FastLaneJB

That's a perfectly valid comment but in terms of the N95 to N96 you've got it the wrong way around.

The N95 has an ARM11 core at 330 odd Mhz (So in your comparison would be a Core 2 Duo at 2.8Ghz)

The N96 has an ARM9 core at 264Mhz (So in your comparison would be a Pentium 4 D at 2.53Ghz).

So not only does the N96 use a slower clocked processor but it uses an older revision of the ARM. An ARM11 is faster than an ARM9 at the same clock speed. An ARM11 at a faster clocker speed than the ARM9 is even quicker.

Now if the N96 seems to be just as quick it's either down to an optimisation of the software or the ARM11 wasn't getting pushed running the GUI anyway.

There is another possible reason, if the ARM11 OMAP was held back by poor memory bandwidth yet the N96 has faster memory chips, it might be possible the N96 could be faster in real life.

Still on paper from what we know, it would be a slower processor. It does of course have the Hardware Video acceleration which is more important than an unused 3D chip any day of the week.

TechFreak

i hope it really isn't a successor of the N95 though.

DevilsRejection

you guys need to stop with this whole successor thing. the n96 is the n96, the n95 is the n95. they're both being sold, at the same time, so how are they both on the market if one is the "successor."

Awesome_Aleks

In Australia they sold both the Astra "Classic" and the Astra at the same time

Moral of the story? It can have a successor but if the previous model is still popular (which the N95 is) then they will keep it along for the ride

beatmag

oooooooooooh what a great find.

but in the video preview of the n96 the people do say its pretty snappy. we will find out.

I have a n95 8gb, so I guess my next phone will be S60 touch, I want something with a MASSIVE screen =)

2.8" 4:3 screen is still going to be larger than a 3.2" widescreen =( Content is mostly 4:3 right now.

I am wondering why its taking Nokia so long to develope the Touch screen interface etc.

W00fer

Let's talk about the DVB-H functionality. I have the Samsung P960 now.

I hope the TV experience on the N96 is better. Bigger screen.

VerteX_GT

n96's demonstration page is now up.

http://nds2.nokia.com/tutorials/supp...s/n96/english/

Awesome_Aleks

The N96 looks like it is coming out very soon, I have seen some internet banners sayin "Nokia N96" "Coming Soon"

Super Chimp

This phone has grown on me a bit of late, still not certain thought if I would ever want to own it. As it's only really an evolved N95 8Gb designed for a particular market niche it's not so appealing as some other Nokia phones, plus it has an un-covered lens which has proved to be a major downside on my N95 8Gb.

lightindark

Is anyone here actually excited about the release of the N96? I remember when the N95 was first being made available in stores/internet, gadget freaks and even some normobs were having orgasms all around the world.

The N96 however... Well, If I were to be offered one for free, I would keep my N95 8GB and sell that phone that was released about 18 months after the original N95...

Remember people, just a few years ago, Nokia went from the N73/N80/N93 to the N95 in less than 18 months. Remember that when you look at the N96. Maybe you'll see it the same way I do.

Itachi

Thing is with its high price point its a niche phone. Also people have gotten wind of the N85 which is said to be better for video purposes whilst still keeping 5mp cam ect...and at a cheaper price so I think there isnt as much interest in this as Nokia would like.

Super Chimp

To me it's too obviously a niche device & also a stopgap device until something better is released.

rmcrys

I like a lot this phone but definately not a model that will make people with a N95 / N95-8Gb / N82 or even perhaps N81-8Gb to change. It adds to little but for new buyers it is a great phone.

Luckly Nokia chargers are extremely small

difenbaker

n96 demo is up.
http://europe.nokia.com/tutorials/su...s/n96/english/


... exactly.

cheers!

FastLaneJB

I don't think that's the case. It will be their top end DVB-H handset and that's the market this one is aimmed at. Clearly if a provider is offering DVB-H they don't have a huge choice of handsets to offer their customers.

What bothers me though is it's already half way through 2008 and there are no new high end devices announced other than this one. I remember up until the N95 we'd have a new high end device announced almost every 3 - 6 months. It's a bit quiet in Nokia land.

**^ramintop^**

dont they have like the worst demos? its not very informative!

knights

because still n95/n96 is hard to beat specwise... people/manufacturer seems to focus more in software side and UI atm... afterall, tell me what mobile bettered n96 based on paper specs? i900 comes close

Super Chimp

I want to know where this blasted new imaging flagship has got too, the device that kind of follows on from the N93?

Viipottaja

"Also people have gotten wind of the N85 which is said to be better for video purposes whilst still keeping 5mp cam ect."

Well, phone blog readers does not equal "people". I bet if you'd asked the.. what.. tens of millions of N-Series owners, only a tiny fraction would have heard about the N85.

