Sony Ericsson W200i

The W200i is Sony Ericsson's cheap Walkman phone aimed at those who are on pay-as-you-go plans and so don't get the luxury of free upgrades. While its design and features largely reflect its bargain price tag, Sony Ericsson has still managed to pack in a few surprises.

Editors' note:

This review is based on tests done by our sister site CNET.co.uk. As such, please note that there may be slight differences in the testing procedure and ratings system. For more information on the actual tests conducted on the product, please inquire directly at the site where the article was originally published. References made to some other products or telcos in this review may not be available or applicable in Asia.

Strengths

You wouldn't exactly describe this handset as a looker, but the styling isn't too bad for a budget phone. You can rattle off text messages at a fine speed--the buttons on the keypad are a decent size and there's a dedicated Walkman button to bring you straight to the music player. On the right-hand side there's a volume rocker switch, which doubles as a track skip control when you hold it down for a second or so.

In fact, the music features are one of the most impressive aspects of the handset. The Walkman application is fast and easy to use and the sound quality is first rate. The supplied headphones are surprisingly good, but if you're not satisfied with them you can swap them out for your own, thanks to the standard 3.5mm jack on the hands-free kit. However, you'll probably want to upgrade the 128MB Memory Stick Micro (M2) to a higher-capacity card if you want to store a decent number of tracks.

In terms of call quality, the phone's performance was excellent and battery life was also impressive--we got around four days' use out of it before it needed a charge. There are also a few neat extras hidden away in the menus, such as the handy RSS reader that lets you keep up to date with the latest news from your favorite Web sites.

Weaknesses

The screen is certainly nothing to write home about--its viewing angle is poor, so if you look at it from any angle other than straight on the colors look murky and washed out, not that they're great to begin with. And while the menu system is easy to understand, the mini joystick is a fraction too recessed, making it sometimes fiddly to get to the icon you're after.

If you want a phone that takes decent snaps then this isn't the model for you. The camera has a lowly VGA resolution so when you view photos full screen on a laptop they're so blocky you'll think your mates are made of Lego. There's no flash either, so taking pictures down the local dingy boozer is out.

Sony Ericsson has made a bizarre choice when it comes to wireless support: There's no Bluetooth, but you do get IrDA (infrared). Infrared ports are fast disappearing from the latest laptops and phones, so its usefulness is somewhat questionable.

Conclusion

The W200i is definitely more functional than flash. The design is a tad dull and the joystick is fiddly, but it has excellent music features and is very easy to use.

Overall, we reckon it's a decent bet for those looking for a cheap pay-as-you-go music phone, however if you can afford to spend more, the Sony Ericsson W810i comes with a reasonable 2-megapixel camera.

Samsung's sassy new sliders

Samsung today added three new slider phones (SGH-L600, SGH-D880 and SGH-J750) to its year-end holiday lineup and introduced two new colors to its popular Ultra Edition 12.1 (SGH-U700) handset.

One phone with two SIM card slots? While such features are often implemented as a third-party addon for mobile phones, this is the first time we've seen it being built into a phone from one of the major handset makers. According to Samsung, the dual SIM-capable SGH-D880 is targeted at busy executives who travel frequently. Having two SIM card slots on the phone will allow these people to better use cellular services at optimized rates.

The SGH-D880 can be used to receive incoming calls from two SIM cards, but one of them will have to be assigned as the primary SIM for outgoing calls. It also comes with a 3-megapixel camera, FM radio, speakerphone and microSD card slot. What's oddly missing are 3G and HSDPA which would have been useful, particularly for business travelers roaming in Japan and Korea.

Samsung's latest mobile for female users comes in the form of the SGH-L600, a petite slider available in attractive pink and violet hues. Some of its key features include an integrated pedometer, motion-sensitive wallpaper, 2-megapixel camera and the standard Lifestyle applications.

The third slider handset is the 3G-enabled SGH-J750 with Bluetooth stereo and full Web-browsing capabilities. The Ultra Edition 12.1 will also be introduced in black and violet colors.

The D880 and L600 are expected to be on sale in Singapore from mid-December, while the J750 and new 12.1 colors are available in local stores now. We are still awaiting confirmation from Samsung on when the phones will be rolled out in other parts of Asia.

