Why would anyone want that?

...That's what I used to ask a few years ago, when discussing phones that could take photos, or play music.

A phone is a phone right? A phone should be used for calling people. Why would anyone want a phone that takes photos, especially photos that aren't as good as those taken by a proper digital camera....and as for music...I've already got a MP3 player, so...so what if a phone can play music as well.

No thanks...all I want is a phone that's a phone...nothing else but a phone.

Ahhh...

that was then, about four years ago, when mobile technology was on the verge of being good, but hadn't quite made it to the standards that now exist . However having spent a week with my new Nokia N95, it's a different story today.

Having seen what this beauty can do I am most definitely sold on having an all-singing-all-dancing phone and would not look back.

As a phone, it is easy to navigate the Nokia N95 and its interface offers flexibility in managing the menus. As you would expect, it is also possible to personalise the look and feel as well as manage your diary and contacts list.

The integrated music player is excellent and has already proven useful. It is compatible with most music formats including AAC, MP3 and M4P.

A key feature of the phone is an easy-to-use 5 Megapixel camera, which I now wouldn't be without. Its quality hasn't quite replaced our 8 Megapixel Canon Ixus. However it is a great substitute and takes excellent photos, which means that there is one less thing to remember when leaving the house in the morning.

Of course, as you've seen from the previous blog posts, the camera doubles up as a video camera, which suffers when filming distance shots but makes up for it when videoing closer scenes. It's great for filming footage of our children growing up and it is possible to make individual recordings of up to 60 minutes in length. This easily beats the very short 30 second shots offered by our little Canon camera.

The Nokia N95 comes complete with a basic video editing facility, which allows you to edit and merge different footage together (video and photos) and add soundtracks to make your own movies. The kit also comes with a cable to connect the phone to the television, which is great for family viewing. The video edit suite has proven to be an unexpected treat and will enable me to make more family movies to record fun times and special events that we can enjoy in the future. With this kind of functionality, I would recommend going for the 8gb memory card upgrade rather than the standard phone, as good storage is essential.

Accessing the Internet on the go has also proven to be useful. I've not used it to search for information yet, but the facility to check and send emails has been invaluable. The phone has options to use O2's own WAP service, but I have found it more useful (and certainly less expensive) to connect through our home wireless router or even the free Wi-Fi access points that can be found around town. This has been excellent as it is much quicker to check emails through the phone rather than boot up the computer unnecessarily,.which for a busy mother has been a useful time-saver, even if I only work part-time.

Being able to access emails in this way, makes it a lot easier to work on a freelance basis and respond to enquiries, rather than rely on having to be at the computer, which often eats into the evenings and can easily lead to other distractions. So far I have used Yahoo's Go service for checking emails but when I set up MMS (multimedia messaging), I will be able to have the emails delivered directly to my message inbox.

The Nokia N95 comes with a user-friendly PC interface, which can be used for transferring photos from the phone as well as installing new applications onto the phone. However, if your PC is bluetooth enabled, you won't even need the interface or cables to transfer files as these can be sent directly.

On the subject of downloads, one application that was recommended to me from a couple of sources (thanks Bryan and Mark) is the Lightsabre application. I have now loaded it up and the kids enjoy it (from a distance)....but at the end of the day it's most definitely a "Boy's Toy". (However the accelerometer is a useful feature, allowing the screen to change when you turn the phone sideways).

For those who don't know what I mean, you can check out one of the many YouTube videos with grown-up men demonstrating their excitement....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bi6dNJs_-cY&feature=related

Thank you for bearing with me while I have been enjoying the honeymoon period with my latest technology. I am sure that you and 21st C Dad will be relieved to know that normal service will now resume.

For anyone who wants further information about the Nokia N95, you may find the following sites useful.

http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/mobiles/0,39030107,49294472,00.htm

http://n95blog.com/

http://n95.bloggercomm.com/

http://thenokiablog.com/2007/10/31/video-nokia-n95-accelerometer-demonstration/