Camera
When you turn to the underside of the N95, you'll see a 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics. There's a built-in flash, and flipping the lens protector switch automatically opens up the camera application.

There's more to image quality than mere megapixel values, of course, but the N95 produced very nice snapshots, especially for something that's a phone first and a camera second (though the N95 looks enough like a dedicated camera from the perspective of your subjects). There are a variety of scene modes to choose from before taking shots, and image editing tools (including red eye-reduction) are built into the phone.

The N95's main camera can also record 640 x 480 video at 30 fps, and there's also an auxiliary camera on the front of the unit for self-pictures and video calls (though the latter isn't yet supported on domestic networks).

Where Am I?
Last but not least, the N95 includes a built-in GPS receiver. The GPS antenna resides not in the top of the phone but rather in the south end, which means you need to be fairly precise in how you hold it (at a 45 degree angle with the slider open, being careful not to obstruct the bottom of the phone with your hand) in order to maintain your satellite connection. I lost it a couple of times until I figured out how to hold the phone just so. I couldn't imagine using the N95's GPS in a car, but it should be perfect for city dwellers that mostly travel on foot.

Mapping data gets delivered to the N95 over the network, so it can take some time to download, especially over a slow or tenuous connection (you can download the data over through your mobile data connection or Wi-Fi).

The maps are cached on the N95's memory card, and you can specify what percentage of its storage you want to set aside for that purpose. Although it's not included on the CD shipped with the N95, Nokia offers a PC mapping application free for download that you can use to pre-load maps on the phone, which is useful if you don't have a flat-rate data plan or if you roam frequently.

There's no cost to use the GPS software's route planning feature, which will plot a static route between two points. If you want voice-guided, turn-by-turn directions with automatic route recalculation when you go astray, that's an additional cost feature. In the US, it's 69.99 Euros (or around $94) for a years service—one week, month, or three year terms are also available.

All the N95's nice feature come at a cost however, because the N95's biggest drawback is its price tag. Like many of Nokia's advanced phones, the N95 isn't currently offered by any stateside mobile carriers. You can pick one up at nokia.com at it's stratospheric list price, or possibly save a few bucks by looking for it at other online retailers, where it can be had for (a still pricey) $625- $650.