Will the N95 8GB get a full release in the UK? [Archive] - 3G forum : your 3G community and resource.

ratkat

09-10-2007, 09:53 AM

I have heard a rumour from a friend at Nokia UK that the N95 8GB will only be released on Vodafone, 3 or as a Sim Free handset in the UK. With Orange, T-Mobile and O2 choosing not to stock it.

I really hope he is wrong, but it is certainly true for the other phone the N81 announced at the same time......see below

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/08/nokia_n81_snub/

GC27vf

10-10-2007, 03:35 PM

Hi,

Just for the record (working for Vodafone and it's also a handset I'm waiting for!) we're due to bring in the N95 8GB on the 18th November 2007.

GavinK151

10-10-2007, 05:05 PM

I am really surprised none of the usual shops (expansys, play.com etc) are showing the SIM free version available for pre-order yet. When I got the original N95 and in fact when I changed to an E90 there were both listed well in advance of actually being available...

November 18th is not far off - I would have expected the SIM free one around now surely?

munkimatt

10-10-2007, 05:51 PM

3 and Voda are taking it. Wouldn't be suprised in the others passed on it or waited at least to see how it does.

Mithent

10-10-2007, 06:20 PM

Isn't the N95 8GB coming with Nokia's music store software, like the N81? If so, then it's quite reasonable to expect that networks that didn't want the N81 won't want the N95 8GB?

drwalker

10-10-2007, 06:24 PM

Have seen a review of the W960 today, on GSMArena. The phone got a good rating, but the screen doesn't look as good as that of other SEs, and it just doesn't look like a high end phone in the photos that they've posted, and the stylus is necessary too, as opposed to the Touchflo items of HTC. The N95 8Gb, therefore, looks like it could do way better, since the screen should be at least as clear as that on the current model, which looks great. Apparently, they are on about Apple style widgets (or is it the iPhone widgets themselves) being compatible with the new version of S60, which is being speculated as being on the N81 and N95 8Gb.
As to wider release, it is tough to say. Perhaps the other networks are wary of large memory capacity phones in terms of returns? The phone part still works, but the memory goes wrong, and the networks still have to sort it.
Perhaps sites like Expansys aren't too keen since the price will most likely make their current N95 stock comparatively worthless, and they end up taking a hit in order to stock the noob.
Until the industry fuss over Nokia's new services die down, we could be looking at a lot of models, from all makers, being passed over. Data plans make network sites almost irrelevant anyway in terms of downloads, since you can search anything, once this is finally communicated to the likes of T-Mobile, the 8Gb will suddenly make sense to them, with luck, and they will herald its arrival much like 3 did when it finally released the N95.

drwalker

10-10-2007, 07:50 PM

3 and Voda are taking it. Wouldn't be suprised in the others passed on it or waited at least to see how it does.

How about a pool on the prices? I'm thinking £100-200 on 3, £150-250 on Vodafone.
That's regardless of contract by the way. I doubt you'll see freebies. Perhaps, just perhaps on £75 a month.

munkimatt

10-10-2007, 08:07 PM

depends on how the want to play it. If it's an November release (as expected) they will want to take some sting out of the iPhones tail. It'll look very good for them if they can promote a phone with a better camera, GPS etc for free compared to £270 for a pretty paperweight.

drwalker

10-10-2007, 08:13 PM

I saw an interesting comment on the iphone vs N95 today - it was about how the iphone was for consuming content, and the N95 was for creating it.
Whilst I'm not the one to ask about how successful the N95 is for that, I have to admit that the 8gb model would be an awesome tool for journalists - reliable (hopefully) large scale storage memory, word processor, decent camera and so on. Certainly I have come to terms with my initial disappointment at the apparent limitations of the device since I started using quickoffice more.
As for consuming it, I have noticed that the walkman software and obviously the iPhone will run their music players with a little more panache, compared to the meat and potatoes N95 (I have no problem with that - I like potatoes).
Then, the 8Gb version does seem gussied up in that department.

munkimatt

10-10-2007, 08:17 PM

I agree with the comment about creating content. Great for bloggers...

drwalker

10-10-2007, 08:19 PM

I agree with the comment about creating content. Great for bloggers...

How do you get it to work? I click on lifeblog and it tells me it can't do it. Not sure if it's something wrong with the phone, or if it's pulling a Trinny and Susannah on me.
'Oh no darling, there is no way we're letting you make a website looking like that.'
Oh, maybe that's what the second camera is for...

munkimatt

10-10-2007, 08:20 PM

Screw the lifeblog. There's a blogging company (Typepad I think) and they've released a S60 client. Will come in very handy when I change over.

drwalker

10-10-2007, 08:25 PM

There's a lot of speculation about the OS being a new release for it too. Talk of the next S60 release being compatible with the Apple widgets or something...
Typepad - I've heard that somewhere, unless I'm mixing it up with the Frogpad thing (tried to figure it out and realised it would be faster to send a letter in the post, than it would be to type with it).
The more I hear about the newbie, I have to admit the more 'aw nuts' I feel.

munkimatt

10-10-2007, 08:30 PM

Well it's still S60v3 FP1 so there's no key differences on the OS. Read that widgets thing too, very cool.

munkimatt

10-10-2007, 08:36 PM

Well it's still S60v3 FP1 so there's no key differences on the OS. Read that widgets thing too, very cool.

drwalker

10-10-2007, 08:42 PM

Agh! It's Groundhog Day! At least Sonny and Cher aren't on the radio.
So what kind of things are we talking about. Whilst I can appreciate the idea of having calcs and calendars on line, at the same time, are they worth any more than the items on the phone already?

Bucher 49

10-10-2007, 09:19 PM

Mithent

11-10-2007, 12:11 AM

The E90 is basically the N95 hardware in a communicator package, so it has a small front screen and you can open it up to reveal a large, wide display with a QWERTY keyboard below. However, it also has twice the RAM as the N95 and a larger battery. As a tradeoff, it's also about twice the weight and a little larger.

bavlondon

11-10-2007, 08:15 AM

Navigating on web pages is a bit wierd becasue its just using the button/dpad. With such a big screen a touch screen really should have been inplemented.

GavinK151

11-10-2007, 09:51 AM

Navigating on web pages is a bit wierd becasue its just using the button/dpad. With such a big screen a touch screen really should have been inplemented.

Yeah I agree. Its a bit fiddly, you cant seem to just move the pointer around either - it jumps from link to link... I was hoping for more useability - its just not as convenient to use as I had hoped it would be... even using an alternative browser.

Anyway, I had the N95 originally but was so disapointed in the bugs and build quality that I sold it and got an E90. From my experience the E90 is far more reliable - I think mine has crashed once since I got it whereas my N95 crashed 3 times a day (Although of course this was likely a firmware issue).

My first N95 had the "wobbly slider" issue so I had to get it replaced. The E90 feels much more solid in general - however, that being said mine has a creaky side panel that detracts from the overall feel of quality since the rest of it is solid. Additionally, I had to get a replacement battery cover since the original one was loose... such a shame that Nokia cant seem to make phones without some sort of physical defects :-(

Anyway, after now having had both phones - I am still not happy! The N95 was more "fun" to use and more convenient for taking pictures, carrying etc so now I am really thinking I might get the N95 8gb since surely they will have taken on board the original complaints.... *sigh* its getting expensive trying to find the perfect phone! :tired:

munkimatt

11-10-2007, 11:12 AM

i quite fancied the E90 to purely use for browsing until I played with an N800.

GavinK151

11-10-2007, 11:54 AM

i quite fancied the E90 to purely use for browsing until I played with an N800.

ah ha! ok interesting you should say that matt because I also have... an N800! (gawd how much money have I wasted on gadgets!)

Anyway, the N800 is AWSOME but of course you need a phone or wifi to do anything with it, my intention was to use the N800 at home and the E90 "on the road" as I thought it would be much the same. It aint. The N800 is infinately more useable.

I have a kind of fixation on finding the "perfect" convergence device but I think I will have to accept I am going to have to carry At least a phone (e.g. N95/8gb) and laptop/N800...

life is tough eh :squareeye

munkimatt

11-10-2007, 12:28 PM

ez2remember

11-10-2007, 12:29 PM

I think the n95 + OQO model 2 (5" notebook/UMPC) is the better combination but it's expensive...

I also have n95 + n800 and was thinking about getting rid of the two for the e90 but I don't think its the right move.

EDIT: I'm not sure about the successor of the n800 with phone functionality. Who would take out something that big and place it next to your ears without being laughed to death at? :D I know you can use headsets but sometimes you just don't have it... I think it will have a SIM but I think it will be used for data access only.

GavinK151

11-10-2007, 12:50 PM

I think the n95 + OQO model 2 (5" notebook/UMPC) is the better combination but it's expensive...

I also have n95 + n800 and was thinking about getting rid of the two for the e90 but I don't think its the right move.

Yeah at first glance it seems like a good idea but despite the E90 being a really nice peice of kit, I personally just dont find it useable enough for browing to fit my needs...

If the 8gb N95 is more solid than the original N95 I will almost certainly get one - it was more convenient as an Mp3 player than the E90 as well.

