Nokia N96 - the ongoing test and questions invited

christexaport wrote:
Since firmware version 15, the N95-2 has been stable. I used it over 13 hours a day consistently as a primary computer. I admit, adding an extra 8gb and a card slot are nice, but an incremental update, not a full upgrade. The added storage isn't so important with the slot, which is the real added value, in my opinion.

But... N95 owners aren't the target audience for the N96! N95 is also a relatively new phone, people with new phones don't generally buy another new phone! It's people with old phones who primarily buy new phones!

People who buy a new phone every 6 months (I'm not talking about anyone specific here) seem to think that's the norm. It's not. People typically buy a new phone every 2 or 3 years.

So, I don't really buy the argument that "the N96 is only a little better than the N95, therefore the N96 is a bad phone". I'm comparing the N96 to my two year old N93 - that's the relevant comparison.

2-3 years??
that's way too long bro..
well 2 years is still alrite, but 3 years is like..u miss out on way too much stuff!
i guess if u're a geek of mobile phones then u do need to change frequently..
i say 1 year is the best, 6 months does takes up too much money out of ur pocket..

Hi everyone, my name is Venkat and I just picked up my brand new Nokia N96 yesterday, after prebooking it on 02 Sep 2008. I am so excited. This phone is just loaded to the brim with stuff. I live in Chennai, India. I read on the internet that the N96 has been released in India 1st, before the other markets around the world. Well then I guess I'm one of the 1st few N96 owners in the world then.

Oh well, I got it only last evening and it's 4.30pm now so haven't had much time to really explore the phone. I realise though that it's got loads of stuff to explore, especially compared to my 1 year old N73 Music Edition. Starting from the display, everything is fantastic in this phone. The call quality, signal quality etc appears to be far better than my N73. Camera is fantastic to say the least. Superb photos even indoors with normal lighting. Haven't tried the video part yet.

I'd like to ask Nick a few questions:

* Since this is a regional package, Nokia India has preloaded lots of stuff like MP3s, a Hindi movie, other applications etc in the phone. Would formatting the mass memory erase everything ? If so, is it possible to do a complete backup of everything in the phone memory + mass memory + contacts etc, format the mass memory and do a reset, then restore everything ?

* I am thinking of this since the movie stutters quite a bit when being played. I noticed this immediately when taking delivery of the phone. I also read in your post that you formatted the mass memory and the videos were playing smoothly from the memory card. If this is so, what is the use in having 16GB of mass storage - if the videos are gonna be smooth only from the memory card ?

* Also, I find that the phone memory available is only 52MB. This is without me storing anything on the phone. Even before I inserted my SIM card, it showed only this much. Mass storage available is about 12.2GB. What is the total phone memory on this model ? Can I move stuff to the mass storage, to make the phone operate faster ? The phone appears to be a little slow in operation. Sometimes though it is blazing fast.

* Officially, the N96 appears to support an 8GB Micro SDHC card. Unofficially, I have read that it supports even the 16GB Sandisk Micro SDHC card. Is it advisable to try the 16GB card ? Maybe videos could be stored on the memory card, while songs and photos, applications etc could be stored in the mass storage for better performance.

Please feel free to share any suggestions / ideas you may have for the above issues mentioned. I am gonna register myself in this forum for further detailed posts as well. This forum is great !!

Look forward to hearing from you all. My email ID would be VSG12777 at GMAIL dot com. Direct responses would also be appreciated.

Thanks and warm regards,
Venkat
(from Chennai, India)

billy.k wrote:2-3 years??
that's way too long bro..
well 2 years is still alrite, but 3 years is like..u miss out on way too much stuff!
i guess if u're a geek of mobile phones then u do need to change frequently..

Who said us geeks are the norm? Most people who buy phones aren't geeks.

Unregistered wrote:* Since this is a regional package, Nokia India has preloaded lots of stuff like MP3s, a Hindi movie, other applications etc in the phone. Would formatting the mass memory erase everything ? If so, is it possible to do a complete backup of everything in the phone memory + mass memory + contacts etc, format the mass memory and do a reset, then restore everything ?

I am not 100% sure, but I believe a full backup is possible. Use the PC Suite backup program and also connect with USB in mass storage mode and copy everything from the 16GB mass storage drive to your PC before formatting.

* Also, I find that the phone memory available is only 52MB. This is without me storing anything on the phone. Even before I inserted my SIM card, it showed only this much. Mass storage available is about 12.2GB. What is the total phone memory on this model ? Can I move stuff to the mass storage, to make the phone operate faster ? The phone appears to be a little slow in operation. Sometimes though it is blazing fast.

Nokia specs here:
http://www.forum.nokia.com/devices/N96

But it doesnt seem entirely correct to me.
128MB RAM is shown as 118MB on the phone but it seems like only about 50MB is left after booting.
On the nokia site above it says 256MB phone storage, but to me it looks like it only has about 82MB.
16GB Mass storage is shown as 15 GB but you have only 12GB free because of the preloaded stuff I guess.

