[Hands0n]

Cat ...... Pigeons ....... let mayhem begin :D

I'm not entirely swayed one way or the other, save to say that the author, Steve, is a brave lad ;) What do you think? Do you subscribe to any of this?


(C) 'Attention Grabbing Headlines Ltd.' No, of course, I wouldn't rather have a 'classic' N95 than the newer 8GB model, if offered both for Christmas, but there's still a real story here. I argue that there are enough positives for the 'classic' as to keep it a contender. Read on...




It's cheaper. £375, SIM-free, including VAT, from Expansys. If you have to ask about the SIM-free price of the 8GB model then you probably can't afford it!

Some activities are faster. For example, the speed of disk access/scanning, when updating the Music library or Gallery or doing an Image Store from your PC. In each case, there's a big slowdown when needing to trawl across that big 8GB internal disk.

It's lighter, around 10g lighter, around 8% in terms of overall weight, and noticeable in the hand.

It's thinner, too, by at least a millimetre, also noticeable holding the two side by side.

There's a proper, protective shutter over the lens of the 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens. With your fingers pressing into this area every day in normal use, the shutter stops finger grease getting onto the glass cover and spoiling the next 'must have' photo opportunity.

There's a microSD slot, meaning that you can not only stick in a 8GB card if you want the full storage capability of the newer model, you can also swap files with other computers and accessories with card reading slots, e.g. to put your microSD into a printer to print off photos.

There's a comprehensive on-board video editing suite (built into Gallery) - bizarrely, this is missing on the 8GB model and I have absolutely no idea why!

It's less nickable. By which I mean that the N95 is so commonplace nowadays that you won't be a magnet for teenage muggers, whereas the black 8GB model is instantly recognisable and, unfortunately, lusted after.

It has a rougher side and rear coating, giving you a better grip and meaning that it's less likely to be dropped.

Did I mention it was cheaper? 8-)


As mentioned at the start, the newer 8GB model has advantages (higher free RAM, better screen, bigger battery) that outweigh the above factors for most people, but I wasn't going to let that get in the way of putting forward a few contentions that will both get people talking and (hopefully) keep the original N95 on sale alongside its newer brother.

Steve Litchfield, AllAboutSymbian, 9 Nov 2007

Article Source: http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/news/item/6220_10_Reasons_why_the_Nokia_N95_c.php

[Ben]

Wow.

There are only two reasons why the N95 'classic' is 'better' than the N95 8GB.

1. The N95 'classic' has a microSD slot, which is potentially useful to some people.
2. A lot of people have the N95 'classic', some only having got theirs recently. It sucks that Nokia have released a version which is, essentially, what their phones should have been.

Of course the sentiment isn't far from that conveyed in my N95 head to head (https://talk3g.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4643). I still have both handsets at the moment, and it's a safe conclusion that anybody wanting an N95 now really should be getting the N95 8GB unless they need that microSD slot. Forget about the camera cover on the N95 'classic', it's cheap feeling and has only resulted on mine in more crap working its way under there and getting stuck all over the lense. The exposed lense of the N95 8GB is actually easier to keep clean.

[miffed]

What I like about this piece (and usually I find Steve Litchfield's stuff quite useful and informative ) .... Is that someone is madly ranting about something OTHER than the iPhone ! - I think i'd have felt even better about it if he had entitled the piece "10 reasons why the 8GB sucks ! "

Seriously , what is it these days ? Why do people (reviews , critics ,Journalists ) seem hell bent on trying to make obviously good products sound terrible ?
Take the iPhone , I love it ! it is great ! , admittedly underspec'd , but I find it a joy to use , as does everyone who has a go on it !
Following the hugely publicised launch - "Reporters" were keen to smugly point out that "no one" turned up for the launch - yet later(in much smaller , understated articles ) , we learn that the iPhone has indeed sold like hot cakes !
Again with the 8GB , EVERYONE who has a go , seems to love it ! - Our very own Ben has done a Head to Head with an obvious conclusion - to suggest the N95 is "better" is ridiculous !

[Hands0n]

Seriously , what is it these days ? Why do people (reviews , critics ,Journalists ) seem hell bent on trying to make obviously good products sound terrible ?

It is nothing new mate. It is a rather British malaise. Which nation, after all, could hero-worship "Eddie the Eagle" as a national hero? We seem to embrace bad news, applaud failure. But the moment anyone gets all gung-ho about something they're shouted down by the masses. It is simply everywhere - we see a successful person and ask "What did they ever do to deserve that" rather than "Wow, I wish I could have five minutes of their time to find out how to be as successful".

Don't forget, also, bad news sells. Any headline screaming "Steve Jobs and Apple fall flat on face with iPhone in UK" is going to make a much better headline than "Apple sales meet expectation, plenty of stock on day one". We seem to be much happier with a repeat of last years news "Nintendo Wii sold out for 2nd year running, black market thrives with 100% markup".

With the N95 8GB I feel that Nokia has done what they do with most of their product. They have made an incremental update to a rather good piece of kit. They have addressed a number of the N95's issues and tarted up the design a bit (it has to be cheaper to build it without the camera shutter mechanism). In doing this fairly minimal regrade they are able to capitalise on the previous development effort and gain a big cash injection from the new device.

