Stuck between nokia n95 8gb and nokia e71 — Nokia N95 and N95 8GB

twinpeaked 11 Jul 2008, 09:10

Hello everybody,

I'm new here, so please be gentle and very sorry if I have posted this in the wrong section.

The contract for my nokia N73 ran out months ago and I'm trying to decide what my next phone should be. My current gripe with the n73 is the build quality - it creaks awfully, and the paint on the silver fascia started chipping off within months. This time I wan't somethat is well built and doesn't force my hand to upgrade at the end of a contract if I like the way it looks/ works

This is why the e71 caught my eye - it gets the basics right. It looks rugged, made of good materials, and has a collosal battery life - it is also rather cheap (compared to the launch price of the n95). But on the other hand the N95 has collosal multimedia abilities, a larger screen and other positive features, and also getting quite cheap (o2 would give me more minutes and texts than I could use and free data for �35)

I guess I should tell you what I intend for my phone

I'm not a business user, but I do sometimes email, and there is a chance that I may at some point have a corporate email account that I need to track

I am a developing smartphone user with aspirations to actively engage with downloadable software and fulfil the smartphone user paradigm

want to have multimedia in my pocket with a view to complement, not replace my existing stand alone devices (a 3 year old Mp3 player, digital SLR, nintendo ds lite) and to act like an emergency/always on ones person incase I don't have said items on me but require. It must be stated that because of my digital SLR I have hardly used my camera on the phone in 2008, so it only has to be "good enough" however a high quality device my sway me to use it more.

video is one thing that is deficient in my current set up, I have very few means to capture good video or consume video on the move (but seeing as it is not intrinsic to my life at the moment, it only has to be "good enough"

as stated before, bulid and battery and call quality are very important, I guess I sort of lost sight that under all the added features it has to act well as a phone, and be ready to recieve or make that emergency call.

Thank you for your time and replies

ironass 11 Jul 2008, 11:49

I must say, they are very evenly matched. Not a lot between them.
The screen on the N95 8GB plus the features (I don't like QWERTY keyboards either) do it for me.
Oh and the black colour!

For a comparision, see here:-

http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone2=2425&idPhone1=2088

Good luck.

twinpeaked 11 Jul 2008, 11:54

Thank you for the reply and the link😊 .

This if a tough one, if the design ethos of the e71 was given to the n95 8GB, it would be a no brainer.

I would like to hear from everybody how they find the rigidity of the n95 - does it feel "lifeproof"?

bartmanekul 11 Jul 2008, 11:57

There have been quite a few issues with the duel slider, and having handled a few, I dont like them.

I havent been near an E71, but generally speaking, E series have a very good build quality.

ironass 11 Jul 2008, 12:01

Sorry twinpeaked, nothing is "lifeproof" not even you and me.
Can't speak for the E71, but the N95 8GB that I've had for nearly 9 months, no protective case etc; and carry in my trouser or jacket pocket still looks good. No wobbly slider, as in some N95-1's, and no cosmetic damage. Bounces on carpets, not sure about pavements.

twinpeaked 11 Jul 2008, 12:08

Yes I've heard about the dual slider.

I've taken steve litchfield's recent article about phone features being "good enough" to heart, and want a phone that will last until a new paradigm comes in (like mass proliferation of touch devices), and to view my phone as a system (i.e. purchases and download of programs, accessories and use of cloud computing)

my problem, (and sorry i'm not helping) is the build of the n95 strong enough to endure this, or are the multimedia features of the e71 as steve puts it "good enough" to endure a 2-3 year wit between phones

I really appriciate the input

ironass 11 Jul 2008, 12:39

Personally, I'd go to a retailer and handle both phones before deciding on durability as only you know how much and what sort of punishment you want to put your handset through.

Both phones are high end of their range and are capable of being updated and 3rd party software downloads and so as "future proof" as any handset can be in this day and age.

twinpeaked 11 Jul 2008, 13:12

thank you that is very good advice

RogerPodacter 11 Jul 2008, 19:29

this is a tough decision. if i had to chose i dont know what i would do. i'm gonna keep my n95 8GB and pick up an e71 and keep both because i love the n95 but i also love the e71. so just buy both!!

twinpeaked 11 Jul 2008, 20:21

affraid I can't afford that - but atleast someone relates to my plight.

features or design(by which i mean ergonomics - I'm not that shallow)....such a tough one:frown: