iPhone

Apple iPhone vs Nokia N96

By Jeremy Roche and Joseph Hanlon on 03 March 2008

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.

Aussies love a good stoush, and from the response to our previous Apple/Nokia face-off, the battle for Australian mobile supremacy is far from decided.

Apple recently announced that the 4GB and 8GB versions of the iPhone, released in the US and Europe, would be superseded by 8GB and 16GB models. Not to be outdone, Nokia hits back with 16GB of storage in the N96, and MicroSD expansion that will support up to 8GB. If Apple put a 3G chipset in the iPhone before releasing it in Australia we'll have a real fight on our hands.

That's not to say the N96 is a clear front-runner, and it's not just a matter of style over substance. The iPhone's 620MHz processing speed is significantly faster than most smartphones on the market to date, and is nearly twice as fast as the N95's 330Mhz. Also, the N95 had terrible battery life, and while we're hoping this improves in the newer model, we won't be holding our breath.

  Apple iPhone

Apple iPhone

 Nokia N96

Nokia N96
Operating system Mac OS X Symbian S60 3rd Edition
3G No Yes (HSDPA-enhanced)
Camera resolution 2 megapixels 5 megapixels
Camera flash No Dual LED flash
Browser Safari Nokia Web Browser
E-mail Displays HTML-rich; Push IMAP (Yahoo); IMAP/POP3 POP3/SMTP/IMAP
Music player iTunes RealPlayer / Nokia Media Player
DVB-H (Mobile TV) No Yes
GPS No Yes
Maps Google Maps Nokia Maps 2.0
Touchscreen Yes (multi-touch sensors) No
Screen 8.9cm (320x480 pixels) 7.2cm (240x320 pixels)
Weight 136g 125g
Memory 8GB/16GB 16GB
Processor speed 620MHz Unknown
Expansion slot None microSD
Replaceable battery No Yes
Battery - talk time 8 hours 2.5 hours
Battery - audio playback 24 hours 14 hours
MMS (for sending pictures and video) No Yes
IM (instant messaging) No Yes
Video calling No Yes
Video capture No 640 x 480 (30 frames per second)
VoIP No Yes
YouTube Yes Yes
User can install 3rd-party apps Not yet Yes
Accelerometer changes screen orientation when rotated Yes Yes
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
Threaded SMS Yes No
Flickr integration No Yes
Supports stereo Bluetooth (A2DP) No Yes
Locked to carrier Yes No
Price US$399 - 8GB, US$499 8GB (~AU$430, AU$590) - 2 year contract Unknown - N95 originally AU$1379 outright

The details for both phones, particularly their prices, may change before we see them in stores.

We'd love to say that we're doing this comparison because Apple have announced a date to release the iPhone in Australia, but as you probably know, Apple is playing its cards very close to its chest. Thankfully, Nokia have been a little more forthcoming, and we're still expecting a release of the N96 in Q3 of this year.

We'd like to hear your thoughts on the iPhone versus the competition. Leave your comments below or jump on the forums and let us know what you think.

Topics: apple, iphone, mobile phone, n96, nokia, yes

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Comments (50)

  • Rozza commented on 27/06/2009 02:13 Report abuse

    I have the Apple iPhone 3G and that has 3G (Obviously) and GPS, it has a 3 megapixel camera, I have an app for IM and VoIP and I can connect my iPhone to my TV. But the down side of my iPhone is that it cost me $800 I've used the N95, it was pretty impressive, I hope to use the N96 and possible buy it to replace my iPhone as I broke it yesterday :p

  • mike commented on 23/06/2009 06:05 Report abuse

    Hehe, everything designed by apple is better than Nokia phones: http://www.officeanimals.com/2009/06/19/apple-stone-compared-to-nokia-phones/ :D :D

  • rikkie commented on 12/06/2009 18:59 Report abuse

    i like n96 than the iphone.it has very good features.the best thing is the battery replacement which is not in iphone. Very nice , keep up the work

  • Frank commented on 28/05/2009 22:35 Report abuse

    iPhone 3g is better than the n96 this comparison is iPhone 2g vs the n **** the nokia man it sucks very much

  • dissapointed nokia commented on 26/05/2009 22:21 Report abuse

    just to let as many know as possible nokia do not stand by there product. i recently purchased n96

  • mevil commented on 25/04/2009 16:15 Report abuse

    Nokia n96 is the best!!!!

  • vinnie commented on 16/04/2009 21:38 Report abuse

    n96 rocks ****,iphone is pants

  • Maxlove commented on 20/02/2009 03:31 Report abuse

    Although the Iphone looks pretty, the Nokia N95-N96 range is far superior in capability. N series = more functionality. Since it's just a proto type it will be good to see what Nokia come up with. Like the 95& N96 - N97 has an amazing video capture. Iphone = No vid capture, no DVB-H mobile TV, heavy in weight, no memory expansion slot, no replaceable battery, no MMS, no instant messaging, no VOip, Output to Tv? No stereo blue tooth support, no Flickr support, music file format is very limited, i.e. ITunes!

  • iphone commented on 27/01/2009 16:04 Report abuse

    when it comes down to it...iphone's battery allows you to talk for 8 hours compared to 2.5 hrs on n96...common who wants to keep charging their phone

  • domirm commented on 09/12/2008 17:00 Report abuse

    I own the nokia n95 & n95 8gb and I just got the n96 and let me tell you I never have a dead battery I charge my battery for less then an hour and it is good to go. if you think you need more power then just get a extra battery on ebay for less then $ 5.00 NOKIA IS # 1 forget that what you call it that's right LOCO PHONE

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