The N96 comes with a box-cover advertisement of the pre-licensed Tetris game for N-Gage, which is not the most attractive high-end game, I'd say. The cover also informs the buyer that games such as Asphalt 3: Street Rules, World Series of Poker Pro Challenge, and Snakes Subsonic, are installed as trial, as well as local maps and navigation licence for three months is available. Portuguese consumers might not be very happy to note that the word "Portuguese" is misspelled at the back of the cover.

The front of the actual box, of which the layout hasn't changed, but the colours are very inviting, has got an advert as well, this time, of the Transformers full-length movie included in the device. I did face a problem with the movie, which I will document later in the review.

Opening the first flap of the box unveils the handset, earphones, audio controller, and battery. The second platform contains the TV-out cable, travel charger, car charger, USB-miniUSB cable, User manuals, Getting started booklets, Booklet on Ovi, Tetris leaflet, and the Nokia PC Suite, which comes with Nokia NSeries PC Suite software, Nokia NSeries video manager, Nokia Download!, Nokia Photos, Nokia Map Loader, Nokia Software Updater, Nokia Music, and Home Media Server.

I cannot recall seeing a car charger in any Nokia phone package, this might hint that there will be power problems, or that Nokia is improving their end-user packages. The DVD included features most of the software available from Nokia at the shipping date, which should be enough to empower the N96 so that it can replace your computer.

The Ovi leaflet includes information that was needed to inform readers on the service. It has information on Nokia Maps, N-Gage, Nokia Music Store, Live TV, Video Centre, Share on Ovi, Ovi.com, Nokia Ovi Suite for PC, and Nokia Download!. If multimedia is the focus of NSeries, the handset maker has to actively promote its services to the consumer. This shouldn't only be the functions, but the possible uses as well, such as citizen journalism, blogging, among others.

The Nokia N96 retail package comes with the following:

• Nokia N96
• Nokia Battery BL-5F
• Nokia Connectivity Cable CA-101 (microUSB)
• Nokia Video-Out Cable CA-75U (TV-out)
• Nokia Stereo Headset and Remote HS-45, AD-54 (earphones)
• Nokia Mobile Charger DC-4 (car charger)
• Nokia Compact Travel Charger AC-5 (house charger)

The Nokia N96 undoubtedly shares almost the same design as the Nokia N81. It is difficult to distinguish between both, although there are few differences, size being one of them. The N96 has a larger display, at 2.8", than the N81 which has 2.4". The N96's predecessor, the Nokia N95 8GB, shares the same display with the same resolution, QVGA (240x320 pixels). Nokia is missing out on larger resolutions, which are included by its rivals, such as HTC, in the Touch Diamond, which includes a 2.8" display with VGA resolution (480x640 pixels). Furthermore, the N96 does not have a touchscreen, which is included in almost all its rivals.

The N96 weighs slightly less than the N95 8GB, at 125g against 128g, but more than the N95, which weighs 120g. The weight distribution actually erases this feeling, especially if you're used to heavy phones.

Press images, or even live images might not reflect the feeling that you might have after looking at the N96 lying on your desk, the blend between the black glossy surfaces, and the silver sides, combined with the size of the phone, are true forms of class. The simple formal look of the N96 is tremendously elegant, the exactly opposite to colourful phones with unorthodox forms, which feel funky. The N96 looks very expensive.

The front housing of the N96 covers the display, protecting it from scratches, although the gloss attracts quite a lot of fingerprints, and the display cover actually gets scratched. On top of the display, the letters "N96" remind the owner that he/she owns Nokia's flagship phone. Next to it you find the speaker opening covered in a silver colour matching the phone's sides, and on the right, a tiny camera sensor is positioned, commonly used for video calls.

The bottom part of the display has nothing less than 16 keys, although only 12 are visible when the keypad light is switched off, and 11 of them are completely flat. On the left side of the navi-key, the left soft key, green key (call/accept), and menu key can be found, while on the right side, the right soft key, red (exit/end), and 'c' (clear) key are positioned. Around the navi-key, which is actually a navi-wheel turned off by Nokia due to few kinks, the music keys can be found. These are badly lit up, and their light stays off when a multimedia function is not in use. The Multimedia menu can be called from a silver key positioned in the music keys surface.

