Nokia N95

The Nokia N95 was arguably the phone of 2007. Despite being out-specced by some of the more powerful smartphones out there (LG's Viewty) and overshadowed by the hype of (Apple's iPhone), the N95 went on to shift thousands of units and become one of the most sought after handsets going. Described by GSM Arena as "Nokia's crown jewel" the N95 is still in demand over a year after its release back in March 2007.

Maybe it's the pin-sharp auto-focus enhanced 5 Megapixel camera, the DVD-like quality of the video capture (30 frames per second), the innovative dual slide design, or the integrated music and video player with dedicated media keys, or maybe it's all of the above. Even if that was all the N95 had to offer, the demand would still be understandable, but it doesn't stop there. As well as all of the top-end high powered features mentioned above, the N95 also boasts high speed internet access. Viewing web pages on the large 2.6" TFT display capable of pumping out 16 million colours is a treat, and gives the N95 the feel of a micro laptop, sans keyboard obviously.

The GPS mapping function, holding maps for 100 countries and 15 millions places of interest, means that the N95 doubles as an all in one sat-nav – plug the charger into the cigarette lighter and turn call barring on (we here at Mobile Phones encourage safe driving), and you have a fully functional interactive roadmap. It runs the latest version of the Nokia web browser with MiniMap, so you can view entire pages from a distance and zoom in to specific parts. Whilst basic satnav support is included as standard, for longer journeys you may want to opt for voice-assisted support, and unfortunately there is a charge for this.

Earlier we mentioned the dual slide design of the N95. The standard numerical keypad slides out from the bottom section of the phone, and operates in the same way as a standard keypad would, used for making calls, and accessing the main menu. Set up at the other end of the handset there is a separate slide-out section which holds four keys, Play/Pause, Stop, and Skip Forward/Back – these keys are dedicated multimedia keys, used exclusively for playing music and film and browsing.Set up at the other end of the handset there is a separate slide-out section which holds four dedicated multimedia keys – Play/Pause, Stop, and Skip Forward and Back – used exclusively for playing music and video.

The music player supports a number of formats (MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA) and you can use your favourite pair of headphones with the 3.5mm jack. The N95 has 160MB of internal memory and a microSD slot upgradeable to 2GB, so you have plenty of room to play with. As with previous Nokia N series phones, the music player has an equalizer, allowing audiophiles to achieve that sound, and a feature which automatically pauses tracks for any incoming calls, resuming play as soon as the call has finished. Music stored on the N95 can also be played on your TV via the TV-Out cable, or through Nokia's Music Stand speakerphone set – this is where the DVD-like quality of the video really becomes apparent.

The only real downside of the N95 is that all those nice high flying functions really eat into the battery – daily charges are an absolute must. The ingeniously integrated GPS system also charges you if you want to use anything other than the basic satnav service, such as voice assisted directions. This plus the battery drain are the only two real gripes we have with an otherwise perfect handset.

Nokia 6700

Two years ago Finnish giant Nokia struck gold with its 6300 candybar phone, and now it's back with a similar model - only this time it boasts HSDPA connectivity, assisted GPS and a 5 Megapixel camera. Promising to "set a new benchmark for mid-range devices" the Nokia 7600 classic is a Series 40 6th Edition phone supporting quad band GSM and the remarkable Nokia WebKit Open Source Browser, previously available only on the Symbian S60 smartphones. The Nokia 6700 classic also has a built-in accelerometer for tap-for-clock and turn-to-mute features, which we first saw in the Nokia Arte lineup.

On the looks front, the new handset draws inspiration from Nokia's premium 8800 Arte with its candybar form factor, stainless steel casing and full metal keypad. At just 11mm thick and weighing 116g, the 6700 is slim enough to slip nicely into your handbag or jeans pocket and feels fairly sturdy when you hold it. The handset is available in silver, black, brown and matte metallic finishes.

On the looks front, the new handset draws inspiration from Nokia's premium 8800 Arte with its candybar form factor, stainless steel casing and full metal keypad.

The front panel is dominated by the generous 2.2 inch QVGA display with support for up to 16 million colours, rendering text and images vibrantly and with clarity. The 6700's ambient light sensor will ensure that the display manages brightness to save on battery power and gives plenty of light when you need it.

Below the screen is the usual selection of softkeys, the call and end call buttons and a four-way navigational pad with a control key in the centre. The front panel also houses a flat numerical keypad with clearly marked keys which light up when typing in the dark.

