One Month With The Nokia N95!

 

Okay, so here goes the first post of my blog!!! The reason I picked the N95 to talk about is simple, it’s my current obsession! So here goes how I feel after one month with the N95!! So here goes! This write up covers area such as Build Quality, The Multimedia Segment, The Camera, Web Browser, Gallery Application, The GPS and a General Overview of the entire phone!

BUILD QUALITY:
I thought I was lucky when my plum N95 out of the box didn’t suffer from the sideways movement in the slide, no wobbles as such too. The only movement was .2 mm upwards on a little push, that’s understandable. However after about a week there appeared a gap between the slides. Now when I press the ‘c’ button or thereabout the phone makes a click sound when the two parts brush against each other.
My suggestion to all those planning to get it is, be prepared for the wobbles n stuff, so that once u get the phone in case there’s a slight one u wont b disappointed n if there’s no you’ll b really glad!
Me and a friend had got it together, his had just a little very little, sideways movement noticeable only if u are hyper sensitive n know that some phones have it, he didn’t even feel it. The build quality in general is pretty good. The plastic feel people talk about is more pronounced in the sand version in my opinion; the plum is just fine, but then again personal preferences! (For Nokia: This no way means I wouldn’t want improvements!) There is also a slight issue with light leaking from the sides, thing doesn’t really bother me much however if light can escape that means dust can also enter so that’s a kinda negative. The keypad is really good, I could manage pretty decent speeds over T9 and I don’t think ppl who use it for casual text entry will need a BT keyboard. The menu key, call end key etc will take a little getting used to. Some of them are really small, I feel pretty awkward pressing the ‘c’ key specially as I feel that the top will get creaky n a play will further develop (The gap feeling between the two levels of the phone when closed might become more) however now after a few weeks its stable at a slight gap!

MUSIC & FM:
Well after reading the music reviews and stuff I was expecting it to b real good! However I was a little disappointed here. The loudspeakers are great, nice reproduction especially guitar music sounds really nice. The supplied headset is what disappointed me, for such a high end phone. I had really liked the N91 headphones.
The remote works great and is a must have IMO so u can keep the N95 in the pocket n protect it from dust. Also when u use the music player, turn loudness on also use stereo widening also make a equalizer present of ur own. That really helps. In case u have a 3rd party handset lying around that’ll just be great, I used the headset from my ipod, now the music really rocks n I’m pretty pleased!!
The FM works really well, no disturbances at all, nice n loud thru the headphones, nice bass element too. What is bad is the volume thru the loudspeakers, its really low with the FM dunno know why, apart from that great.   

CAMERA:
I found the camera to be excellent for a casual photo enthusiast like me, yes its a lil slow processing but gets n job done! The flash revelation for me, it was really good for a LED! The UI is rich an intuitive the options u get n the feel of the N95 makes it seem to b a dedicated digicam at times! (The new Firmware v 11.0.0.26 is not yet available for some product codes improves the camera quality and also makes the interface snappier!) The video is what blows u away; it is indeed excellent if u don’t pan around too much n keep zoom fiddle to a minimum, the result u get is awesome for someone who’s not had the N93/i before. I can stress how pleased i was with it! Stunning is the word for it, really good! What wonders phones can do! Even playing SRE (the preloaded 3D game on the N95) on the TV was cool! The pixilation in the non video mode is very bearable. The video via the default Real Player can be viewed at 640 x 480 resolutions on the TV screen and it can even be a part time DVD player replacement! (More on that in another post!)

WEB BROWSER:
As u all may know works like a real treat! Almost any n everything is accessible! So far no out of memory errors! However did get one while using the gallery n TV out. If
ur coming from a really ram starved phone, it’ll b pretty cool! It cannot really handle flash that well though. Websites like orkut work like a treat!
The one thing that irritates me is the default bookmarks they’ve put n some of which i couldn’t delete too!
Ur own bookmarks go way down then, bad!

GPS:
My first connection to the GPS was under 30 seconds!!! Amazing but after that I haven’t been that lucky at all! The maps for
India are pathetic so say the least. No real use for them IMO, just very basic highways n stuff plus airports. Mumbai is the only place they are of any use!
Waiting for an update hope that happens soon!!

GALLERY:
The gallery is better than the previous ones, the pics n vids load much faster. However i still would prefer a different gallery for the images and the videos. The direct access to editors (both video n Picture) is a nice touch.
The photos too look great specially when viewed as a slide show, the pan and zoom effect rocks!

BATTERY:
Alright, the question that has been the bane of the N95! I too feel the pinch of the lack of a stronger battery, but for that the phone does, and does brilliantly at that I really don’t care as long as I get thru the day with a little to spare as backup in case of contingencies! This generally is the case if u leave the house with phone fully charged in the morning. Web browsing is very draining, the most is video recording.

CONNETIVITY:
The USB was a breeze! N the Bluetooth 2 EDR also helps. The max speed I got was 5.5 mb in 45 seconds i.e. about 122 kbps. Wifi also works without a hitch, however in places where u have low signal it becomes a bit of a problem, with reboots happening! 

GENERAL IMPRESSIONS:
The N95 is the phone to have!! I’m glad i got it, while paying up for it I was a little skeptical whether i’ll b happy later on when i do buy it, now i know the answer is in the affirmative!
But do protect the screen by all means!
The phone ships with a really nice 95 case and a screen protector. The screen protector is a little small, resulting in a small exposed surface in the bottom of the screen that is a really great place for dust to accumulate. I’m still thinking what to do about it… May b another screen protector on top it? Lets c! And one more thing about complaints of hanging/reboots in phones specially Nokia Nseries. Since these phones run an operating system it is bound to be err in some conditions! Windows hangings all the time so please cut the N95 a little slack and enjoy u’r multimedia computer to the fullest! For prospective buyers it’s a do not miss deal especially after the price dip!