Samsung's latest sliders

Model name	In a nutshell
Samsung SGH-D880 Click for more details	Notable features: Triband GSM with EDGE 3-megapixel camera 2.3-inch 262K-color TFT display Dual SIM card slots Speakerphone and FM radio 16MB onboard plus microSD card slot Onboard music and video player Bluetooth v2 and USB 2.0 104 x 51 x 18.9mm; 113g Retail price: S$598 (US$380.46) without contract Availability: Expected mid-December 2007
Samsung SGH-J750 Click for more details	Notable features: Triband GSM with EGDE and UMTS 2100 1.3-megapixel camera Second VGA camera for video calls 8MB onboard plus microSD card slot Music playback 1.8-inch 262K-color TFT display Bluetooth stereo and USB 2.0 99 x 48 x 17.8mm; 79g Retail price: Free with two-year contract Availability: Now (exclusively at M1)
Samsung SGH-L600 Click for more details	Notable features: Triband GSM with EDGE 2-megapixel camera Built-in pedometer FM radio 30MB onboard plus microSD card slot Lifestyle applications 1.8-inch 262K-color 176x220-pixel TFT display Bluetooth v2 and USB 1.1 99 x 44.5 x 17.2mm; 84g Retail price: S$398 (US$253.21) without contract Availability: Expected mid-December 2007

Mobile phones coming soon

Before the wave of new phones hits us, see what models are on the horizon. Also check out our selection of some of the most anticipated handsets.

Whenever you're shopping for a cell phone--or any high-tech item, for that matter--it's good to know what products are on the horizon. That way, you won't end up wishing that you'd waited a few weeks for that next-generation model the salesperson conveniently forgot to mention. Thus, we've come up with our handy list of release dates for mobile phones, complete with some of the key specifications and photos.

Bear in mind that manufacturers and service providers usually don't set firm dates for when new models will hit the market, and dates have a tendency to slip. You should also be aware that a handful of other new phones are due to be released over the next few months (unfortunately, we're not allowed to talk about them yet). But as soon as we can write about them, we'll update the list. If you want to be the first to know when it's been revised, sign up for the Mobile Tech newsletter.

Nokia E51

he E51 is the latest member to join the Eseries portfolio in mid-September. It is likely a direct replacement of the E50, though it also looks like a slimmed-down version of the chunky E90 after losing the QWERTY keyboard. But this workhorse is no slouch even with a slim figure.

Design

The beauty of candy-bar handsets is you can almost never go wrong with the design. That's exactly how we felt with the Nokia E51. At 12mm thick, the E51 is one of the leaner enterprise devices from the Finnish phone-maker, second to the E61i which is 0.5mm thinner. The E51 feels very solid in hand, something which a picture cannot deliver. Cementing the durability are the stainless steel runs on the entire edge of the front faceplate and battery cover.

To sum it up quickly, the design approach to the E51 is a very reserved and safe one. Nokia didn't conjure any fancy tricks for this enterprise device. Although we adore the slim profile, the handset looks a tad too tall due to the two-tone fascia. That said, the phone is still relatively compact and should fit comfortably in the pocket. The styling of the E51 also bears vague resemblance to a stripped-down version of the E90 Communicator without the clamshell QWERTY keyboard. Click the picture on the right to see what we mean.

The bottom half is peppered with various shortcut keys and a generous-sized keypad. Above that is a modest 2-inch QVGA display with an ambient light sensor and LED light indicator customizable to light up in the event of missed calls, incoming text/multimedia messages or emails. The screen is readable even in bright outdoor conditions, which is great. However, it's probably not suitable for prolonged Web surfing or document reading, unless you want to end up straining your vision.

Like we mentioned in our preview, Nokia has replaced the S60 swirl icon with a "roofed house" that's instantly recognizable as the Home key. It's trivial, but one that's definitely appreciated. Pressing the key from anywhere in the phone's menu brings us to the standby screen. The same can also be done with the End call control.

The * and # keys are slightly smaller than the 7 and 9 buttons due to the tapered edges of the phone, though it doesn't hinder daily use. While we like the excellent tactility of the main keys, we can't say the same for those on the sides, such as the rubberized volume, power and record buttons. They are not disastrous, don't get us wrong, but pressing them requires a little more concerted effort.

At the back is where we find a 2-megapixel camera and the onboard speakers. The glossy surface of the Rose Steel unit attracts fingerprint smudges fairly easily and may irk some users, although a few swipes usually does the trick for the rear face. The Black Steel version isn't plagued with this problem, and we feel it's the more elegant of the two.

