Pros and costs of the N95

Forums › Legacy mobile platforms (Windows Mobile, Palm OS, Web OS, Symbian, Meego, Blackberry) › Pros and costs of the N95

UnrealWarCheek

86 posts

Master Geek

#18259 3-Jan-2008 22:22

Greetings,

Hopefully I'll be one of crowd that owns a Nokia N95.

I've trawled the Internet for almost everything I can find out about the N95.

Despite the battery life and VF branding, It's time to purchase one.

Over the boxing days sales both Noel Leeming and Bond & Bond advertised the N95 on special for $800 !!! and if it wasn't for being very generous to my girlfriend I'd have one now.

My question is: Would a cash offer of $800 to either of theses stores be resonable offer to get one?

After all, it's now 2008, the 8GiB version is "coming soon" along with the N82...

Any thoughts?

Cheers, Laurence.

P.s. I'm planning (in theory, don't want to "Brick" it just yet) to flash the firmware to V20 depending on how bad the VF branding/performance is.

paradoxsm

3000 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#102820 3-Jan-2008 23:56

It used to be an overhyped phone with lots of glitchy keypad issues and no applcation multitasking but this changed with the v20 firmware

It's now a highly recommend phone as pretty much all the faults were fixed and speed was improved immensly.. The only caveat is the lack of Nokia supporting the mapping applications with GPS but there are other alternatives others might be able to help with.

Vodafone sold versions have the buggy v12 and cannot be upgraded just yet (unless you "debrand it" which voids any Vodafone warranty.

I doubt you'd find it for less than 999 now as you missed the biggest sales., you could always wait for the next sale, occasionally Farmers have 10-15% off mobiles.

NZtechfreak

4649 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#102834 4-Jan-2008 08:37

Most of the Parallel Imported places are selling N95's with warranties, and their prices range from $700 (manufacturers warranty only) to around $900 (check Pricespy, quite a few around the $840 price point). As they have warranties there is really no reason not to get one and save yourself some money, not to mention you can get an unbranded one, which means upgrading to the V20 firmware will not void your warranty (and trust me, you want the V20 firmware BAD). Shop around.

If I were you though I'd really think about getting the N82 - if I was buying a phone now I'd take it over the N95 without a seconds hesitation (based on having used it for a couple of days at Nokiaworld). Its available for $900 at the moment at coolmobile.net.nz If the photography aspect is quite important to you then you really need the N82. Check this comparison to see what I mean....

Don't forget to allow some money for accessories too! I have a 4GB card for sale for $70 if you can't be bothered getting an 8GB card in from overseas (I got my 8GB card whilst in Amsterdam - brilliant!), but aside from a high capacity card you'll probably also want a car charger and spare battery.

Twitter: @nztechfreak
Blogs: HeadphoNZ.org

zocster

1983 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#102836 4-Jan-2008 08:40

I find the N95 heavy, love the new telecom okta very slim, powerful and light. Wonder if there is a GSM version of it.

EvilSteve

232 posts

Master Geek

#102837 4-Jan-2008 08:41

Check out www.parallelimported.co.nz, for some reason i cant get there while im at work but generally they have the cheapest prices for cell fones by a reasonable margin.

Last i checked they also had the 8gig version of the N95, im not sure of the pricing else where but it was more than i would ever pay for a phone (~$1300 or so)

Hope its alright to post the link in here,i dont work for them or anything its just a nice cheap place to get phones and i also get my car audio gear from there.

NZtechfreak

4649 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#102888 4-Jan-2008 12:05

halfbaked: Check out www.parallelimported.co.nz, for some reason i cant get there while im at work but generally they have the cheapest prices for cell fones by a reasonable margin.

Last i checked they also had the 8gig version of the N95, im not sure of the pricing else where but it was more than i would ever pay for a phone (~$1300 or so)

Hope its alright to post the link in here,i dont work for them or anything its just a nice cheap place to get phones and i also get my car audio gear from there.

Actually Parallel Imported (PI) are far from the cheapest. Coolmobile.net.nz are always cheaper than PI, and a simply Pricespy search will bring up something like a dozen places that sell them cheaper.

That said, I think it would be fair to say that the post-sales customer service experience is probably better than most other PI so there is a benefit to paying more with PI. Up to each person to weighs the pros and cons.

Twitter: @nztechfreak
Blogs: HeadphoNZ.org

NZtechfreak

4649 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#102889 4-Jan-2008 12:18

zocster: I find the N95 heavy, love the new telecom okta very slim, powerful and light. Wonder if there is a GSM version of it.

? Thats pretty weird, since the Okta Touch weighs 112g and the N95 weights 120g - I doubt that anyone can actually sense a weight difference of 8g so I would say that your perception of the relative weights is entirely subjective.

The Okta Touch is a nice phone, but compared to the N95 its a little lightweight for the almost the same cost - no WiFi, no GPS, a worse screen (fewer colours than the N95's 16m, it has a bigger screen, but its the same resolution as the N95 stretched to 2.8inches so its pixel density is worse - in other words for viewing media etc the N95 is better), a 2MP camera, no 3G, no 3D acceleration...The only thing I can really see that I like in comparison is the QWERTY form-factor.

Twitter: @nztechfreak
Blogs: HeadphoNZ.org

EvilSteve

232 posts

Master Geek

#102892 4-Jan-2008 12:40

My bad, coolmobile does have the 8gig for $50 cheaper but pricespy will only show you 1 place cheaper than PI as the others only advertise the smaller version.

Although i havent tried to do so PI also offer a "find a better price and we'll beat it" deal which could sound promising depending on terms and conditions.