Although some of the keys are flat, they are ergonomical, owing to their size.

The navi-key has a plastic sound to it when pressed, this is either bad fitting from the music keys piece, or just wrong use of material.

Unlike previous Nokia devices, the "Play/Pause" key cannot be used to summon the Music Player. Another disappointment was the lack of rotation when the slider was opened, if the auto-rotation mode was enabled. For example, when I opened the music keys section, the phone stayed in portrait mode, the same way when I opened the keypad platform, the device stayed in landscape mode. The only way to rotate it was to move the phone. You can either choose to keep auto-rotation off, and if this option is selected, the only way to rotate the screen is to open one of the slider platforms, or you can choose to enable auto-rotation, in which case you'll have to rotate the phone itself to rotate the screen.

The right side of the N96 has its two speakers in each end, the volume rocker, and the autofocus/shutter key. The gallery button is not present, as it has been scrapped off recent NSeries phones, and it will unfortunately not be included in future devices. There were mixed reactions regarding this move, as some users found it useful, while others, a nuisance, as it was easy to press it by mistake.

The speaker grills are pretty much like the N81's ones, and having both of them on the same side made me inquisitive. I was present at the Nokia N96 press conference in Johannesburg, where I had the chance to ask Henri Mattila, Nokia's Go-to market NSeries representative at the time, what the justification was, and Mattila told me that the handset was designed to be placed on its kickstand, therefore the speaker positioning was logical on that side.

The camera button is very small for a phone that belongs to a line of camera-focused devices. Nokia only adopted the circular button for the N93 unfortunately, while handset makers such as Sony Ericsson and Samsung are now implementing the form in their recent camera-focused devices. The Finnish giant is surely making few mistakes along the way.

The left side of the N96 has the microSD memory card slot only. You won't need fingernails to get it opened, but the opening method is the same as in the N95, which means that it is volatile, the memory card slot of my own N95 has broken off.

The bottom side of the N96 has the lanyard holes, charging point, and miniUSB port. The bottom part also reveals that it is not squarish, like phones such as the N95; this adds a sleekness factor to the already elegant N96.

The top side of the N96 incorporates the 'on/off/profile' button, 3.5mm audiovisual jack, and lock switch. The 'on/off/profile' button is awfully small, which makes it very difficult to press. The lock switch is isolated, which makes it difficult to reach, it was a concept badly implemented.

The multimedia keys in the secondary slider platform have four of the keys placed around the navi-key, with the equal amount of poor backlighting. Two N-Gage circular buttons should lighten up when playing games. The keys have a sleek design owing to the completely black glossy surfaces.

The back cover has lines flowing all over it, while it shines with glitter. The camera has two large LED flash for image capture and video capture. The kickstand support is made part of the camera, and has the lens specifications printed on it. The words "Nokia Nseries" are printed in the middle of the cover. The phone doesn't look much like a camera, unlike its predecessor N95.

The camera lens is unprotected by a cover such as the one present on the N95, but it contains a glass covering, which, if it becomes scratched, will ruin images captured. I am quite unsure why Nokia chose not to include a small cover, such as the one present on the recent N85, for example.

The back cover is easily removable by a press on a "button" on the top section. The cover piece includes the GPS, WLAN, and HSDPA antenna. The consumers who generally hold the phone on their left ear might accidentally block the antenna, although a warning against this is present in the N96 user manual. The antenna is located at such position for a better GPS experience, previously with the N95 users had to maintain the keypad slid open at all times for a GPS lock.

The battery included on the N96 is a 950mAh, the exact same one as in the N95, its predecessor, although the N95 8GB had a much stronger one with 1200mAh of capacity. Nokia is definitely prepared for the shortage, as it implemented a Power Saving mode on the phone, and included a car charger in the package.

The N96 has massive light leakage problems, as it is usual in glossy phones. The keypad backlight isn't well coordinated at all. Sunlight exposure is another problem, the colours on the display become imperceptible if it's a summer sun that is shining.

The N96 has a very classy and elegant design owing to its glossy black and silver colour combination, but it's the small issues such as the poor backlighting, light leakage, sunlight glare, battery capacity, and the plastic feel to the navi-key that ruin the user experience. Effectively, the N96 might have more advantageous points than let-downs, style being the biggest factor.

 Print This Article