Source : Jaspp

This is no ordinary battle as the best in the market are here to battle it out for the top spot in this Pre-Release Review. At one side we have the Resilience & Durability of Nokia and on the other side we have the Elegance & Charm of Samsung both being backed by the Symbian S60 platform thus making the comparison even more interesting. Lets build up a few introductory points before we go on for the real comparison.

We all know that Nokia have been boasting about their much awaited Nokia N96 S60 device for over more than 6 months but still have at the same time failed to get it into the hands of the consumer. On the other hand we were totally surprised by Samsung which announced the launch of their stunning INNOV8 (unorthodox way to spell INNOVATE) an S60 based device. So on initial thoughts the N96 has already started to fade away into the blue before actually going public.
I have used Samsung devices in the past which I felt were rather rigid and monotonous in user experience and less diverse in terms of software, games & skin (customization) compatibility as compared to the varied diversity of Nokia phones which have been providing with rich user experience and great multimedia support with the support of the Symbian platform. Well the past is now a past and Symbian is no longer restricted to Nokia so lets look into both these devices without wasting any time.

Before we begin let me add that I in no way was paid by Nokia or Samsung to write this post and I do not work for either company. This is my personal take on both the devices.

Anatomy & Histology (Built, Design & Microscopic View)

The Nokia N96 is a more bulky looking device as compared to INNOV8 which is theoretically correct as it is 0.8 mm thicker but at the same time is amazingly light in weighing only 125g compared to the 140 g of INNOV8. Thus Nokia continues its streak of bulky looking phones but INNOV8 is a fresh solid design with a more masculine effect. The Black colour of both the devices looks good but the silver Rim of the N96 seriously needs a second thought. This puts N96 into a back seat when it comes to the First-Look-Effect. The built of INNOV8 is more solid and sleek compared to N96. On the other hand the back support provided to the N96 adds to another feature to the design of Nokia device. Both devices are based on the Slider concept. Starting with Nokia N96 first, it is a dual slider on the path of Nokia N95 with dedicated music keys contrasting with the INNOV8 which is a uni slider. The keys are laid in regular fashion and are pretty much the same. The dual slider of the N96 gives it an extra edge when it comes to music playback. When both the phones are in the smallest dimensions i.e. keypads closed the keys defined outside are more or less the same.
On final grounds of built and design INNOV8 has an edge with its solid, statement making Anatomy.

Network Support & Data Transfer

Both the phones are capable of high speed connections with range spanning from 2G to 3G which includes GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 and HSDPA 2100 / 900. Well, there appears to be no point of discussion here as things are pretty much the same but putting the things under the microscope we find that 3G speed of INNOV8 are much more than N96, nearly twice as fast. The N96 has a 3.6 Mbps HSDPA where as the INNOV8 has 7.2 Mbps HSDPA. Considering that 3G is the future INNOV8 has put in another 100% to that score but none the less has compromised in other data transfer speeds which include EDGE being just Class 10, 236.8 kbps as compared to N96 which boasts of a Class 32, 296 kbps; DTM Class 11, 177 kbps. Not only has this N96 had support for HSCSD which the INNOV8 lacks completely. The GPRS too has been on a back seat in the INNOV8 with speeds only up to 32- 48 kbps which is no way near to the N96 GPRS of Class 32, 107 / 64.2 kbps speed. Bluetooth and USB are the same in both the devices, being v2.0 with A2DP and v2.0, microUSB respectively. The last point and a very important one is the WLAN support which by much is the same as Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, only contrasting with the UPnP technology which comes with N96 and DLNA which is packed in INNOV8.
On final grounds on the Network & Data transfer issue N96 has a much better and diverse Network support.

Display

Interestingly both phones feature a 2.8 inch TFT display screens with 240 x 320 pixels resolution. It is good to see both devices with big screen display units which will bring a better user experience. Nothing more can be added here as yet because I had not had hands on experience with any of them but I will update it as and when I do.
On final grounds of Display issue both are same more or less.

