Nokia N96 vs iPhone 3G

The Nokia N96 will be going against the Apple iPhone next month. The release date of N96 has been advanced -- it was only expected sometime past October. The N96 has all the right specs to go against the iPhone, which will be officially available on August 22nd.

First things first -- price? Well, the official price of the N96 is currently unknown. The N96 can be priced anywhere between Rs. 28,000 and Rs. 36,000, and the iPhone will sell for Rs. 31,000 for the 8GB version and Rs. 36,100, for the 16GB version. Although, as we note later in this piece, it would be wise for Nokia to price the N96 significantly less than the iPhone 3G -- it is, after all, Nokia's market share to lose.

On to the comparison then. While the iPhone includes a 3.5-inch screen, the N96 comes with a 2.8-inch one -- the iPhone's is a multi-touch screen, while the N96's isn't. The iPhone seems to enjoy a better footing as far as its user interface is concerned; especially with that 3.5-inch screen. In every other aspect however, the Nokia N96 seems to have an upper hand.

- The Nokia N96 has dedicated keys for dialing and SMS. The iPhone 3G comes with a virtual keyboard.

- Both devices will come with 16GB of internal memory. However, the N96 supports the microSD format which will allow for an additional 8GB of storage. The iPhone has no expansion slots.

- Both devices will support 3G.

- The N96 supports Bluetooth with A2DP, the iPhone does not offer A2DP support. Both phones offer WiFi.

- The N96 sports a 5MP Carl Zeiss lens with auto-focus and an LED flash. Compare this to the iPhone's 2MP camera. Both support photo geotagging.

- Both devices will support A-GPS. The N96 adds value to this feature by bundling maps from three countries along with the unit. India, Singapore and the UAE will come bundled with a 3 month navigation license across eight Indian cities: Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi/NCR, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Mumbai and Pune.

- N96 comes preloaded with Wave Secure, a S60 security application that allows consumers to track their handset in the event it is lost or stolen. It also allows them to backup their phone data over the Internet.

- Both devices support multimedia features and play videos and music. Here too, the N96 will add value to its proposition: it will come bundled with a full-length Hindi feature film -- Om Shanti Om, 50 music videos, and a mix of 100 Hindi and 100 English songs.

- The N96 will also pack along three N-Gage games, with an unlimited license on for the 3rd edition of Asphalt Urban.

- The N96 also comes with an additional VGA camera on its face for making video calls. Handy when we do get 3G connections.

- The iPhone has the App Store for third-party applications, while the N96 has the plethora of apps made for the Symbian S60.

If you are wondering which of these phones to pick up, we suggest waiting a bit until our labs does a thorough job of testing both of them. The iPhone's review should be ready for your perusal on the 22nd of August; the N96's not too long after that.

It's a shame that we have no official word on Nokia N96's price -- that would make a value comparison much easier at this stage. It looks like both parties are playing the price card very close to their chest.

Our take on the price equation: Nokia cannot afford to let the iPhone get the upper hand in the consumer market that both are targeting. While Nokia holds about 60% of the market in India, it will certainly need to guard against the Apple juggernaut. Note that the same retailers that pushed Nokia products will now be carrying the iPhone as well. Considering that, it would be wise if Nokia prices the N96 at a significantly lower point than the iPhone 3G.

Which one would you go for -- the iPhone 3G or the Nokia N96? You can book your Nokia N96 at www.nokia.co.in/N96. Note that you will need to pay a pre-order amount of Rs. 4,000. The N96 will be available come September.

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iPhone-India

How to buy an Apple iPhone in India ? What is the price of iPhone 3G in India? What is the exact date of launch? Will an unlocked iPhone you bought in US or UK work here?

Vodafone and Airtel will launch iPhone 3G model but does India have 3G? Read this quick iPhone FAQ Guide before you purchase an iPhone from Indian mobile phone dealers.

1. Is the Apple iPhone available in India – Yes but not through the official channel yet.

2. If iPhone is available where can I buy iPhone in India – The Apple phone is not available here officially but you can order it on eBay or buy it from some mobile shops in Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderbad, Mumbai, Chennai, etc.

