The N96 builds on the Nokia N95. It is slightly bigger and heavier but also curvier, with a less confusing keypad. Among the more significant differences are the upgrade of the Series 60 user interface from 3.1 to 3.2, an increase in flash memory from 8 to 16 GB and the introduction of live TV.

Thanks to an internal antenna and a DVB-H TV tuner, the N96 lets you watch television on your phone, but only channels offered by state-run broadcaster Doordarshan. The fun doesn’t stop here. The N96 comes loaded with a generous assortment of preloaded music videos and tracks. The quality of playback, especially video, is very good.

The N96 comes preloaded with a music download application, Nokia Music Store, but this feature isn’t available in India yet. Then there are the games like Tetris, which though exciting, have to be bought online before you can play them using N-Gage.

If you get bored of music, video and even live TV, there is always the world wide web. While the N96 doesn’t have the now-ubiquitous stand-alone Facebook application, the inbuilt web browser allows you to see websites like they would appear on your desktop screen. It has a YouTube bookmark and you can access your favourite videos in either the mobile format or as it would appear on your computer.

Games, videos, TV and websites are best viewed in landscape mode. The screen rotates on its own when the phone is held horizontally. Another interesting feature is widgets—just like those on your Windows Vista desktop—which provide direct access to and information from particular sources online. You can also access more applications at series60.com and other websites but it’s nothing compared to the applications available on Apple’s iTunes store.

The N96 is not all fun and games and comes equipped with all the necessary business applications like QuickOffice, Adobe Reader and a zip manager. The phone also has other interesting and useful applications like an Oxford Dictionary; IndiSMS for messaging in Indian languages; Screen Capture for projecting your mobile desktop onto a PC through USB or Bluetooth; and WaveSecure.

WaveSecure lets you back your files up on the Internet and, therefore, access all the information stored on your phone online. You can delete files once you’ve created a back up or download your information on another phone running on the S60 platform (Nokia, LG or Samsung). In case your phone is stolen, you can use WaveSecure to trace your handset even when another sim is being used.

On the downside, the N96’s battery life is low, even when compared to the N95. Heavy users might have to recharge every day. A note of caution: make sure you ‘exit’ every application once you are done or the application will continue running in the background, increasing battery consumption.

Another sticking point is that the body is light and plasticky, and the finish is not up to the mark, compared to other phones in the category: the Apple iPhone 3G, the classy Touch phones by HTC and the soon-to-be launched BlackBerry Bold.
Available for Rs 34,999, the N96, at best, merits a 4 out of 5.

PRICE: Rs 34,999
Operating Frequency: WCDMA2100/900 (HSDPA) / EGSM900, GSM850/1800/1900 MHz (EGPRS)
Dimensions: Volume: 92 cc; Weight: 125 g;
Length: 103 mm; Width: 55 mm;
Depth: up to 20 mm
Memory: 16GB internal flash memory, plus microSD memory card slot 128MB RAM, 256MB system memory
Display: 2.8 inch QVGA (240 x 320 pixels) LCD TFT display with 16 million colours
User Interface: S60 3rd Edition
Camera: 5 megapixel (2592 x 1944 pixels) with Carl Zeiss Optics
Auto-focus, auto-exposure Dual-LED camera flash, video light, recording indicator and auto-focus assist light
Secondary VGA (640 x 480 pixels) sensor camera, automatic location tagging
Video Recording: MPEG-4 up to VGA at 30 fps and Digital Video Stabilisation
Video centre: Access to My Videos, Internet videos, compatible with RSS feeds and video podcasts, with direct wireless updates and downloads
Browser-based video access: Support for download Support for Flash video
Live TV: Broadcast television (DVB-H) capable
Music: Digital music player supports MP3, AAC, eAAC+, WMA, album art Search, browse and purchase songs online in Nokia Music Store
Nokia Internet Radio
Maps and Navigation: Built-in GPS receiver with support for assisted GPS
Nokia Maps application
Free downloadable maps of over 150 countries, millions of locations, location details and satellite imagery
E-mail and Messaging: Easy-to-use
e-mail client with attachment support for images, videos, music and documents
Support for SMTP, IMAP4, POP3, MMS, SMS, and unified SMS/MMS editor
Connectivity: WLAN, Hi-Speed USB 2.0 3.5mm stereo headset plug
TV-out support (PAL/NTSC)
Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP stereo audio and Enhanced Data Rates (EDR)
Nokia Nseries PC Suite connectivity