North American Nokia N95 8GB (Nokia N95-4) Unboxing
March 8th, 2008 • Andrew Leung • Filed Under
Now for the moment you’ve all been waiting for, the Nokia N95 8GB NAM (also known as Nokia N95-4) is available for purchase. It’s definitely been worth the wait. First impressions: improved browser and firmware over the Nokia N95-3, faster overall OS, and an absolutely gorgeous screen. On to the gallery!
Nokia N95 8GB on AT&T’s US 3G Network
Mark Guim on 8 March 2008:
ugh you suck… you got it before me.
Mustafa on 9 March 2008:
Need…one…NOW!
Mark, when do you think you’ll have this in stock?
caliboy99 on 9 March 2008:
what FW does it come with??
chkma8 on 9 March 2008:
i saw the box of this phone on another website and it looks like it’s made in Korea.
brian on 9 March 2008:
is it worth it to upgrade from an n95-3 to a n95-4? just want to know your thoughts
Mark Guim on 10 March 2008:
@brian many people will have different opinion but I think it is worth it.
mike on 10 March 2008:
is full youtube supported like the latest firmware of the n95-2?
dan on 12 March 2008:
but where did you get the 95-4 8gb…ive been waiting for a couple a months atleast and seen the date get pushed back 4 times at mobilecityonline.com… this has been frustrating..everytime the expected date comes i look at the web site thinking it will be pushed back again and it is! today the said the 14th
James on 12 March 2008:
Looks sweet. I like the black. Got a pic of the bottom? I’d like to see where the pop port and usb ports are located compared to my n95-3.
Mark Guim on 12 March 2008:
Druu where are you… we need answers.
Mat on 12 March 2008:
Dan, the n95-4 should be available now at the Nokia flagship stores in NY & Chicago. Although I think it has a hefty price tag. Give them a call for more info.
Andrew Leung on 12 March 2008:
@ Dan, you can check out various places in Lower Manhattan. I walked along many stores around bowery street and east broadway asking around. Some of these places may have it, and you can usually haggle a little bit. The only thing is you have to pay all cash (plus side being no tax). If you absolutely must have it, call the nokia flagship stores, a friend of mine ahead and they actually put him on a list.
Picture of the bottom incomming
Andrew Leung on 12 March 2008:
@ James : The gallery now has a picture of the bottom of the phone.
Hit this link to go direct:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23369751@N06/2329586801/in/set-72157604078032437/
Adrian on 13 March 2008:
I’m considering getting one of these but I’m not totally sure about it (it’s not cheap!), and I’d like to ask people who actually use the device (instead of magazine reviewers, etc, who might only use it for a few days).
Can it play a full-length movie? Basically, can I take this on a plane, watch a 2-hour movie, and still have battery power when I land?
How long does the battery last when surfing the web over wifi?
How hard is it to sync (music, photos, contacts, calendar) on a Mac?
How would you compare it to an iphone? How about versus the iphone everybody expects to come out later this year, with 3G and probably an improved camera, plus lots of applications now that the SDK is out?
Do the maps work even when you don’t pay for GPS? Does it have any kind of cell-tower triangulation like google maps on the iphone?
How much of a pain is it not having a qwerty keyboard?
Answers/comments much appreciated.
errol thomas on 13 March 2008:
ive got the euro n95 8gb, which im happy to use on t-mob usa edge while im in the usa, but this means i can use 3g 2100mhz in japan & korea (& euro, africa, asia too). Im sure there is plenty of people in the us who travel to japan so not to have dual-band 3g was a massive oversight by nokia.. Im a nokia fan, but have a sony k850i which is worldwide 3g (850, 1900, 2100mhz). Once nokia replicate that idea, the plan of world domination will be complete!
Andrew Leung on 13 March 2008:
@ adrian : This phone has without a doubt the best mobile internet i have ever used. For a multitude of reasons. Keep in mind I have owned an iphone, numerous blackberries (the entire 8xxx series), SE smart phones (m600i, P990i), and i still own a K790A/K850i. It is the best combination of high speed internet and a capable browser (watch your youtube and other flash videos!).
The software community for S60 and all of Nokia’s other products (i.e. N810 tablet) is huge and thriving.
The 5 megapixel camera offering is sweet, I actually much prefer this 5 megapixel camera to the K850i because the phone is not as sluggish as the K850i.
I didn’t feel as strong about the original n95 as I do about this one. For one, I missed my blackberry a little when i had the N95-3, not so much with this one. Although not having a keyboard is annoying at times, you get used to it if you bookmark your pages, i will never be as able to respond to work email like I did with my blackberry, but I really could care less about that haha.
As far as GPS is concerned, if you buy a new N95-4, you get 6 months of gps navigation for free. I haven’t tried googlemaps or any such programs yet, perhaps Mark can chime in on it.
