Additions:
New audio DSP
Longer music playback time (14 hrs) and video playback time (6 hrs)
Windows Media WMV9 video codec added
Hardware acceleration for video codecs for H.264 and WMV
Mobile TV DVB-H 1.0 receiver built in
S60 3rd Edition is upgraded from Feature Pack 1 to Feature Pack 2
linu v88.0.12.0
The Java ME engine is upgraded from MIDP 2.0 to MIDP 2.1
User data is preserved when upgrading firmware (this feature is also present on the N95-2 as v21 installs UDP base files)
Open C/C++ support
New QuickOffice application opens all types of Microsoft Office files
New version of Nokia Video Centre (show & edit videos)
New release of Nokia Experience software
Micro 2.0 Hi-Speed USB (write 3 Mbit/s, read 4.1 Mbit/s - N95 8GB use full-speed USB)
MicroSD memory card slot (as in original N95, while N95 8GB has no card slot)
RSS 2.1 Reader
FM radio upgraded with RDS
N96 is a dual-band HSDPA (900 and 2100MHz, while N95 was a single band 2100MHz)
No need to open the slide for optimal GPS reception
Nokia N96 has VGA front camera (N95 8G has CIF)
Video Flash lightguns
Upgraded Bluetooth stereo audio
FOTA (Firmware Over the Air)
OMA E-mail Notification v1.0
OMA Device Management v1.2
OpenGL ES 1.1 plugin
Dual Transfer Mode (MSC 11)
Support SPP Bluetooth profiles
Negative:
CPU: N96 has dual ARM9 264MHz with no floating point instructions (N95 has dual ARM11 332Mhz with vector floating point)
N96 has 8x image digital zoom and 4x video digital zoom (while N95 has 20x digital zoom and 8x video digital zoom). Although the benefits of this is debatable.
Same battery as original N95 (950 mAh), but the N96 reportedly has a much better battery life using the same battery due to software improvements under Feature Pack 2 (Nokia N95 8GB has 1200 mAh)
No hardware 3D graphics accelerator
No infrared port
No light sensor to adjust screen brightness when outside
N95 classic has lens cover and much more qualitative shutter (N95 8G/N96 don't have this feature)
No manually selected MMS messaging mode. If you write a long text message it will automatically select the MMS mode which could stop the recipient from receiving the message if they do not have MMS set up on their handset. (A Nokia USA employee stated that there is an update in the works to fix this very soon[citation needed]) It's assumed that this automatic selection of MMS mode is due to Nokia's Smart Connectivity)
VoIP 2.1 support for WLAN and Cellular. However, the built-in VoIP client from N95 which allowed the end-user to make internet calls directly without installing any additional software has been removed from N96. Nevertheless, the VoIP API still exists which can be used by software developers in their applications.
The pencil button that is used to mark/unmark items and highlight text is not included. But this action can still be done however, by pressing and holding down the # key'.
