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