The Nokia N96 is set to be THE handset for 2008.

The previous flagship Nokia N95/N95 8GB were both superb mobile phones but the N96 ups the ante ever further - much to the frustration of Nokia's rivals we imagine!

Normally we'd get straight in there and tell you about what new features it's got etc - but with the N96 we're not. Why? Well because the N96 is not only clever on the inside, it's clever on the outside too.

First of all, both the look & feel are a world away from the looks and quality of the previous models. The N96 oozes quality from every angle. Whether it's from the huge 2.8" display or the unique "double-sliding" movement. Slide it upwards to reveal the numeric keypad - slide it downwards to reveal media control keys – now that’s cool! Another unique touch to the N96 is the inclusion of a desk stand built into the back of the handset. The intention for this being that because the N96 has such a huge memory (16GB which is expandable to 32MB) it is more than capable of playing video for hours and it’s capable of broadcasting TV as it has an inbuilt DVB-H receiver. All very clever but simple straightforward thinking we reckon. Nokia mobile phones have never been this good!

The camera is as with the previous N95, a 5 megapixel affair with Carl Zeiss optics making a considerable difference to the quality of images/video - more so than just megapixels alone. Auto focus, auto exposure, dual-LED camera flash, video light, recording indicator, auto-focus assist light are all featured - more than enough for even the most avid camera enthusiast we think!

Being a multimedia leviathan, the Nokia N96 is equipped to the hilt on every score. All the usual audio visual file formats are supported, along with full Flash, Web browser, FM radio, 3G, GPRS, EDGE, WLAN, Bluetooth & Wi-Fi - Phew!

The N96 also has Nokia maps and navigation facilities. The built-in GPS receiver lets you know exactly where you are. Free downloadable maps of over 150 countries, millions of locations, location details and satellite imagery are available from Nokia.

Nokia N96 in depth

Data & Connectivity

• USB
• GPRS
• Email
• Wi-Fi
• Nokia PC Suite connectivity
• Bluetooth
• Infrared

Entertainment

• FM radio
• MP3 Player
• Playlist editing

Display & User Interface

• 2.8 inch display screen
• LCD TFT display
• Up to 16 million colours

Camera

• 5.0-megapixel camera
• Car Zeiss Optics
• Autofocus
• Focal Length: 5.2mm
• Dual-LED camera flash
• Auto-exposure
• Flash Lite 3.0
• Video Center
• Secondary Camera
• My videos facility
• Photocall

Other Nokia N96 Features

• Video dial/memo
• Predictive Text
• Monophonic ringtones
• SMS
• MMS
• Dedicated Media Keys
• Polyphonic ringtones
• Broadcast Television
• Java
• WAP 2.0
• Podcast
• Vibrate
• RSS feeds
• Organiser
• True Tones
• Push-to-talk
• MP3 ringtones