The Nokia N95 8GB is a mighty hard act to follow in anyone’s mobile book. Its powerful feature arsenal still towers above most of today’s smartphone competition. So is its successor, the N96, all conquering enough to trade in your Nseries powerhouse?

While its new look spec sheet undoubtedly improves upon N95 8GB, we’re still left wondering if Nokia has really pushed the envelope hard enough. Does a 16GB memory boost, slight design overhaul, added memory card slot, and a currently redundant built-in DVB-H mobile TV receiver scream essential upgrade? Not hiking the camera to a Samsung i8510-rivalling eight megapixels also feels like a missed opportunity but despite these initial misgivings, the N96 still proves to be a mobile dream machine.

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Although only two years old, the pioneering Nokia N95 has still aged well in today’s fast paced blink-and-you’ll-miss-it mobile world but it doesn’t stop this classic needing a 2008 MOT. Of course, you could quite easily sight the N96 as its tour de force successor but Symbian fans will know the new N85 as the rightful heir, bringing a certain new streamlined sophistication to the Nseries posse.

There is a familiar look to the N85, with its glossy noir finish reminiscent of the N81 but this Symbian smartie manages to house the N95’s impressive feature set in a sleeker softer-lined shell. And this means accommodating a five-megapixel Carl Zeiss-toting camera lens, HSPDA and Wi-Fi rapido download connections, VGA quality video capture at 30fps, GPS for sat nav and a built-in 3.5mm headphone jack. It definitely feels less clunky than the original and certainly less defining in the trouser pouch.

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There’s always been a clear division in Sony Ericsson’s phone crew: Cyber-shot blowers for the mobile photography buffs and Walkman handsets for audio adventurers. For the most part we’ve happily lived with this specialist code but now we want to enjoy the best of both worlds. Well, thanks to the latest Walkman blower, the W902, we can.

While not officially badged, the W902, is the first Walkman phone to share sharp shooting Cyber-shot genes. Its five-megapixel snapper has been transplanted from the brilliant C902 with nothing, except the sliding lens cover, touch-sensitive shortcuts and face detection, sacrificed.

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Nokia’s new 6220 may come from the Classic clan but this ‘mid-range’ Symbian smartphone rocks up with a mighty feature set that wouldn’t look out of place on the Finnish giant’s uber-elite Nseries flock.

It’s unassuming, compact but smart design doesn’t hint at the power within; harboured away is a five-megapixel snapper with Xenon flash, built-in GPS for sat nav, rapido HSDPA download speeds and DVD-like VGA-quality video capture chops. Admittedly Wi-Fi and support for N-Gage gaming have gone AWOL but it’s a mouthwatering line-up considering its ranking.

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To accommodate its powerful photographic chops, Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot crew has always erred a bit on the porky side.

But its latest camphone member, the C902, kicks this trend into touch, packing a strapping camera lens along with a delightfully slimline physique.

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