They've done it before, they'll do it again - there will be a successor to the N95 8GB (16GB anyone?) and it will be as incremental. None of this is to take away from the improvements that Nokia have made. But those with N95s should not feel so aggrieved that they missed the boat by a few days/weeks/months. The N95 is still a very capable handset and with the advent of V20 of the firmware it could have a whole new life breathed into it - if Nokia allow V20 to be fitted retrospectively, and that could be a big if!

[The Mullet of G]

Wow.

There are only two reasons why the N95 'classic' is 'better' than the N95 8GB.

1. The N95 'classic' has a microSD slot, which is potentially useful to some people.
2. A lot of people have the N95 'classic', some only having got theirs recently. It sucks that Nokia have released a version which is, essentially, what their phones should have been.

Of course the sentiment isn't far from that conveyed in my N95 head to head (https://talk3g.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4643). I still have both handsets at the moment, and it's a safe conclusion that anybody wanting an N95 now really should be getting the N95 8GB unless they need that microSD slot. Forget about the camera cover on the N95 'classic', it's cheap feeling and has only resulted on mine in more crap working its way under there and getting stuck all over the lense. The exposed lense of the N95 8GB is actually easier to keep clean.


Theres also a 3rd reason why the original N95 is better than the 8GB variant, after looking at benchmarks and reading N95 8GB users comments on the recently released Nokia E3 3D accelerator demo, it turns out that the N95 8GB is a bit of a slouch performance wise. The benchmarks show that the original N95 easily outperforms the 8GB upstart, for a demonstration of how this translates to real world performance the recent Nokia E3 demo runs smooth as silk on the original N95, but on the 8GB it runs like a slug on a salt lake. Good old Nokia you gotta love those guys. :D

Benchmark results: http://www.glbenchmark.com/result.jsp

[Ben]

Oh come on, that has to be software :p The N95 has had like a zillion releases now, the 8GB has had, erm, well none yet on mine!

I suppose the bigger screen could have an impact... which really worries me because I 3D game on my N95 8GB all the time :D

[miffed]

Blimey - Slower than an original N95 ?! that IS slow !! :eek:

[whatleydude]

Just get yourself one of these and have done with it..

:)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/whatleydude/2095464226/

[Ben]

Blimey - Slower than an original N95 ?! that IS slow !! :eek:
So you do a lot of serious 3D on your N95 too, huh? :p

Having both handsets, I can vouch that my N95 8GB is slightly faster than my N95 in general performance, and blows it away in some applications like Camera. I don't have v20 yet, though.
Just get yourself one of these and have done with it..

:)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/whatleydude/2095464226/
Ooo cool, who'd have thought it, you just pop it in and suddenly your N95 turns black, looks good and has a huge, dazzling screen! :D

[whatleydude]

It's only the screen I'm missing out on..

http://www.flickr.com/photos/whatleydude/1102969728/in/set-72157601434002415/

..and the difference between V10/11/12 and V20 is amazing.
Seriously - it's like having a new phone.

[The Mullet of G]

Oh come on, that has to be software :p The N95 has had like a zillion releases now, the 8GB has had, erm, well none yet on mine!

I suppose the bigger screen could have an impact... which really worries me because I 3D game on my N95 8GB all the time :D


I think some of the performance hit is due to the slightly larger screen, and possibly a slight de-clock to increase battery life. Also if you look at the benchmark scores it tells you the date it was first uploaded, most of the N95 ones are from 21st of January 2007 which is pretty early firmware.

Its also worth noting that the benchmark tool isn't just for 3D performance, it also tests various other things including CPU performance, the results of these can be found near the top left of the results page, theres a drop down box next to Order By.

Its not just 3D gaming thats effected by the N95 8GB's lower performance scores, it also means the original N95 should be able to play videos at higher bit rates, which means watching them back via TV out should be a more pleasant experience for those who choose to. :)

[Hands0n]

Just get yourself one of these and have done with it..

:)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/whatleydude/2095464226/

That is a bit ...... good :) Wonders why the N95 did't come like that in the first place!

[Ben]

It's only the screen I'm missing out on..

http://www.flickr.com/photos/whatleydude/1102969728/in/set-72157601434002415/

Mhm, the front and media buttons are much nicer on the N95 8GB as well, not to mention the piano black rather than the matt black.

It's fantastic that Nokia's commitment to sorting out the N95 issues has been so good, though. I'm very much looking forward to trying the v20 firmware, though it wont be able to do anything for the physical state of my N95.

[The Mullet of G]

Mhm, the front and media buttons are much nicer on the N95 8GB as well, not to mention the piano black rather than the matt black.

It's fantastic that Nokia's commitment to sorting out the N95 issues has been so good, though. I'm very much looking forward to trying the v20 firmware, though it wont be able to do anything for the physical state of my N95.

Yup I've often found myself buying a phone simply because the buttons were much nicer than other phones. :D

Nokia's N95 firmware updates are among the best I've seen from them, give or take a keypad bug here and there, v20 is definitely the pinnacle though. Previous handsets have been graced with some fairly boring firmware updates that didn't seem to improve very much. I remember updating the firmware on my 7650 and the only noticable difference was some of the text in the sound recorder chanced from white to red, these days Nokia seem to be expanding upon and refining the OS with every update. :)

[Hands0n]

these days Nokia seem to be expanding upon and refining the OS with every update. :)

Not before time too :D

The latest V20 firmware is definitely what has been missing in the N95 since day one. The previous versions, especially V12, were not that good at all - and the keypad bug was inexcusable to be blunt. :mad:

But I am glad that they have [more than] made up for things in V20 :cool: