Nokia N96

The basics

This multimedia phone from Nokia has a 2.8-inch display. There’s 16GB of internal memory for file storage, as well as an expandable memory card slot. A five-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics is also included, as well as a camcorder function, integrated A-GPS and Nokia maps, and an accelerometer. It measures 103x55x18mm and weighs 125g.

The good

Forget listing what the N96 has, it’s easier to say what it hasn’t got: a touchscreen and a kitchen sink. There isn’t another handset on the market that can match it for sheer power and specification. Highlights are the built-in iPlayer app for streaming and downloading shows (plus a DVB-H tuner for watching mobile telly abroad), and a first-class N-gage mode that boasts increasingly awesome games. The GPS comes with free Nokia Maps worldwide, the camera is decent (though lacks a real flash) and a hefty 16GB of memory means you won’t to fiddle with the annoying microSD card flap too often.

The bad

With great power comes great awkwardness. The N96 blunders sluggishly between modes and suffers from a build quality that doesn’t even suggest Nokia’s pickiness, let alone N-series swank. HSDPA browsing is fast but not entirely seamless, despite the neat zooming features.

The bottom line

Nokia has shovelled in functions at the expense of usability so much that we're surprised Apple doesn’t run, “I’m an N96, I’m an iPhone” ads. It’s the cutting-edge of mobile tech, for sure, but does it have to feel like quite such hard work?