One would assume that with the Nokia N95, N96 and N97 having sequential product numbers, there would be a common aim for their use in the minds of Nokia's design team, along with a clear technical evolution. To be fair, you can see the former, in their focus on multimedia in conjunction with a decent camera. However, the latter isn't that easy to demonstrate, as I found when comparing the three Nokia flagships (from 2007, 2008 and 2009) head to head - it seems there are plenty of attributes for which the N95 wins and still more for which the N96 wins....

Before I draw any conclusions, let's look at the raw feature/specs list, putting the three devices head to head. Oh, and for each row, where appropriate, I'm going to pick a (admittedly subjective) winner (or joint winner, in some cases), with the table cell shaded in green - will the latest device necessarily light up all the greens?

	Nokia N95	Nokia N96	Nokia N97
Form factor	Dual slider	Dual slider	Touchscreen/Qwerty hybrid
Thickness of main body	19mm	16mm	16mm
Interface	S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1	S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2	S60 5th Edition (as of v20 firmware, with Symbian^2 code)
Display size and contrast	2.6" transflective screen, good in sunlight, bright enough indoors	2.8" transflective screen, slightly brighter and clearer than the N95's in all light conditions	3.5" transflective with touchscreen layer, visibility not brilliant in sunlight, display not particularly vivid indoors either. Large, but perhaps the ultimate compromise screen?
Capacity	160MB user storage on C:, microSD expansion only	80MB user storage on C:, mass memory 16GB, plus microSD	50MB user storage on C:, mass memory 32GB, plus microSD
Performance, free RAM	Fairly brisk until the 30MB of free RAM (with v30 firmware) is used up. Ultimately limited.	Average speed, due to underclocked processor, but 50MB free RAM means that you're unlikely to run out of memory when multitasking, at least	Even with v20 firmware, the N97's interface is still not exactly quick. Again, the processor seems underpowered, there's not enough free RAM (around 50MB after booting, depending on configuration) for such a large-screened S60 5th Edition device. Lowish free space on C: is also a factor - it's too easy for the OS to run out of workspace.
Graphics, multimedia playback	A TI OMAP 2420 graphics acceleration co-processor means that there's potential for iPhone-quality real time graphics - though almost no software was ever created to use this power. Video playback is generally good, helped by the chip but slightly restricted (e.g. codecs) by the older version of S60 used.	Uses a STn8815 multimedia co-processor, which specialises in decoding video and audio streams, resulting in super video compatibility and performance with better battery efficiency. Audio playback is also of higher quality than any Nokia since the N91.	A single chip design from Freescale, the N97 struggles on the graphics front. Action games have slowish frame rates and real time 3D rendering is all but impossible. Video playback is surprisingly good, considering the limitations, thanks to clever software and some custom electronics. Audio playback is also good.
GPS performance	The antenna is good, but placed awkwardly at the base of the number keypad, meaning that the phone has to be slid open for decent GPS reception.	Excellent GPS reception, even when closed.	A poor GPS antenna design. Even with the Care Point-applied 'shielded' version, keeping a GPS lock in open countryside is not always a given.
Keypad/keyboard quality	A pretty good keypad, with discrete keys. Spoilt only by amateurish case surround in places.	One of Nokia's poorest numeric keypads, with plastic strips for each 'row' and very poor * and # keys.	A quirky three row qwerty keyboard that's actually a lot more useful than it looks. Only spoilt on the white model by the key backlight making the legends invisible in a wide range of lighting conditions.
Stereo speaker volume and quality	Terrific. One of the best sets of phone speakers that Nokia has made. Loud, decent quality.	Average volume and quality at best.	Low volume and harsh, tinny sound are a direct result of not enough space being allowed behind each speaker for acoustic reverberation.
Camera quality (incl video)	Excellent stills, excellent pre-focussed VGA video, excellent sound.	Excellent stills, spoilt only by the potential for grease and scratches on the exposed lens. Video now pre-focussed (as at v30 firmware), but spoilt by over-eager automatic gain control on the sound.	Excellent stills, spoilt on early models by an easily scratched lens, leading to light flare and unusable flash. Video spoilt by infinite focus, leading to blurry videos of family and friends.
Extra hardware controls and buttons	Top slide multimedia controls, plus a dedicated 'multimedia' key.	Top slide multimedia controls, plus an extra set that light up around the d-pad if media is playing when the slide is closed. Plus a dedicated (and not much liked) 'multimedia' shortcut key. Plus a useful keylock toggle.	The keylock toggle is the only extra control here.
Battery, power	2mm charging, 950mAh battery	2mm charging, 950mAh battery	microUSB charging, 1500mAh battery
Connectivity to desktop	Slow USB (1MB/s)	High speed USB (4 to 6MB/s)	High speed USB
Unique extras		BBC iPlayer DRM (download compatibility)	Touchscreen, FM Transmitter, Digital compass, BBC iPlayer DRM (downloads, etc.)
Updatability	Via Nokia Software Update, backup/restore needed	Via NSU or Over The Air, has User Data Preservation	Via NSU or OTA, also has User Data Preservation
Dec 2009 pricing (unlocked, SIM free), value for money rating?	Hard to find brand new. Around £230 'refurbished', £150 second hand.	Still available from many places. Around £300 new, £150 second hand, good value for money, either way.	Around £420 new, average value for money.

Looking at the 'green' panels, it's evident that, on balance, the much-maligned N96 gives you more functionality and usability. Though there are enough green cells in the other columns to show that, yet again, there's not really an overall winner - you'd have to look at the attributes and specifications that are important to you, personally.

The aim of the N9x series, as I understand it, is to be a multimedia flagship, and all three do a pretty good job in this department. All three models, N95, N96, N97, have also had numerous firmware updates, Nokia do seem to have a good track record at supporting their flagships, thankfully. The very fact that even the most informed user would have to think hard before picking an overall winner shows that:

1. all three are still viable flagships
    
2. all three still have their weaknesses(!)
    
3. you shouldn't write off older devices - newer is not necessarily better(!)

Comments welcome if you'd like to pick an N9x champion! And don't say "Get a Samsung i8910 HD", please. That's a debate and an article from me for another day....

Steve Litchfield, All About Symbian, 20 Dec 2009