It’s no secret that the N96 is better than the N95 or the N95 8GB. When it comes to the N82 the story gets a little bit more difficult as in some areas it’s better, while in others it’s not. Getting the latest and greatest is everyone’s wish, but with the release of the N96 it might be a smart time to buy the older N95 8GB or the N82 as the bigger brother pushes the price of the other two to even lower levels. After comparing the devices there’s a lot in common, but there are a few key differences that may or may not be as important to you which will allow you to answer questions like: should I upgrade to the N96? What features do I sacrifice when getting the soon-to-be-cheaper N95 8GB and N82? Let’s start by comparing the sizes. As always Sizeasy to the rescue! The N96 seems to be about the same size as the N95 8GB, just slightly longer but thinner. I’ve also added the newly released N78 and as you can see its dimensions closely resemble those of the N82, so holding a N82 in your hand should give you quite an accurate idea about the N78.

After comparing the dimension let’s start with the obvious: I know some of you only want sliders, while others swear by monoblocks (candy bar). If you exclusively want a slider, you have the choice of either the N95 8GB or the N96. Choosing one over the other depends mostly if you are willing to give up on some features while saving a bit on the price. If you’re more of the candy bar type the N82 is currently the only high-end Nseries in the monoblock shape (N78 is considered mainstream)

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Now that we have the basic covered let’s take a look at the major differences.

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Screen:  When it comes to the screen both the N95 8GB and N96 have the same screen resolution and the same 2.8” screen. The N82 scores much lower with a less video-friendly 2.4” screen, although you do get a much slimmer device. If you have a N95 8GB nothing has changed in this area.

Storage: When talking about storage, big and I do mean big improvements have been made to the N96 leaving both the N82 and N95 8GB far behind.  The N95 8GB is pretty much stuck with its 8GB, the N82 is quite future-proof with its support for microSDHC which has a theoretical limit of 32GB, with 12GB cards coming out pretty soon. The N96 on the other comes right out of the box with 16GB but adds the ability to accept microSDHC cards, again with 32 GB limits. The N96 has the potential of having 48GB max of storage.

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Dedicated Music controls: Being the smartphones that they are, the N95 8GB, N96 and the N82 are capable of multi-tasking. This means that you could be playing your favorite tune or podcast in the background while performing other tasks. Lacking music keys means that you have to “minimize” what you’re doing  to control your music. The N95 8GB’s dedicated muisc keys allows you to controls your music while performing other tasks like playing N-Gage games. The N96 dare I say has too many music keys? In this case more is better. The N82 lacks any music keys.

Camera flash: Several test done here at the Nokia Guide have proven that when it comes to photography the N82’s Xenon flash will beat the N95 8GB’s LED flash with ease. The N96’s dual LED lights won’t be much better as Xenon is much better. But potential buyers might consider that the N96 has video light for video recording.

Camera cover: The N82 has in fact 2 lens covers: the external on that opens to activate the camera and a clear cover just in front of the lens. The N95 8GB only has the clear cover. If you scratch the N95 8GB’s clear cover you won’t damage the lens, but these scratches will directly affect the images. Same story when it comes to the N96.

Camera Quality: Test done here at The Nokia Guide again reveals that the N82 win hands down. It still remains to be seen how the N96 does compared to the N82. One might argue that considering that it’s a “video focused device” both when it comes playback and recording (as indicated by the dual LED lights instead of Xenon and the addition of video light) it a pretty safe bet that the N82 will still have the upper hand. It will probably end up right between the existing two models. But we’ll leave a conclusion when I get my hands on a final sample.

Irda port: Many people use the good ol’ Irda port; it’s still very popular among businessmen, so why remove such a feature? The Irda port might be a bit dated, but there are many uses for this trusty old port like Psiloc’s Total irRemote. The N82 and N96 lack it, while the N95 8GB is still pushing forward with IRDA.

Kickstand: What happens when you combine a mobile phone and a picture frame? An idea suggested here at the Nokia Guide has made it into the N96. The N82 can’t even stand on its side unless you have a hard and even surface and you use the memory card slot trick. The N95 8GB can stand on its side if you have a hard and even surface. Back are the N93 and N93i days where you can set your device just about anywhere and enjoy your mobile video with the N96.

Music (3.5mm jack): The N82 again win hands down when it comes to using earphones and the 3.5mm. The N81 and N91 are considered the best in this category, so it’s interesting to hear that the same folks that worked on the N82’s audio quality have worked on the N96 which should make it better than the N95 8GB and the N82, but this remains to be seen.

Music (speakers ): The N95 8GB fights back by beating the N82’s speakers with much louder and clear sound. The N96’s side mounted speakers remind me of those on the N82, which might indicate that the N95 8GB is still king in this area. Another area that remains to be seen once a final version of the N96 arrivea.

Hold key: One of the features I iked about the N81 is back with the N96

Naviwheel: Another feature introduced with the N81 is back on the N96

It doesn’t make any sense to declare one of these devices the overall winner as potential buyers have different priorities and on some of these features a final conclusion can only be reached once I can get my hands on a final production version of the N96. Are you upgrading or are you sticking with either the N95 8GB or N82?