# Nokia N95- experiences?



## Sunster (31 Aug 2007)

My loyal SE k750i has finally died. 
The Nokia N95 looks very appealing, albeit a bit pricey.
Does anyone here own one? what are your experiences? Is the battery as bad as other forums make it out to be?


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## Bob_tg (31 Aug 2007)

Sorry - don't have one, but am planning to get one soon some stage... there was a good review of it in yesterday's (Thursday 30th Aug) Irish Independent (I think it was in the Business Section).  Might be good if you could get your hands on it.


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## lamb (31 Aug 2007)

Hi

My bro just got one, he is impressed with the Battery life but the phone does locks up when he turns on the GPS application.. only way to get the phone back working is to remove the battery pack.


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## Bob_tg (31 Aug 2007)

Funny - the Irish Independent review mentioned that the only real problem with the current version of the N95 is that the GPS is unsatisfactory.  They were very positive about everything else.


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## Sunster (31 Aug 2007)

I've read that there is a discrepancy between the official figues for the battery and the real life battery life because of all the operations. Have no plans to use a GPS but having music files and photo files are handy...plus it can sync with my imac


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## gearoidmm (1 Sep 2007)

Just bought one last week and I love it.  The camera is great and it looks and feels really slick.  You get a 1 GB memory card so you can put lots of stuff on it.  The only thing is that you have to be very disciplined about recharging it - the battery won't last more than a day and even less if you are using a lot of applications. Just make sure that any extra applications are closed when you are not using them and it should be ok.

Had an N70 before this and I hated it - regularly dropping calls and losing the network and locking up - haven't had any of these pronlems so far with the n95.  GPS doesn't work so far but given that I'm not likely to be wandering lost ion a desert any time soon that doesn't really bother me - you can download any maps for free to the phone when you're in a wireless hotspot anyway.


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## Sunster (1 Sep 2007)

Thanks for your views Gearoidmm.
Been to a few O2 shops and doesn't appear to be many in stock. From what I've heard not many have been returned either which is a decent sign. Do you carry it in your pocket? Not too big?
Funny enough I;m still not decided on which phone to get- the N95, the E65 or  sony w880i. Yes all three are very different but have their own attractions. Further opinions welcome before i venture into town next week


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## ClubMan (1 Sep 2007)

Have you  for reviews?


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## Sunster (1 Sep 2007)

Have indeed. Would love some real life reviews from irish users though.


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## HighFlier (1 Sep 2007)

The GPS works but you need to allow up to 3 minutes to make contact with the satellites. THe slider needs to be open and the base of the phone ie the bottom of the number keypad needs to be visible to the satellite. Obviously it wont work indoors either.

Battery life is poor compared to a regular mobile I found you need a charger at home , another in your car and another in the office. But as another poster said if you discipline yourself and get used to it its fine. Camera best in class 5 MP... in a phone!!!

Music player good.

To conserve battery life turn off gps, bluetooth and wifi when you are not using them.


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## daves (14 Feb 2008)

Just want to Bunk this up as i am thinking of getting one soon. 
i would more commonly use it for the internet, calls, texts maybe the odd application.
The GPS would also intrest me but it isnt a deal breaker. 

Anyone have one of these and how do they find it?


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## Lauren (14 Feb 2008)

Just got one the other day..Battery life is indeed very poor compared to other mobiles..Its easy to get used to if you have used Nokia products before.....  Moving from screen to screen is a little slow I would say....It is however a nice looking phone, sound quality is very good, camera is dead handy...Very compact given the range of features...


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## daves (14 Feb 2008)

Lauren said:


> Just got one the other day..Battery life is indeed very poor compared to other mobiles..Its easy to get used to if you have used Nokia products before..... Moving from screen to screen is a little slow I would say....It is however a nice looking phone, sound quality is very good, camera is dead handy...Very compact given the range of features...


 

Have you tried GPS or internet on it? what is that like?


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## Lauren (14 Feb 2008)

Slow enough although I haven't played with it that much...I'm not much into internet on a mobile tho...Find it too cumbersome...


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## euroDilbert (14 Feb 2008)

I think it's a brilliant phone. Got it as a competition prize last year and have been using it ever since. Good quality display screen (for photos etc).

