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4.7 out of 10

Nokia N96

 

Information found in: from 185 sources in 29 countries

Great Deal: $259.99

  • User Score (1206)
    7.4 7.4 from 1206 reviewers
  • Expert Score (52)
    7.6 7.6 from 52 reviewers
  • Design (125)
    4.9 4.9 from 125 reviewers
  • Value for money (15)
    3.3 3.3 from 15 reviewers
  • Features (143)
    5.1 5.1 from 143 reviewers
  • Ease of use (121)
    4.0 4.0 from 121 reviewers
  • Performance (5)
    4.2 4.2 from 5 reviewers
  • Sound quality (7)
    6.0 6.0 from 7 reviewers
  • Sound (11)
    5.4 5.4 from 11 reviewers
  • Durability (6)
    4.2 4.2 from 6 reviewers
  • Reliability (10)
    4.4 4.4 from 10 reviewers
  • Overall quality (4)
    5.5 5.5 from 4 reviewers
  • Looks (7)
    4.0 4.0 from 7 reviewers
  • Battery performance (36)
    3.4 3.4 from 36 reviewers
  • Display (13)
    5.2 5.2 from 13 reviewers
  • Weight (10)
    4.8 4.8 from 10 reviewers
  • Ergonomics (11)
    4.7 4.7 from 11 reviewers
  • Connectivity (2)
    6.0 6.0 from 2 reviewers
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  • Best Deals

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In Stock (S) $259.99 SEE IT

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  • Score Distribution

Experts:
9-10
(8)
7-8
(36)
5-6
(7)
3-4
(1)
1-2
(0)
Users:
9-10
(215)
7-8
(128)
5-6
(77)
3-4
(53)
1-2
(44)
  • Expert Reviews

  1. Digitaltrends

    Digitaltrends
    6.0/10
    16 February 2009

    The N96 scores points for raw hardware specs, but falls down on everyday usability and feel. Nokia’s N96 is a throwback to a bygone era of smartphones – a few years ago, really – when pinstripe cases complemented... Read more

    • Fast OS; large storage capacity; wide multimedia options; respectable camera
    • Stratospheric price; no touchscreen; no QWERTY keyboard; slightly obtuse operating system; nonstandard power and data jacks; surprisingly poor build quality
  2. PhoneArena.com

    PhoneArena.com
    12 November 2011

    The Nokia N96 has a pretty hefty reputation to live up to. The was a true powerhouse, and the finest converged device of its time. With a 5 megapixel camera, 3G data, the powerful S60 UI and eventually 8GB of internal memory... Read more

  3. Bright Hub

    Bright Hub
    8.0/10
    8 January 2011

    The Nokia N96 comes packed with every multimedia feature you could want on a mobile phone, starting off with Live TV, N-Gage gaming and much more. But how do all these features measure up? Read more

  4. ComputerShopper

    ComputerShopper
    5.0/10
    4 March 2009

    Nokia's N96 comes with every feature you'd want in a smartphone. This update to the N95 includes HSDPA (3G), Wi-Fi, 16GB of built-in memory, and a 5-megapixel camera. Read more

    • Packed with media features, Built-in GPS, 5-megapixel sensor with Carl Zeiss optics, 3.5mm jack, 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity, Easy to navigate
    • Expensive, Construction feels cheap, Dated Web browser, Chunky design, Some unique features unavailable stateside
  5. PC World

    PC World
    7.0/10
    23 December 2008

    The Nokia N96 has an Read more

    • 5-megapixel camera, Excellent multimedia features
    • Clunky, cheap build, No touch screen or QWERTY keyboard
  6. recombu.com

    6.0/10
    17 June 2011

    If you own an N95 then we wouldn’t bother getting an N96 as there’s not much more to see here. If you don't own an N95 and like the sound of the N96 then we still wouldn't advise you to buy it as Nokia is bound to come up... Read more

  7. GSM Arena

    GSM Arena
    3 October 2008

    Every time Nokia Nseries numbering goes up a notch geeks are holding their breath. Well, geeks - including us - are no ordinary human beings, but in the case of Nokia N96 they'd been holding their breath since February... Read more

  8. What Hi-Fi?

    What Hi-Fi?
    8.0/10
    15 November 2008

    Nokia has a knack of producing fine multimedia phones. And on paper, the N96 has the form and function to give its peers a serious run for their money. Read more

    • Fine form factor; excellent sound quality; decent headphones
    • Cheap, plastic feel; video performance isn’t great
  9. CNET