There will certainly be enough people interested in the N96 to make it a moderate success but yeah, its not the atom bomb of game changer the N95 was. Very very phones historically are of course.

Super Chimp

A better flash & a protected lens would have helped it's cause.

teamet

Well.. If you look at specs/dimensions quite a few actually.

Dr Tran

Gaming schmaming:
http://qik.com/video/123733

Franz

^lol @ "the N96 is RUBBISH!"

but yeah, that sucks

chlettn

So the N96 isn't really for gaming it seems...



"Hi Mum!"

Awesome_Aleks

I saw a video comparison between the N81 and the N95 on Youtube showing the same thing with another racing game

It isn't as bad as it appears in practice, there are obvious improvements on the N95 compared to the N81 but it is still perfecty playable on the N81 (I'm talking about Asphalt 3, an N-GAGE title)

The N96 has some small scope for improvement because it isn't finished, but the N96 is running a 200Mhz (or close to it) processor which is the slowest one Nokia have made in years, so I do not expect a large improvement if any

PS: Racing games are the worst to test, the majority of phone games aren't racing games and other types of games play more similar across systems because they aren't as intensive

knights

ok... i had a chance to play with it for about 10mins @ nokia....

build quality- i say; its average... though its just a proto unit... almost same feel as n81 with lil lossy slider...

screen- its brithger than n95-8gb...

loudspeaker- same league as n81; just a lil louder and good separation..

camera- app wont start, no luck

music player- standard fp2 player, almost same as n82.. sq is same league as n81 but not as loud @ max volume...

overall ui speed- typical nokia, fast... Gallery is also fast, almost comparable with n82; faster than n78...

Razer

Thats nice. Any distortion at high volumes?

knights

i cant answer that since i didnt crank the volume to max when playing tracks via loudspeaker...

Razer

Ok.Thanks.

What about the video playback?

knights

Razer

music videos plays well (deafult vidoes)... i didnt check the format... ohh yes, the kickstand; its really nice to have one, good for video viewing...

no luck on n-gage also, no gaming apps installed...

Razer

Thanks....

marwan74

i thought it was supposed to be released by the end of june, and now it's almost mid july and no sign of it. I also noticed N96 discussion threads have died down, did Nokia pull the plug on this one?

lightindark

No. It's just that not too many people are intersted in the N96.

Super Chimp

As Play show it's due to be released at the end of this month which I think is actually earlier than originally stated.

chlettn

http://www.facethetask.com/

A PR page for the N96 - its release is close. DON'T try that link unless you're on an Quadcore 4GB RAM beast though, it's ridiculously ressource-demanding...

sms

the press release said Q3; and Q3 has only started 12 days ago.

it isn't, you just need a fast internet connection, it works fine on my very normal pc. ( unless you still work on an 8086 chlettn )

nice site btw.

chlettn

Well it killed FF on my dual core laptop...

Awesome_Aleks

It's running abit choppy on my 2.93 Ghz Pentium 4 with 1GB of RAM but murdering my computer it ain't

It probably isn't optimised for Dual-Core processors

Dr Tran

Release date I think is set for end of July

Super Chimp

My MBP doesn't seem to have too much issue with the site, more an issue with the connection I am using.

claudio

It still looks very boring design wise but anyhow i'll buy it because it's a nokia top end device.

Phil The WebSurfer

Not available but displayed : http://tienda.nokia.es/nokia-es/prod...&culture=es-ES

Super Chimp

A bit too niche for that. Maybe more of a flagship device in the upcoming N series announcements?

knights

well, n96 will still be on the top.. unless there will be n97's announcemnt... n85 is interesting but itll be based on n96 -tv and microSD slot AFAIK...

Super Chimp

Couldn't the new high end imaging device that they say is to be announced next be the next flagship after the N96?

knights

like i said in my previos post, n96 will still be in the top... it could be the imaging flagship but n96 will still be do-it-all top solution... its like n95-8gb:n82...

navneet

Just wondering...if the N95-8GB battery will fit into the N96...Can some1 with a proto try it?

lightindark

I think I remember someone saying that the N95 8GB's battery does fit in the N96 and quite nicely aswell.

N95er

I find that hard to beleive, why not include it?

I'm using the battery from the 8GB in my N95-1, removed the front sticker, and trimmed the plastic protutions at the edges, fitted the enteir back casing in one. It's a tight sqeeze but gives about half a day extra on good usage (has not blown up yet!!!).

Not the sort of thing your average shopper is going to do though.

I would have thought Nokia would respond to the over-whelming call for:

Larger battery

Camera lens cover (no phone over 3MP should be without one)

Xenon flash

Once the prototypes were seen, what do the testers tell them???