Battery life is shorter than my previous Nokia phones, but I normally get 2-3 days of average use from it. However, I don't use it for extended periods on it's own. Now, I recharge it every night.

The screen is OK for internet use (when reading text), but obviously doing any significant amount of typing is slow. I find it great for a few things in particular (when away from my PC) :

Checking email, reading news/weather, real-time DART (there's a mobile version available) and airport flight departures/arrivals. I've downloaded Opera Mini, and find it better for some websites.

I have found the GPS works very well, but you need to be outdoors or by a window. I have downloaded a few of the maps, and they appear accurate. I haven't used it as a SatNav replacement, and am not sure how well it would work for this. However, it's great for showing you where you are on a map if you're lost !!

I also use the Radio, Mp3 Player and sync to Outlook. So I only have one gadget to carry. It has replaced my pocket radio and pocket PC.


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## ClubMan (14 Feb 2008)

Two colleagues of mine have this phone and won't shut up about how great it is!


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## ang1170 (14 Feb 2008)

I got one a couple of months back. It's the first "high-end" phone I've had (went from Nokia to Motorola and now back to Nokia with this one).

Battery is OK (I get at least two to three days), but I keep WiFi turned off, unless I'm actually using it (this makes a big difference aparently).

Plus points: excellent camera (just a handy thing to have), basic phone features fine, more features than you can shake a stick at (if you can figure out how to use them), Web browsing is surprisingly good, given the screen size (you have to get used to scrolling around). GPS is great to have (but see below). USB or bletooth sync with a PC is excellent (my main reason for getting this one, apart from the camera). 

Minus points: it has locked up on me once (a battery removal job), it doesn't charge through the USB port (unlike Motorola: this is a really handy feature, as I used to plug the Motorola into work PC and leave it all day charging), it's a bit bulky (but not too bad). The GPS can take a **long** time to sync up and has a major design flaw in that it doesn't know the phone's orientation (think about that one: you're looking at a map and can't figure out which way you're facing): I see the GPS as something that may be handy on occasion, I certainly wouldn't want to depend on it.

Although I work in technology, I'm a real techo-phobe with personal stuff, so I was a bit wary about getting it. However, I've been pleasantly surprised with the various features, and how useful they can be in practice.

All in all, a thumbs up!


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## ClubMan (14 Feb 2008)

ang1170 said:


> Battery is OK (I get at least two to three days), but I keep WiFi turned off, unless I'm actually using it (this makes a big difference aparently).


I've heard/read about the poor battery life allegations but both colleagues did their own battery drain tests by keeping all wireless options on and the devices going a lot of the time to see how they performed and were getting very good battery lifetime on them.


> Minus points: it has locked up on me once (a battery removal job)


Did you ensure to update to the latest firmware in case this helps? If you got one with the "free" _Spider-Man _movie then updating the firmware may lock this out due to its _DRM _cofiguration...


> it doesn't charge through the USB port


I thought that it did!?


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## ang1170 (15 Feb 2008)

ClubMan said:


> Did you ensure to update to the latest firmware in case this helps? If you got one with the "free" _Spider-Man _movie then updating the firmware may lock this out due to its _DRM _cofiguration...


 
Funny you should mention that...

I should have said it locked up once *after* I updated it: a couple of times before. And yes, I had Spiderman, and yes it disapeared on me after the upgrade. It had warned to backup before hand, which I ignored as I'd nothing of value I'd put on it.  Little did I think it would wipe its one and only film (not that I'd fancy watching it on a phone, though the two minutes I did watch did look kind of cool). By the way, the main reason I updated the software was because it somehow lost the ability to pair with Bluetooth devices. I didn't bother mentioning this as I'd heard that current phones have these problems sorted.



ClubMan said:


> I thought that it did!?


 
It doesn't say it's charging, so I'd assumed not. I'm fairly sure it doesn't, though.


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## ClubMan (15 Feb 2008)

Personally I would have updated the firmware just to get rid of the movie but that's just me.  I was pretty sure that it charged from the _USB_ but [broken link removed]?


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## daves (15 Feb 2008)

Thanks for the feedback folks. All in all it seems to top the areas that would be of interest to me.
Next thing i am looking at is the price plans available. I am currently with o2. Spend roughly 20-30 euro on credit and use my phone mainly after 6 but also during the day. I'll be checking out comreg for this but any other feedback would be appreciated!