As for the N800 - well if I have to carry it too then so be it :-)

Another option might be one of those asus eee pc thingys - solid state HDD, laptops. Still, no word on when those are out either *sigh*

GavinK151

11-10-2007, 12:53 PM

you'll probably like the N800s follow up then. The leaked pictures seem to suggest there is a earpiece on it. Nokia said they want to make this new one more 'mass market' so I wouldn't be suprised if it'd take a sim.

hmm looks interesting! again with the waiting though! Who knows when it will be released... :cross-eye

munkimatt

11-10-2007, 12:54 PM

If the 8gb N95 is more solid than the original N95 I will almost certainly get one - it was more convenient as an Mp3 player than the E90 as well.

I'll let you know next week.

StuBFrost

12-10-2007, 08:22 AM

GavinK151

12-10-2007, 09:02 AM

This may have been mentioned so appologies if I have missed it but will the new version of the phone be on 3, Vodafone etc as well as the original N95 or instead of ?

The reason I ask is because my contract is due for renewal in the next couple of weeks and I want to get an N95. However, if the newer version is going to be available for even more money than the current N95, I may as well get the current N95.

Thanks

Stuart

This seems to be under debate but it seems *fairly* certain from what I read that Vodaphone will carry it. I beleive someone had word from a rep that this would be around 18th November?

On a similar note, I emailed www.mobilefun.co.uk yesterday and got a prompt reply stating that they expected to get the SIM free versions "in november or december" which I take to mean "its anyones guess"

StuBFrost

12-10-2007, 09:22 AM

This seems to be under debate but it seems *fairly* certain from what I read that Vodaphone will carry it. I beleive someone had word from a rep that this would be around 18th November?

On a similar note, I emailed www.mobilefun.co.uk yesterday and got a prompt reply stating that they expected to get the SIM free versions "in november or december" which I take to mean "its anyones guess"

If Vodafone are carrying it, will it be instead of the current N95 that they carry ?

GavinK151

12-10-2007, 11:07 AM

If Vodafone are carrying it, will it be instead of the current N95 that they carry ?

could'nt say really - someone suggested shops are not listing the Sim free 8Gb yet because it would hurt their current 95 1st generation sales...maybe vodaphone will have loads to "get rid of" first too...

Its all kind of specualtion I guess...

StuBFrost

12-10-2007, 11:16 AM

could'nt say really - someone suggested shops are not listing the Sim free 8Gb yet because it would hurt their current 95 1st generation sales...maybe vodaphone will have loads to "get rid of" first too...

Its all kind of specualtion I guess...

That would suggest that the sim free price is the same for both models then since if there was a price difference, they could be advertised as different models.

Mithent

12-10-2007, 12:28 PM

That makes me think.. are Nokia dropping the N95-1 when the 8GB comes out? I'm not sure whether it would make more economic sense to do that, or to continue to offer the N95-1 at a lower price. They'll probably just drop it once manufactured units run out.

How long do Nokia normally support devices with firmware updates?

GavinK151

12-10-2007, 12:33 PM

FYI: Just got am email back from a another shop (www.clove.co.uk) I had contacted with regard to the 8gb version and they came across as fairly confident they would have it in stock early November (SIM free of course)...

munkimatt

12-10-2007, 01:09 PM

i think November too. Considering there's final beta handsets going out now.

drwalker

12-10-2007, 04:15 PM

Not sure if it's a good idea to drop the original, but I would be more confident of that assessment if the 8gb version was in the exact same body.
Partly narked, but if this is all part and parcel of getting that new internet tablet right, I'm all for it. Yes, it's a bit big, but I can think of worse phones to park by your ear. The HTC Universal for one.

faza20

15-10-2007, 12:08 PM

Vodafone will be carrying them both for the short term, eventually phasing the original N95 out.

drwalker

15-10-2007, 03:24 PM

i think November too. Considering there's final beta handsets going out now.

As you've experienced the 8gb, Munkimatt, would you have any concerns about Nokia shipping them now when the beta testers don't appear to have had that much time with them?

munkimatt

15-10-2007, 05:24 PM

As you've experienced the 8gb, Munkimatt, would you have any concerns about Nokia shipping them now when the beta testers don't appear to have had that much time with them?

Hmmm, that's an interesting one. I'm suprised it's shipping now, but not concerned. One has to think they've learnt from the N95.

drwalker

15-10-2007, 06:28 PM

Not so sure that I'd want Spiderman 3 on it though. Liked the film when I saw it, but... Transformers would have been more appropriate - and how did Nokia get a Sony movie for their phone? Would have thought that Sony would keep that for their own products.

munkimatt

15-10-2007, 06:31 PM

I'm not arguing, I've not seen it yet. Stop spoiling my fun.

drwalker

15-10-2007, 07:14 PM

Well, the key problem that I have with 'offers' like this is that it takes up a huge chunk of your available memory, and may not be transferrable for storage on a pc. We're probably talking about at least 500mb used up before you even switch the phone on for the first time.
I hope Nokia have included the Theme editor on the phone this time, it was a slight ommission to leave it off the N95, since the wallpaper function is a bit poor to say the least.