The N95 is so loaded with high-end features that it sometimes seems as if it dropped out of a time warp from the future. It's the first 5-megapixel cameraphone to hit U.S. shores, the first decent camcorder-phone, the best music phone I've seen yet, and the only Symbian smartphone I've used that feels really, really fast. As if that wasn't enough, it also shoots video that's good enough to burn to DVDs. But wait, there's more. The phone's GPS mapping is gorgeous, its Web browser sublime, and its 3D games will knock your socks off. It plays sweet music, too, with a Napster or Rhapsody subscription.

For such a groundbreaking device, the N95's looks, at first glance, are that of an ordinary Nokia slider phone. Weighing 4.2 ounces, it's a little chunky, at 2.2 by 3.9 by 0.8 inches, but not unpleasantly so, and it still fits easily into pockets. The handset is handsome too, with a curved purple back and a silver face. Slide down the keypad and you'll find somewhat small, but nicely domed keys—unlike Nokia's N73, nobody will find this hard to dial.

The quad-band N95 gets very good reception on both Cingular's and T-Mobile's networks. The earpiece isn't all that loud, but it's clear, with subtle and pleasant in-ear feedback. Transmission is very good, too, with good blocking of background noise; it can sound a little tinny in noisy situations, but it's fine at other times. The speakerphone uses the N95's powerful stereo speakers, an effective combo. The handset worked well with the Plantronics Bluetooth headsets I use for testing. That said, the N95 uses Nokia's somewhat perplexing voice-dialing system, which isn't as easy to operate as the VoiceSignal and Nuance systems you find on other phones.