Nokia's flagship Nseries, the N95 8GB, is to made available as a US variant. The only change in the specifications from the standard N95 are in the supported the WCDMA frequencies - 850/1900 MHz instead of 2100 MHz. The device will be available from Nokia Flagship Stores and Nseries retailers during the first quarter at an estimated retail price of $749.
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Yesh! 😃 Now.. is N95 8GB worth it, or should I take the smaller screen but flexible memory expansion of the original.. arrggggh! Some make the decision for me! 😊
Please explain this to me.
While currently in India, I'm moving to the US soon. So, is AT & T the only provider that has 3G ? & what happens if I use the 'normal' N95 8GB in the US ? Also, what exactly do I have to check to ensure that phones bought in Asia will work in the US ? - Its kinda away from the current topic, but please do answer anyway.
Unregistered, I think the situation is that the US uses slightly different 3G frequencies to the rest of the world so you may not be able to access 3G services in America on a European or Asian 3G phone.
The answer to this will be the first triband and quadband 3G phones, but AFAIK they don't exist yet.
AT&T is the only GSM carrier with 3G in the US at the moment. T-Mobile is rolling theirs out soon, but, unfortunately, it uses yet another frequency called AWS. The current 8GB model will work in the US on either AT&T or T-Mobile, but only 2G. The newly released model will work on AT&T's 3G, but not on T-Mobile's, nor will it be 3G in the rest of the world (just 2G). Hopefully Nokia releases some quad-band UMTS (850/1900/2100/AWS) that will be 3G everywhere once the Qualcomm matter is resolved. Other companies have some tri-band UMTS (850/1900/2100) that at least work on AT&T and in Europe.
ok folks, maybe it's just me. but i think something like 750 USD for a handphone is bordering the craziness. And still those will sell like hot cakes.
i'm slowly but steadily missing focus on the whole thing.
whta reassures me is that, come next fall, these will retail for 399 or less.
If the yanks don't stop making their own standards & rejecting the rest of the worlds. E.g. 3G networks has been running in many parts of Europe successfully a lot longer than the states these problems wouldn't arise. I suppose it's the American way! if they didn't make the standard they assume it's not good enough for them!!! GRR
I think its a little more complicated than that (including lobbying from parties that have an interest in fragmenting the market and keeping control of it).
Anyway, $749 is for an unlocked, unsubsidized phone. E.g. the iPhone would probably cost about that if it was sold completely unsubsidized.
The N95-3 started retailing at $749 as well, if I am not mistaken, and you can now get it for about or even less than $600. The 8GB model should also drop to $699 at least almost immediately, and consequently the N95-3 should also drop a bit more.
North American carriers don't "WANT TO BE DIFFERENT" they simply have to accommodate their business to the availability of wireless spectrum.
Get off of your "American way" horse and do some research.
Regarding the US frequencies, the issue is that the military occupies the 2100MHz spectrum and has done so for years. Analog TV is going away next year, freeing up the 700MHz spectrum (which Google and Apple might bid on). In the meantime, the US government is slowly, but surely, freeing up the 1700MHz (AWS) spectrum, which T-Mobile will use for 3G and Verizon will eventually use for LTE. Canada and South America plan to use this same spectrum, as well, just as they have also adopted the 850 and 1900MHz spectrum that the FCC designated for 2G service in the 1990s.
I'd buy this in a heartbeat and dump Windows Mobile forever, but apparently the Nokia N95 does not support the Bluetooth Phone Book Access Profile (PBAP) required by most in-car Bluetooth systems (like the one in my Audi) in order to access the phonebook. GLARING OMISSION.
DHL, it is a glaring omission, but the Nokia 810 Software downloadable from their website can be installed on an N95 and it will synchronize contacts with most bluetooth adapters (I don't know specifically about Audi, but it works with my Parrot kit).
You can view more details on the N95 8Gb here http://www.n958gb.co.uk/