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Well, I handed back my review model Nokia N95 yesterday and already I miss it. Paul Giltinan from Choice Communications was good enough to lend it to me to try out for a number of weeks. Now though I am back to my trusty E65. Sniff!
Here are a few quick thoughts on the N95 and how it compares to the E65
Likes
- The screen
- The 5mp camera
- The built-in Wifi
Dislikes
- The keypad
- The battery
- The GPS
Slightly more detail:
The screen on the N95 is fantastic. It is big and can display in either landscape or portrait. The E65’s screen has the same resolution but is much smaller so it doesn’t look nearly as impressive.
The camera in the E65 is appalling, as I have already noted and while the N95 camera is slow (press the button, count to 10, *click*), the quality of the photos and video from it are impressive.
The built-in wifi is great in both the E65 and the N95. The screen on the N95 is big enough that you can actually browse web pages on it. The E65’s screen is a bit too small for that. Both phones are great for VOIP client software and where I live in Cobh, the call quality over wifi is significantly better than the expensive GSM alternative!
The Keypad on the N95 has a tacky, plasticky cheap feel to it that took some getting used to and was unexpected in a phone of its cost. The E65’s keyboard is more crisp and reassuring.
The battery life on the N95 has been panned but I didn’t find it too bad. It will quite easily go a full day on a charge so I used to simply charge it overnight and I rarely had problems. The times I did have problems were when I installed and used Fring on the phone. It completley sucked the life out of the battery (esp on 3g). If you have an N95, don’t install Fring, unless you have spare batteries or plan to keep it plugged into a power source at all times.
I never got the GPS software on the phone to see a satellite (or satellites) so I can’t comment on how this would work. Having said that, the fact that I couldn’t get it to see a satellite at all should be comment enough!
As a quick aside, I also tried installing the Jaiku mobile client on the N95 but for some reason it wouldn’t connect over wifi and wanted to connect over 3G. At the data prices in this country, I don’t think so. Uninstalled.
So would I, given the choice, put my money down for an N95? If cost were no object yes, but given that I already have the E65 and there is little between them in turns of functionality, there is no way I could justify buying one now.
Interestingly, the part of the phone which appeals to me most is the big screen and this is the feature of the iPhone which people seem to love too.
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11 responses to “Nokia N95 vs E65”
I love my N95 too, for pretty much the same reasons and with the same pitfall – the battery!
I do use fring, but only for making outgoing calls connected via my Blueface sip account, so I turn it on as I need it.
The latest firmware provides for AGPS (Assisted GPS), which also uses mobile phone masts to fix the position and is therefore much faster.
Got the N95 here and the iPhone. You’ve already heard all the hype about the iPhone but one thing I do miss in it over the N95 is Bluetooth. Handy way of transferring files about, especially photos from the phone to a laptop. The camera on the iPhone has nowhere near the quality of the N95 but it is much faster and frankly more usable. I’ve missed far too many shots with the N95 lag.
But if a big, clear, bright, colourful screen is your thing then you already know the answer. The browser experience on the iPhone is fantastic over WiFi and with touch-screen scrolling and zooming, navigation is leagues ahead of the N95. First phone I’ve actually sat down on a couch with and used to read email and websites rather than reaching for the laptop on the table.
Now if I could only actually make a call with it 😉
Judging by your mobile app. installation adventures though I’d say you’d miss not being able to load apps on the iPhone?
On my E65 following any amount of time when it is switched OFF , when switching ON again i get a message on screen saying i have ‘VOICE MESSAGES ON LINE 1’ .
I then ring Orange and find there are NO voice messages stored at all.
So…… How do i clear this on screen message ? and if i have ‘line1’ do i have more lines?
Pls let me know if you had similar problems .
the.blindman@talk21.com
Cheers
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Hi, just got the N95 8GB and I want to use my copy of tomtom on it. Currently it’s on sd card for my XDA exec. Anyone know how to get it installed and working for my N95? I’ve read that it won’t work with the built in gps but i do have the bluetooth jobbie I used on the XDA.
Thanks for the review.
i agonised over the choice between E65 and N95. But the prive difference was too much and i went for the E65. It hasn’t been delivered yet and already I was starting to regret it.
Your comments have helped me feel better about my choice.
I have the E65 with Tom Tom on it,i was looking at getting the N95 but prices are still very expensive.The only down side to the E65 is the battery life when using the sat nav it’s wont even last a day.
Ive gotta say i love the big screen too as with the nokia n75 great stuff shame about the camera speed though.
It is kindof curious that you couldnt ever find any satellites, as long as your not in a house you should be able to see at least a couple.
Does E65 has built in GPS?