As my N80 once again burbles its dying charge and I brace myself for regular employment again the time is clearly ripe for a switch of mobile.  When I got the N80 it was the hottest thing around with a large display and wifi.  It was also uncharacteristically unstable for a Nokia but I put up with it for the features.

This time, there are two phones vying for the top slot: the Nokia N95 and the iPhone 3G.  I’m not really a feature anorak so I’m airing my reasoning in the hope it’ll become apparent if I’m talking absolute bollocks.

An inveterate ditherer at the best of times, I’ve received arguments against the iPhone on principle and for its inevitability.

SO, let’s make an objective albeit cursory comparison at CarphoneWarehouse and at Vodafone shop.  Funnily enough, CPW doesn’t do Vodafone and Vodafone (not being O2) doesn’t do the iPhone.

iPhone

Recently relaunched with more features on a reasonable tariff, it’s not just for Apple fan boys any more.

Cost: £35 a month for 600 mins, 500 texts and unlimited data.  £99 for 8GB or £159 for 16GB (out of stock)

Pros: Achingly sexy.  Unlimited data plan for free. Twice the screen resolution of the N95.

Cons: Crappy camera at 2MP with no flash or movies.  Needing to move to O2.  Handing my locked-down ass to Jobs.  Feeling like an iSheep.

N95

The incumbent king of the smart phone from good old Nokia.

Costs:£35 a month for 600 mins and unlimited texts.  Phone comes free.  Unlimited mobile internet offer (normally £7.50 a month).

Pros: Too many features to mention.  Can get on my existing network or any other.

Cons: Chunky, although less so than the N80.

Conclusions

The iPhone is a fantastic multimedia player and internet device with a built-in phone.  The N95 is a fantastic phone with the most built-in features.  Both suck power down like nobody’s business.

Over 18 months an iPhone 8GB is likely to set me back at least £729 plus accesories.  A Nokia N95 8GB will extract £630 from me.  Is the iPhone £99 better?  Not sure.

There’s another option of course.  I could stump up for an iPod touch in addition to the N95.  Currently going for £180 on Amazon.  That’s £810 for an awesome mobile phone plus multimedia/net device…

Open questions

• Am I wrong?  Does the iPhone actually rule as a ‘telephone’?
• Are my costs spot on or am I missing something out?
• How does the battery life compare?
• Is 8GB enough or should I stretch to a mighty 16?