Apple iPhone vs Nokia N95

By Jeremy Roche on 26 June 2007

update The Apple iPhone 3G has finally landed in Australia. Check out our iPhone Launch Centre for everything iPhone, including news, features, photos, downloads and videos.

iPhone vs Nokia

Will Apple's iPhone reshape the mobile phone market? Are there better devices actually available already? We put the iPhone head-to-head with its competition to see how it stacks up.

Gadget aficionados will no doubt have heard that Apple is launching the iPhone, its first mobile phone, in the US on 29 June. Here in Australia, though, we'll have to wait until next year to get our grubby mitts on the sleek multimedia device. Apple recently published information comparing its hot little handset with the already available Nokia N95, Samsung BlackJack, Palm Treo 750 and the Blackberry Curve 8300.

Apple also recently upped the stated battery life of the iPhone from five to eight hours of talk time, 250 hours of standby, five hours of Internet browsing, seven hours of video playback and 24 hours of audio playback -- 10 hours longer than Apple's hard-disk based iPods.

Apple's iPhone Competitor Data Chart
Image credit: Apple

But why is the iPhone generating so much hype? It's just a phone after all, isn't it? While it does have an elegant design and attractive interface, what could be in this device that's revolutionary? We compare it side-by-side with the N95, the top-of-the line handset from the world's No. 1 phone maker, at the moment, Nokia. We've also colour coded our table to indicate in green which device's feature, in our opinion, comes out on top.

  Apple iPhone

Apple iPhone

Nokia N95

Nokia N95

Operating system Mac OS X Symbian S60
3G No Yes (HSDPA-enhanced)
Camera resolution 2 megapixels 5 megapixels
Browser Safari Nokia Web Browser with Mini map
E-mail Displays HTML-rich; Push IMAP (Yahoo); IMAP/POP3 POP3/SMTP/IMAP
Music player iTunes RealPlayer / Nokia Media Player
GPS No Yes
Touchscreen Yes (multi-touch sensors) No
Screen 8.9cm (320x480 pixels) 6.4cm (240x320 pixels)
Weight 136g 120g
Memory 4GB/8GB 160MB
Processor speed Unknown 330MHz
Expansion slot None microSD
Replaceable battery No Yes
MMS (for sending pictures and video) No Yes
IM (instant messaging) No Yes
Video calling No Yes
Video capture Unknown 640 x 480 (30 frames per second)
VoIP No Yes
YouTube Yes Yes
User can install 3rd-party apps No Yes
Accelerometer changes screen orientation when rotated Yes No*
Spell checker Yes No
Ambient light sensor (dims screen in low light) Yes Yes
Proximity sensor (turns screen off when put up to your ear) Yes No
Video output to TV No Yes
Visual voicemail Yes No
Threaded SMS Yes No
Browse music by album covers Yes No
Flickr integration No Yes
Supports stereo Bluetooth (A2DP) Unknown Yes
Locked to carrier Yes No
Availability 2008 Now
Price US$499 - 4GB, US$599 8GB (~AU$590, AU$708) - 2 year contract AU$1379 outright

* The Nokia N95 has an accelerometer built-in, which can be used for applications including Activity Monitor and MovingBall.

Both Nokia and Apple offer guided tours of their super-dooper devices on their respective Web sites.

We'd like to hear your thoughts on the iPhone versus the competition. Leave your comments below.

Topics: nokia, n95, mobile phone, iphone, apple, yes

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Comments (221)

  • elias greece commented on 04/11/2009 10:46 Report abuse

    just iphone ... appleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee....

  • macbobbloo commented on 02/11/2009 18:14 Report abuse

    N95 is the best dude!!!!

  • donkey commented on 26/10/2009 10:31 Report abuse

    N95 all the way baby!!!!!!!

  • Bhutanesedude commented on 11/10/2009 17:51 Report abuse

    I have been using Nokia N95 since last one year, and yeah, my Dad uses Iphone. I have come acrosss some experience that Nokia N95 is much user friendly. As ringtone setting, connecting to PC as modem, music transfer and more are easily handled in Nokia N95 unlike Iphone which works only with Itunes and sometimes Iphone driver gets crash and do not recognise the Phone. In view of using, Nokia N95, any one can use it, because it is made in such a way that we have been adopted whereas Iphone, it takes about 2 weeks to get used to and besides, the Apple gives usual updates on Phone which suddenly with lock it to the newer version. There are more but in short, for me Nokia N95 is better. One thing, we can't share any file over Bluetooth in iphone as we do in N95, the bluetooth in iphone is just for bluetooth headset.

  • georgia commented on 06/09/2009 15:56 Report abuse

    Im only 11 turning 12 in a few days and i reallly want an iphone one of my frends has the N97 and another has the iphone. I really like the look of the new N97 and i like the fact it mixes in touch screen and buttons and it is also smaller than the iphone. For me the Iphone is too big and it will really easily get stolen once word gets ouy so for me it is N97 all the way!

  • etha commented on 26/08/2009 11:12 Report abuse

    my mate tas says that the nokias better..... but i know coz hes retarded that the i-phone is alot better

  • Barry McLarry commented on 21/08/2009 21:01 Report abuse

    If your a Paris Hilton wannabe get the i-phone. If you want a phone that can do just about anything with the option to expand into something even more impressive get the nokia

  • Sach commented on 29/07/2009 00:28 Report abuse

    I believe that iPhone is 100 times better then anyother mobile....

  • Ozista commented on 28/06/2009 22:27 Report abuse

    "The iPhone generating so much hype" may also be due to Nokia's ignorance to customer care. I have lost about $60 since my GPS voice navigation ceased to work after half the subscription term. Nokia refuses to refund this amount.
    wbear_1@hotmail.com

  • Slim-s-z commented on 13/04/2009 04:14 Report abuse

    You forgot Wi-Fi Infrared and the ability to send file through bluetooth Also The n95 is microSDHC compatible so you can put up to 8GB memory card (32GB coming)You can use the accelerometer to rotate screen in The new version OS of the n95 plus the "MAC OS on the iphone isn't real and i am sure that S60 is better

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