Alternatively, some online underground sites are also selling unlocked iPhone in India but these unofficial iPhone suppliers in India do not share their contact address so be careful in case you run into shipping problems.

3. Will Indian iPhone work with the GSM SIM card of Airtel, Idea, BSNL or Vodafone? If you buy an old unlocked iPhone (not iPhone 3G), it will work with GSM networks here but but you cannot use the Visual Voicemail feature of iPhone. Also, iPhone is GSM based so it may not work with Tata Indicom or Reliance CDMA network.

4. Can I buy an unlocked iPhone in US and use it in India - Yes, any old iPhone bought in US (or UK or Canada) works in India - you can just buy a local SIM card in India and replace the AT&T SIM. Make sure you read the Apple policies as this may break the warranty.

5. I bought an iPhone in US and am traveling to India on a business trip. How can I save on iPhone international roaming charges while making phone calls in India - Do not use the AT&T call service, instead make phone call over VoIP using the Wi-Fi option of iPhone. You can use Jajah or even Skype to make cheap international calls over the Internet.

Related: Video: How to Unlock & Jailbreak iPhone

6. Is Apple not selling unlocked iPhone - Yes, they have launched an unlocked iPhone in France so no need to pay anyone for unlocking the iPhone.

7. What about Apple Store in India – iPhone will be sold only via Airtel and Vodafone stores. The Apple stores that you have in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Delhi, etc are greate for buying Macbooks, iPod, Apple TV and other Apple products but they won’t stock the iPhone 3G.

8. What is the price of iPhone in India – The unlocked 4GB iphone is around 20k while the 8GB unlocked iPhone costs around 30k. (includes shipping and taxes) The prices will fall once iPhone 3G arrives here this year and is expected to sell for Rs 10,000 – 12,000.

9. Should I wait for iPhone or invest in BlackBerry or Nokia N95 ? Read this comparison of smartphones - iPhone vs Blackberry, N95. Check these iPhone typing tutorials to see if you can type faster with the touch-screen keyboard. And this online size tool will help you compare the dimensions of iPhone with you existing mobile phone.

10. How do I buy an iPhone officially ? While you can’t buy that yet, pre-register iPhone with either Airtel or Vodafone.

11. What is the launch date of iPhone in India – Both Airtel and Vodafone will launch iPhone 3g on August 22, 2008.

12. I have an old iPhone v1.0 - should I upgrade to iPhone 3G ? While 3G means better data transfer speeds that GPRS / EDGE, you really can’t take advantage of the speed here in India because 3G isn’t available. Other than speed, the iPhone Apps store can be accessed from the old iPhone as well if you download and install the iPhone firmware upgrade via iTunes. Also see iPhone 3G Review.

iPhone is a quad-band GSM mobile phone so it will working internationally in countries outside the US though you’ll have to ask AT&T to turn on international roaming on the iPhone and that the places you’re going offer GSM coverage.

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Approximate Cost / Rate of Nokia Handsets in India (MRP)

8800 Rs.36399

E90 Communicator Rs.34900

N95 8GB Rs.30000


N93i Rs.26749

N95 Rs.24950

N81 8GB Rs.22500

9500 Rs.21566


N77 Rs.20000

9300i Rs.17274

E61i Rs.16969

E61 Rs.16000

N76 Rs.15895


N73 Music Edition Rs.15136

E65 Rs.14420

N73 Rs.14338

3250 Rs.13996

N80 Rs.13800


5700 Rs.11100

5310 Rs.10800

N70 Music Edition Rs.10319

N70 Rs.10319

E62 Rs.9487


7500 Prism Rs.9450

N72 Rs.9149

6300 Rs.8556

E50 Rs.8233

6233 Rs.7941


5300 Rs.7072

3230 Rs.6827

7610 Rs.6807

3500 Classic Rs.6400

3110 classic Rs.5800


5200 Rs.5653

6151 Rs.5500

6085 Rs.4716

2630 Rs.4450

2760 Rs.3960


6080 Rs.3949

5070 Rs.3713

6070 Rs.3552

6030 Rs.2577

2626 Rs.2531


2310 Rs.2220

1208 Rs.1900

1600 Rs.1800

1112 Rs.1630

1200 Rs.1480


1110i Rs.1396

1110 Rs.1390

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