The Nokia N95 8GB, N82 and N96 are all very similar to each other. It’s almost like they are the same phone packed into different shells. So feature-wise how are they different from each other? In my previous post, I mentioned that the main highlight of the N96 is its new DVB-H receiver capabilities and 16GB of internal flash memory.
It’s no longer just a rumour. The Nokia N96 has just been officially announced. You can read more about the product specs from the Nseries website. In a nutshell, the Nokia N96 has more of less the same features as the N95 8GB and N82, but in a slightly bigger version of the N81 shell. It’s a 2-way slider, it’s camera is still 5 megapixels, but it has a built-in DVB-H receiver (yes digital broadcast TV), and a massive 16GB of internal memory which is expandable to 32GB with a microSD card. It does look like a worthy successor to the N95 8GB, and it is expected to be available in Q3 2008. I will do a comparison review between the N95 8GB, N82 and the N96 later. Meanwhile, you can read MobileGazette’s review.
My blog has quite unexpectedly become a frequently referenced source of Nokia N82 information. There has been a recent fury of traffic hitting my blog, and after checking the access logs, they appear to have been the result of search visitors sent from Yahoo Singapore. How odd, since I don’t have an N82. I have an N95 8GB, but the N95 8GB content doesn’t seem to have attracted any search traffic. I don’t suppose the Internet is lacking N82 information so much that this blog stands out? 
Anyway for interest of those seeking N82 information, just check out the N82 tags and my N95 page also does lists some N82 resources.
No, unfortunately, I don’t think the Nokia N82 stands out after all. Although just simply based on technical specifications the N82 seems like a worthy challenger to Nokia’s premium N95 8GB, it’s a different story once you start comparing usability features. Of course, usability is a subjective matter, so let’s agree to disagree if you disagree with me, alright?
Nokia is reviving their N-Gage gaming platform. This time, the N-Gage takes the form of a software application that is installed in compatible Nseries phones. Recent phones such as the Nokia N81 8GB, N82, and N95 8GB already come with a preview N-Gage application pre-installed. The actual release was originally promised in November, but was later postponed to December.
The Nokia N82 is in the stores in Singapore now! Just started to see advertisements in the papers yesterday. A quick check at singtelshop.com shows that the N82 retails at $698 (2 year contract), just slightly more than the N95 8GB at $688 (2 year contract). Given that the launch price is usually a premium, we should expect that the N82 price will drop somewhat in a few weeks. The N95 8GB launched at $798 a month ago has dropped over $100. The non-contract prices for N95 8GB and N82 are $1168 and $998 respectively. It seems like the N82 is not exactly positioned as “higher end” than the N95 8GB.
How does the N82 compare with the N95 8GB? Both are fantastic phones. The N95 8GB is basically an improved version of the original N95. The N82, on the other hand, is rather interesting: It takes the functions of the N95 (including some of the improvements in the N95 8GB) and put them into the form factor of the N73 candy bar phone.
Both phones were released recently, the N82 came closely after the N95 8GB. I was actually eyeing the N82, but ended up with the N95 8GB in part because I thought the N82 wouldn’t arrive so soon (I think it still hasn’t hit the stores in Singapore yet).
I have heard about the rumoured N82 some time ago from various sources. The speculation was that it would be available next year. Well, it seems Nokia is in the season to push out tons of new Nseries models lately. First the N81 8GB, the N95 8GB, and now we have the N82.
I was originally eyeing the N82. Why? Because I wanted everything in the N95, and the N82 has everything the N95 has, except that it had an N73 form factor. Cool. Everything you’d want in a compact candy bar phone.
You can check out the N82 at www.nseries.com, a review from gsmarena, and some high resolution images from Nokia.
I think we had 11 oysters each, from The Line restaurant at Shangri-la Hotel. It's a big buffet with plenty of food.
Lunch at Lerk Thai some weekends ago.
