N96 - Nokia's new state of the art
February 11, 2008

Mobile World (Barcelona) - Nokia N95 has been a success for Nokia during 2007. Now the follow-up is released, called N96, with 16 gigabyte memory, geo tagging and internal digital tv.

The really large screen (2.8 inch) is useful for those who want to watch tv or videos on the phone. Nokia has not saved on the amount of memory either, 16 gigabyte and room for more using a memory card.

- 16 gigabyte takes you quite far, you can for instance store 40 full length films on the phone, says Oskar Södergren at Nokia.

When watching films, they are updated at 30 frames per second, which is also the update speed when recording videos. According to Nokia, that is DVD quality, and usually the resolution is lower and the number of frames half as many.

Just as with its predecessor, the N95, one can slide out a keyboard either up or down. Sliding it one way, it produces an ordinary keypad, and sliding in the other direction, a number of multimedia keys become visible, allowing for control of the video recorder or the music player.

The mobile version of digital tv called DVB-H is being established in some Eurpean countries, but not in all. The internal DVB-H receiver in the N96 might drive sales in countries like Germany and Italy.

There is also a built-in GPS, and the N96 supports so called geotagging. That means that the images shot using the 5-megapixel camera will contain information on where the picture was taken. When uploading the images to Flickr or Nokia's new media site “Share on Ovi”, you can watch where shots were taken on a map.

The internal GPS is supported by a new version of the map program Nokia Maps 2.0. Among other things, there is a new mode for pedestrians, and an updated version of car navigation. If you want to be guided by a voice reading instructions, though, that will cost you extra through a separate monthly fee. The same thing goes for city guides. But world maps and the software is included.

The web reader is Nokia's Minimap browser, now including Flash support, which means you can watch for instance Youtube videos in the web reader.

The camera in the N96 takes 5 megapixel shots and has autofocus, just as with the N95. The operating system is Symbian with Series 60, giving the ability to add a number of extra programs in the phone.

By: Linus Brohult, Jonas Kämpe