* Officially, the N96 appears to support an 8GB Micro SDHC card. Unofficially, I have read that it supports even the 16GB Sandisk Micro SDHC card. Is it advisable to try the 16GB card ? Maybe videos could be stored on the memory card, while songs and photos, applications etc could be stored in the mass storage for better performance.

16GB will probably work fine (for example: 8GB cards also worked well in the N95, but Nokia officially stated 2GB)

which is a shame that mostly who buy phones arent geeks!
thats what i meant..lol
sorry for the bad english that u got a different understanding..

by the way check this out
http://www.phonearena.com/htmls/Nokia-N96-Review-review-r_2012.html
it is said that n96 has a slower processor than n95
from Arm 11 369mhz to Arm 9 264mhz!
well i know this before, but it is such a shame to hear!
it's like we pay more for a new phone, and yet we got a downgrade on processor! wtf?!

does the Dual Arm 9 264mhz processor effect the speed a lot?
compare to N95's Dual Arm 11 332mhz processor, does this mean a downgrade?
or maybe the new Feature pack OS all uses Dual Arm 9?
please inform me whether this phone is worthy to buy or not

I have installed some themes in my Nokia N96. Some of the themes are listed and some are not listed in the App. Mgr. How do I go about to delete these themes (those not listed in the App. Mgr.)

now that's what i've been wondering as well dude..
it happens to my n95 8gb as well, i dno why nokia has not fix this problem yet..
i just dont get why it doesnt appear in app manager! how the heck are we suppose to remove it?!
if any of u by any chance know how to, plz inform us! thx

If you have installed them on mass memory or memory card it should be possible to delete the theme files manually by connecting the phone with usb cable in mass storage mode. I am not sure if this works on the N96 but it is worth a try:
http://news.mobile9.com/s60apps/2007/01/12/tips-tricks-removing-themes/
http://www.nokiasymbianthemes.com/mobile-tutorials/how-to-delete-themes-that-does-not-appear-in-your-application-manager-of-nokia-phones-eg-nokia-5700-xpress-music
(also see the comment about newer phones in the bottom).

Enfors, I agree with you in respect to casual users. However, you and Nokia have both overlooked an important segment of the market, the avid gadget freak.

I am a member of Symbian Freak, a community of power-using gadget enthusiasts that focus on the bleeding edge of technology. It isn't uncommon for many of my brethren to buy 2-3 devices per year, especially when one's the supposed flagship device from Nokia's premium brand. In fact, much like the PC community, we'll commonly buy each flagship device to stay with the fastest, latest, best mobile content creating computing device available.

Since the Nseries inception, the flagship device has been the best mobile device ever. The N90, N93, N95/N82... This device didn't look far enough ahead to be worthy of the flagship moniker, and that's what bothers most of the gadget reviewers and avid enthusiasts. Those people may be a small part of the market, but when they're usually the one recommending the top toys and devices to friends, bosses, and family, it pays to keep to their lofty standards, and they haven't. They're beginning to recommend devices from other manufacturers, which is a major change and sad event for fans like me.

I didn't say the N96 was a little better than the N95-2, I said it ISN'T AT ALL. Computer is judged mostly by its hardware, and storage won't trump RAM and processors for a power user of my ilk.

Venkat, congratulations on such a great upgrade! Be sure to use the Nseries PC Suite to backup the entire device. This will insure your movie's security key will be backed up as well. The generic PC Suite failed to do so for some users.

Wow! 52 MB free RAM on N96 at boot? Not very good compared to my N95-2's near 90 MB, which make a huge difference when doing heavy multitasking.

billy.k, your notice of the weaker processor and the lower amount of free RAM are exactly what gives me cause for alarm. I prefer the N95-2 or N82 to this otherwise nice device.

For your stuck themes, make sure you install them to the phone memory. The mass memory is intended for storage, not app installation. Try to reinstall them to the phone and they should appear in the app manager. If not, you'll need to manually remove them using a file manager.

hi. please help me. i own a nokia N96, got it a week ago already but i can synchronized it with my macbook using isync. i've already downloaded and successfully installed the plug in but for some reason, i always get the message - synchronization with the device failed. what am i doing wrong? i badly needed the N96 to sync with my macbook since all my contacts are on my address book and it would be such a hassle to transfer it manually. i previously owned a nokia N95 and synchronizing it using isync is such a breeze, how come it doesn't work with my N96 this time? please, please help! it's been a week since I purchased my N96 and I still can't use it. thanks very much.

Hey, just interested if n e 1 has had the same problem as myself, my phone has been working ok but just last week my screen wouldnt work, the phone turn's on & functions correctly, EG: recieves calls, can make calls... etc so i turned it off & removed the battery pack. Then replaced everything then it was ok, but now it is doing the same thing again & now the screen stay's black......why is this happening & can it be fixed ??? thanx ella