Camera

There is a huge contrasting difference between the cameras on the both devices. Where N96 has a 5 MP, 2592×1944 pixels, Carl Zeiss optics, Autofocus, camera with a movie recording video(VGA 30fps), a flash; and a secondary VGA videocall camera. On the other side INNOV8 boasts a 8 MP, 3264×2448 pixels, Autofocus, camera with Image stabiliser, with a movie recording video(VGA@30fps, QVGA@120fps), a flash; and a secondary videocall camera.
I really dont know how the lone 8 MP would stand out against the 5 MP Carl Zeiss and having experienced the latter already I would balance them as same with a little edge by INNOV8 only on Video Recording at QVGA.

CPU & Memory

This is the most important point of the battle as this would eventually decide the capability of the device to work with utter smoothness. The CPU and RAM are crucial factors which pave the way of a fast user experience and application workload on the device processor. The N96 has a 128MB RAM and a Dual ARM 9 264 MHz CPU which would sure speed things up. Also the extra 256MB storage memory provided on board would make multimedia a great experience and graphics would truly come alive whether you are playing a game of watching a video clip. The INNOV8 has a 128 MB RAM which is ok but lacks a dedicated memory for multimedia experience thus this might make the INNOV8 to move at a slow pace than anticipated as it is packed with high 3D graphics and galley features. The Internal memory on the N96 is 16 GB which can be expanded to 24 GB with a microSD (TransFlash), i.e. up to 8GB which is same as the INNOV8 (it comes in either 8 GB or 16 GB internal memory)
On final grounds pertaining to the CPU & Memory issue the N96 scores more than the INNOV8

Features & Software

Both phones run on the Symbian OS v9.3, Series 60 rel. 3.2 operating system which makes both the phones highly diverse with the amount of application, themes, games and ringtone support. Thus the operating system being the same will make the user experience more or less the same but its integration in the INNOV8 with some amazing 3D graphics will certainly turn a lot of heads and eyes wide open. It will be a rather new experience for a S60 user from the daily cup of espresso to feel at home after a all new interior decoration. Messaging features are the same which include SMS, MMS, Email, IM in both the devices. INNOV8 has a little more with the built in Push Email already present. Both have Browser application which is WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML ready with N96 having an extra feature of RSS feeds too which I feel is pretty awesome. Games like FIFA 2008 and Asphalt are provided and more can be downloaded over the air as well, with Nokia N96 having an edge with their N-Gage portal up and running. Common feature share by the two include a Built-in GPS receiver with A-GPS function. Support for Java MIDP 2.0 and MP3/AAC/AAC+/eAAC+/WMA. Both feature a 3.5 mm audio output jack and a TV out with Stereo FM Radio with RDS. Features like Organizer, Voice dial/memo and Built-in handsfree are present in both. Accelerometer and Auto-Rotate are again a common feature to both.

Apart from the above features the INNOV8 has a multitude of other unique features tagged only to its name, such as
1. Camera geo-tagging, auto-panorama shot, face, smile and blink detection
2. Business card scanner
3. DivX/H.263/H.264/WMV/MP4 player
4. Video editing
5. Optical mouse
On final grounds of features and software INNOV8 is clearly superior.

Battery Life

The N96 and INNOV8 phones will only be useful if the battery can support their features for long. The earlier phones too we have are provided with good multimedia features but they lose out on stand-by time. Featuring here with a Standard battery of Li-Ion 1200 mAh the INNOV8 gets a boost of Stand-by Up to 310 h Talk time Up to 8 h 30 min contrasting with the Standard battery of N96 featuring a Li-Ion 950 mAh (BL-5F) which can provide a descent Stand-by Up to 220 h Talk time Up to 3 h 40 min.
On final grounds pertaining to the battery life INNOV8 is a clear winner.

UPDATED: As pointed out by Andrei on the price

Price

The INNOV8 is expected to be priced at appx 620 Euros where as the N96 is expected to be priced appx 640 Euros. Thus INNOV8 Wins the price battle.

Picture Gallery

N96

INNOV8

Final Verdict

Some of my friends have called INNOV8 as the N96 Killer Phone and other have mentioned that Nokia is no longer a leader in the S60 Smartphone world need to read this pre-sales comparison review and see for themselves.

Thus adding up the above individual point to point verdicts INNOV8 only has a BIG edge over N96 in this Pre-Release Battle. Given me a chance to buy the INNOV8 now or wait till the N96 is released (somewhere in October I suppose), I would pick the former and go for it as INNOV8 has got me good.

SAMSUNG WINS