Features

One of the main highlights of the E51 is the multiple one-touch dedicated buttons for email, contacts and calendar applications. These keys are also customizable, recognizing short and long presses. A quick press on the Contacts button brings the user to the contacts menu and holding down the same key for a longer time doubles as a shortcut to create a new entry.

Besides the main keys, the * and 0 buttons also activate the phone's Bluetooth and Web browser, respectively. In addition, there's a dedicated key (available also on the earlier E65) for muting calls (and vice versa), which is useful when the user needs to be excused for a moment during a conference call.

The quadband E51 is no slouch when it comes to connectivity, with dualband 3G/HSDPA on 850/2100MHz frequencies, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth stereo, infrared, 2.5mm audio jack, mini-USB port and support for various email protocols including POP3, IMAP4 and SMTP. That's practically more than you'll ever need on a daily basis and a close match to what the earlier 6120 classic offers. Most of the slimmer devices end up being victims of a do-it-all connector which makes multitasking impossible. On the E51, the charging and mini-USB port are separate components, so you can juice up the device while synchronizing data with a PC.

The handset is based on the Series60 3rd Edition platform with Feature Pack 3.1, so the interface will be familiar to most Nokia users. Otherwise, it's a gentle learning curve for newbies. Standard applications like Active Notes, In-device Search, Team Suite and Quickoffice were preinstalled on our review set, so we didn't have to waste time downloading the programs.

Our only gripe is that the installed Quickoffice version is a view-only copy. So that means you'll have to factor in additional cost to upgrade the app if you want editing features. According to Nokia, the reason for this is due to the smaller screen size of the E51 compared with, for example, the E90, with a larger widescreen display. Other programs that can be downloaded over-the-air include Windows Live services such as Live Messenger (it's free for now, but may be chargeable in future), Gizmo for VoIP calls and Yahoo! Go.

For mobile email, the E51 supports various solutions including Mail for Exchange, Visto mobile and Seven Always-on. We didn't try the latter two since we are happy users of Mail for Exchange for its straightforward setup and ease of use. Mail for Exchange is sometimes referred to as Nokia's implementation of Microsoft's Exchange ActiveSync--both programs are capable of pushing email from the server to the mobile device.

There's a sizeable 130MB of onboard user memory and that is expandable up to 4GB with a microSD card. The card slot is found under the battery cover, which can be a hassle for switching cards on-the-fly, but we're just nitpicking.

As for entertainment features, the 2-megapixel camera is a barebones set without the bells and whistles of its Nseries counterparts. It is sufficient for basic snapshots, but don't expect high-quality prints from it. The colors were washed out and the default white balance was a bit too cool for our liking. Using the Night mode boosted the sensitivity of the sensor, but in turn the pictures seemed as if they were heavily coated with a layer of sand. The E51 doesn't have a front-facing camera for video calls and the main shooter doubles as a camera module for that purpose. That way, only you get to see the calling party, or vice versa, which kind of defeats the whole purpose of holding a video conversation.

Other multimedia offerings include Visual Radio, a music player (MP3, AAC, WMA, AMR-NB and AMR-WB formats), video streaming and playback in H.264 (MPEG-4), 3gpp and Real codecs.

Performance

The E51 was surprisingly responsive during our review. Menus and applications were activated at a snap, slowing down only when multiple programs were turned on simultaneously. Nokia ships the device with a BP-6MT 1,050mAh cell which is rated for 13 days on standby and approximately 4.4 hours of talktime. With conservative use, we got up to four days of using the set without having to recharge the battery.

Call quality was decent, although sounds came out a bit hollow via the onboard speakers. The fact that these are located at the back of the phone contributes to slight muffling of audio as well.

Conclusion

There's nothing not to like about the E51. In fact, we loved it for its ease of use and truckload of features, which bags the question: How does it compare with the 6120 classic at about the same price point? The two handsets are nearly identical and both are a match in terms of features, save for the additional Wi-Fi connectivity on the E51.

Maybe it's the slim profile. Maybe it's the excellent tactility and dedicated buttons. Or maybe it's the additional wireless LAN connection. Whatever the reason, the E51 embodies what a good handset should be like and it looks like it's going to be a mainstay for the Finnish giant. We're impressed and we'd highly recommend this S$588 handset (without contract) not just to the enterprise user, but also the mainstream consumer.