Hope this helps!
adrian on 14 March 2008:
Andrew, thanks for the response.
Browsing over wifi on a really big screen is actually the most important thing for me personally. Which is why I’m researching phones with big screens, wifi, and a “real” web browser. I also want to fit it into my jeans pocket (so much for the e61i or the e90).
But I guess I just find some of Nokia’s design decisions strange: they make a million different phone models, but only few with big fat screens. If they made another S60 phone with a 2.8″ or bigger screen, qwerty keyboard (sliding out sidekick-style?), lots of storage space, a monster battery, and a standard 3.5″ headphone jack, I’d have bought it long ago. The n95 is close, which is why I’m looking at it, but for the price I sort of expect perfection.
Maybe I should write them a letter. Sketch my perfect n-series on a napkin for them.
I still have a big question: how long does the battery last when watching video? In specs here and there I see estimates on talk time and standby time…but obviously this phone does a lot more than that. I’ve also read here and there that 3G and Wifi suck a lot of juice….how long does the battery last when web browsing?
Andrew Leung on 14 March 2008:
I have my phone running all day at work, whether it be playing music, browsing the internet on 3g/edge (my office is spotty, some places in the building limit me to edge), or just sitting idle with the 3g radio on and it lasts the whole day with plenty to spare. The phone is good at conserving power. Unless you on it for several hours during the day, you should have no issues with the battery, and even then you should be able to make it. I don’t have much reason to go on Wifi during the day so I wouldn’t be able to comment on that. Although if past experiences have shown, wifi drains battery life on any device very quickly.
I have not really tested watching video and the battery life. Can anyone with the N95-2 and spiderman chime in on the battery life while watching video?
Jan on 15 March 2008:
I have the n95-2 and recently went on a trip from europe to asia. for that reason I had transferred a few movies to the phone to keep me occupied during the flight. With the phone freshly charged and then on standby for 2-3 hours with a short phonecall or two and a few text messages, I was just able to watch two movies at a total of about 3h 50 min. The phone was giving me low battery warnings at the end of the second movie. Pretty decent, don’t you think?
Mark Guim on 15 March 2008:
@Jan hmm not bad… but could be better
adrian on 15 March 2008:
Actually that battery time is great. On par with my ipod 5G. Would mean no more need for a man purse full of devices.
Serge on 18 March 2008:
Any experience with http://www.mobilecityonline.com ? Their listing price is around $689.99 vs $779 at Nokia store. I’ve read some good and bad stories about this store. Any suggestions?
Mat on 19 March 2008:
I just purchased mine from DELL today for $639.99, but some states have to pay tax on that. Shipping is free though.
Andrew Leung on 19 March 2008:
mobilecityonline is an excellent outlet that i find to be very reliable. I was actually going to post about dell when I got home from work today, its cheap! But there may be a longer shipping wait than MCO,.
@mat what is the projected ship date on yours?
James on 20 March 2008:
Serge I have 2 experiences with Mobilecityonline and both were good. I purchased the N95-3 and the N810 from them because their prices are excellent (and I have no tax since I’m not in NY). The only hiccup I had was when I tried to pay with paypal but my mailing address wasn’t confirmed (still not sure how it gets confirmed, oh well) and they won’t ship to non-confirmed addresses. They called me personally to tell me and to tell me what I could do to make the transaction go through. I simply told them to send it to my parents place (which was confirmed on paypal) and it went through. For my N810 I simply payed with credit card to avoid any paypal problems
So yes, I recommend them.
Mat on 20 March 2008:
I decided against mobilecityonline because they had been teasing me for too long with incorrect availability dates ;D
Mat on 21 March 2008:
Andrew: my n95 shipped the day I ordered it
should arrive monday. The sales rep said I should hurry up and get my order in as someone had 100 of them on hold.
Serge on 21 March 2008:
James thanks for your response. I actually followed Mat’s advice and ordered (03/19/08) mine from DELL. I also found 15% off coupon online and was able to apply it towards the purchase. So, the price came down to $543.99 plus I had to pay tax (I’m in Texas) $46.20 and overnight shipping $16.00. Grand total: $606.19! But next day (03/20/08) received an email from DELL saying that phone will not ship till 03/27 because it was on backorder. Call DELL…I was MAD cause their site said THIS PRODUCT SHIPS IN 24 HOURS. They put me on hold and after few minutes I was told that the phone will ship on Friday with Saturday delivery on 03/22. But then another rep told me that it will actually not ship till next Monday the 24th. Guess what, it came in today at 9 am! Pretty weird, but it’s in my hands now! One questions to you, happy, N95-4 NAM version owners: Where is your phone made? Mine says that it has been made in Korea. How is that possible when N95-2 (authentic) was made in Finland. Is there a Finish version or just Korean for US market? Sorry for a long post.