Equinox IT

Cloud spending continues to surge globally, but most organisations haven’t made the changes necessary to maximise the value and cost-efficiency benefits of their cloud investments. Download the whitepaper From Overspend to Advantage now.

UnrealWarCheek

86 posts

Master Geek

#102904 4-Jan-2008 14:46

Hey thanks for the help guys!!

Pricespy has certainly been a companion on more than one occasion (and purchase)!

I'll probably hang on for a little longer (famous last words!!) and see how the market shifts when the 8GB version and N82 hit the shelves.

As history has shown me, when I was going to purchase my V3x, it cost $800. Thankfully I failed the credit check (i.e. I'm a student) as it soon dropped to $400, then I got a v.box voucher for $150. So I've had my V3x for over a year now and it only cost $250.

But when you get bitten by gadget lust, waiting is the last thing you can do!! ha ha

Anyway, Thank you all for your input!!

Cheers, Laurence.

P.s. I saw a friends Nokia 6288 and the quality of the video blew me away!!! I looked at my V3x and compared the video quality and I though 'upgrade time!', hense the interest in the N95 and now the N82. Oddly enough the N82 is called the "successor" to the N95. (N82 or should it be N96!?!). The N95 looks the part (i.e. smartphone), whereas the N82 looks similar to a remote control for a late 80's TV (don't get me wrong, the N82 looks good, it's the keypad that remind me of a remote).

billgates

4705 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#102908 4-Jan-2008 15:23

1. Debranding N95 to V20 does NOT voids the hardware warranty (only voids the software warranty, only if you brick it). Nokia has confirmed it. We send V20 firmware phones from DSE all the time because problem with the camera.
2. Cash offer of $800 will be rejected unless the salesman wants to get in big trouble as it would not be so much profit.

Do whatever you want to do man.

NZtechfreak

4649 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#102909 4-Jan-2008 15:37

billgates: 1. Debranding N95 to V20 does NOT voids the hardware warranty (only voids the software warranty, only if you brick it). Nokia has confirmed it. We send V20 firmware phones from DSE all the time because problem with the camera.
2. Cash offer of $800 will be rejected unless the salesman wants to get in big trouble as 10% profit of N95 only fetches them $823.

Thats interesting, good to know.

Incidentally, what camera problems are people having?

I know some people seem to think the image quality is worse, in actual fact its better, but it is a little harder to nice shots as it is more sensitive to movement (therefore focus is more prone to be off, not always able to judge when reviewing pictures on the phone screen). Just a matter of learning curve. The other problem I know of is the error where if you are looking at a picture preview after taking a shot and close the camera app by closing the shutter it switches to the front camera - easy to avoid, just press the left softkey to go back to view finder before closing the shutter... What else are people experiencing?

Twitter: @nztechfreak
Blogs: HeadphoNZ.org

DonkeyKong

115 posts

Master Geek

#102938 4-Jan-2008 17:18

I find with my N95 When I am taking Pics/Videos in low light cond. There are vertical lines/shadows shooting across the screen.
It's is really hard to get a good pic - but when you take the photo the lines very rarley appear.

Anyone had this prob?

NZtechfreak

4649 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#102939 4-Jan-2008 17:45

DonkeyKong: I find with my N95 When I am taking Pics/Videos in low light cond. There are vertical lines/shadows shooting across the screen.
It's is really hard to get a good pic - but when you take the photo the lines very rarley appear.

Anyone had this prob?

I've heard of this, but never had it myself - try searching over at symbian-freak - you might find a resolution over there.

Twitter: @nztechfreak
Blogs: HeadphoNZ.org

paradoxsm

3000 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#102941 4-Jan-2008 17:50

The sensor gains up for ease of previewing the image and you will see lines flashing on the screen. This is normal.

I had never seen the N82 before! WOW,
Is the camera startup as quick as N95 on v20 and does it multi task the same?

NZtechfreak

4649 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#102942 4-Jan-2008 18:03

paradoxsm: The sensor gains up for ease of previewing the image and you will see lines flashing on the screen. This is normal.

I had never seen the N82 before! WOW,
Is the camera startup as quick as N95 on v20 and does it multi task the same?

Camera startup is as fast (possibly slightly faster), multitasking is probably even better (a lot more free RAM after boot). When I say better thats unlikely to be in practical terms, but it would be even more resistant to out of memory errors - for instance browsing in multiple windows with other apps running.

Twitter: @nztechfreak
Blogs: HeadphoNZ.org

billgates

4705 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#102958 4-Jan-2008 20:50

NZtechfreak:
billgates: 1. Debranding N95 to V20 does NOT voids the hardware warranty (only voids the software warranty, only if you brick it). Nokia has confirmed it. We send V20 firmware phones from DSE all the time because problem with the camera.
2. Cash offer of $800 will be rejected unless the salesman wants to get in big trouble as 10% profit of N95 only fetches them $823.

Thats interesting, good to know.

Incidentally, what camera problems are people having?

I know some people seem to think the image quality is worse, in actual fact its better, but it is a little harder to nice shots as it is more sensitive to movement (therefore focus is more prone to be off, not always able to judge when reviewing pictures on the phone screen). Just a matter of learning curve. The other problem I know of is the error where if you are looking at a picture preview after taking a shot and close the camera app by closing the shutter it switches to the front camera - easy to avoid, just press the left softkey to go back to view finder before closing the shutter... What else are people experiencing?

the most common problem people face is that after 1 minute of video recording, the camera would lock up(freeze), but Nokia confirmed that it was definitley a hardware error.

Do whatever you want to do man.