Great phone but, unlike the N95, there's no VoIP client and Nokia say there won't be one in later firmware releases. I was caught out because it didn't occur to me that Nokia would remove a feature that was standard in the N95.
If you need VoIP, the N85 is a better bet.

Firstly, if you have owned the n95 then you'll notice the n96 build quality isnt quite as rugged, especialy the battery cover. The phone itself is pretty similar aswell -the main difference been the improved memory. When mine arrived i had trouble with freezing, slow commands and a lot more. Nokia said this was common and didnt seem that bothered. I had to download the latest software off their site which fixed the problem. You'd wonder why when it was a brandnew phone!!!! Ive given 4 stars because really it is a very good phone (apart from the teething problems) and there are tons of features, some of which i havnt even found yet - so, it deserves at least that. It would have got 5 if the build had been better, a touch screen and minus the arsing about with the software!!

I got the N96 back when it was first released. First impressions (having not owned a smartphone before) was that the operating system took a little while to get used to. As other reviewers have said, the battery life isn't great (you do have to get used to charging it up last thing at night), but I do tend to use the media functions quite a lot. The GPS is fantastic (don't need another separate device), but i'm not willing to shell out bags of cash to carry on using the unit after the 3 month trial. The camera/video recording is really good, and with 16GB of on-board storage there's plenty of room for music/video etc. By far the best feature for me is the i-player functionality. Particularly for those of us that spend time on buses/waiting in the car etc, watching programs saved on the phone is an absolute delight. An hour episode will take arounf 7 mins to download, and then you're away.
However, first 2/3 months or so the experience was soured by the OS freezing/running slowly etc. As i'm sure you've already read this can be really frustrating. HOWEVER, a new version of the OS (12.043) became available a couple of weeks ago and the performance is much improved! The unit really responds well, and there have been some other fixes to things like camera focusing etc. Overall cracking phone, not perfect in every way but undoubtedly the best all-rounder out there at the moment

Lets be honest, Nokia couldn't cram more into a phone if they tried hard, this is all and well but you can see where they have cut the corners. On the plus side is the GPS receiver (which you have to pay a subscription for to use properly) the massive 16gb memory (now sold my ipod!!) good solid sliding mechanism, excellent colour screen as Nokia are now using the 16million colours rather than the industry standard 262,000, all is looking good till you actually feel the phone itself, the back cover is that flimsy and creaky it seems like an after thought,it was the same on the N81,the front isn't so bad but the flat keypad takes some getting used to but the build quality on the N95 was far superior in my view, like i said you can see where Nokia have cut corners!!!!!!

Amazing all i can say nokia n96 i could not wish 4 a better phone

OK, so overall this is a very impressive piece of kit and is surprisingly light given its huge feature list.

The screen is a great size for viewing photos/videos and browsing the internet. I was very impressed by the Wi-fi capabilities of this phone, it is quick and easy to navigate.

The camera: Bit of a dissappointment. This is exactly the same camera as the original N95 which was released 2 or 3 years ago...surely they could have put an xeon flash in or a couple more MPs?? But still, 5 MP isnt bad but certainly wont replace a stand alone.

The GPS is very user friendly and accurate- the N96 seems to have a good GPS reciever (unlike the C905's which is hidiously poor). You get a free 3 month trial of the GPS after which Nokia will skin you £90 for a 12 month GPS lisence, cheers for that :/

The tv out feature is a great feature and allows you to view photos on a full size tv screen and you can even make a simple slide show presentation.

The music player is very good, obviously the 16GB memory (plus expandable) is a big plus point, making this an ipod replacement. The external speakers are surprisingly loud and sound quality is good.

There are a couple of minor issues with this phone- firstly, in true nokia style the battery life is atrocious, you wont get two full days moderate use out of this phone- and nokia realise this hence the in car charger supplied in the box!
There is the occasional freeze with the software, however if you turn the phone off and on every few days this should be avoided. The kick stand is a nice idea but im afraid it will break if i even look at it! The keypad is ok, allows for reasonably fast text messaging but the buttons are set in conjoined rows of three which makes it a little clumsy as you cant feel your way around the keypad as easily.

So overall it is a very capable multi-media device, it has lots more features that i wont go into but on the whole a very solid phone and a good buy.

Daniel

Great phone but I have a major problem with it in that it won't hold a bluetooth connection with my in car parrot hands free system and it also drops its bluetooth connection with my TomTom GO 940 LIVE sat nav from time to time. I had the N95 and the bluetooth worked fine on that so it seems to me that Nokia have taken a step backwards in some respects.

I don't have this phone, I have the N95 8Gb but I have heard that it's a good phone but it has it's problems such as memory loss and also the internet is very slow. It looks good but I don't think it wins against the N95 no matter how new it is, it still doesn't beat the N95, the N95 has so much potential.

Hello there,
Now the n96 16gb is a fantastic mobile handset or should i say computer. The gadgets that this mobile has is outstanding and have to say the bbci player is a let down sometimes as not all shows are available 24/7 but when they are available there fantastic and the internal memory is fantastic for this feature. However the neg things - batttery is rubbish, the locking the keypay with a switch at the top of phone is the most stupidist idea i have seen :( also the stand that allows you to watch tv on the mobiles side is very flimsy!
Other than all that i am overall 90% happy with the mobile phone and will continue to stick with the nokia n series because of there greatness :)
Thanks for reading.

The N96 is such a glorious piece of hardware it seems wrong to even criticise it - but there is a big problem with it - not the gorgeous looks, the high spec or the look and feel of the thing - it's just that it simply doesn't give you the 'out-of-the-box' experience that is being sold.

The software is buggy despite the recent update, the changes to menus are lost if you try making too many of them at the same time, the battery life is desperate, the handset randomly restarts, it fails to connect to BBC iPlayer - and that's just a few of the three-page list I wrote when I took it back for a full refund.

Take care - real life is not like the adverts.