Device Arena

Devin Balentina over at the Nokia Guide spotted it first, on the download page of the mobile Nseries site. Looks like someone at Nokia let the cat out of the bag on the US 3G version of the N95 8GB. It was all speculation until I hopped on HoFo today to find this thread, linking me to MobileCityOnline’s pre-order site for this new behemoth. At $799.99, it’s not cheap, but you get pretty much all you can eat of any feature currently on a mobile. 8GB of internal memory, the same 5 megapixel shooter with autofocus and a Carl Zeiss lens, WiFi, GPS, and a 3.5mm audio jack to top it all off. This version also apparently includes HSDPA on the 850/1900MHz frequencies, which is what AT&T uses here in the States.

Personally, I have alot of issues with this….

First, the N95 8GB isn’t all that. Sure it’s got a slightly larger screen, and you don’t have to bother buying a separate 8GB MicroSD card, but the data transfer speeds are painfully slow. Like, USB 1.0 slow. With the N95-3 available shipped for around $555, and 8GB MicroSD cards running ~$85 shipped, you’re MUCH better off with that setup, and it’s about $160 cheaper, too.

I also hate that Nokia didn’t tell anyone about this. Does anyone remember back when Nokia still made tri-band GSM handsets? Remember how there was an “a” and a “b” version? Remember also how, when they announced a phone, they would say, “The European version will be out in one month, with the U.S. version following 4 months later” or something like that? They at least had the courtesy of letting the U.S. know that they were coming out with the U.S. model eventually? Why are they not doing that with these US 3G handsets? Nokia - we’re over the fact that you make us wait a few months. Really we are. But please, just let us know to wait, so that we don’t have to buy the Euro version and then Ebay it when you finally let us know about the U.S. version.

However, I *AM* excited about the N95 8GB NAM for one reason - it means that the N95 NAM (N95-3) did either as good as they’d hoped, or better. That means that the upper brass, those that make decisions like this, are getting serious about bringing us US 3G S60 handsets, and that they sell good enough unbranded to justify the extra costs. I’m a huge fan of that, and honestly, I want to give props to Nokia for doing such a great job with the N95-3, and props to the S60 community here in the U.S. for putting your money where your mouth is and actually buying the device that they brought us. I’m looking forward to MORE US 3G S60 devices, and a continuance of doing it without the carriers.

Symbian Guru