Top 5 Reasons Why Nokia N85 Is Better Than Nokia N96

August 26th, 2008 • Mark Guim • Filed Under •

The Nokia N85 was announced this morning and I’m surprised how this newcomer is forcing itself into the Nokia N96’s territory. The N96 is supposed to be the upgrade to the Nokia N95, according to product managers I spoke to, but it seems the lower-priced Nokia N85 is actually bringing more to the table. Read on for the top 5 reasons why the Nokia N85 is better than the Nokia N96.

N85 better than N96

#1 Power

The Nokia N85 comes with bigger battery with 1200 mAh vs 950 mAh on the Nokia N96. Take a look at these comparisons:

Talk time

  • Nokia N85: 6.9 hours on GSM, 4.5 hours on WCDMA, 9 hours VoIP
  • Nokia N96: 3.8 hours on GSM, 2.7 hours on WCDMA, (no VoIP on N96)

Standby

  • Nokia N85: GSM 363 hours, WCDMA 363 hours
  • Nokia N96: GSM 230 hrs, WCDMA 200 hours

#2 MicroUSB Charging

Reduce clutter with one less cable. The Nokia N85 can now be charged though the microUSB port simultaneously while doing data transfer. This is the first for Nseries phones, and a missing feature in the Nokia N96.

#3 FM Transmitter

The Nokia N85 has a built-in FM transmitter that will let us listen to the music from our phone directly on a radio. This feature was introduced in the Nokia N78 but is missing on the Nokia N96.

#4 Lens Cover

Readers told me they want lens cover on their cameraphones. The camera on the Nokia N85 is protected, but not the Nokia N96.

Nokia n85 Lens Cover
Lens cover on the back of the Nokia N85

#5 Screen

The Nokia N85 has new screen technology called AM OLED. You can read All About Symbian’s detailed explanation about AM OLED, but it basically means brighter, better colour gamut (numbers of colours that can be accurately displayed at same time), better contrast ratio, have a better response time, have better viewing angles and use less power than current Nseries devices including the Nokia N96

What do you think?

What do you think about the Nokia N85 vs N96 battle? Which one will win your wallet over and why?

Availability

The Nokia N85 launched today in the UK as well as in Asia. The North American version has not launched yet, but it will be just a matter of time.

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  • N85 wins easy. The N96 is one to forget about .
  • Viipottaja
    Well, true (and I would go with N85 _personally_) butthe N96 holds the upper hand in two specs: 16GB internal memory (some may value that high) and digi TV tuner (some may value that high). To me its all about Nokia giving consumers many choises to pick from. But I do agree N96 is likely remain a niche "flagshippish" product with relatively low sales. Then again, consumers are tricky bastards to predict.

    Once the Nokia 8MP cam phone comes out, the picture changes yet again.
  • Comparing how slow the N95 8GB is with it's internal memory solution I'd skip it, purely on the basis you can get a 16GB card now. DVB-H tuner? Not in Europe, using a different band.

    Don't forget rumours of the N96 not having a graphic chip either. Having choices is one thing, but having choice of an N85 or N96, I'd got with the N85 everyday.
  • #5.5 Tri-band WCDMA!
  • Andy Burgin
    The N85 will really outclass the N96 the buiid of the N85 looks alot more solid than the N96,the pictures an videos i saw on www.mobileburn.com of the N85 looks very good indeed its like the E65 slide built slide an the N85 looks alot slimmer as well,What the hell is going on at Nokia its took them over 6 months to get the N96 ready to be released then release the N85 thats alot better,the N96 will be alot of wasted time an money from Nokia,an now got to release a 8 mega-pixel camera mobile to stop the Samsung i8510 out doing there sales on the N96,N85 an N79
  • Eric
    Don't forget the 2.8" vs 2.6" screen. Just look at how much better the N95-4 screen is compared to the N95-3.
  • @eric size of the screen is different, but what I'm interested to find out is how much better the quality of the of the display on the N85 and if it's noticeable.
  • Zylam Marex
    Man Mark thats the post people needed, i'm so eagly awaiting the N96 i just can't wait any longer, i've seen like a dozen hands on videos and pretty much imagined it in my hands! i love the new Nseries look, its so slick and i cound't wait any longer so i went out and bought the N78 just 3 days ago it had such a major price drop that i could't resist and i'm loving it! but i've still saved money for the N96, my plan was to enjoy the N78 mid level phone until the N96 was ready to shine, but today nokia realease the N85!! what is this man, some kind of a joke? its better than the N96 but!! i'm still going for the N96 :)! i think it looks better, i saw the hands on preview on Pascos and its so slick, so i'm still gonna go for the N96 i don care of smasnung have 8mp i'm still in love with the N96, after all its a N96 baby!!!!! oh yea and the N78's really slick too can't stop looking at it!! Nokia's the coolest man
  • brian talamn
    hello my name is ben and i have a nokia n85 and my wife betty has a nokia n96. me and my wife are both 22 years old and i no my nokia n85 is beter than the n96 it look beter it is beter. the camera is still 5 mp but the photos come out beter. and the screen is very good. much much beter screen the nokia n96 is very bad for the phones price and it keap swiching of ever day and the music is bad as well. and the 2.4 inch screen for the nokia n85 is very very good in sun light as well. and the video is beter than the nokia n96. and the gps is bad on the nokia n96. as well. do not by this phone. the old nokia n78 and n95 is beter than the nokia n96 i love the nokia n85 i think it is the best phone ever made in the world. and the nokia n85 is less money than the very very bad nokia n96. my wife had to take the nokia n96 back to the shop it is so bad and in the end it stopped working. and would not work again.DO NOT BY THIS PHONE
  • ashu
    my vote to n 82!! Come on guys, you gotta love the one that is handling all your current needs more than what is on tube or paper!
    However, going by the specifications, of course i feel n 85 has definitely got more relevant features than n 96 and is more user friendly. My 'second' vote to n 85.
  • Congratulations for this post!!... and thks a lot for sending it via your news letter right to my mail.

