[RICKYJ]

Firstly I should say, I on a very good contract with 3, and it has very good reception at home and at work, so not looking to move away from 3. I am currently considering my phone options though, as I am due an upgrade from my N95.

I will use the phone for:

Music
Pictures (at concerts/gigs/pub etc)
Recording Videos (at gigs)
Internet browsing
Email receiving/sending
Sat Nav

I would also like wifi, as it is useful for internet browsing....

My N95 has served me well, but I could do with a battery life.

I have been offered a N95 8gb (comes with music edition) for £72.34 on a £15 18 month contract, or a N96 on the same contract for £91.91.

I am unsure on these though, as they would offer smallish upgrades on the N95 that I already have (but comes with music sounds interesting)...

I am considering the LG Renior though, although it doesn't appear to have many other supporters.

Any advice given, would grately be received.

[stoosh666]

Nokia set the bar really high when they made the N95, at this moment in time you'll be hard pressed to find a phone that will beat it.

I've had both the N95 and N95 8gb, and although you would think that the difference is minimal, you'll be suprised what Nokia has put under the hood of the N95 8gb. For a start there's a huge amount of RAM when you first switch the phone on, so you will never get any memory full please close down some application messages again.

Secondly the N95 8gb has a 2.8 inch screen as opposed to the 2.6 inch screen of the N95, you would think that 0.2 inches wouldn't make much of a difference but when you put both phones side by side then you notice just how big the screen of the N95 8gb is.

Lastly the battery life on the N95 8gb has been increased significantly, on the N95 Nokia were using the BL-5, the N95 would barely make it through the day. The N95 8gb uses the BL-6 which has a far higher capacity, you'll easily get two days usage out of the N95 8gb.

The N96 is a good phone, but it has had its fair share of teething problems, these are being addressed by Nokia who have recently released a software update. Whether you will be able to access the software update is largely dependant on your mobile phone operator as it has to be approved by them.

The N96 isn't a direct update of the N95, its basically the same phone but with DVB-H which isnt available in the UK as yet. It also comes with 16GB of memory built in. Again it uses the same battery as the N95 and some people have stated that the battery life as the N95 8gb, Nokia have countered this argument by saying that the software in the N96 allows for better battery management.

Sorry to bore you, but in short if you were to go for either the N95 8gb or N96 you wouldn't be disappointed. Nokia have made a significant number of changes in both phones that make any user coming from the N95 think that he / she is using a vastly improved phone.

[RICKYJ]

Originally Posted by stoosh666

Sorry to bore you, but in short if you were to go for either the N95 8gb or N96 you wouldn't be disappointed. Nokia have made a significant number of changes in both phones that make any user coming from the N95 think that he / she is using a vastly improved phone.

You didn't bore me, quite the opposite..

I am very grateful of the feedback. Might see if I can get the N95 8gb (music) on a 12 month contract. That should sway it...

Will let you know how I get on.

Ricky

[andykn]

The N97 is due out in the first half of next year, could be worth thinking about.

I'd avoid 18 month contracts, they're for the networks' benefit, not yours - I see plenty of people posting that they're locked in and regret it when a new phone comes out.

[RICKYJ]

Looks good, but I suspect it is going to have some firmware issues for the first few months, as it is quite a big evolution.

18 months is not too bad on the basis it is a cheap contract i.e. £15 a month. £15 x 18 months (+ £70) for N95 8GB with music works out at £340. It costs £400 sim free, and doesn't include any minutes, texts, mms etc..

Just a thought. Agreed on an expensive tariff it is a tie.

[stoosh666]

The N97 is a stop gap release from Nokia until a real iphone beater comes out. The phone is slated to come out Q2 2009, so it is still a 6-8 months down the line for release.

If you look around, you'll see what is supposidly the update to the N97 being touted around from Nokia. There are two other phones out by Nokia at the moment, one of which is supposed to be the spiritual successor to the N95 and that is the N85, or its candybar brother the N79. Both of which are very good phones.

[Iceman10]

Originally Posted by stoosh666

The N97 is a stop gap release from Nokia until a real iphone beater comes out. The phone is slated to come out Q2 2009, so it is still a 6-8 months down the line for release.

If you look around, you'll see what is supposidly the update to the N97 being touted around from Nokia.

Which phone do you mean, I had a google but didn't see anything.

[Ruudfood]

Originally Posted by Iceman10

Which phone do you mean, I had a google but didn't see anything.

That would be the Ivalo in the table on this page: Nokia 2008-2009 smartphone roadmap surfaces - GSMArena.com news

...which, if you believe the table, will be announced/made public/leaked at the end of this year.

With regards to the OP I'm looking for an upgrade to the N95 too and there's nothing out there that is either not just an incremental upgrade (N95 8GB or N96) or offers much more than the N95.

The HTC Touch HD comes closest but there's no flash on the camera and it's not available on Vodafone or O2 as an upgrade...yet.
The N97 is way too far off and the iPhone sucks! I'm not a fan of Samsung, LG or Motorola interfaces either so that rules them out. The SE X1 also seems to lack some crucial features.

So what am I left with? Well nothing really!

[JohnWin]

What about the Nokia N85 - is it even available yet? And is it as good as some say with the OLED display?

[stoosh666]

The N85 is a very good phone and as I stated previously is regarded by those in the know as the spiritual successor to the N95. It's available via various on line retailers, you should also check out the N79 if you don't like sliders.

Also the N85 has had a massive firmware update just released for it.

[andykn]

Originally Posted by RICKYJ

Looks good, but I suspect it is going to have some firmware issues for the first few months, as it is quite a big evolution.

18 months is not too bad on the basis it is a cheap contract i.e. £15 a month. £15 x 18 months (+ £70) for N95 8GB with music works out at £340. It costs £400 sim free, and doesn't include any minutes, texts, mms etc..

Just a thought. Agreed on an expensive tariff it is a tie.

I meant 18 months vs 12 months. I've always preferred to have thnree handsets in thnree years rather than two and offset the higher tariffs by ebaying one extra handset.

[mojohey]

Sony Ericsson C905. Just upgraded from LG Viewty to this handset... won't get it till Tuesday, but the Wifi and 8mp camera were the reasons for the choice... and it was a free upgrade from Orange, although the website say's £78 i phoned them and asked for the best deal... so free handset and £5 pm off my tarif.

[RICKYJ]

Well people, I have upgraded to the N95 8gb (comes with music). Not a massive upgrade, but after using it for a couple of days, I have already noticed a few improvements, whilst subtle they are important:

Better battery life
Bigger screen (makes the emails much easier to read)
Phone feels better phisically
And the software system seems better etc.

The selling point for me, was the 'comes with music'. I downloaded over 2gb of music the other night, and whilst it felt it shouldn't be, it is all legal, and means I can have all the latest music via my phone (or leptop) in the car, home stereo, or when on the move:-)

Thanks for all the help, and advice.