Alright, ready for this? It's real. We can say this with some degree of confidence, seeing how there's one resting comfortably in our hands right now. We'll skip right past the bulk of the details here -- the handset remains largely unchanged from its European cousin, after all, which we've already
seen -- and concentrate on the juicy bits that have changed to make the handset not just more palatable for an American audience, but in general, to make it a better N95. Read on!
First up, let's just clear the air: it's got HSDPA on the 850MHz and 1900MHz bands. See that little "3G" symbol up there? We've seen it burn rubber via an AT&T SIM, and it is good. On a handful of speed tests we averaged about 690kbps down; we might have expected a smidge better, but we're cutting the prerelease hardware and software some slack.
At a glance, the S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1 load seemed more or less identical to the previous N95 we'd used. Though we suspect this new one will be compatible with Nokia's N-Gage offerings, our particular build didn't have an N-Gage demo app installed like our N81 did. Also missing was any sign of the Nokia Music Store.
Physically, changes are
as expected: the dedicated music controls are now dimpled to make them easier to feel out, the protective lens cover has disappeared, the lens itself is recessed into the case, and the back of the phone is black (a safer choice than the original lavender and sand, we'd venture). Our phone was equipped with an old-style 950mAh battery, though we're not confident that means the shipping units will be without the rumored 1200mAh pieces. Note that the US N95 doesn't share the new N95 8GB's physical changes -- they're different beasts, and overall, the US N95 more closely resembles the original.
What more can we say? The N95's good; the N95 with 3G we can use is better. For Nokia enthusiasts in the US, we think this one's going to be a no-brainer, more or less.
posted August 29th 2007 6:01AM
Deathcab fan eh? (Or maybe it just came with the phone)
Umm, question: why is this called the US Nokia N95? In Canada we are running the same bands and we have a network actually capable of using that forward facing cam (i.e. true video calling). And Rogers is usually a good deal faster than AT&T at releasing this stuff, so my guess is that it will take its NA debut over here in Canada first. How about, NA Nokia N95?
Canada sucks dude. Get over it.
Good question Elias.
Will the North American N95 work with T-Mobile's 3G (when it arrives)?
Nando,
No. This phone is designed to run on WCDMA/HSDPA 850/1900. That's what AT&T runs but T-Mobile will be running its network on 1700/2100.
Then why did Canada come out with Video Calling, many months before the US even got breath of Verizon's 'See What I See' system?
Also, will the N95 8GB have HSDPA on it?
(also, btw, some N95s ordered here into Canada have worked with our HSDPA network here. Apparently we're set up for all three bands for HSDPA, it's just the 850 bands are only activated and sometimes they spike up to the 2100 that's more commonly found within phones. [I got 3.5G service on my MotoRAZR MaxxV6 for about a minute in the downtown core of Toronto])
Good lord, is there even one killer phone lined up for T-Mobile's 3G rollout? (Wow, the t369 will have 3G and a whopping 1 MP camera! Thanks, T!) Getting a variant of the N95 would have been a huge score.
Canada? Isn't that a soft drink? OHHH you mean the country with the military the size of the NYPD, that place. NA doesn't that mean not applicable? The NA N95 :) now that's funny.
And for your next trick, how about a speed test?
So what's the price of this thing? Also, I'd like to know, if it does work with the new N-Gage goodness, will any of the multimedia keys work as game buttons or what?
I'm sort of torn between this and the N81 8GB. Nokia sure makes it hard for a gadget freak to decide. :)
Most importantly, what the amount of RAM upon start up? Rumor has it that the RAM has been bumped to 128 mb. That's more important than 3G I think.
Also, though you guys probably don't have any idea, any word on price and when it's going to drop?
128 mb system ram. 80 mb free on start up.
Planned for December at $700
September
I've seen Rogers' 3G maps... it's more like "TORONTO actually has a network capable of front-facing true video calling."
The rest of Canada is lucky to have 1X CDMA, much less 3G HSDPA.
Maybe because 1/3 of Canada lives within 15% of Ontario's land.
Yes, but there has been testing in all the major cities across Canada. Rogers seems to be pretty near a pretty large scale launch of its HSDPA network.
Any word on carrier subsidies, or is this only going to be available as an unlocked model?
I'll certainly buy an unlocked one, but the thought of another ATT crippled, but otherwise awesome Symbian device(I LOVE my E62) upsets me to no end.
I must say Nokia's announcements today are underwhelming...
In reality I almost never use the music controls. I've found that mapping them into the d-pad to be more efficient. I wonder if I'm alone since they are adjusting the "feel". 3G would be nice but isn't necessary. Bigger battery would be welcome, faster camera would be great (shutter lag is crazy).
yes this is great, and if it's on aTT then it will definatley have a price break locked. but I'm still torn between the HTC TyTN2/Kaiser/8925 and the NOkia n95. anyone care to comment?
Nokia has 5mp camera; Nokia has n-gage gaming platform; Nokia has video out; Nokia is smaller and has a more mobile phone form factor instead of a fatty fatty two-by-four...
Whatever you choose though will definitely be an excellent phone with EXCELLENT customizability and functionality--which I can't say for that other over-hyped and already obsolete piece of caca phone that you have to hack just to make your own.
Well Elias, the front camera can be used on AT&T's network, the video feature was started about a month ago. Could be Rogers just don't offer enough customers and their pay to much for data up there. As far as who's faster, I have no idea, but its a built in Canadian trait to shout up and down "their better".
Strangely, Amazon.com says they have the N95 3G in stock since april... Is it supposed to be out already and they just made a mistake about the date or maybe they have the european version? Somebody will have to explain that to me cuz i'm sort of confuse, here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/Nokia-Unlocked-Quadband-HSDPA-Camera/dp/B000PGE910/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/103-2690038-0955851?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1188423486&sr=8-2
What's it god for video codecs? Can you add your own somehow?
Chris -- How is the build quality? Is the "slider wobble" still present? Does it seem more solid than the EU version?
It's been a little while since I've handled a Euro spec N95, but I do recall a little slider instability... our US N95 here was preproduction so we can't say with certainty, but the slide seemed to be rock solid.
Chris
Chris, does the phone's Voip capability work on 3G?
Is there any chance they upgraded to a better GPS chipset, like the SiRF III? The current chipset is a very weak point of the N95.
does anybody know if the n95 US version will come in black
Hey chris, thanks for the preview..
To add another question - i just got rid of my 3rd n95 (refunded it) today because of the high pitched buzzing. Since the slide is (presumably) fixed, how likely is it that other widespread issues have been remedied on the US model?
Thanks in advance!
Any chance this US version will still retain the 3G frequencies for Europe and Japan (2100 MHz)? Would be nice to do 3G over there too -- but I'll prefer it having AT&T's frequencies for now.