    I was thinking on a N96 for this winter, but this post is really changing my mind.
  • Hi Mark,

    Thanks for your blog. Funny to read your post as I think the same. I wrote about it yesturday on my blog.

    Here is the link translated in English by Google.
  • Tijs
    i think n85 beats n96 but those 0.2 inches are noticeable i wish they'd include on the n85 :/ , dont care about the 16 gb on the n96 since im a microsdhc pro guy , too bad the n85 doesnt include a xenon flash thats the main reason i won't get it besides the screen size
  • johan
    xenon flash ?
    I suspect that's overrated in terms of photographic advantage.
    With a LED photo-light you have a possible BUILT IN FLASHLIGHT, which in my book is really usable !
    - - - -
    OLED display - haven't seen one yet.
    What RESOLUTION does it feature ?
    - Size matters, but resolution matters just as much.
  • Anup
    @johan cmon...a xenon does make a difference...especially for night shots! I have a N95 8GB and N82 and there is a sizeable difference between a single LED and xenon (and i am not talking about total darkness) and of course the xenon is faster when capturing images...ad regarding the flashlight angle, use it to much that way and chances are the LED will conk off.

    the only point where i see the LED better than the xenon is video! LED allows some light in low light videos where the xenon will work.
  • Anup
    You want to see the difference between a dual LEd and xenon, check out this link at the Symbian-Guru blog article

    http://www.symbian-guru.com/welcome/2008/08/dua...
  • If it's going to look like every other Windows Mobile phone - all trying to look like an iPhone - then it should at least have a touch screen...

    And the lack of left-hand support while in landscape mode is just plain rude.
  • unknown
    n96 is the best nseries phone ever made...
    nokia 3310 is better than the n85.

    untill they make 8 megapixels
    divx player
    32+ GB
    3" screen
    windows
    etc.........................
    nothing beats the N96
  • N96 fanboy in the house! LOL!
  • I agree that teh N85 has a lot of positive marks for it that the N96 doesn't. But we are also comapairing a device that has already had a first announcement and is on sale in one respect, versus another that's announced but not in hand yet. This speaks to development lifecycles and lessons on the N96 translated to the N85 and later models. It happens.

    Personally, if DVB was something worthwhile in the US, I'd say the N96 was slightly better as that would literally mean mobile TiVo. The N85 can stream Flash, but mobile TiVo would really be something to play with.
  • Al Pavangkanan
    AREJWright,

    You could buy just a Slingbox. With the S60 Slingbox player and 3G, you could have Tivo everywhere.
  • laughing john
    Well I had been looking forward to the N96, I'm currently using an N95 8GB which I'm very happy with. My main gripe would be the size of the thing.

    However the main selling point of the N96 for me was the TV tuner.Uf that doesn't work with freeview in the UK then it seems a bit pointless to sell it here.

    I guess it'll be the N85 for me too unless they put a DVB-T tuner in for us.
  • Davesmith
    Reason 6: SIZE!
    The new N85 is noticeably thinner, which means less of a bulge in the pocket. This is a major factor when deciding o nwhich phone to get, esp. for the non-techie.
  • path
    i'll hold on till nokia,decide that n95 users deserve more respect.
  • path
    n96 is the best nseries phone ever made…
    nokia 3310 is better than the n85.

    untill they make 8 megapixels
    divx player
    32+ GB
    3″ screen
    windows
    etc…………………….

    now that's i call showing love and respect.
    nothing beats the N96
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