Long term battle: Nokia N95, N95 8GB and N82
The N95 has been out for over a year. The N95 8GB for over four months. The N82 for about three months. All three have very similar spec sheets. But, away from the raw figures, there are numerous small differences. How do these stack up, qualitatively? Which, overall, really is the best smartphone in the world?
The baseline of each of the top Nokia Nseries smartphones is more or less identical, of course, with:
- S60 3rd Edition, FP1 with media pack/extras
- 5 megapixel stills camera with Carl Zeiss optics
- VGA video recording
- TV out
- Wi-Fi
- GPS
- Stereo speakers
- 3.5mm audio out
- Flash Lite 3 (video etc.)
Plus the same processor, same screen resolution, same telephony/data spec. And so on. But, away from the similarities, for the true Nseries connoisseur, the differences also start to add up. From the N82's dimmer and smaller screen, to its better GPS and more robust form factor, to the N95 8GB's larger and brighter screen but greater size and weight, to the N95's protected camera lens, it's interesting to balance things out and calculate which of Nokia's 'top three' is best overall.
In this case, I've used each model for at least three weeks of non-stop day-to-day action - in the case of the two N95s, several months each, so my scores below are very much based on real world impressions and not just on specs and a quick play. With the baseline spec established, I was interested in all the small differences, many of which would not necessarily be covered by review in other blogs, sites and magazines. Here we go...
| Nokia (scores out of 10) | N95 | N95 8GB | N82 |
| Price (UKP, inc VAT) |
280 | 445 | 345 |
| Cost | 9 | 5 | 6 |
| Display size | 8 | 10 | 6 |
| Display brightness | 8 | 10 | 6 |
| Robustness/longevity | 6 | 7 | 10 |
| GPS sensitivity | 6 | 6 | 8 |
| Battery life | 5 | 8 | 7 |
| RAM/performance | 6 | 9 | 9 |
| Photo quality/sharpness (related to condition of lens glass and camera firmware) | 10 | 7 | 9 |
| Video audio track quality | 7 | 7 | 5 |
| LED flash brightness | 6 | 6 | 9 |
| Memory card/Mass memory speed | 8 | 4 | 8 |
| D-pad usability | 8 | 9 | 6 |
| Keypad usability | 8 | 8 | 5 |
| Overall size and weight | 8 | 6 | 7 |
| Display contrast outdoors | 8 | 7 | 6 |
| Grand total | 111 | 109 | 107 |
For more detail on each Nseries flagship, of course, you could do a lot worse than go and read our detailed reviews, here on All About Symbian. See the links below.
The conclusion may surprise you. It certainly surprised me and I've gone back to the original N95 with a renewed respect. It's worth noting that the above scores were all based on latest firmware for each device - the recent v20 and v21 updates for the N95 made a huge difference in terms of capabilities and performance - the original firmware for the N95 would have scored the device quite a bit lower!
Although this is a 'win' for the Nokia N95 classic, despite now being 18 months old (and in the real world for well over a year - an eternity in the smartphone ecosystem), you should note that I've factored cost into the reckoning. Take out the score for 'cost' and all three devices score more or less identically. In fact, the scores are outstandingly close, considering the variations for the individual attributes.
So close, in fact, that I'm going to declare the result a three way tie. Any new smartphone purchaser would be very happy with any of the three. My advice, in terms of which to actually plump for? I'd go with the N95 or N82, depending on form factor preference. And then consider the N95 8GB if price wasn't an issue and if absolute photo quality wasn't critical.
It's a tough call though. What do you think? Would your scorings vary for the detailed attributes above?
Steve Litchfield, All About Symbian, 21 Apr 2008
Related Reviews and Features
Nokia N95 Reviews - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 (reviews date from before major firmware updates), US Version
Nokia N95 8GB Review
Nokia N82 Reviews - Part 1, Part 2
TV Out feature article series
Nokia N95 vs Sony Ericsson P1i vs Nokia E65
The Nokia N95 - More Converged and more Convenient?
A Personal Review: 7 Days With An Nokia N95
The Black Beauties Christmas Showdown - Nokia N95 8GB versus the Apple iPhone
Published by Steve Litchfield at 19:41 UTC, April 20th 2008
Categories: Hardware
Platforms: S60 3rd Edition
News Discussion
The N82 can be bought online direct from Nokia for only £315 inc VAT and Delivery and you get a FREE bag, [url]http://shop.nokia.co.uk/nokia-uk/product.aspx?sku=3759722[/url] which has got to be worth an extra point. (N95 8GB is £422 from Nokia)
If you are looking to get an N82 on contract in the UK, forget it, they are are currently not available officially on any network after O2 decided to discontinue it a couple of weeks ago.
