Nokia has launched its much awaited Nokia N96 handsets in India today and the sudden launch was least anticipated by many. Nokia had to do the UK launch in October and it seems like they changed the schedule and plan to counteract against the Apple iPhone which is going to be launched in India after three days.
iPhone is poised to be targeted to the high end Indian customers and its price is not known yet. It is being expected that iPhone will be retailed at Rs 31,000 for 8GB and Rs 35,000-37,000 for the 16GB model. However Nokia N96 is going to be retailed at Rs 35,000 so there is a direct competition between the two handsets and Nokia probably didn’t wanted to let iPhone eat the cake alone by its one and a half month late launch.
Nokia is a clear market leader in the Indian mobile market and commands a hefty 60 % market share but the hoopla that has been generated by the Apple iPhone is causing Nokia to make some quick adjustments. 3G is not yet available in India and a lot of iPhone features demand decent web connectivity which makes Nokia N96 a shade better than the iPhone in the Indian market.
We have done a review for Nokia n96 which you can read here.
Popularity: 1%
August 21st, 2008 at 10:01 am
ha ha
i guess iphone ain’t that great
it can’t do zillion number of things and yet it can give goosebumps to N96!!!!
5 mp cam vs. 2 mp on iphone
24 gb expandable memory vs. 16 gb in built memory without any external slot
advanced utility tools like adding multimedia content from gallery in your message and send it as a MMS vs. iphone - NO SMS FORWARDING!
A2DP support vs. no support on iphone
These are just few examples.
Did i miss something!!!!!!!!!!
August 21st, 2008 at 12:30 pm
@mansi thanks for your comment, we do know the limitations of iPhone and it certainly leaves a lot to desire if we compare it against the specifications of nokia n96. However iPhone is a clear winner if we talk about the user experience, the quality and quantity of supported mobile applications and the ipod.
It should also be noted that the true potential of an iPhone can only be realized once we have decent internet connectivity (say 3G). Till then Nokia N96 is the way to go especially if you live in India or any other country where 3G is not yet available.
I also believe that the overlap between the prospective Nokia n96 and iPhone buyers is very little because each phone has its own merits and demerits. Real geeks will go for an iPhone while the normal users would prefer Nokia. Nokia also commands a better brand value when it comes to mobile phones while Apple is quite a noob.
Other than that, It should also be taken into consideration that specs however never reveal the real thing. The camera quality is mainly dependent on the quality of lens rather than megapixels. The pictures taken from 3 megapixel Sony Ericsson camera phone is at par with that of taken with Nokia 5 megapixel camera phone and that is because of the superior lens quality of Cybershot range of Sony Ericsson phones. So if your priority is to have a good camera phone then go for Sony Ericsson rather than iPhone or N96.
I don’t think an average user can ever be able to use all the 24 GB of Nokia N96 (memory card included). Only the most adventuresome will consume all that storage capacity and the probability of that individual to be a computer phreak or geek is strong.
SMS forwarding is probably the most popular past time of school and college kids but again its not something that many geeks enjoy, people who will eventually buy an iPhone.
It makes more sense to go for Nokia n96 (esp if you are an Indian) than to go buy an iphone which is insanely priced.
October 26th, 2008 at 6:58 am
hey sushantu,I cud not help but agree with much of the stuff u wrote…but what’s tis Indian stuff…u r talking as if u cm from some other planet …an alien r u???u need not tell us what suits us…or maybe u said that for urself,right dude?iPhone rocks …it does not have some basic features but then just go for some cheap hanset if u want to have stuff like message forwarding and else…it’s cool and uncomparable….the last iPhone killer just hanged itself or jumped from a rooftop….only one phone can beat the iPhone and it’s iPhone 3g…apple has added few xtra features here and there but one thing it lacks is flash player and considering apple and abode are not on the same page ,it’s not coming in the near future ….and it’s gps is not satisfying….and to break the myth ,u can do all the stuff u want without the 3g as well …just with edge(which is available in India ) it’s a little slower…