Motorola RAZR MAXX V6

Motorola has become the Stock, Aitken and Waterman of the mobile phone world--like the pop-producing team, it's found a formula that works and is sticking to it religiously. As a result, the MAXX looks remarkably like the previous incarnations of the RAZR design. Thankfully, though, it's not just a reheat of yesterday's leftovers because under the bonnet it's tuned for speed, thanks to its support for the super-fast 3G standard HSDPA.

Editors' note: This review is based on tests done by our sister site CNET.co.uk. As such, please note that there may be slight differences in the testing procedure and ratings system. For more information on the actual tests conducted on the product, please inquire directly at the site where the article was originally published.

If, however, you haven't experienced Motorola's menu system before, you'll find it unintuitive, and you'll also have to spend some time adjusting to its iTap predictive text system, which is significantly different to the more common T9 system found on rival handsets.

Still, this remains a very stylish handset that's great for connecting to the Web on the move, thanks to the large, brightly lit screen and its support for speedy downloads. The phone is currently available for as low as S$348 (US$228.99) with a two-year plan and S$698 (US$459.98) for the handset alone.

Design
Motorola really hasn't strayed far from the original RAZR design with the MAXX. At 15mm thick, it's still super slim, especially by the standards of 3G phones, and it retains the stylish keypad, which is made from etched metal--although this time the keys are slightly wider.

The only major design update is the hardened glass finish on the front. This covers the small external color screen and also hides three dedicated music buttons for fast forward, rewind and play/pause. Like the touch buttons on LG's Chocolate phone, these only light up when you run your finger over them. We found they can be a bit slow to respond, though.

If you want to use the phone for music, you'll need to boost the 50MB of internal memory using the microSD card slot. Unfortunately this isn't very easy to get at because it's hidden under the battery cover. We would have much preferred to have it tucked away on the side of the handset like Samsung managed with its equally slim Z560.

The keypad itself hasn't changed all that much from the original RAZR, but that's no bad thing as the keys are well spaced out and easy to use for texting. And, unlike keypads on some rival models, the back light is very bright so you can see the keys in the dark.

Features
Flip open the handset and the first thing that hits you is the large and brightly lit screen. It looks very sharp, thanks to its 240x320-pixel resolution, and really comes into its own when your fire up the Web browser using the dedicated button on the keypad.

The MAXX is a quadband handset, so you'll be able to use it in most countries around the world, but it's primarily designed for use on 3G networks and so features dual cameras for video calling. The secondary camera captures low-grade VGA-quality video, but the main snapper mounted on the outside of the case can take 2-megapixel pictures.

One neat trick is that this camera can be started up when the phone is shut by pressing a button on the right-hand side. This calls the external screen into play as a viewfinder, making it easy to frame group shots.

Motorola has had a go at cleaning up its menu system, but you'll notice when using it that there are still times when all logic appears to have been abandoned. For example, after snapping a picture using the camera, you're given the option to send it, however you can only use this option to send via MMS or email. If you want to send a picture via Bluetooth you have to first save it to memory, exit the camera application and then open it up in the media folder. Only from here can you choose to send it via Bluetooth. It's very frustrating.

The MAXX V6 supports the A2DP (stereo Bluetooth) profile, so you can link it to a pair of wireless Bluetooth headphones for listening to music. The music player can pump out tunes in MP3, WMA and AAC formats and it's very easy to create your own playlists of the tracks stored on the phone. We connected it to a pair of stereo Bluetooth speakers and found that the sound quality was very good, especially the deep bass on tracks like Damian Marley's Welcome to Jamrock.

Performance
Where the MAXX really stands out is when it's connected to the Web via the super-fast 3G HSDPA service. We tried it with an HSDPA SIM and the results were really impressive.

Google News loaded much more quickly on the handset's browser than we've experienced on non-super 3G handsets. On a speed test using the phone's built-in browser we got a real life download speed of 324.5Kbps, which isn't bad. When we used the phone as a modem for our laptop, however, we got a far higher speed rating of 1.1Mbps, which is faster than some people's ADSL broadband connections.

The audio quality during calls was also good, with the handset sounding crisp and sharp. Despite the phone's slimline design, the built-in speaker is quite loud and worked very well in speakerphone mode.