The Nokia 6700 is streets ahead of its predecessor, the 6300, when it comes to its camera. Boasting 5 Megapixels, autofocus, 4x digital zoom and a flash, you might as well leave your regular camera at home. There's even a photo editor to make any last-minute adjustments to your snaps. Video recording is a little disappointing at just 15 frames per second in VGA format and 30 frames per second in CIF.

Connectivity options on the Nokia 6700 are numerous.

An excellent media player supports a number of popular audio and video formats, including MP3, MP4, AAC, eAAC+ and WMA. You can also personalise your phone with MP3 ringtones from your own music collection. Going on previous Nokias, we expect audio quality to be pretty decent, although annoyingly there is no standard 3.5mm audio jack, so you will have to put up with the proprietary headphones, or [play your music through the phone's tinny loud speakers. A stereo FM radio with RDS provides alternative audio entertainment. 170 MB of shared memory will let you store quite a few tracks and a 1MB microSD card is included in the box, but the phone supports cards of up to 8MB.

Connectivity options on the Nokia 6700 are numerous. There's quad band GSM on the 2G network meaning you can be connected wherever you are in the world, and tri band on 3G. HSDPA enables super-fast browsing on Nokia's fantastic WebKit open source browser, and EDGE and GPRS are also available. The Nokia 6700 supports Bluetooth and USB for transferring data, assisted GPS with Nokia Maps and Flash Light 3. You can catch up with friends on Windows Live Messenger which comes preinstalled. The Nokia 6700 classic is well-equipped when it comes to messaging, offering SMS, MMS 1.3, instant messaging and an email client.

The Nokia 6700 is expected to start shipping in July 2009. You'll be able to pick one up for around £200 on pay as you go from Nokia's online shop, and it will probably be free on a contract.

Nokia N86 8MP

The name of the Nokia N86 8MP kind of gives away the main innovation that Nokia have implemented with this handset. Recently announced at the Mobile World Congress, the Nokia N86 8MP has garnered a great deal of press attention due to some slick marketing by Nokia. Whether this is deflect criticism from a handset that is basically an N85 with bells on is anybody’s guess. Perhaps we are being a tad harsh on Nokia here as the N86 does have some novel technical ideas that put it into direct competition with the upcoming Samsung Tocco Ultra and, to an extent, the Samsung Omnia HD.

For starters there are some minor cosmetic differences there are between the N86 8MP and the N85. The keypad has far more defined buttons and the soft keys are arranged slightly differently. Including one key that is at a completely different angle to the others, which is a handy touch as pressing the key with your thumb seems a tad easier and quicker. Even if it does look odd. Like the N96 and N85 before it, the N86 8MP is a dual slider handset. This means when you slide the phone downwards the media control keys are displayed and to display the keypad you simply slide the phone up. The mechanism itself feels comfortable and not too loose. In fact the whole handset feels a bit on the chunky side, at 149 grams it comes in heavier than the N96.

As you would expect the N86 8MP is a HSDPA compatible handset with quad band and even WiFi with GPS navigation. This is becoming a much more ever present feature on high end handsets and Nokia have even included Nokia maps with a built in digital compass. Obviously this would only ever be useful if you were stuck on the island in ‘Lost’ but it is a novel feature that adds to the phone nonetheless.

The real meat of the N86 8MP is obviously the camera and Nokia have gone the whole hog to wring as much power as possible from the 8 megapixel engine. A lot of this is to do with the Carl Zeiss lens which rivals some point and shoot standard digital cameras. The N86 8MP is the first mobile phone to offer variable aperture values (which without getting too technical and boring, will offer overall sharper images) so even the toughest lighting conditions should not pose the N86 any problems

So in conclusion the N86 8MP looks to be an evolution of previous handset designs, rather than the radical redesigns we’ve seen from the Tocco Ultra and the Sony Ericsson Idou. This is not necessarily a bad thing though. The N86 8MP has stuck to a very successful formula which should ensure that it will capture a place in peoples harts. The problem it faces is that there are a lot of upcoming phones that do exactly the same thing and in some cases they do it better, so the handset lacks a unique selling point. The Omnia HD has high definition video record capabilities and it will probably be around the same price as the N86. Time will decide the victor of this particular battle.

5130 XpressMusic

Unlike the popular Nokia 5800 XpressMusic phone which boasts a large 3.2" touchscreen, the Nokia 5130 XpressMusic is a relatively old-style quad-band GSM phone that comes with some decent multimedia features. Like its predecessors, the 5320 and 5220 XpressMusic phones, the Nokia 5130 XpressMusic will be available in black with a choice of either red or blue accents. With dedicated music keys, a 3.5mm audio jack, Bluetooth and a 2 megapixel camera, the 5130 XpressMusic is Nokia's most affordable music phone to date.

