When you first pick up the Nokia N96 you know it’s something special. It’s slightly wider and longer than the Nokia N95 8GB but it’s also slimmer. When the two-way slide mechanism is closed, the N96 is a nice size. It’s not a small phone but it never feels too big or bulky. The 2.8 inch screen dominates the front of the phone. With a built-in accelerometer just turn the phone sideways and it automatically rotates into a widescreen aspect. The screen rotation is noticeably faster than other Nseries phones with hardly any lag. Beneath the screen are the usual navigation and menu keys and on the back is a useful kick stand, allowing the N96 to be placed on a desk for viewing videos or movies. Slide open the N96 and you’ll find a standard keypad. The keys are nicely defined, making it comfortable to use even for big fingers. There are some nice touches such as the backlight fade on the keypad when the phone slides open. Overall the N96 looks and feels better than the N95.

The Nokia N96 has the latest N-Gage gaming engine and a powerful Dual ARM 9 264 MHz CPU. It runs on the latest version of the Symbian S60 OS, which is v9.3. I won’t go into too much technical detail about this as anyone who’s interested should already know what it is. A Symbian OS means you can run more than one program at a time and install software applications on the phone. There’s a lot of third party software available that’s compatible with the N96, such as sat nav programs, games, utilities and all sorts of interesting gadgets.

The Nokia N96 has 16GB internal memory which can be expanded to a huge 24GB using an 8GB memory card. I have to admit that after owning an N95 8GB and reading the initial specs for the N96 I wasn’t convinced that it would provide much more. I’m happy to say I was wrong. It has similarities but it’s a much better phone. Just before release it was announced that the UK version of the N96 would support the BBC iplayer. This is the BBC’s seven-day catch-up application. You can watch all the top BBC programmes on your mobile for free. This is an incredible feature, especially with the Nokia N96’s kick stand and 2.8 inch screen. It can sit on your desk while you catch up with the latest EastEnders or Holby City. You’ll never miss an episode again and you can watch them any time. The music capabilities on the N96 are equally as impressive. The 16GB memory means it can store loads of music, really loads. You can sort and select by pre-defined playlists, artist, album or genre. Music can be downloaded directly to the phone from the Nokia music store or you can transfer music files from your PC or Mac. The N96 also has a stereo FM radio with RDS. There’s a 3.5mm audio jack for plugging in your favourite headphones or you can use wireless stereo Bluetooth headphones. The media capabilities of the N96 are superb.

The 5 megapixel camera has a top spec and takes brilliant photos. It has a Carl Zeiss lens, autofocus, digital zoom, LED flash, macro mode for close-ups, light exposure adjustment and a range of timers. Don’t be bedazzled by the marketing hype surrounding the 8 megapixel war. To put it in perspective, a 2 megapixel image will show in full detail on a high resolution 22 inch monitor. So if you plan only to view your photos on your computer or even if you want to print A4 sized images then 5 megapixels is already more than enough. The camera on the N96 is absolutely brilliant, you won’t be disappointed. It can also record video at 30 frames per second there’s a secondary video call camera mounted discreetly above the screen.

With Wi-Fi you can browse the web on the Nokia N96 at speeds comparable to your home broadband. If you’re on the move the N96 will use 3G and dual band HSDPA to connect to the web. The Nokia web browser is easy to use and you can also download and install a third party browser, I recommend Opera. The N96 has GPS and has Nokia maps pre-installed, which is another really useful feature. With GPS your photos taken with the N96 are geo-tagged, not only are they stamped with the time and date but also with the exact location. So that complete my summary of the main features.

I was sceptical at first but I’m now convinced that the new Nokia N96 is enough of an evolution for existing N95 8GB users to upgrade. The BBC iPlayer is a wonderful addition. Then there’s the extra memory, which is expandable to 24GB, the new N-Gage compatibility, the nicer design and all the little improvements too. This is a brilliant phone.

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