Camera phones rarely produce stunning snaps, and in this regard the MAXX is pretty much par for the course. The pictures from the 2-megapixel camera are reasonably sharp, but the colors tend to look slightly washed out. It's lacking autofocus, too, so you have to be careful to avoid blur. That said, it does have an LED flash, so you can get viewable results in low light.

Motorola says the battery is good for around 380 hours on standby and five hours of talk time. We had to charge it after three days of use, but we were using it for a lot of battery intensive tasks, such as 3G downloads and music playback over Bluetooth.

The MAXX's closest competitor is the super-3G Z560 from Samsung. Both phones are remarkably similar, right down to the three touch-sensitive music buttons on the front. We found the Samsung's menu system easier to use, although the MAXX feels like a sturdier handset, but in truth there's very little to choose between them.

Nokia N93i

When Nokia launched the N93 last summer, it was little short of revolutionary: A 3G, 3-megapixel handset with a 3x optical zoom, camcorder styling and Wi-Fi to boot. But it was also large, heavy and complex to get to grips with--a real Rubik's Cube of a phone. But after revolution comes evolution, so can a slimmed-down, blinged-up successor, the N93i, celebrate its successes and fix its faults?

Editors' note: This review is based on tests done by our sister site CNET.co.uk. As such, please note that there may be slight differences in the testing procedure and ratings system. For more information on the actual tests conducted on the product, please inquire directly at the site where the article was originally published. References made to some other products or telcos in this review may not be available or applicable in Asia. Please check directly with your local distributor for details.

Design
At first glance, the N93i seems to have little in common with its predecessor. Where's the functional matte black housing? Where are retro plastic keys? color LEDs and a stylish OLED display wink out seductively from beneath an oh-so-fashionable mirrored exterior, edged with chrome details. Around it, a two-tone body pits subtle silver tones gently against a body shell that can only be described as 'midnight aubergine' in color. Honestly.

Pick it up (carefully! The mirror attracts more fingerprints than an episode of CSI) and the illusion begins to fade. The N93i remains a very substantial handset, tipping the scales at 163g--less than an AA battery and lighter than the N93. And while Nokia has trimmed millimetres from the body all round, it's still a handbag (or manbag) phone rather than a slimline pocket rocket.

But this is no ordinary clamshell. Flip up the mirror and the N93i's main, 61mm (2.4-inch) display flashes into life. This has the same resolution (320 x 240 pixels) as the N93, but is now capable of displaying 16 million shades for genuinely photographic-quality framing and playback, with punchy--even arresting--color reproduction.

'Improvements' to the keypad are less convincing. Gone are the bulbous ZX Spectrum-alike keys, replaced by a distinctly sub-Motorola etched metal pad. This feels tinny and suffers the common problem of uncertainty over which key you're actually pressing. The Razr V3 has a lot to answer for.

	The screen flips round so you can use the N93i as a portable media viewer.

The N93i's selling point--and the feature that accounts for a large proportion of its bulk--is its hinge-mounted 3x optical zoom camera. You access this by twisting the main screen through 90 degrees then pulling it towards you. Hey presto! Your bulky phone is now a slim vertical camcorder, with a huge widescreen viewfinder.

The transformation is convincing: Your thumb falls naturally on to a large record button, surrounded by an intuitive zoom rocker. The soft keys on the display access shooting options and a tiny thumb-stick lets you zip through menus. The only downside is that you might have to shift your hand to avoid covering up the tiny LED flash/video light, mounted just beneath the lens.

The screen also folds right round to lie flat on the keyboard: It's a good position for viewing video clips but makes accessing some buttons (including the media player) awkward. Try not to get too annoyed by the camera's separate lens cover--it's so small and fiddly that you'll lose it within days.

Features
The N93i is all about the camera: A generous 3x optical zoom with autofocusing, a useful (but not excessive) 3.2 megapixels of resolution and a video mode (VGA, 30fps) to rival standalone digital cameras. Pictures are best saved to the 1GB miniSD card supplied, which is easily accessed through a side-mounted slot.

The zoom is simple, if slightly jerky, to use. On-screen icons let you swiftly switch scene modes (including macro and night portraits), adjust color and tweak white balance or exposure. Delve into the menus, though, and you'll find nothing beyond a self-timer. Unlike Sony Ericsson's Cyber-shot phones, there's no burst mode, no image stabilisation, no red-eye reduction and, crucially, no real flash.

The tiny LED light under the Nokia's lens is just acceptable for taking very close-up portraits in the dark, but miles behind Sony Ericsson's powerful Xenon flash.

