Nokia N96 released with 3G support in the US

Recently we wrote here at NokiaN96.net about the FCC approval of Nokia N96. Yesterday it was announced that Nokia will start distributing their device to the retailers in the 4Q this year, which means that they are trying to push the market in this Christmas in the USA. As we know, the marketing strategy is similar in the rest of the world, as well as the advert produced by Nokia that unites all religions, all ethnics for an universal release – In one word, Christmas is the target!

Nokia yesterday announced that the Nokia N96 will be available for high-speed 3G HSDPA networks used in the U.S. starting from the 4Q this year. This news were expected, but they would always need confirmation from FCC. If the support wouldn’t be allowed, then we could think in the end of the competition between N96 an iPhone 3G. Thanks FCC!

The already widely tested Nokia N96 can be used to purchase and download movies, television shows and other video content on their PCs and upload them to their device, besides being available to easily download content from their devices.

With the integration in Ovi services, the Nokia N96 enables users to upload images, videos and other content using the this service, it also allows  navigation across town and country with Nokia Maps 2.0, or to play N-Gage games tournament with friends.

According to the press communication we received from Nokia, there will be 3 months of Nokia Maps 2.0 free navigation, as well as a voucher to purchase a full version of the N-Gage racing title Asphalt 3: Street Rules. This is only for the US package.

The Nokia N96 is expected for an estimated price of $900.

Nokia N96 official TV promotion advert

Nokia has released their TV spot, or advert for the publicity of the Nokia N96. You can embed it, or download it.

iPhone not as fast as it should be, will the N96 be?

Yesterday, while I was reading my favourite newspaper  (yes it’s Portuguese and YES, it’s about business),  Jornal de Negócios, I came across a news that I wasn’t expecting to see, but Meraj told me that that is a little bit stupid. The title was: “Apple processada por cliente nos EUA”, in English, “Apple sued by a client in the USA”.

It is a <strong>  title and everybody would like to read it (it was in fact the most popular news in the journal). The client complains about the mobile phone’s speed as it is lower than what was stated in the advertisements, and another reason is that also some calls were going down way too many times.

Apple announced the iPhone 3g as twice as fast as the previous version and also twice as cheap. So this client, Jessica Smith complained about the internet speed and the data transfer, referring that they were lower than a common person could expect seeing the ads. She also says that there are a lot of calls that automatically drop.

As you know Apple sold 1 million iPhone smartphones in the first day and few days later they introduced a new software due to the increase of complains related to the internet velocity.

The question I am purposing you is if there’s any chance Nokia N96 can surpass iPhone with all this problems?

‘Our sales will not be affected by the launch of iPhone in the country…There are different segments of consumers whose needs are different,’

Nokia India Director (Marketing) Devinder Kishore

I wasn’t too much confident on this affirmation, but now it might be possible that Mr Kishore was right, not because of the “different segments”, because indeed it’s a lie, but because of all this damage that social media is making on iPhone.

Let’s buy Nokia N96!

Nokia N96 released in India before iPhone

We are already in August and as you all know, the N96 is being released all over the world. Yesterday it was launched in India in big event with high media coverage. The journalists call the N96 the “iPhone killer”.

Will that be true? I really don’t know, but Nokia is taking the advantage of time, their  device reached India before iPhone 3G and will crossover India from 20th August selling 2000 Nokia N96 with a special price in a special offer, if you buy it then you will be one of the firsts buying the Nokia N96!

As you know, N96 is the first ever mobile device to offer a memory size of 16GB expandable to 32 GB through an external micro SD card (32GB! That was my old PC memory). I think I could store more than 60 hours of videos and movies with high quality (or more…).

I won’t buy one of this N96 in August, because I am not from India, but in fact I will buy when it is released in September. In many countries September is the month of release and it will also be for India.

Consumers from India will have an exclusive application, allowing them to track their handset if the device is lost or stolen, but also create a backup for the phone data via the Internet. That should make the 950mAh battery last fewer hours than it lasts already.

Nokia N96 will launch at 15th September in Netherlands

The rumour is now confirmed, and 15th September in another release date for Nokia N96 smart phone. According to webwereld, there was an agreement between Nokia and KPN, meaning that KPN will be the first provider of Nokia N96 in Netherlands. The agreement between KPN and Nokia is logical, because the N96 supports the mobile TV network (DVB-h) that KPN released earlier this year.

After the release by KPN, the other providers will also sell the mobile phone, there are no exclusivity rights. If you live in Netherlands you may buy the Nokia N96 from other providers. The agreement only focuses “the first provider”.

In July later, Nokia held a momentary action  with World Wildlife Fund, trying to save the the red panda in Nepal by selling Nokia N96 for 759 euros. Nobody know how many Nokias were sold from the 96 available…but this price remains as an indicator for the one KPN will use, because the source could not reveal an estimated price.

Anyway, KPN have just begun advertising with Google Adwords, and we are able to see when we search for “nokia n96″ at google.nl. You can just pre-order, you are not allowed to pay because KPN have not yet fixed a price. The only things you need to give them is your name and e-mail! That’s it!

FCC approves Nokia N96

Yes, it means that Nokia N96 was approved to be sold in the USA. Federal Communications Commission holds all the information related to future mobile phone releases and is also charged with regulating interstate and international communications by radio, television, satellite or cable and wire.

All this means is that we are one more step closer to Nokia N96 official release at USA. Will iPhone have true competition? Ore N96 is just one more toy? Will the INNOV8 crush it?

Nokia N96 supports the Ovi family of Nokia internet services, including maps, music, media sharing and more, it has a 5 megapixel camera and GPS and more stuff. Do we have from our readers any insider information regarding the release date for USA?

N96 to retail on the 1st of October in UK

One more speculative release date. Networks confirm this as a date, but something might change plans (we hope not).

According to Nokia N96 Unnofficial Blog, 3, Carphone Warehouse, Orange, Phones4U, T-Mobile and Vodafone will offer the Nokia N96 at 430 British Pounds. As you can see, we only have confirmation from the UK. We are still awaiting release dates and prices from all around the world.

In case you want to get the N96 before anyone else, you will have to help Nokia and WWF to save the red pandas. I will explain this in a future post.

Forum Discussion