Nokia N95

Chatnav!

Once in a while, a real trophy gadget comes along. The N95, a vision in burnished metal is one such. GPS-enabled, it's also a widescreen media player, five-meg camera and superb web-browser. Just as importantly, it all feels just right, from Nokia's well-honed interface to the satisfying click of its two-way sliding "action". Are we looking at the ultimate phone here?

Where was I? Much about this phone feels almost illegally satisfying. The satnav looks fantastic, swooping in, Google Earth-style, from planet to park bench, as long as you have an active internet connection.

Satellite acquisition is sound, and route calculation fast. Maps show points of interest with clear routes and guidance and voice instructions are available as a bolt-on (£5.44 for a month or £47.68 for three years). The only drawback is a lack of integration with the N95's other features: you can't navigate to an address from Contacts or add GPS data to photos.

The N95 is also home to a five-megapixel autofocus camera, although images aren't as detailed as they might be, due to a degree of compression not normally seen outside of a car-crusher. VGA videos are a super-sharp riot of colour, though.

The superb web browser, media player (accessed by sliding the screen away from the rippled keypad), efficient messaging and office software found on previous N handsets are wisely left unchanged.

The N95 chatnav is a tour de force. It's not cheap, but if you can afford it or get it as an upgrade on some fancy-schmancy tariff, you have to have one.

Related links:

• Nokia

Posted by T3 Online on 2007-10-29