Thanks for your help!
Serge.
Mat on 21 March 2008:
Just got home, and my phone was here waiting for me
My weekend just got a whole lot better!!
Angello on 23 March 2008:
I am getting the Nokia N95-4 from ebay, and cant wait to get it, I have a question though.
I use t-mobile, and they do not have the 3G, but I heard they will have it by the end of 08, when they have it released, will N95-4 be compatible with it. thanks
Andrew Leung on 24 March 2008:
Someone may need to correct me on this, but I am relatively certain that T-mo will be using a different band of 3g. ATT might be the way to go.
Serge on 24 March 2008:
Yes, T-Mobil’s 3G spectrum is different
Serge on 25 March 2008:
Mat,
Is your phone made in Korea as well?
Thanks!
Serge.
Msat on 31 March 2008:
Hey guys, can anyone comment on how the phone is overall?!!?
Serge on 1 April 2008:
I’ve tried to access same internet page (over AT&T Internet) on both phones, 95-2 (Euro/Asia 3G) and 95-4 (NAM 3G) and have to admit that did not see any major differences in response time. 95-2 was just 1 or 2 seconds behind 95-4.
Eduardo on 9 April 2008:
Hello
I would like to know if are there Nokia N95-4 made in Finland ?
If so, where could I buy it ?
Please write me to : erubio24@hotmail.com
Thank you
Eduardo Rubio
Serge on 9 April 2008:
All Nokia N95-4 made in Korea
Lynne on 18 April 2008:
I noticed my new one is made in Korea too, I was under the impression that the top of the line real Nokia N’s were only made in Findland. Can anyone tell me if there’s a real difference or did Nokia just change places for cheaper labor. I’d think that they’d stick with their own country of origin for their better models.
Andrew Leung on 20 April 2008:
As far as i know i don’t feel any drop in build quality between the phones made in finland vs the ones from korea.
Me on 23 April 2008:
your are not well informed, there is a huge difference between de made in’s quality
Koreans ones sucks!
Lynne on 23 April 2008:
thanks for the input, both + & - with regards to the Korean quality sucking, may i ask which features you feel are most compromised on this version? i was so stunned to see “made in korea” when it finally arrived, but now i’m not sure if it’s even worth it to go through the hassle to try and resell it and get a MIF version. thanks so much!
Serge on 24 April 2008:
I have both, and did not see any diffs in quality…yet
demetrios on 4 May 2008:
Regarding country of manufacture, do not confuse the new legit Korean N95s with the phony baloney imitations. The latter didn’t have GPS or WiFi and had some other issues as well. It’s hard to tell with those eBay and other online scammers but with Dell, CompUSA, etc, you should be safe. I would rather choose Finland over Korea as well but I don’t think it matters these days. Plus, I believe Nokia has shifted N95 production to Korea as of a certain date so it’s becoming moot .
Good luck to all.
Zaher on 14 June 2008:
Do you mean that it doesn’t work with European 3G ?? I really want to get this phone but I am not in the US . Thanks !
marty on 17 June 2008:
I just got my n95-4. Will the MediaMax data plan of AT&T give me 3G data speed?
Lynne on 20 June 2008:
I got the works from AT&T for mine, but as soon as they put the 3G card in, all my media was super fast, BUT, now my actual reception completely sucks!!! I used to pride myself on what great coverage I got, especially prodding all my other friends with their Blackberrys and bad networks, but now it’s them laughing at me… maybe it’s karma
either way, it’s soooo frustrating. If anyone has any ideas or help, I’m eagerly open. Love this phone, but it’s useless when I miss half my incoming calls…
Andrew Leung on 20 June 2008:
Might be your sim card, try a friend’s sim to see if calls work, i’ve had a couple of bad sims that needed to be replaced because my voice service as poor.
demetrios on 20 June 2008:
@Zaher
This phone is the North American (or NAM) 3G version of N95 8GB, also known as N95-4. The European version is the N95-2 (which came first; ironically you’re in the obverse situation that we were in when the -2 was out in Europe and Asia and we wanted it).
@Lynne
Sounds like the good old AT&T half-a** approach to implementation. They did the same thing back in the day when they switched from TDMA to emulated GSM. I was dropping calls left and right. They worked out the bugs about a year or two later. I don’t think it will take as long with WCDMA/UMTS/3G. It’s just a matter of ironing out the kinks and converting more towers (and a larger percentage of the tower’s utilization) to 3G.
Zaher on 20 June 2008:
Thank you , I changed my mind about it !
Lynne on 20 June 2008:
Thanks for the input, I guess it’s just a waiting game for AT&T to get their $hyt together then…
Does anyone have any comments on or problems with how extremely hot the phone gets on the ear after only about 10 -15 minutes… I’ve never had this problem with any other phone ever, it’s so weird!!!