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## ang1170 (15 Feb 2008)

ClubMan said:


> Personally I would have updated the firmware just to get rid of the movie but that's just me.  I was pretty sure that it charged from the _USB_ but [broken link removed]?


 
That adapter seems to convert from a USB connector (from a computer) to the connector for the charger into the phone.

My previous phone, a Motorola, used its normal USB data connector to charge. This meant that so long as you had a USB cable (which I used anyway to sync with the PC at work and home), you don't have to charge it separately: it charges away by itself just by being plugged into the computer.

The Nokia on the other hand has a separate charger input, so won't charge when it's plugged into the PC through its USB connector, unless it's also plugged into the charger.

Even with the cable you referenced, you'd still need to carry two cables, one of them very non-standard.

Thumbs up to Motorola for that feature, and down to Nokia.


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## ClubMan (15 Feb 2008)

ang1170 said:


> That adapter seems to convert from a USB connector (from a computer) to the connector for the charger into the phone.


Yes - my point was that if such a cable was available then I was probably wrong that the _N95 _charged from _USB_.


> The Nokia on the other hand has a separate charger input, so won't charge when it's plugged into the PC through its USB connector, unless it's also plugged into the charger.


It will with the cable linked above if the charger is a 5V <= 500mA one since that is the power spec of a _USB _port.


> Even with the cable you referenced, you'd still need to carry two cables, one of them very non-standard.


Nope. As long as the power connector is for an _N95 _and the _N95 _can charge on 5V and draws less than 500mA of current then it can charge from a _USB _port.


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## ang1170 (16 Feb 2008)

Clubman, I think you're missing the point.

The USB port on the Motorola *is* the charger input. When you have it connected to a computer to transfer data, it is also charging (if it needs it). You only need to carry one cable to do both data transfer and charging, as they're done at the same time.  

This does not happen on the Nokia: to do data transfer and charging you need two cables: one for data and one as an adapter into the charger input. It just doesn't charge through the phone's USB input. Apart from the fact the USB-to-power input adapter cable isn't included with the thing, and is completely non-standard, this is not as convenient. I very rarely used the Motorola's charger: I invariably let it charge though its USB when I hooked it up to a PC. Now I'm back to having to remember to charge the thing, or to always bring the charger with me.


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## ClubMan (17 Feb 2008)

OK - I get your point now. I agree that charging via the same _USB _connector used for data transfer makes more sense and is nicer alright.


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## ang1170 (17 Feb 2008)

ClubMan said:


> OK - I get your point now. I agree that charging via the same _USB _connector used for data transfer makes more sense and is nicer alright.


 
Yep - it's neater alright. It's only when I got the Motorola and saw this in action (charging through a completely standard data cable, that can be found anywhere) I got to think: why aren't they (high-end phones that is that connect to PCs a lot) all done that way?

Of course, fewer chances for the manufacturer to make extra cash from selling extra chargers, adaptor cables, product-unique charging kits for cars etc., but surely that can't be the reason, can it?


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## Lauren (18 Feb 2008)

As mentioned previously I just got my hands on a Nokia N95. Seem to be only getting about twelve hours out of the battery though...That would be after spending perhaps an hour of that on the phone...Does that sound normal? I feel like I'm always charging it!


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## ang1170 (18 Feb 2008)

Mine runs for (at least) three or four days, though I doubt I talk as long as an hour over that time.

Does your say ""WLAN scanning off" on the main screen? if not, try turning it off when you're not using wireless LANs, as this can make quite a difference, I believe.


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## ClubMan (19 Feb 2008)

Turn off 802.11 and _Bluetooth _if/when you don't need them. Turn the screen contrast/brightness down. Probably other tips if you _Google_.


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## HighFlier (20 Feb 2008)

Changed my N95 for the new N82(not sure if its available in Ireland yet I got it overseas)

It has all the features of the N95 but has a much better satnav with lockon times of seconds rather than minutes and much less shutter lag on the 5 MP camera which also now has xenon flash.

The best of all it costs only two thirds of the price of the N95 and dosen't have the maddening weak slider that keeps opening and unlocking the phone.

Somewhat smaller screen but with the optional voice commands it is the first phone that can usably replace a traditional sat nav.


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