A funky candybar phone, the 5120 weighs a feather-light 88g, but is a little on the thick side with a depth of 14.8mm. As we've mentioned, the QVGA screen is pretty small at just 2", has a resolution of 240 x 320 pixels, and can display up to 256,000 colours. You can personalise your display by downloading a variety of themes from the Nokia website.

The integrated 2 megapixel snapper looks fairly basic – fixed focus and no flash. 4x digital zoom is a nice touch, but more of a gimmick than useful considering the camera's already low resolution and lack of flash. The Nokia 5130 XpressMusic also supports image sharing through Share on Ovi, as well as the Mail on Ovi email service, meaning you can upload your photos and exchange them with friends. Of course, good old-fashioned MMS is also an option.

The most impressive feature on the 5130 XpressMusic is the music player – no surprises here. Supporting all the main audio file formats - MP3, AAC, eAAC, eAAC+, MIDI and WMA files – the 5130 also comes with a 1GB memory card which can store around 20 hours of music. As if this weren't enough, you can increase the memory further up to 8GB by investing in a larger capacity microSD card.
Thankfully Nokia have decided to include a 3.5mm headphone jack which is compatible with a standard headset, and there is also support for stereo Bluetooth, enabling you to listen to your music through a wireless set of headphones.

The phonebook has capacity for 2000 entries, to which you can add photos of your contacts. Other useful features include a calendar, to-do list and calculator. Demo games are included on the phone, with full games available for download.

A quad-band GSM phone, the 5130 runs the WAP 2.0/xHTML browser, offering fast internet access via GPRS and EDGE. There is support for file transfer to other compatible devices via Bluetooth and USB.

Please note that, since the Nokia 5130 XpressMusic has not yet been released, details in this overview are subject to change.

Nokia N79

The smallest of the N-Series range to date, the Nokia N79 is a more compact descendant of the highly popular Nokia N95. Weighing less than 100g, the Nokia N79 is also the lightest handset in the series. In spite of its compactness, Nokia have managed to pack in a bevy of excellent features, including a 5 Megapixel camera, GPS support, super-fast HSDPA connectivity, Wi-Fi, a decent multimedia player and an FM radio. The N79 is a Symbian S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2 smartphone.

The bar shaped N879 comes with a fairly standard 2.4" TFT display with a resolution of 240 x 320 pixels and 16 million colours, which is rather smaller than the screens found on some top-end N-Series handsets. A built-in motion sensor automatically changes the display for tall to wide when in camera mode. Located below the screen is the same touch-sensitive navigation wheel that was first featured on the suprise-hit Nokia N81. The flat keypad is also touch sensitive, though this probably won't suit every user. Buttons tend not to be as fiddly to use as flat keys, and are less likely to result in misspelled texts or phonecalls to the wrong number.

A novel feature of the N79 is the three interchangeable XpressOn covers which are supplied with the phone as standard. When you change the handset's back cover, the phone ingeniously recognises the colour of the replacement cover and can automatically change the interface theme colour to match it.

One of the most striking features on the N79 is its 5 Megapixel camera. Good quality photos are not just about the megapixels, so it's good to know that the camera comes with a twin LED flash and autofocus, as well as a Carl Zeiss Tessar lens for clear and detailed stills. The geo-tagging feature enables you to attach GPS location data to your photos. The camera doubles up as a video camera, and the films you make can be uploaded directly to the web via Nokia's internet service platform Ovi or a similar service.

The comprehensive multimedia player supports all the major audio file formats including MP3, AAC, MPEG4 and WMV media files. Whilst the inclusion of an FM Radio is fairly common in mobiles these days, the N79 also has an FM transmitter, which enables you to play tracks back through a car audio system wirelessly. Thankfully a 3.5mm headphone jack also features.

The Nokia N79 supports GPS and A-GPS will come with Nokia Maps. Customers will have to pay for Nokia's turn-by-turn navigation application and for city guide packages.

The N79 is a quad-band GSM phone with dual band 900 / 2100 MHz UMTS and HSDPA support. The handset supports Wi-Fi as well as Bluetooth 2.0 and USB 2.0 connectivity. The 1200 mAh battery provides up to 3.5 hours talktime on 3G and up to 5 hours on GSM. Maximum standby time is just under 17 days with up to 24 hours of music playback in offline mode.