Video shooting is equally easy to master, but even lighter on features--just Auto and Night scene modes and exposure tweaks.

	Much sleeker than the original version but still more camcorder than phone.

Being an N-series handset, there's a host of high-tech extras on board. Top of the list is Nokia's excellent Web browser--especially useful in conjunction with an all-you-can-surf package from 3 or T-Mobile, or with the efficient, easy-to-set-up Wi-Fi connection.

The browser spurns cut-down WAP or i-mode sites, tackling real Web pages with aplomb. A handy Mini-Map function aids navigation, and it gets easier still if you flip the screen into landscape format. The N93i is confident on multimedia, too, streaming BBC's Listen Again radio shows without a murmur of complaint, although it does baulk at YouTube videos.

Other features worth seeking out are instant-blogging links to Flickr and Vox, QuickOffice and PDF Viewer for work stuff, and some surprisingly good games, including an excellent 3D racer.

Performance
Still images from the zoom lens are much better than most camera phones, with reasonable exposure, recognisable detail and lively colors. But you'd never mistake the N93i's pictures for those from a real camera--complex detail is smeared, there's softness and distortion at the edges of the frame and white balance is erratic. Reds, in particular, are over-emphasised, leading to scarlet skin tones that suggest sunburn or excessive drinking.

Video clips are better, with smooth, rich colors and crisp edges, though again little real detail. The zoom, however, is noticeably jerky and sound recording ebbs and wanes like waves on a beach. With or without the LED light, low light filming is grainy.

Media playback is more professional, with fine video performance and light, bright sound through the supplied headset. Connecting the N93i to a TV is quick and easy. But we did have some problems. The handset would occasionally flash up an 'Out of memory' warning during video slideshows and once froze up completely.

Loud ringtones, distinct vibration alerts and clear, if somewhat distant, audio make voice calls relatively painless.

But all this multimedia action--and that huge screen--put a strain on the N93i's battery. We found it needed charging pretty much every evening, after just a modest amount of photo and video shooting, and a few calls and texts.

Conclusion
If you want a camera phone to replace your digital camera, you've got two main choices: The N93i with its zoom lens or Sony Ericsson's K800i (and soon K810i) with real flash, although Nokia's all-singing N95 nav-phone (with 5-megapixel resolution) is probably worth checking out.

The N93i's 2.7x zoom lens is easy to use and certainly adds flexibility. Question marks, however, remain over the quality of both still photos (white balance, softness) and video (jerky zooming). Despite its fantastic range of multimedia features and unparalleled connectivity, the N93i remains just a shade too lumbering to recommend without reservations. Try before you buy.

Nokia N95

Ever since Nokia announced the N95 back in September 2006, we knew for sure it was going to be one highly anticipated handset. However, nearly half a year flew past before we got some love from the N95. To most people, this Nokia sounds like a dream come true, with HSDPA, GPS, Wi-Fi, 3G and a 5-megapixel autofocus camera packed into a compact slider. But behind these glossy specifications is a rather disappointing battery life, somewhat sluggish performance and a premium price tag. That said, the N95 will still appeal to tech gadget enthusiasts and, of course, those with deep pockets.

Design
The Nokia N95 is one smart phone that just doesn't measure up, especially if you consider all the features in its minute size. Although the N95's footprint is only slightly larger than a credit card, it is thick on the side. In hand, the unit feels surprisingly light. The soft-touch finish on the back is a pleasure to hold, though the plasticky build of the body gives it a less than solid feel.

	The screen changes to landscape orientation but doesn't switch back automatically when the phone is closed.

One of the first things we noticed is the sharp 2.6-inch 240 x 320-pixel screen. The LCD held up well under sunlight and the picture display is crisp and clear--an important criteria as a navigation device-- even though it has a nasty habit of holding fingerprints. But what's really unique to the N95 is the two-way sliding mechanism. Sliding the top lid up reveals the alphanumeric keypad, while pushing it in the other direction exposes a column of media playback keys. These buttons are not touch-sensitive although they appear to be. We have to make a conscious effort to depress it in order to register a particular command.