    CNET
    6.0/10
    18 December 2008

    Though the Nokia N96 is a powerful all-in-one smartphone with an impressive amount of user storage, it's not a significant upgrade to the N95 and is outdone by new devices coming to market, including the Nokia N97. Read more

    • The Nokia N96 features 16GB of storage and advanced multimedia features, including a 5-megapixel camera. The smartphone also has integrated Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and 3G support.
    • The N96 froze on a couple of occasions and can sometimes be sluggish. Nokia's Ovi services aren't fully activated in North America, so you can't take advantage of those extra capabilities. It's also expensive.
  10. fwd.channel5.com

    8.0/10
    1 October 2008

    Nokia has shovelled in functions at the expense of usability so much that we're surprised Apple doesn’t run, “I’m an N96, I’m an iPhone” ads. Read more

    • Forget listing what the N96 has, it’s easier to say what it hasn’t got: a touchscreen and a kitchen sink. There isn’t another handset on the market that can match it for sheer power and specification. Highlights are the bu...
    • With great power comes great awkwardness. The N96 blunders sluggishly between modes and suffers from a build quality that doesn’t even suggest Nokia’s pickiness, let alone N-series swank. HSDPA browsing is fast but not ent...
  • User Reviews

  1. Don't waste your money

    Amazon
    2.0/10
    Reviewer: Kona Kurt "Kurt The Merchant", Amazon
    17 July 2010

    I purchased this piece of crap because I didn't want to commit to a service plan. This model was supposed to be compatible with AT&T service. Read more

  2. Great value.

    Ebay
    10/10
    Reviewer: dariuszp3605, Ebay
    11 December 2011

    I bought the phone for a gift so I can not know any information about Nokia n96. For me is a little bit uncomfortable because i liked much more touch screen. I hear a lot of good news about this phone. Read more

  3. "Not intuitive, low battery life, no keyboard lock"

    CNET
    2.0/10
    Reviewer: billlogan, CNET
    9 September 2009

    The amount of rage stored in my battery after using this product was more than the energy stored in the batteries of the N96 after being charged all night. Read more

    • Great video, good for quick connects to the internet
    • I didn't like having to read the manual every time I wanted to do something new, like make a call, send a text or take a photo. Those things should be obvious.
  4. WARNING! BUY THE N95 8GB INSTEAD

    Newegg
    4.0/10
    Reviewer: 1souk, Newegg
    24 April 2009

    I bought this phone with the hope that Nokia had improved in some of the weaknesses that the N95 8GB had, however, this phone is a total failrure. Read more

    • -Nice menu transition and more eye-candy due to the update in the operating system (Symbian OS 9.3 S60 rel. 3.2)
    • -Battery doesn't last even 1-day with moderate usage (some access to the internet, some calls, couple of text messages, and some photos, no apps running in the background)
  5. Worth Every Penny...

    Phone Scoop
    8.0/10
    Reviewer: m.nacor, Phone Scoop
    17 January 2009

    This phone is one of the better phone choices I have made. Recently a big Apple iPhone user, I decided that it was time for a change. Switched my SIM card to the Nokia N96 and never looked back. Read more

  6. CNET

    CNET
    4.0/10
    Reviewer: 406hdi110, CNET
    3 October 2010

    Ok when i got my phone i had abandoned nokia for some time after using slicker sony ericssons i loved their smooth user interface and great build quality. When i got the nokia new it just didnt feel as well made. Read more

    • Feature Packed, Tonnes of Memory, Camera
    • Battery life, slow, it just gets worse and worse
  7. Enough to ensure I never go to Nokia!

    4.0/10
    Reviewer: s32bauer, Ciao
    6 November 2009

    I can't say I've ever been a fan of Nokia, I'd be happy to stick with Sony Ericsson for the rest of my life. However, I thought about giving the handset a try, and have tried to give a fair review of the device. Read more

    • Video recording....that's about it
    • Numerous software and hardware issues, feels cheap
  8. the phone,n96.

    onSale
    8.0/10
    Reviewer: onSale
    12 December 2008

    hi l order it sunday night pst,receive it friday,that,s good for hawaii,the phone worked right-out -of-the box,it takes abit to get use to had a itouch misse the touch screen.the music sound very bad with earplugs it Read more

  9. Nokia N96

    10/10
    Reviewer: Rediff
    23 November 2008

    THIS NOKIA'S PRODUCT IS GOOD I LIKE IT'S CAMERA LENCE ( 5 M.P.) AND EXPENDEBLE MEMORY ( 8 G.B.) SO IT'S GRATE TELL ME ABOUT IT'S RATE AND SEND ME A CATLOGE PLEASE. Read more

