You'll note I said 'plot a route' - actually guiding you to it in real time costs extra. Using the app does too, since the maps are downloaded over the network. Fortunately, they're retained in memory, ideally on a card to make room for it all, so make sure you plan routes when you're in range of a hotspot - and have a clear GPS signal of course... There is a separate Map Loader application to grab maps in advance, but it's Windows only.
Special mention has to go to the AC adaptor that comes with the N95: it's tiny, smaller in fact than a standard three-pin plug. The downside is the very thin cable which will clearly not take kindly to rough usage.
It's handy that the AC adaptor's small, because the N95 needs a lot of charging. I got a day's use out of a fully charged battery, with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi enabled, a little bit web surfing, ten minutes' video watching, and an hours' music playback. A canny power conserver can probably eke out the battery life to a second day, and I did activate the display more than most users would on average. Still, nothing to shout about.
No, it's not just a plug, it's the AC adaptor
It'll come as no surprise that a handset crammed with as many features as the N95 has doesn't come cheap. But £549 inc VAT isn't too bad in my book. That's unlocked, so the networks will probably offer it for less.
Verdict
It's the gadget fan's ultimate phone: it does absolutely everything and does it well. It's not as good as standalone devices, but at least it saves you carrying five bits of kit around. Nokia has produced a handset that doesn't compromise on size or functionality, and for once avoids the unnecessary irritations that have spoiled past N series phones. Only the price - high - and the battery life - low - are bothersome. Now, where's my credit card?
Nokia N95 multimedia slider phone
COMMENTS
VIDEO - Flash player
is it possible to give us the list of files that the N95 can read ? above .flv ?
an install of flashlite is possible ?
what are the real performance (size of video , quality , encoding etc.) of the video player ?
the streaming proposed by nokia is it sufficient could
we talk about dvd -like ?
thx great job
NoKia N95 and Vodafone
On the way to a friend yesterday (7.5.07) I popped into my usual Vodafone retailer. This follows a 90 minute helpdesk call during the week regarding settings issues. I
left 2 hours later. Again a most helpful techno went through all settings
contacted vodafone twice by phone. They sent settings by email for wap
and email which he printed out to manually re input. He changed the sim
card in case by chance it was corrupted with vodafone settings. He got
vodafone to send all settings for sim. Re installed them. Got my
vodafone email password changed to try vodafone email in case yahoo settings
were not correct. Guess what ? No email ! Web works ok and vodafone
setting is Vf wap. Agreed my use of broadband would have proved it was not
vodafone settings. Advice given bring back with
box etc and they will send it off to engineers to check the phone
completely. Agreed another replacement would not solve issue. What to do ?
The camera is wonderful. Downloaded Yahoo Go works like a dream (using it
now with broadband when at home in bed ! ) can I live without phone email and gps -
yahoo maps good!
Basically I think it has been Vodafone-ised and who knows what that has left from the original Nokia intentions. So I have to decide whether to live with applications that don't work, wonder whether Nokia software upgrades will be 'allowed' by Vodafone, enjoy the convenience of having a good camera or, take it back and go back to my old Sharp and wait for the N96.....or whatever. Also, maybe I should save up and get a 'free of Vodafone' version. Views would be welcome from those with more knowledge than I.
2Gb limit
I believe the 2Gb limit is a software issue as the larger cards are FAT32 and not FAT16.
I did read a review that said the larger cards would/are supported and in fact SanDisk show the N95 is being a compatible phone for their 4Gb cards.
Firmware update
For the record (and if el reg allow this post ;) to update the firmware whilst on Voda / Orange etc, you use a tool called 'NSS', which allows you to change the product code.
Nokia uses the product code set to your phone to identify the network operator. With Vodafone, for instance, when Nokia release a firmware update, they send it to Voda for altering to suit their customisations.
So by changing your product code from say Vodafone to Plum Euro1, the N95 will update.
1. Back up phone to mem card, etc
2. NSS your product code to euro1 (or w/e)
3. Update the firmware
4. Change back to manufacturer code.
5. Restore backup
6. Change back to euro1.
Firmware??
Where can i find the latest firmware? i went on to http://europe.nokia.com/softwareupdate and it didnt find any software for my phone?
