Updated N95 Thoughts
At the suggestion of several commenters (thanks, as always) I uninstalled ShoZu from my Nokia N95 and did a hard reset (I like to clean things up every now and again) and let me tell you - this phone is now stable, doesn’t freeze or reboot randomly, and has MUCH better memory management.
I was going to go point-by-point through my previous post, but quickly noted that nearly every issue that I had was solved merely by removing ShoZu from my device. It’s sad, really, because the functionality that ShoZu provides is something that should (and could, easily) be built-in to the phone: instant upload, without my intervention. Why is it so difficult? Why does the built-in Web Upload feature assume I want to upload multiple pictures in a blog post-type format? Why can I only upload 6 at a time? Doesn’t that annoy anyone else?
Other than that, this phone is awesome. My favorite part, that I didn’t
think would be a big deal, is the 3.5mm jack. You wouldn’t BELIEVE all
the stuff they crammed into that thing. It’s headphones, it’s an FM
radio antenna, and it’s a video out. Amazing. And it’s crystal-clear. I
have a 3.5mm plug that I added to my factory stereo in the truck.
Normally it’s used for the iPod. However, I now plug my N95 into it,
and either turn on the radio or the music player, or the Podcasting
application if there’s something new. Then I can listen to everything
on my truck’s stereo system. Also works awesome for calls. I have a
couple of videos pending showing each of those scenarios, it’s awesome.
Battery life has improved slightly, as well, probably because whatever
processes ShoZu has running, aren’t. It’s still nothing compared to the
N73, and I have figured out the things that drain it quickly, and am
able to adjust for that. In my experience, internet connectivity will
kill it the quickest. However, if I start the day at full, I can get
through ~1.5hrs of GPS, listening to ~45 min of audio podcasts, 10-30
min of video playback, a few hours of phone calls, 2-3 hrs of internet
usage and a dozen or so SMS, and still have some battery left at 5p
(though not much). If I tether, then yeah, it’s going to die really
quickly. However, I don’t tether that much when I’m away from a plug.
I LOVE THE FORM FACTOR. I’ve always been a candybar man, till I got my
first slider, which was actually the LG CU320 (Cingular’s first 3G
device). I traded that for the N80 and loved S60 sliding even more. The
N95 shows that Nokia is really working to improve the solidity of their
sliders. My N80 had quite a bit of wobble, and the phone itself didn’t
feel all that sturdy. However, the N95 has yet to utter a squeak, and
the only play on the slider is if I’m intentionally doing it for
testing purposes. Other than that, it slides smooth and has a really
nice and confident click at either end.
I don’t like the button placements. The 3.5mm jack should be on the
other side of the speaker, in my opinion, or on the top of the phone
itself. The "gallery" button isn’t recessed enough, and my in-truck
holder presses it sometimes. The new S60 button cluster is horrendous.
Why do we need these MASSIVE paddles for the Menu and Multimedia keys?
Make the D-pad bigger and put some space between it all.
I do love the camera activator switch, alot better than the sliding
back cover like the N73 and 6682 had. it’s nice and small and quick.
I’m also a big fan of the memory card door. It’s alot more
solid-feeling than previous phones had (nothing compares to the
greatness that was the 6682’s memory card door).
All in all, do I STILL stand by my choice of the N73 over the N95?
Frankly, no. I realize that’s a huge statement to make. If you have an
N73, I don’t know that I can suggest selling it to get the N95. You
wouldn’t be disappointed, but I guess that would depend. If you DON’T
already have the N73 (or any other S60), then yes, I would suggest the
N95. It has a MUCH better camera (both for stills and video), an equal
amount of RAM (this morning I checked and actually had 21.3MB free!!)
more built-in memory (something like 116MB), and the 3.5mm jack. The
N95 is truly a worthwhile phone.
(Psssst! Nokia, down here. WHERE IS THE BLACK VERSION?!!?)
See? I knew you’d come around.
The one thing I have to argue with you about a little bit though is the keypad arrangement. I agree that for regular use, it kinda sucks. However, when you’re using your N95 in your truck as a music player and GPS simultaneously in your car vent cradle (like I do), you’ll be glad the Multimedia and Menu key are so big. Music player switches to a crappy song? Hold the Multimedia key and change it, then hold the Menu key to jump back to GPS just as fast. I didn’t even think about it until one handed+mounted operation was a must while driving.
The other thing I really like is that you can hold the pencil/Edit key and press the D-Pad down with your thumb simultaneously. I don’t remember any s60 devices where I could use the pencil key to mark multiple items with one hand.
I’m glad you love it. This phone has gotten bashed around constantly on several dozens of reviews, so it’s good to see someone really appreciating it instead of calling it a failure because it’s not absolutely frickin perfect.
On the 3.5mm jack placement, would it not be a bit on the way of the media keys if it was on top of the phone? The same if it was at the bottom of the phone (i.e. the cord would get in the way of using the D-pad), no?
I must say why even use wired headphones. I love the BT on the device and the freedom that it gives.
Eric
In fairness to Shozu, they don’t claim they’re compatible with the N95. I dropped them an email and they said they’re having some issues - they’re very frank about it - but it’s high on their priority list.
I’m hopeful and I may even keep it on my phone for the moment. The flickr uploading it just too convenient, even if it’s more sluggish about asking if I want to upload than my 6682 was. I may simply set it to auto-upload so I won’t have the delay.
yup, the built in web upload from gallery and lifeblog s*ck. Sorry many clicks and only 6 at a time doesn’t cut it and yes it annoys me
and yes ShoZu funtionality should be built in. C’mon N*kia, buy ShoZu and fix ShoZu and S60’s obvious memory issues (I’m hoping that S60V3FP2 fixes memory stuff; Stefan of Ring Nokia seems to think it helps)
I actually preferred the placement of the speaker on the N73. As if I am watching a featured video on my phone, I would use it in landscape mode, and hence when tN95 is in landscape, the speakers are pointing up and down, not left and right. Not very stereophonic is it!
I would not worry about the 3.5″ headphone port too much as this units features a2dp!!! Lets use it. First get the Nokia gateway, and permanently wire it to you car stereo. Now you can have pod casts, or whatever playing wireless from your N95 to the car stereo.
Mazor