It’s here, it’s finally here! Ok, calm down now, deep breath. That’s right, once again Mobiles.co.uk have managed to get hold of the Nokia N96 before it’s official launch next week and felt it was our duty to tell you all you need to know about the most eagerly anticipated phone of the year. So here it is, our take on Nokia’s biggest (not literally) mobile phone to date, the multimedia monster that is the N96…

On first picking up the N96, you do get an idea of the power that lurks within; the N96 is by no means a small phone. Coming in slightly larger than its predecessor the Nokia N95 and N95 8GB the N96 has been designed to use rather than to hide. When the slide is closed, the front is dominated by the large screen which is the best I’ve come across in a Nokia phone to date with crystal clear quality. Just below we find the usual range of navigational, short cut and call answer/end keys. On sliding open the phone the alpha numeric keypad is comfortable for even the biggest hands out there. The N96 also features the dual slide found in previous NSeries phones but has a nice fade in/out back light; when you first slide the phone the keys appear invisible and then slowly fade in to show the keys. On the back we find the 5.0 Megapixel camera and the excellent kick stand which props the phone up for viewing videos. So first impressions suggest the N96 is more about evolution than revolution and i have to say I’m with Nokia on that!

The phone, like any self respecting Nokia phone worth its salt, runs on the Symbian Series 60 platform. I won’t go into too much detail here (because let’s face it, chances are you know enough about Symbian already) but obviously this means you get a range of customisation options like adding shortcuts of your favourite applications to the home screen, moving folders in the menu and changing the themes and layout of the menu. Not to mention an array of third party applications that can be installed onto the phone, ranging from SatNav software to screen grabbing applications. Having been using the Nokia N82 for the past three months, I’m more than familiar with this operating system but I must concede that it does appear even quicker and more responsive than the N82. This is most apparent in the accelerometer that manages the screen rotation; there is hardly any lag at all between the screen catching up with the phone. Hey I’m a busy man; I don’t have time to wait those extra seconds!

When it comes to multimedia the N96 is ready for the job right out of the box thanks to a whopping 16GB of internal memory which is expandable even further with a MicroSD card (24GB phone anyone?). But this is merely the tip of the ice berg. The Music player on the N96 is very user friendly. You can select by Artist, Album, playlist or genre, there’s a link that takes you directly to the Nokia music store to download more tracks and an FM radio as well as support for podcasting. There is also similar support to be found for video in the video centre menu. You can access your own videos, download new content and there is also a shortcut to access your last viewed clip and continue playing from where you left off. Most interesting of all though (and only recently announced) is the support for BBC iplayer, the BBC’s online seven-day catch-up application meaning that you need never miss an episode of Dr Who again! And with that excellent large display, kick stand and stereo speakers that deliver the clearest and loudest audio experiences, the N96 is the perfect companion for commuters (or people who want to doss at work!).

The camera on the N96 is of the 5.0 Megapixel variety featuring a Carl Zeiss lens, autofocus, led flash and digital zoom. Further options include macro mode for close up images, a number of white balance/ contrast/ light exposure settings for the perfect user defined picture and a range of timer settings whereby you can set the phone to take a picture at set intervals, from every 10 seconds to every minute (think of the fun you could have making your own animations!). Though unfortunately timed when compared to the recently released 8.0 Megapixel power of the Samsung i8510, the Nokia N96 is still a capable digital imaging device capturing images that display real clarity and depth (see sample image below). Video capture is also competent capturing in VGA resolution at 30 fps and equipped with advance features such as image stabilisation which limits distortion when capturing those magic moments.

The N96 is an HSDPA mobile phone meaning that web browsing is handled with incredible speed which will rival your home broadband. Wi-Fi is also included for an extra boost and also enables you to avoid hefty data charges. The browser gives you a screen shot and zoomed in page and then as you scroll, a transparent pop-up of the full page shows you where you are. The other more obvious additions include Bluetooth v2.0 with wireless stereo headset compatibility, GPS receiver with support for the Nokia maps application which is pre-installed on the phone, 3.5mm audio output jack meaning you can use your own headphones rather than being tied to Nokia or having to use an adaptor and last but by no means least, the N96 is a quad-band phone with dual-band HSDPA support for worldwide coverage.

Now sceptics out there will be questioning whether the N96 is enough of an advancement from the N95 to warrant the upgrade. And while it would have been nice to see the camera upgraded in light of the recent and impending releases of 8.0 Megapixel camera phones from Nokia’s main rivals, in truth the N95 camera is still a cracking performer and so it is difficult to penalise the N96 for having, what is still one of the best cameras on the mobile phone market. And when you are listening to 16GB’s worth of music on your way in to work, catching up on last week’s telly or simply whiling away the afternoon with the N-gage compatibility and its numerous games, it all starts to click. There is no one stand-out feature that makes the N96 worth the wait, rather it’s the little things that all build up and you start to realise that the N96 is much more than the sum of its parts.

So, in answer to the question “does the N96 live up to its hype?” the answer is a resounding yes. And then some! Nokia have taken the best features of their current line up, added a dash of brilliance with a sprinkle of innovation and delivered the phone that all future multimedia devices, mobile phone or otherwise, will be judged against. Nokia, we salute you!

The Nokia N96 is now available to order with stock available for delivery on Wednesday 1st of October. Click here to view available offers and ensure you’re one of the first to get your hands on one!