Nokia N95 Cell Phone Review - Organizer

Alfredo Padilla
Published on May 08, 2007 Comment on this

Synchronization Ease of Use (6.67)
The Nokia N95 ships with Nokia PC Suite software for synchronization. This software is simple to install and connections to the device are quick and easy via USB or Bluetooth. You can manage not only your PIM synchronization with Outlook from PC Suite, but also synchronize media like photos, music and video. On a Mac you can synchronize PIM information using the Mac's iSync utility, however only via bluetooth, not USB.

PC Suite allows you to synchronize you calendar, contacts, notes and tasks with Outlook. Contact photos are synchronized over as well. Synchronization is supported via USB or Bluetooth. On the Mac you can synchronize via /Bluetooth only with iSync. PC Suite allows you to synchronize information with Outlook on a PC via USB or Bluetooth. It also works with Lotus Notes, but does not work with Eudora. As we have mentioned, on a Mac Bluetooth synchronization via iSync is supported.

Alerts (5.0)
As with all Series 60 devices the N95 allows you to create PIM alerts for calendar appointments and tasks. You can set the alert to go off at any time that you wish, a nice feature that most phones don't support. Unfortunately you can't choose the sound the alert will use. When an alert goes off the screen flashes and you will see an indicator on screen with the item name and time. You can dismiss the item or snooze it. If you choose snooze it will sound again in five minutes. An alert will sound for 1 minute and then automatically snooze itself.

Over the Air PIM Sync (0.0)
Over the air synchronization of your personal information is not supported by the Nokia N95 out of the box. You may be able to install software meant for Nokia's E-Series lineup that adds this functionality via Blackberry or Exchange server, however we only score phones on software that is pre-installed.

Personal information Management Cross Connections (2.0)
The Nokia N95 offers few cross connections between PIM applications. In the calendar you see both your tasks and calendar appointments on the day they are due. There is no support however for integration of contacts into calendar appointments or tasks. This is the same as other Series 60 phones like the N73.

Address Book

Adding Contacts (3.93)

To test how easy it is to add contacts we time how long it takes to go from the home screen when unlocked until a new contact's name and phone number has been entered. We repeat this for five different contacts with diverse names and take the average for our score. The Nokia N95 took an average of 25.42 seconds to complete this process. This is slightly slower than the Nokia N73, which took 23.1 seconds, and significantly slower than smart phones with QWERTY keyboards like the Treo 700p (17.7 seconds). The Nokia N95 is slowed down by the fact that you need to expose the slide out keyboard before you can begin entering names and phone numbers.

Looking/Sorting/Search (3.5)
As is standard with Series 60 phones the Nokia N95 allows you to view your contacts by first name, last name or group. You can search through your contacts using multi-tap, but no predictive search as found on many Windows Mobile devices.

Fields (13.6)

As with all Series 60 devices the Nokia N95 provides you with a limited number of fields, but has the ability to insert up to 43 additional fields from the menu. The newer version of Series 60 that the N95 runs provides 12 basic fields and 43 additional fields, as compared to the N73's 10 basic fields and 32 additional fields. You also have the ability to edit any of your fields to edit field names to whatever you wish. You can also add a photo, ringtone and assign a contact to a group. We were very pleased to see the array of fields and the flexibility the N95 provides. Except for the absence of a notes field it is better than what Windows Mobile phones offer.

Speed Dial/Voice tags/Voice command (4.33)
As with other Series 60 phones the N95 allows you to assign a contact to one of 8 speed dials. This is disappointing considering that even regular phones often offer up to 99 different speed dial slots. The N95 includes the standard Series 60 voice recognition software and did slightly better than the N73 by recognizing three of our five test contacts. This is still sub par and exacerbates the fact that you can't program your own voice tags.

