Review of Nokia's N96 5 megapixel cameraphone

Nokia's N96 has hit the shelves, set to take over from its highly successful predecessor, the N95. With much of the same specs as the N95, the device has plenty to offer, but with a few tweaks and additions for good measure. This all sounds promising, but we thought we'd better take a look for ourselves - read on for our full review.

Physical Aspects

Like its older brother, the Nokia N96 is certainly no featherweight. Measuring a chunky 103mm x 55mm x 18mm (4.1" x 2.2" x .7"), the N96 is wider and taller than the N95, though slightly thinner. At 125g (4.4oz) the N96 is also 5g heavier than the original N95, though 3g lighter than the N95 8GB. Like its older siblings, the N96 is a two-way slider with a keypad that slides out from the bottom and a row of multimedia keys that emerge from the top.

One much-appreciated improvement over the N95 is the N96's superior build quality. The N96's slider feels very tight and snaps crisply into place. It is a drastic improvement over the N95's wobbly slider. There are a few creaks and squeaks from the N96's covers, though the device generally feels quite solid. The N96 takes on Nokia's new look that seems to have spread across many of their recent handsets. In my opinion the design is a success, and the simplistic, clean lines really work to give the handset an attractive appearance.

Most of the device is covered in a glossy finish, making it a fingerprint magnet. The front is the worst for prints, thanks to its black finish and glossy buttons. These buttons include left and right softkeys, call send/end keys, the S60^(INFO) menu key, the 'C' cancel key, and the d-pad enter button. The d-pad itself is a metallic silver color, as is the neighboring shortcut menu button to its right. Around the inner edge of the d-pad is a thin transparent band that illuminates every 10 seconds when the device is in low power mode. This light flashes twice every 10 seconds if there is a new event such as a new message or missed call.

Surrounding the d-pad is a black, slightly textured area. This area houses some hidden playback keys that illuminate when the keypad is activated. There are four keys: skip forward, skip backward, play/pause, and stop. I found these keys to be a little unnecessary, as they would always illuminate with the rest of the keypad, whether you were using any sort of audio/video player or not. Pressing them in most menus/applications has no effect, making their presence rather pointless unless the music player is open.

The Nokia N96's front is dominated by its large 2.8" display. With 240 x 320 pixel resolution and the capability to show up to 16 million colors, this display is a delight to behold. Its performance in bright conditions was good, even if slightly hampered by the glossy finish of the front panel. Above the display is a small slit for the earpiece and a tiny forward-facing camera for video calls.

The sides of the N96 are metallic silver, matching the d-pad and shortcut key. On the left side is the microSD^(INFO) slot, covered by a tight-fitting plastic door. At the bottom of the left side is the lanyard fixing. On the right side of the device are the camera shutter button and volume keys. The N96's stereo speakers can be found at either end of its right side, hidden behind perforated grilles.

The rear of the device is also glossy, but with a patterned finish beneath. Here you'll also find the N96's Carl Zeiss lens for the 5 megapixel camera, complete with a twin LED flash. Surrounding the camera lens is a thin silver band that folds out to act as a stand for propping the phone up when using it to watch a video. This stand is only plastic, though seemed sturdy enough.

The Nokia charger port and micro-USB^(INFO) ports are found on the bottom of the device. At the top you'll find the power button, keypad lock switch, and 3.5mm headphone port. I found the keypad lock switch difficult to reach when using the device one-handed, due to its position in the top left corner. Unfortunately, the usual Nokia key combination for locking/unlocking the keypad does not work either, so using the keypad lock switch is mandatory. Thankfully though, the device unlocks itself when the keypad is slid out, so the switch is not required very often.

The N96's numeric keypad was a disappointment for me, despite being quite large. The keys are perfectly flat and come in single horizontal strips. For example, the numbers 1, 2, and 3 are all found on the same flat strip of plastic. There is no definition between these keys at all, not even visually. Thankfully, the keypad offers decent tactile feedback with a satisfying click. Overall I'd say the keypad definitely is not among the best I've used, but worked OK once I'd gotten used to it.

Curiously, the pencil/shift key found on previous S60 devices has not been included on this device. Instead the # key takes over the "shift" type functions, allowing you to select multiple items and blocks of text. Personally I would have preferred the * key to take these functions, as using the # key is rather awkward whilst using the d-pad with my right thumb to select multiple items. Left-handed folk will likely find the existing setup fine, though.