What's annoying is when we slide the lid to access the media keys. The screen changes to landscape orientation but doesn't switch back automatically when the phone is closed. We had to push it further to get to the numeric keys before the screen would go back to portrait mode. The numeric keys, on the other hand, have a ridge-like contoured surface which makes it easy for thumbing our messages and they light up in blue when the ambient sensor detects a dark environment. Likewise for the buttons on the top lid. These are large and provide tactile feedback. If we have to nitpick, the controls on the outer ring are a tad too slim horizontally and there's no option to map the buttons to specific applications.

	The 3.5mm audio jack is a god-send for music lovers.

There are many things we like on this Nokia: A mini-USB port instead of the proprietary connection for desktop synchronization, a 3.5mm audio jack for our favorite headphones so we don't have to reach for an adapter, an external memory card slot that supports microSD media up to 2GB, and finally, a pair of onboard stereo speakers sitting along the sides.

On the back of the handset is where we find the 5-megapixel autofocus camera with Carl Zeiss lens. The ring slider protects the lens from scratches and the integrated flash helps to light up our subjects in dark environments. In use, it's not different from a dedicated digital camera. We could distinctly feel the half-press action to autofocus before actually taking a shot.

Features
The N95 is one of the trickiest reviews we've ever written, simply because there are so many features on this slider phone that we're not sure where to begin. Aside from the built-in GPS, a 5-megapixel camera and HSDPA connectivity, attention has also been given to minor styling details--we now have the option of enabling animated icons in the menu and the navigation is also slightly more user-friendly.

If you are, or have been, a Series 60 user, you'll probably find the platform somewhat handicapped when it comes to search capabilities. What Nokia has included in the N95 is a new one-stop search application (also available for free download from the Nokia Web site for other S60 devices) that not only ploughs through the handheld for all entries relevant to the search keyword, but is also capable of giving online results via the Yahoo or Windows Live search engines.

	Nokia's Asia Maps appears far more responsive compared with the MapKing software which HP's iPaq uses.

One of the main draws of the N95 is the onboard GPS receiver. Compared with the MapKing software which HP's iPaq uses, Nokia's Asia Maps (NAVFone Pro) appears far more responsive. There's a bit of a learning curve, but once you get the hang of it, it's quite usable. The female voice guide, aided by a pair of onboard stereo speakers, is concise and audible. It would have been nice if Nokia had bundled in a car kit instead of offering this as an optional accessory. Lacking the gear, the N95 had to be bluetacked to the dashboard and we had to rely on the audio as there was no way to view the screen. A nice surprise: The GPS was able to indicate if a fixed-position speed camera was ahead (test was done in Singapore along the CTE expressway).

As expected of a GPS cellular device, the battery was able to sustain only half a day of GPS tracking before it konked out. So the best investment would be a holder with a charging cradle. We didn't get to see what happened if someone had called in while the GPS was in operation. In our tests, the GPS signal dropped a few times but picked up quickly again. Nokia's Asia Maps give alternative routes if you don't like the one it's picked, but typically it sticks to main roads which can be a hassle since these are the most traveled and not always the best way to avoid traffic.

At times, the navigator would prepare you for a corner by indicating "prepare to turn right". At other times, it wasn't able to react as quickly to a turn. This could be due to the density of buildings and trees around. The GPS will recompute the route if you go offtrack, though not if you are on a minor street. And it wasn't 100 percent on track all the time. So as long as the user is very clear that the GPS feature is to assist navigation, not replace it, the tracking capability of the N95 is pretty nifty to tote along and impress your passengers with.

	The Nokia N95 is bundled with the Asia Maps program.

Overall, it took about 5 to 8 minutes for the onboard GPS to get a successful triangulation, but that's also heavily dependant on the line of sight to the satellites. There are actually two applications on the N95 for your GPS fix. First is Asia Maps, which we've just talked about and is available only in Asia-Pacific countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Thailand and India. The other is Maps--the default Nokia application that can be downloaded online.

You can use Asia Maps (with turn-by-turn navigation) free for 60 days, after which you'll have to pay for an upgrade that will cost US$29.90 for a lifetime subscription. Maps, on the other hand, comes with free downloadable maps via the Maploader software. Catch is, if you want to use it for real-time GPS tracking, you'll need to pay a fee. Prices may vary depending on where you purchase the maps, but a seven-day license for the Singapore map (which also comes with the Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur cities) will cost S$12 (US$7.89). Pay an additional S$3 (US$1.97) and you can extend the license coverage to 30 days. A one-year and three-year fee cost S$119.99 (US$78.61) and S$139.41 (US$91.72), respectively. All local prices mentioned here are inclusive of GST. There's another catch to Nokia Maps (and also Asia Maps). According to the Finnish company, the license fee is linked to your phone's IMEI, so you won't be able to enjoy the maps you bought should you decide to switch to another GPS-enabled mobile.