The N82 can be bought online direct from Nokia for only £315 inc VAT and Delivery and you get a FREE bag, [url]http://shop.nokia.co.uk/nokia-uk/product.aspx?sku=3759722[/url] which has got to be worth an extra point. (N95 8GB is £422 from Nokia)
If you are looking to get an N82 on contract in the UK, forget it, they are are currently not available officially on any network after O2 decided to discontinue it a couple of weeks ago.[/quote]
Although the networks have dropped the N82, (What ARE they playing at??) it is still available through many independent dealers, and that also include the AAS store, where the N82 is available on both O2 and Orange:
[url]http://phoneshop.allaboutsymbian.com/o2-nokia-n82.html[/url]
[url]http://phoneshop.allaboutsymbian.com/orange-nokia-n82.html[/url]
As for the scoring I may have made a few things different. I've used all three handsets and by far for me the N82 is the best of the bunch.
I owned the N95 8gb originally which I got - brand new - for £375. This was and still is a pretty good price, but soon the novelty of the shiny back case and slightly bigger screen wore off and after my fiance updated her Classic N95 to version 20 I realised that the advantages of my extra RAM were un-noticeable - she still went about using all the applications she wanted without any problems - and even the battery seemed to make no difference, as both of us invariably had to recharge our respective N95s at the end of each day.
I also preferred the lightness and smaller 'feel' of the classic.
Fortunately my N95 8gb developed a fault whereby a strange fog appeared under the lens. I was able to swap for a new N95 classic silver and kept £175 change to boot. I was also fortunate enough to find an 8GB SDHC inside the phone, so I couldn't be happier - I HATED the slow transfer rate of the 8gb and now I can transfer files at lightning speed. I don't miss the bigger screen, the extra RAM the extended battery or the extra weight and I appreciate that I have enough money left over to buy a Wii.
Based on price - which is surely the most important factor when the differences in spec are so small - I think the N95 is certainly the best of the three smartphones reviewed. Even as an upgrade I'd think twice before going for the 8gb as the slow transfer rate is crippling for someone who is constantly adding and taking away multimedia like myself, though it does look nice.
I owned the N95 8gb originally which I got - brand new - for £375. This was and still is a pretty good price, but soon the novelty of the shiny back case and slightly bigger screen wore off and after my fiance updated her Classic N95 to version 20 I realised that the advantages of my extra RAM were un-noticeable - she still went about using all the applications she wanted without any problems - and even the battery seemed to make no difference, as both of us invariably had to recharge our respective N95s at the end of each day.
I also preferred the lightness and smaller 'feel' of the classic.
Fortunately my N95 8gb developed a fault whereby a strange fog appeared under the lens. I was able to swap for a new N95 classic silver and kept £175 change to boot. I was also fortunate enough to find an 8GB SDHC inside the phone, so I couldn't be happier - I HATED the slow transfer rate of the 8gb and now I can transfer files at lightning speed. I don't miss the bigger screen, the extra RAM the extended battery or the extra weight and I appreciate that I have enough money left over to buy a Wii.
Based on price - which is surely the most important factor when the differences in spec are so small - I think the N95 is certainly the best of the three smartphones reviewed. Even as an upgrade I'd think twice before going for the 8gb as the slow transfer rate is crippling for someone who is constantly adding and taking away multimedia like myself, though it does look nice.[/quote]
Hmm.. WOW ! Really ? Does anybody else feel the same way about the 2 N95's ??
having come from a slow, slow n70 which lost most of its silvery paint to my ears and hair over 18 months (was wondering why my wife was accusing me of jiggerypokery with girls wearing glitter when i got back from a night-out - only twigged after a year or so - d'oh!) I guess any of the 3 phones would seem amazing! The N95 has completely integrated itself into my life - phone, web, camera and 8gb of tunes and videos wherever I want - I can even work from home using it's SSH client!
battery life is the main reason i would advise friends to go for something other than an n95 classic. i'm only a moderate user and it has to be charged daily, even on v20 firmware... my missus still uses my old 6230i which can last almost a week without charging! makes a rubbish light sabre though.
It's all depending heavily on the importance of features to oneself. To me the camera was top priority and I traded that in for a slightly smaller screen and lacking infraread (both which I could make good use of) in the N82. Someone else might not care much about a camera and is willing to pay more for the biggest screen. Then the scale will most likely tip to the side of the N95 8GB.
So, the table with points makes much sense. Multiply the entries by the importance of the feature for the person asking for advice (or yourself, of course), leave out the things your don't care about because all phones are good enough and sum that up.
My conclusion: Good article and very helpful when deciding which phone to buy. If it only were appearing two months earlier I wouldn't have had to think that long about which model to choose ...
A journalist may love the N82 purely for its video recording capabilities whereas a young, gadget loving guy could just want the same phone because he doesn't like phones with a sliding mechanism but wants a 5.0 megapixel camera.
Surely its all down to the individual to answer this question?
[url]http://www.phoneslimited.co.uk/Nokia/N82.html[/url]
I assume the original N95 tested by you is the european N95-1, with 64MB RAM and 950 mAh battery. I wonder how well would the N95-3 (available in the americas, heavily subsidized here in Brazil) score in that table.
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