Ah yes, the orphan N96, the N95 replacement that was in turn maligned by reviewers and then ignored by Nokia themselves (in terms of firmware updates) - it's been a sorry year for the device and CJ sums things up well here in an illustrated eulogy. With a little love, the N96 could have been so much more, I feel....
Read on in the full article.
I agree, it's too slow to use as a main device. I'm using a 5800 for everyday use as it's so much quicker. I'm keeping the N96 as firmware updates (if they ever come) could make this a great phone.
At the moment though, it's almost unusable, the 'out of memory' messages in the web browser are a joke, something I never get in the 5800 which retails for half the price.
The N96 also had too many rivals from within Nokia which were either available at the same time or on their way soon:
-N95 8GB already offered the same large screen
-N85 offered a similar form factor and design as the N96 but for a much lower price and with arguably better specs
-5800 offered a genuinely new version of S60
Whatever you saw as attractive in the N96, there was always an alternative Nokia device which did it better.
The N96's massive price tag didn't help either.
On top of all that was the apathy towards DVB-H (even here in Finland where the system has been deployed, the DVB-H coverage area is tiny, only covering 40% of the population).
Tell me about it! I got an N96 last November, defecting to Nokia following about 6 years of being faithful to Sony Ericsson. My first experience of smartphones and Symbian OS. Then, about 2 days later, I found out about the removal of the 3D hardware and the slower processor than the N95 8GB. I agree with everything in the post-mortem.
I got an E71 from work last week, and the interface is very slick and fluid. Makes my N96 seem even more like it's stuck in treacle. And Nokia have certainly abandoned the N96, judging by the lack of firmware updates. Holding on for the "killer" firmware update feels like waiting for the Titanic to return to port.
In terms of features, capability, etc. I really like my N96. It's just too slow. I showed somebody a video at work the other day, and it was embarassing how long it took me to (a) navigate to the video, and (b) start the video playing.
Steve.
the big slump in Nseries sales are not there for no reason. the n96 was probably one of Nokias biggest fails ever, but I think they realises that soon enough and focused most of their energy to the devices coming this year like the 5800 and N97. I am just sorry for the customers who got the thing and now must have a horrid impression of S60...
The 20.045-firmware is near.
The N96 still is the best DVB-H-phone there is.
Nick17 wrote:The 20.045-firmware is near.
Nick17 wrote:The N96 still is the best DVB-H-phone there is.
the big slump in Nseries sales are not there for no reason
The slump in Nseries sales was probably because of the 5800, it coincided exactly. The 5800 offers many features that are better than anything on Nseries currently (640x360 screen, touch sensitivity, a brand new version of Symbian S60, first touchscreen Nokia phone since 2004, and a price that is cheaper than any Nseries model). I should think it will balance out once Nseries gets its own touchscreens, and Eseries sales should go up with touchscreen models too.
As Rafe pointed out, if you add 5800 sales to Nseries sales for the last quarter, they come to more-or-less what Nseries sales were previously.
How many DVB-H services are out there?
Well, not many so far.
That's the problem for manufacturers though, it's very difficult to anticipate in advance which standards will be adopted, and how quickly. It can take a year or two to design a device, and by the time they bring it to market it may not be appropriate any more.
Imagine if HD-DVD had won the high definition format wars, Sony would have looked totally stupid using Blu-ray in the very expensive PlayStation 3. The PS3's main new technology would have become the Betamax of the 2000s, and it could have done severe harm to the PlayStation brand's reputation. Microsoft by contrast deliberately avoided any risk by using the established ordinary DVD format on the Xbox 360 (there was an HD-DVD accessory but it was totally optional and not many bought it).
If DVB-H had become available to a majority of people in a majority of Nokia's main markets, and if it had received quality free content in most of those markets, it could potentially have become a "killer app" and made the N96 a very desirable device. It didn't happen though, so we'll never know if it would have saved the N96's reputation. Even if DVB-H takes off now, the N96 is being surpassed by newer models in other ways.
DVB-H has pretty much taken it's place amongst failed technologies. Even Nokia sold it's DVB-H develpment unit last week (to a Indian corporation, dont remember name of the buyer).
It was a company called Wipro. Dont know why they bought it though.
I would attribute part at least of the drop in N-Series sales to the poor useability of the key pads on the most recent N-Series phones. Noteably the N85, N96, N78 and N79. The advantages of having a phone with a keypad instead of touch screen were removed when Nokia released these phones where the keys were not raised but flush with each other. The keypads on the next phones N97 and N86 look more promising, though I'll reserve judgement till I've tried them out.
The N96 seems to have been no upgrade from the N95 8gb an was really sad Nokia didn"t compete in the 8mega-pixel camera matket with the N96,Nokia released the N85 an N79 but were not showing no advances from the N95 8gb an both mobiles had below par cameras on them,so been dying to upgrade my N95 8gb for sometime an at last the N86 is not to far away
@malerocks
sorry for the not so fancy reply(-lay-out (I'm on holiday (using the N96 to reply)))...
there is showing of the 20.045-fw on you tube.. some comments mention availibility in Spain..
in the Netherlands we have great DVB-H and I have a job where I have to wait a lot..
watching tv and getting paid is fun..
Nick17 wrote:in the Netherlands we have great DVB-H and I have a job where I have to wait a lot..
watching tv and getting paid is fun..