Calendar

Adding Calendar Items (5.36)

To test how easy it is to add a calendar appointment we time how long it takes to add a simple lunch appointment from the home screen with the phone unlocked and a reminder 15 minutes beforehand. We repeat this test five times and then take the average for our score. The Nokia N95 took 18.64 seconds to add this calendar appointment. This is about the same as the N73, which took 18.96 seconds, and is significantly slower than smart phones like the Treo 750 (6.76 seconds). The N95 is also slightly slower than the Sanyo M1, a regular phone that took 16 seconds to add a new appointment. The N95 was hurt in this test by the fact that the keypad needs to be slid out to enter text, and the fact that the keypad is prone to errors.

Calendar Views (4.22)

The calendar views on the Nokia N95 are the same as those on any Series 60 device. There is a month view that shows 6 weeks at a time with a small triangle in the bottom left hand corner of dates that have appointments. When you highlight such a date the appointments appear in a tool tip at the top of the screen. The week view is a grid with days along the top and time in one hour blocks along the left. Appointments are indicated with a bar during their scheduled times. As with the monthly view a tool tip appears when you select one showing you details such as time and name.

The daily view shows a simple chronological list of the day's appointments. Start and end times are shown, along with title and indicators for things like alarms and recurrence. There are no options to filter your appointments in any of the views. We were generally pleased with the views, especially the detailed tool tip that make the monthly and weekly views much more useful. We were disappointed by the inability to filter you views, this is related to the fact that the Series 60 calendar does not support categories.

Fields (6.0)
When creating a new calendar appointment on the Nokia N95 you can fill in title, start and end times and location. We were pleased to see features like recurrence and the ability to set an alarm for any time we want. We were disappointed that there was no support for categories, notes or all day appointments, all of which are supported by Windows Mobile devices. We were also disappointed at the recurrence options as you are not able to customize recurrence, instead you are limited to one of five preset options. Missing were options for weekdays and weekends.

ToDo/Tasks

Adding ToDo/Task (8.08)

To test how easy it is to add tasks we time how long it takes to start at the home screen with the phone closed and then add a simple task reminding us to pick up groceries. We repeat this test five times and then take the average for our score. The N95 took an average of 12.38 seconds to add a new task. This is slightly faster than the N73's 13.16 seconds and easily beats out the Treo 750's 16.9 seconds or the Sanyo M1's 18 seconds.

ToDo/Task Sorting and Prioritizing (3.5)
As with all Series 60 devices the Nokia N95 has a tasks view built into its calendar application. You can prioritize your tasks, however you cannot sort them by priority; instead you are stuck with the simple chronological list. You cannot filter your tasks either as Series 60 does not support categories.

Fields (5.0)
When creating a new task on the Nokia N95 you can enter a title, due date, priority and alarm. The alarm can be set for any time and date that you choose, which is a nice feature. More advanced fields like categories and recurrence are missing, which is a shame as we would consider the N95 an advanced device.

Notes

Adding Notes (2.82)
To test how easy it is to add a note we start at the home screen with the phone unlocked and time how long it takes to add a note reminding us about lunch tomorrow. We repeat this test five times and take the average for our score. The Nokia N95 took an average of 17.7 seconds to add our sample note. This is slower than the N73's 15.12 seconds, which we attributed to the additional time it takes to open the slide and get our bearings on the keypad. It is much faster than the Sprint Upstages, which took 29.72 seconds, but slower than the Treo 750's 11.65 seconds.

Note Interface (2.0)
The notes application on the N95 is the same one that is found on all Series 60 devices. The right soft key is assigned to exit, while the left soft key opens an options menu that allows you to manage your notes. Notes are organized in a simple list with the newest note at the top of the list. You see the first 15 characters of the note's text in this list. There are no options to categorize, filter or search through your notes.

Note Formatting (0.0)
As with other Series 60 devices the Nokia N95 offers not options to format your notes. This includes changing the font, size, color or adding hand drawn items to the note.

Voice Memo (3.0)
The Nokia N95's voice memo program is found in the Office folder. It is the same as that found on other Series 60 devices, meaning that you are limited to 1 minute in length and you need to switch to the gallery via the left soft key menu to manage older notes. You can change the name and delete the last voice note recorded. You can also send it via MMS, Bluetooth, infrared or upload it to the web. The voice notes application is very simple and no better than what you would find on many regular phones.

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