Features (contd.)
There's always a limit to how many pixels you can pack onto one tiny image sensor before image quality starts nose-diving in low-light conditions for both dedicated digital cameras and camera-phones alike. So it was initially hard for us to imagine that 5 megapixels would be any better than 3.2 megapixels, save for the extra pixels for cropping during post-processing. Surprisingly, we liked what we saw. Image quality was one of the best among camera-phones, with vivid and vibrant colors in daylight. Highlight clipping was evident in heavily backlit pictures, though that was within our expectations. Night photography was where the camera was put to the test. Although we could set ISO to automatic, low, medium or high; noise in the form of multicolored pixels was still evident when we increased the sensitivity levels. Switching to Night scene mode helped a little, but it won't create miracles.

	The number of settings on the N95 is enough to give a compact digital camera a run for its money.

The number of settings on the N95 is enough to give a compact digital camera a run for its money. There are so many options available we hardly felt that we were using a camera-phone, if not for the fact that there weren't as many dedicated buttons for various settings and a slightly different user interface.

Besides being able to do basic editing on our snaps, we could also upload photos to our Flickr or Vox accounts, create slideshows and albums, share them on Nokia's LifeBlog and print them. Lest the 160MB onboard memory runs out, the N95 has an external card slot that supports up to 2GB of microSD flash media to save our photos, videos and other multimedia files.

On the N95, Nokia has also introduced the Video center--an RSS feed reader for videos. At the time of launch, the Finnish company had signed on Reuters and YouTube to bring the latest motion images to the device. The two services work slightly differently, though. Watching videos from YouTube is via direct steaming (read: Heavily dependant on your connection speed) and there's currently no avenue for the user to select the list of videos available for streaming. Reuter's videos, on the other hand, require the user to download the clip via a data connection or Wi-Fi.

The N95 is also a bundle of joy as a multimedia player. It plays MP3/AAC/AAC+/eAAC+/WMA/M4A formats with OMA DRM 2.0 and Windows Media Digital Rights Management (WMDRM) support for music. There's also an FM radio, but you'll have to use wired earbuds which double as the antenna. In terms of video, the RealPlayer supports a number of file types including MPEG-4, H.264/AVC, H.263/3gpp, RealVideo 8/9/10. We've said this and we're going to say it again. The experience of watching videos on a compact handheld depends on the screen resolution and onboard speakers. To that extent, the N95 did well.

Let's not forget that this Nokia is still primarily a phone. The N95 runs on the robust Series 60 3rd edition. There are many programs available both from Nokia and various developers' Web sites. Aside from being a quadband (850/900/1,800/1,900MHz) smart phone, the N95 is also HSDPA-enabled (WCDMA 2,100). There's also integrated Wi-Fi (802.11b/g), UPnP (Universal Plug and Play), Bluetooth (with A2DP), infrared and a mini-USB port for desktop synchronization.

Several applications also come preinstalled on our review unit. Quickoffice (which can be downloaded free from the Nokia catalog) allows us to read and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents. While a 2.6-inch screen isn't the best solution for reading long word documents, it certainly does come in handy if you need to make some minor changes to your PowerPoint presentation while rushing for a meeting. The N95 also allows you to connect to an optional wireless keyboard via Bluetooth, and reads PDF files and barcodes with the Barcode scanner app.
Performance
We tested the quadband Nokia N95 using MobileOne's service. Overall, call quality was good and our friends reported clear audio even when we switched to loudspeaker mode. In use, the Nokia was slightly sluggish. For example, when we activated the multimedia screen, the phone took a while to return to portrait orientation and the default home screen.

Pairing of accessories was also an effortless affair. We managed to pair the Nokia Bluetooth Speaker MD-5W to our N95 and had music streaming through the portable speakers in a jiffy.

The Nokia N95 is rated for 4 hours of talktime and up to slightly more than nine days of standby time. Battery life test was a little tricky on this Nokia, but if we were to use all the above-mentioned features including GPS, Wi-Fi and music playback (not all the time, but enough to let us have a good experience of each function), on top of sending text messages and answering a few calls, the 950mAH battery couldn't last beyond 1.5 days.