Nokia N95 vs. the world
The Nokia N95 is a convergence fanboy's dream--there's a built-in sat-nav, a 5-megapixel camera, a media player, a PDA and of course, a mobile phone. But is it better than the standalone competition or is it a jack of all trades and master of none?
(Credit:
Crave UK)
We've pitted the N95's component parts against five standalone devices to see if you're better off taping together all your favorite gadgets or going down the shops and picking up Nokia's flagship handset.
Music
First up, it's the Nokia N95 versus the iPod Nano--both play music but which one plays it better? In terms of getting your music on to the device, the N95 wins hands down, since you can drag and drop music on to it without using iTunes.
The N95 also wins when it comes to connectivity options, since it comes with a 3.5mm jack that supports normal headphones and stereo Bluetooth, giving you the option to listen to music wirelessly.
The nano is much smaller and lighter than the N95, however, and it has the best audio quality in the market, which some music fans will value above anything else.
Verdict: A two-all draw.
Camera
Next up, we challenged the N95 to a duel with the Canon Digital IXUS 50, a compact 5-megapixel camera. The N95 is Nokia's first camera to come with a 5-megapixel camera, but can it beat one of Canon's best?
For camera fans, this is a no-brainer. While Nokia may have put a 5-megapixel sensor and auto-focus capabilities into the N95, there's no question that the lack of optical zoom and xenon flash gives the IXUS 50 the upper hand and the win.
Verdict: A resounding defeat for the N95.
PDA
The fight doesn't end there, though--the N95 is also a smart phone capable of running third-party apps, so we put it in the ring with one of HP's PDAs, the iPaq hx2790, which runs on Windows Mobile 5.
If you're looking for something to read your Outlook emails on then the iPaq hx2790 is probably worth checking out, but PDAs are a dying technology, particularly when you take into account connectivity options.
The Nokia N95 features infrared, Bluetooth, GSM, HSDPA (3.5G) and Wi-Fi connectivity, giving you access to the Web and telephone almost everywhere you go. The lack of these options on the hx2790 signifies a clear win for the N95.
Verdict: N95 for the win.
Phone
Of course the N95 is also a phone, so we let it fight it out with one of Motorola's simplest offerings, the extremely basic Motofone F3. While the N95's user interface takes some getting use to, it's miles easier to understand than the F3.
The N95 also features all the latest phone and texting options, while the Motofone F3 keeps it to the absolute basics of dialling and texting. Since we couldn't figure out half the time what the F3 was doing, we think this round should go to the N95.
Verdict: N95 by a mile.
Sat-nav
Last but definitely not least is the N95's GPS satellite-navigation capabilities, which we've pitted against the TomTom One Europe.
Unfortunately, in this race the N95 fell flat at almost every hurdle. For starters its maps aren't pre-installed--instead you download local and European maps on the fly via a data connection.
You also have to pay extra for voice guidance, which you don't have to do on most standalone sat-nav systems. Indeed, the N95's GPS capabilities are more like Google's mobile maps and not a serious sat-nav replacement.
We found the N95's sat-nav feature useful for short journeys and checking where we were abroad, but if you're driving then you really need to get a dedicated system.
Verdict: The TomTom by a clear head.
So there you have it: the N95 drew with the nano, was beaten heavily by the Canon, beat the iPaq and Motofone F3 down like a WWE superstar, and lost like a scared mouse to the TomTom One Europe.
With that in mind, if you want a compact device that does a fairly decent job at everything, then get the Nokia N95. But if you want the best of the best, then get yourself down to Urban Outfitters, buy some really baggy jeans and stuff your pockets with five devices instead of one.
(Source: Crave UK)
I know it will cost a bit more up front, but if you are using GPS navigation regularly I am sure you save in the end.
It may say this on the label.
It may say it on the CCD.
HOWEVER, this and practically EVERY other mobile phone camera I have seen or heard of do something very silly.
They all compress the images too much, losing precious quality.
I dont understand why the manufacturers think it neccessary to do that, after all, most of the decent camera phones have a memory card slot, so space is no longer an issue.
Even with my cameraphone set to the highest quality, the 2 megapixel camera only actually performs like a 1.3mp camera.
OK, sure enough camera phones dont have decent zoom, flash (usually) or many useful features, but they are still nice to have with you, I just wish they would not compress the files so much.
But, it seems that the future doesnīt belong to how the work. But which "imago" they create.
In this comparison, there should be another device that does almost all of it but GPS [depending on the country], and is going to be a winner:
LG Prada
Letīs be honest: at 700 bucks, they HAVE to look as being 700 bucks, and the LG is hard to beat.
- what was the purpose in this comparison?
- by lvirden May 23, 2007 11:47 AM PDT
- You compare music against the nano on sound , probably because it is envisioned as "the best". The camera comparison is against the canon, which you said was the best. And you compare the sat-nav against tom-tom, supposedly the best. So why not compare the phone against the best, instead of comparing it against "the extremely basic" F3? And is the iPaq considered the best of the PDAs? Either do the entire comparison against the best, or do the entire comparison against the most basic. Otherwise, the comparisons don't truly compare equally.
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