  10. Your Mobilephone Review

    Your Mobilephone Review
    8.7/10
    Reviewer: Suky - UK, Your Mobilephone Review
    16 November 2008

    The Nokia N96 Is A Nice Phone, Everything Is Good Except the Top 3 Keys Will Activate If Pressure Is Applied To the Bottom On the Phone When Slide Down. Read more

  • WikiFreak Description

Nokia N96

The Nokia N96 operates on WCDMA2100/900 (HSDPA)/EGSM900, GSM850/1800/1900 MHz (EGPRS) and has automatic switching capibilities between bands and modes and DVB-H (Broadcast Television) 470-750 MHz (with internal antenna). At 125 g with the dimensions of 103 mm x 55 mm x 18 mm, it has an internal 16GB flash memory, plus a microSD memory card slot for expandability. This gives approximately 40 hours of video (H.264 768-kbps at 320 x 240 resolution, with 96-kbps AAC audio) or 12,000 music trac…

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Nokia N96

The Nokia N96 operates on WCDMA2100/900 (HSDPA)/EGSM900, GSM850/1800/1900 MHz (EGPRS) and has automatic switching capibilities between bands and modes and DVB-H (Broadcast Television) 470-750 MHz (with internal antenna). At 125 g with the dimensions of 103 mm x 55 mm x 18 mm, it has an internal 16GB flash memory, plus a microSD memory card slot for expandability. This gives approximately 40 hours of video (H.264 768-kbps at 320 x 240 resolution, with 96-kbps AAC audio) or 12,000 music tracks (based on 3:45 min per track and 48 kbps eAAC+ encoding/ eAAC+ (M4A) encoding on the Nokia Audio Manager) with 128MB RAM, 256MB system memory.

Features

Data transfer on the Nokia N96 with WCDMA HSDPA 900/2100 MHz (simultaneous voice and packet data) is at PS 3.6Mbps/384kbps (maximum speed DL/UL), CS maximum speed at 64kbps. The phone also features Dual Transfer Mode (DTM) support for simultaneous voice and packet data connection in GSM/EDGE, at maximum speed 177.6/118.4kbps (DL/UL). The Nokia N96 features a 2.8 inch QVGA (240 x 320 pixels) LCD TFT display with up to 16 million colors. Video format supported are MPEG4 (H.263/SP or H.264/AVC) up to VGA 30 frames per second and Windows Media Video (WMV9), up to CIF/QVGA 30 frames per second, with hardware-accelerated codec, scaled to the maximum QVGA on screen or maximum SDTC on TV-out. It also supports RealVideo QCIF at 30 frames per second. The Nokia N96 has two cameras. The main camera is a 5 megapixel with Tessar lens from Carl Zeiss Optics for still photos with resolutions of 2592 x 1944 pixels. It has auto-focus and auto-exposure capabilities, with an aperture of f/2.8 with dual-LED camera flash. Focal length is 5.2 mm with a range of 10 cm to infinity. Its secondary camera is a VGA (640 x 480 pixels) sensor. The Nokia N96 has a digital music player supporting MP3, AAC, eAAC+, WMA format and Stereo FM radio with RDS. Included with the Nokia N96 is the N96 BL-5F, 950 mAh battery, which gives a talk time of up to 160/230 minutes (WCDMA/GSM), stand-by time up to 200/230 hours (WCDMA/GSM), video playback up to 5 hours (offline mode), music playback: up to 14 hours (offline mode) and TV playback of up to 4 hours (DVB-H). Also included are the Nokia Connectivity Cable CA-101, Video-Out Cable CA-75U, Stereo Headset and Remote HS-45, AD-54, Mobile Charger DC-4 (car charger) and Compact Travel Charger AC-5.

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  • Manufacturer's Description

Immerse yourself in entertainment with high-quality video, on the brilliant 2.8" display and with superb sound. 16 gigabytes of memory to take your videos, music and other content with you, further expandable with memory card slot. Hi-Speed USB for easy transfer from PC. Nokia Video Center to find more internet videos for download. 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss Optics, camcorder function with video light. Integrated A-GPS and rich maps. Connect to the internet in…

Ask the community

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Questions asked: 7 Answers: 7

Previous questions about this product

  • How do I get the flashing msg box off my top rh side of my n96 ?

    Answered by nilufer2 2009-03-20:

    It means that you have an unread message. Just open the message and it will

    Answered by nilufer2 2009-03-24:

    It means that you have an unread message. Just open the message and it will disappear Best answer Helpful Not helpful

    Answered by Bobby 2009-09-09:

    You can't really take the flashing message box off. It is a alert to remind you but you can check the manual or the phone's settings to get more

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