Reviews of Nokia N81 8gb vs N95

The N81 8gb is one of the latest offerings from Nokia and also amongst the costlier series 60 phones. So before you invest your hard earned money in it read this:-

The device behaved like a three-year-old throwing a tantrum. Unless this is an especially buggy device, N81 has to be one of the worst Nokia phones I have ever used and would be loathe to recommend it to anyone.

It is underpowered and the Symbian S60 OS behaves like Windows ME. Remember that piece of junk? Well this is worse. It takes more than 10 seconds to open a text message. Switching between applications is akin to me running — out of breath. One has to constantly reboot the phone to even make phone calls.

Thats what Mr. Om Malik says in his review of N81 8gb

That was so discouraging for the latest multimedia device from Nokia which costs about 550$ (Rs 26000 in India) and runs on 369 MHZ ARM 11 proc. I doubt that it was a faulty piece or certain firmware issue with the device Mr. Om received.

A much more comprehensive review of the device is carried out at Gsmarena here.

And here is the verdict:-

Reviewing the Nokia N81 was fun, except for the short periods when it got on our nerves with its awkward D-pad. Having in mind that some of its disadvantages will be fixed, we think a strong and able Symbian device is joining up the ranks. A screen of this size is not so often seen, while its gaming powers add up to a really exciting gadget. There's no doubt however that the N81 is quite a niche product, even if it's not as outspokenly eccentric as its N-gage siblings. It's worth considering how many people will be tempted by the rich smartphone functionality and turned down by the excessively youthful image of the gaming-happy N81. The hefty price tag is no surprise but it may cause many to think twice before choosing a Nokia N81 over N95 for example. If you ask us, we'll definitely go for the N95, never mind its inadequate battery. Plus, the N81 is the game-centered device in the N-series, but many of its teammates are compatible with the N-gage games anyway.

Although not as harsh as Mr. Malik's review, even this one is not much encouraging. So then which phone should you go for ? N95 / N95 8gb?

The problem with N95 is poor battery life, poor slider, many firmware issues which were fixed in later releases. And lot of other problems which left the N95 user feel like guinea pigs. You can read the article here on my friend Avinash's blog.
The device currently costs around Rs 25000 in India.
So that now leaves you with Rs 35000 N95 8Gb. Should you go for it ?? wait till Mr. Om Malik reviews it ;-)