Nokia N96 review

On paper, and in fact in our preview, the Nokia N96 looked like a handset just too hot to trot with enough multimedia options to keep you entertaned on even the most mundane train journey. In practice however, the N96 left us disappointed.

Just like the N80 years ago, the N95 and every other groundbreaking Nseries device from Nokia, software issues are rife. The Nokia N96 is slow where it should zoom past its competitors and this quite frankly demonstrates that Nokia may be the creator of ambitious devices, but they're not always as pleasing to use as competitors' models.

The accelerometer takes so long to adjust the screen from portrait to landscape that we ended up turning it off on our version. It's lucky you're given the option to do this because otherwise we'd probably have thrown the handset out of the window by now.

Apps take a while to load, and even hanging up after dialing a wrong number before the recipient's phone starts ringing quickly ends with a panic attack.

Hopefully, these speed issues will be resolved soon with a firmware update because quirks aside, the N96 is a cracking handset.

The multimedia abilities are stunning, especially when coupled with a screen as crisp as the N96's; 16 million colours, 2.8-inch with a 240x320 pixel resolution.

The BBC's iPlayer app is a fine touch, although you can only watch programmes by streaming over Wi-Fi rather than using your network. This wouldn't be such a problem if the UK had blanket Wi-Fi coverage, but as it's only limited to buildings and selected trains at the moment, you won't be able to watch the programmes you missed the previous night on your way to work.

The camera is above average, although it doesn't match up to the LG KC910 Renoir's eight-megapixel number, and with the upgrade to a dual LED flash, snaps taken in dark conditions are well-exposed, sometimes even overly so.

Nokia's mysterious Ovi collection of services is also onboard. Although no one really understands what Ovi is, the simplest way to describe it is a suite of applications and services that express your lifestyle. It includes a social networking tool, remote backup and multimedia applications.

The remote backup tool is a really handy way of ensuring your contacts, email, events, to do list and notes are all saved if you lose your phone. With Share on Ovi, you can send or stream content to your personalised page on Ovi and then share with your friends. The Nokia Music Store, N-Gage and Nokia Maps applications are all also available on the N96 through Ovi.

We found it really simple to set up an Ovi account online, install the settings and backup our N96 using our data connection. In fact, this was possibly the quickest thing to happen on the device.

GPS has come a long way since the slow chipset on the Nokia N95, and this shows on the N96. Although it may not be as speedy as on the Samsung i8510 or Apple iPhone, it still manages to find a fix faster than its Nokia predecessors. Nokia Maps is an effective tool, but it's a shame you have to pay for turn-by-turn instructions because using the N96 as a SatNav would be a pleasure thanks to that screen.

N-Gage is available on the N96, and this includes some game trials already installed. On our device, there's Snakes Subsonic, Mile High Pinball, World Series of Poker, Tetris and Asphalt 3: Street Rules, which just need to be activated to become playable. Look out soon for our N-Gage gaming special with mini video reviews of all these games and more.

Unfortunately, we now come to more disappointing features, but this time it's the design that's causing us headaches. The plasticky casing feels quite cheap, especially when you begin to put the keypad to good use. It's hard to press the top row of number buttons too, because the slide doesn't open far enough and the buttons are too close to the top half of the handset.

The central four-way navigation key isn't touch sensitive like it was on the Nokia N81, although it does flash in a heart-beat style way if you fancy it.

The Nokia menu shortcut button has been reinstated, which is a welcome comeback, giving you fast access to the menu. Hold it down and the open applications will be displayed. As all of the buttons are flush against the casing though, it's sometimes a little tricky to press them quickly.

Although our hopes of a super-charged Nokia Nseries device were sky high when the Nokia N96 was announced, firmware and hardware issues brought them down to earth with a bump. Multimedia features are among the best we've seen on a Nokia device though, with a full suite of N-Gage games, music, video, TV and camera facilities. If it's multimedia you're after, we recommend you buy the Nokia N96, but update the firmware the minute it's released.