As the Nokia N95 production models starts spreading over the world, we get to see more and more detailed reviews…
PC World has a “first look” review,
Mobile Burn has (as usual) a solid in depth review of the device too.
As the review of Mobile Burn is the only full review, it is good to take a look at their conclusion:
Let’s ignore the N95’s abysmal battery life for a moment and talk about the positives. And by positives, I mean virtually every aspect of the N95. The N95 has a beautiful physical design that is rock solid in construction. The alphanumeric keypad might not be the best on the planet, but it is still quite usable. The rest of the keys and controls that adorn the device are top notch. The massive QVGA display is also worthy of praise, and the way it reorients itself depending on how the user positions the N95’s slider mechanism is wonderful.
In terms of software, the N95 once again comes up tops. The version of the Nokia S60 user interface on the N95 is vary mature, and very easy to use as far as smartphone platforms go. There is a wide variety of applications that run on it, and a decent selection of such are pre-loaded in the device or made freely available from the Download application.
The N95’s multimedia capabilities are almost legendary at this point. Its 5 megapixel autofocus camera captures lovely still photos as well as high-res 30fps video clips that can be displayed directly on a television. The music player application is very fully featured and is compatible with most major music file formats. The picture and video gallery is quick and very easy to use. Thanks to a dedicated button that is located next to the camera shutter button, it is also very convenient.
But the reality of the situation is that the N95 is a brilliantly conceived mobile phone that is nearly crippled by its battery life. A device such as this begs to be used, but the battery is not even remotely close to being up to the task. If it weren’t for the fact that the N95 does almost everything not only well, but superbly, the battery life would be an instant deal breaker. But due to its near other-worldly capabilities, I feel it deserves some leeway, and as such I still give it a “Recommended” rating. If the battery issue didn’t exist, I would probably have considered the N95 to be the best non-QWERTY smart phone ever developed to date.
Bottom-line: for a poweruser the battery sucks… to put it mildly. We knew this, but it is always a pity to re-read the confirmation of this.