Nokia N96

Interface and Bundled Applications
The N96 comes with an updated 3rd edition (feature pack 2 multimedia menu) Series 60 UI. This OS is perhaps the single most widely used in the 3rd party applications domain. One of the most important updates is the accelerometer technology that allows the screen to change orientation from portrait to landscape by just tilting the phone. You can turn it off if you find the accelerometer too jumpy for your taste (as I did; after ending a call I found the screen had switched to landscape).

The speed of the N96 has taken a beating with Nokia's unusual decision to downgrade the processor. It now comes with a Dual ARM 9 264MHz CPU, while the N95 had the much faster Dual ARM 11 332MHz CPU. When I spoke to Nokia they downplayed the issue as circumstantial and unimportant. I beg to differ. It would have been prudent to at least retain the original processing speed, especially since the phone is equipped with features like video ringtones, and more importantly, when it can store double the data. It still has 128MB RAM, thankfully.

I feel the processor is the main cause for the phone's sluggish performance. Having so much space is one thing; to be able to pull it off with ease is another. I tested the phone by filling it to the brim (including the additional 8GB card) with music and videos, and it became progressively worse at accessing data. This put me off further, especially while using the GPS.

The speed of the N96 has taken a beating with Nokia's unusual decision to downgrade the processor. It now comes with a Dual ARM 9 264MHz CPU, while the N95 had the much faster Dual ARM 11 332MHz CPU. When I spoke to Nokia they downplayed the issue as circumstantial and unimportant. I beg to differ. It would have been prudent to at least retain the original processing speed, especially since the phone is equipped with features like video ringtones, and more importantly, when it can store double the data. It still has 128MB RAM, thankfully.

I feel the processor is the main cause for the phone's sluggish performance. Having so much space is one thing; to be able to pull it off with ease is another. I tested the phone by filling it to the brim (including the additional 8GB card) with music and videos, and it became progressively worse at accessing data. This put me off further, especially while using the GPS.

Being a Series 60 phone, the N96 takes pride in having a plethora of apps at its disposal. There's no point talking about the third-party apps, but there are some useful ones that Nokia has bundled with the phone. To begin with there's WaveSecure that allows users secure control over the phone. For this, you will need WAP or GPRS active on your number. With this app you can track your phone in the event of it getting stolen or lost, but more importantly you can backup information: contacts, SMS, calendar entries etc. Another thing I liked is the auto-lock feature when the SIM is changed. Killer!

Some handy apps like Oxford Dictionary are bundled, and how can one forget the Mobiola Screen Capture that allows you to take screenshots of anything you like? This app allows remote access to the PC via bluetooth, and enables it to work like a wireless presenter. There's also IndiSMS that allows you to write SMS in Hindi, Marathi, Punjabi, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, and Bengali.

Nokia search, and other utilities like calendar, alarm etc. remain intact. There's a nice list of video ringtones, although I found they occasionally failed to load on some calls.