Nokia N95 Review - Introduction & Design

Introduction & Design

Nokia's flagship handset, the N95, rests at the top of their N-Series line of multimedia computers.  This long awaited mobile literally does it all, from phone calls to GPS-enabled driving directions, music to video, Bluetooth to WiFi, and then some.  The N95 also represents the state of the art in camera phone technology, featuring a five megapixel auto-focus shooter with a full 30 frames per second video mode - the best specs on any handset currently available for use in the U.S. 

All of this technology doesn't come cheap - N95 is available only as an unlocked handset, and at $750 (list) it's the price of a budget laptop computer.  So is the new king of Nokia's lineup worthy of its pre-launch hype and still-lofty price tag?  Well, I'll put it this way: The N95 is a viable replacement for your current cell phone, camera, mp3 player, Web browser, and GPS unit all in one.  It's not quite as good at any of those non-phone functions as a true stand alone unit would be, but it's pretty close.  If you can afford it - and don't mind charging the battery every night - the N95 might just be the answer to your consumer electronics convergence dreams.  Just don't expect a QWERTY keyboard. 

Special thanks to Corey over at Mobile Planet for providing the sample N95 for this review. 

The N95 is a candybar slider with a large display, thick profile, and unique bi-directional sliding mechanism.  While the handset measures 99x53x21 mm, the sliding portion is quite thin and somehow makes the device as a whole feel a bit smaller than it really is.  In the closed position you have access to the phone's large display, front-mounted camera (for video calling overseas) and navigational array featuring a D-pad surrounded by an array of buttons: menu, multimedia, call, cancel, input mode, clear, and two softkeys.  Nudging the top layer forward reveals a standard dialing layout, while sliding the layer back uncovers a row of media controls aligned for use with the phone in widescreen mode.  A front-mounted ambient light sensor automatically adjusts the N95's display brightness to suit external conditions, which is a nifty feature. 

While certainly not unreasonably large, the N95 is a rather squat, stocky handset.  At 19mm thick and weighing 120g, this is one of the larger candybar phones on the market right now.  Then again, it does more than any other handset out there, and features one of the biggest, best displays you'll find on a phone, so the size isn't really that big of an issue.  The phone is finished in plum with silver accents, and features a soft-grip plastic on the sides and back panel that gives it a somewhat similar look as Nokia's N73.  N95 is shorter and thicker than N73, but retains the same "luxury high-tech" aesthetics.  However, the N95 doesn't feature the same solid build as N73 - where the 73 felt like the mobile handset version of a BMW 7-Series or Mercedes S-Class luxury cruiser, N95 feels just a little underwhelming in hand.  Part of it is because the slider is a bit wobbly when extended in either direction and was too easily nudged out of "locked" position when being slipped in or out of a pocket.  Another part of it is that chromed plastic buttons on the face of a $750 gadget just seemed a little "off" somehow.  I didn't have any problems with the slider (or any other moving parts) actually breaking down - rather, I just expected a little more in the way of build quality out of a flagship "multimedia computer" from a company known for building some of the most solid-feeling handsets out there. Next: Features »