Nokia N95 Update

I am really digging this phone. Everything works up to expectations, but I haven't really got into every crevise of the thing.

Here is the good:

• Phone features are top-notch. My Cingular/AT&T SIM worked flawlessly.
• Battery life seems like an eternity, compared to the Motorola Razr V3 I had previously.
• Thicker than a typical cell phone, but still fits easily into a hip pocket.
• The display functions very well in direct sunlight.
• The speakerphone and volume in general are very good.
• WLAN features also top-notch; locating available networks is only a few "clicks" away. Too bad there is no easy way to enter a 128-bit WEP key.
• Web browser is adequate; I did not tax it much, yet. It did bring up this blog with no issues, and has support for Feeds.
• UPnP (aka Home Network) works surprisingly well; you can get support via Windows Media Player 11. Beware! Not all media formats supported (guess whose are not...)
• The MicroSD slot and USB/Removable Storage features are indispensible. Wouldn't be much of a media player without it. Mine came with a 1GB card, very adequate.
• The 5-megapixel camera is awesome! Plus, when you use it as a camera, you hold it like a camera! Complete with shutter-release button in the anticipated location.
• I successfully configured POP3 email with little hassle.
• The system is very good at allowing you to control which connection to use, when it needs a data connection.

Here is the bad (and I'm reaching):

• The GPS is functional, but getting a "fix" can be very slooooowwww since you need to "see" the GPS satellites. Also, make sure you have good bandwidth for downloading maps (i.e. don't use your cellular data provider if you can avoid it).
• It is easy to "jog" the sliding keypad while in a pocket, which regularly triggers the "keypad locked" message, and activates the display, draining battery life. Some kind of physical "lock" or more rigid retention would be welcomed.
• The FM radio does not want to play through the speakers; it wants you to use the headphones. Ironically, there is a Play through Loudspeaker option, which is only available when using the headphones, but not available otherwise.
• I experienced problems retrieving email over a WLAN connection (thank God it asks you to choose a connection); retrieving email over my wireless data provider worked flawlessly.
• Other than UPnP/Home Network, there is no way to access remote file systems via networking.
• I could not find a way to alter the text color of the main display. It wants to use black text, no matter what colors are in my background image. Some alpha-blended text background or contrasting font outlining (like on the Razr) would help make the text stand out, no matter what the background.

And there just ain't no Ugly on this thing.

These features are unrated at this time:

• Office-interop applications.
• Bluetooth, Infrared, USB.
• VoIP.
• Video player.
• Lifeblog software.

nokian95