few seconds to start up, then a good few seconds to focus on your subject, then after taking the picture, you'll have to wait a while for the image to be processed. The whole thing takes too long (yes, I have the v12 firmware update, and no, it doesn't make much of a difference). The convienience of having a reasonable quality camera in your pocket at all times is almost enough to make up for these annoyances however, just don't expect to be able to whip it out and take a bunch of quick shots of a fast moving subject.

EDIT: My curiosity got the better of me and I eventually decided to do a little timed test. My N95 takes a full 14 seconds to launch the camera application, focus, take a picture and then process it. This is compared to a mere 2 seconds using my cannon IXUS (and this includes the time it takes the IXUS to turn on and extend the lens). The N95 takes a full 6 seconds to process an image, the IXUS takes half a second. I did these test several times, I got the same results.

The media player is probably my most used of any of the applications. With a decent sized micro sd card (I use a 4gb one, but you can now get 8gb) it's a good replacement for your MP3 player. Music is organised similarly to an iPod, you can view albums, artists, songs etc. I have only three minor grievances with the MP3 player. Firstly, getting music onto the sd card takes a LONG time. You'll want to transfer everything all at once and then leave your computer alone for an hour or so. Much slower than using an ipod. Secondly, there is an irratating hiss when the music is quiet, for example, song intros. This is usually drowned out once the song starts properly. Finally, the media controls are not instantly responsive. When pressing pause nothing happens for about 2 or 3 seconds and you might press the button again causing the song to stop, then start. I have learnt to trust the pause button, pressing it, closing the cover, putting it back in my pocket and knowing that the music will stop at any moment.

The N95 is advertised as being capable of displaying full webpages. While this is technically true, you can view the web in it's full, unhindered glory, you really shouldn't. The main problems is the browser simply cannot handle it without slowing down to a crawl. The N95's browser seems to be the weak link regarding the internet. Even on fast wifi, navigating real webpages is slow and frustrating. You're better off sticking to phone supported pages.

With all this said, I really like the N95. It's obviously not as good as using standalone devices for everything it does, but I think this is severly outweighed by having just one, small device in your pocket. The N95 is not perfect, but it does a good job of setting a new benchmark for all in one devices.

I work with and look into Mobile Technologies a lot. The choice between this and the Apple iPhone was a question of aesthetics over functional design. The Nokia has it in terms of being a device that would do everything I might ask a single mobile device to do.

If you want a phone that just does a lot of things, is future proofed and allows you to explore all sorts of new applications and future developments... highly highly recommend the N95 8Gb. If you want a phone that looks very cool infront of your friends when you take it out... Id look elsewhere. Although, if you have 'nerdy' techno friends... the N95 8Gb will have the same effect!! :)

What does it do, well, some of the things at least....
- 3.5G Very fast data communication protocol for phone networks. This means you can browse the web etc without being connected to wireless and its a lot faster than existing 3G and GPRS phones. Apple's new phone is only just 3G.
- Take Pictures (not so good, very slow start up time. Good quality when it gets there. Upload directly to your favourite web2 photo site.. such as Flickr.
- Use as a wordprocessor to take notes in meetings. (Married with a suitable Blue Tooth Keyboard, (recommend the iGo Stowaway!) this is all you need to walk into a meeting or conference and take your notes with)
- Use to access email and your Outlook Calendar on the go(I use Google Mobile)
- Use to record video
- Use GPS and NOkia Maps to 'see' where you are.
- Use Wireless to access Skype and browse the web in wireless enabled areas. (Downstairs on the sofa is quite comfortable!) The wireless feature scans for available wireless networks and shows them quickly on your phone. Really useful.
- Speaker phone is VERY loud if you need it as are the ring tones. You wont want them at full volume!!!
- Listen to Podcasts and your music on the go.
- Store your word, excel, powerpoint and pdfs on the 8Gb hard drive built in. If you want to use Office documents on your phone you would need to purchase a solution from one of the companies that produce MS Office compatible solutions for mobile devices. Although I have found the one I have chosen to be too slow to use and rather just use the Notepad feature for making my notes in meetings etc. Very fast, very clear to use.
- Download any number of applications to further add the the functionality you already have on your phone.
- The Calendar and ToDo functions which sync with Outlook is easy and quick to use.
- The shortcuts are usefully customisable.
- Video phone calls.
- Battery life?? Well, If you have the bluetooth turned on and the GPS and access the web and watch TV... you will drain the battery in your day.
I didnt find the NOkia Battery particularly bad, but I have opted for a third party extended battery just help it along, (Also available on Amazon). The phone will last for a few days on standby and with odd phone calls and moderate use. I use the phone every day and do not find the battery an issue. I do know there were lots of complaints with the original N95, but I think thats been a lot improved.
- BIG screen.

Negatives..
- NO external SD card slot. Not an issue for me todate, I connect the phone directly via its USB cable and its just another drive on the computer.
- No lens cover. Odd that.. for such a high spec camera. Wouldnt recommend the phone if taking pictures is very important to you for a phone. THe odd picture here and there, and its ok, but if its really important to you on your phone, think about some other options.
- Battery Life... Its not that bad, but there are a lot better out there if you are trekking down the Mekong or something for four days or something!
- Size and weight? Well, if you want a light slim sleek device, youd buy a friend some designer cigarette case or a Christian Dior Compact case, rather than a Swiss Army Knife.

But if you want a Swiss Army Knife... The N95 8GB is it.

Highly recommend the phone.

Having used the phone for a couple of months now I feel qualified to comment (!!!). I find the phone not bad, I have to say that the battery life is not as bad as some have found. I think you really have to remember to turn everything off before you close the sliding cover though. Signal always seems good, even in tunnels which surprised me no end. Lots of features, most of which work fine, cover a little flimsy though.

Few negatives hence only three stars. Remembering to close the camera lens cover is a really pain - while I think of it, opening it is too, but that maybe down to the leather case I have for the phone. I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to organise automatic opening and closing Nokia would it.

The real negative for me however, is the sat nav and the time it takes to connect. It really is very poor, for instance I've timed it on a hill in France with no obstruction of the sky in any direction at 3 minutes, which is way to long. On average it seems to take at least 2 minutes and sometimes more than 5. Hopeless, I actually use it with a separate GPS receiver now which does speed things up a bit. Also not really too happy at having to pay £40 plus a year for the navigation facility. At a buying price of nearly £500 I expected that side to work from scratch and not to need more money spending on it! Frankly, and it pains me to say it as I am a fan of Nokia, if you want sat nav buy a Tom Tom, I can recommend the 720 . Overall, good phone but overpriced.

UPDATE 19th August 2008

Since the above a recent software up-date from Nokia has really improved the speed of the sat nav, it's still not as fast as a Garmin handheld or a Tom Tom but it seems to lock on within 60 seconds now rather than 3 or 4 mins it took previously. Also, the street detail on the maps is very good, better even than my Garmin handheld which surprised me. Mind you it's still a rip off having to pay for navigation on the sat nav, that really should be part of the package Nokia.

Don't disagree with too much in the other reviews - except/comments

- under 'normal' use the battery lasts OK considering the features - about a day.

- Firmware update has cured most of the bugs in the software

- Phone is relatively large against some phones, however, again considering the features (and the obvious need for a larger screen) it is good.

- Camera and video are both excellent.

Overall a nice bit of kit - don't use all the features at once and battery life is fine!

I wont rant on chapter and verse, I'll keep it short and point out what I use it for etc. At first I was dubious about getting this phone, it always looked big and clunky in the pictures, however my boss got one and checked it out and it looked very appealing as a multi purpose unit. I got mines free on a long term contract with O2 with a free bolt on, I chose free web access so i could check my email and surf the net whenever and use GPS Maps. I use the camera to take pix of my aution listing items and its the best i've used yet for results especially on close ups. Its got so many features to list, i wont go through them all but the main point for me was that as well as using it as a Cell Phone, i can also use it as a WiFi Phone, meaning that I can connect it to my PC via WiFi and use Skype or Yahoo or MSN Internet phone which is free as it uses your internet connetion, or if you have free web bolt on, use it anywhere when your out for FREE! As long as the person you are chatting to is using the same chat software (Skype, MSN, Yahoo etc) then the WiFi is brilliant, excellent sound quality as well.

Moving along to the Multimedia side of things, it has 8GB built in memory, yes its fixed and theres no SD slot but who cares, 8GB is more than enough to pack in plenty of Movies, a bucket of CD album MP3s, Photos and more; and with the standard 3.5mm Jack then your run of the mill MP3 player headphones work with it as well. Movie quality is outstanding and i'd go as far to say that its near DVD quality. It uses realplayer to if you've played a movie on your PC with RealPlayer then you'll know the quality you get. Its got a radio as well if you fancy a listen to that.

Theres so much to say about this phone and I'm missing out the technical wizardry that it works from in the background to facilitate its functionality but it truly is a remarkable unit and from Nokia then you know the build quality is assured.

Gripes? The only one I have is battery life, but its not really a gripe as I am realistic about the use of the phone against the power consumption and i think the battery does pretty damn well for the number of functions that it powers. I see that this has been a gripe for many other people but I put that down to higher demanding customer expectations on phones nowadays, lets be honest, if you had a separate camera, a separate MP3 Player, a separate phone, a separate movie player etc how much energy would you use for all of those? all those chargers, all those batteries...and lets not forget the cost. With the Nokia N95-8GB you get all those items wrapped into one small unit with one charger. Yes you may need to charge the batter more often, but not as often as you think. If all you do is talk on the phone, take pictures, listen to MP3s and watch Movies etc then focus on recharging your phone, your missing out on a whole world out there...simply put, your not going to be using all the functions all the time 24/7 so you wont have to charge it all the time, but at least all the functions are there for you to use whenever you want them.

I know i said I wouldnt rant on but I could write chapter and verse about this phone. Well done Nokia, Jobs a good'un on this one. I would strongly recommend this phone to anyone if they'd get the use and convenience out of it that I get.

FYI the Nokia N96 is out soon which has a 16GB on board memory and an SD slot...thats a sign that Nokia DO listen to consumer feedback and reviews...you can bet your bottom dollar though that it will cost a fortune for at least another year and a half before you get it free on any contract...so me? I'm sticking quite happily with my N95-8GB, its got all the features and functionality that I need and want. As far as I'm concerned, and I've checked out other phone units out there including PDAs...this one beats them all.