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Will 2008 be the year that Nokia embrace high resolution displays? I’m not talking about the N95’s 240 x 320 pixels, or even the N80’s capacious 352 x 416 pixels. No, in 2008 Nokia need to go all VGA on us!

480 x 640 pixels, or VGA as it’s known many, is the target to aim for. Granted, a jump from the current 240 x 320 display may seem a tad ambitious, especially when you consider that the iPhone’s much lauded display is only 320 x 480, but may I remind you that the awesome Sharp’s 904 has had a full VGA display for well over a year.

So why the fuss about higher resolution displays?

Clearly, with the N95 8GB, Nokia are pushing hard into the personal computer market. As Nokia themselves put it, ‘it’s what computers have become’. For the most part it’s hard to deny that phones such as the N95, N93 and N81 are very much more like computers than phones, however in the area of display size they are woefully inadequate!

The difference between the N95’s and last year’s N80 may not seem like a big deal on paper, but consider this - the total pixel count for the N80 is a generous 146,432, in comparison the N95, a flagship product, is a measly 76,800. So, by upgrading to an N95 you’re losing pretty much half your screen! Why is there not more uproar about this?

Let’s demonstrate what this means. One of the key areas where pixel count really counts is web browsing. The N95 has an extraordinarily capable browser, but it’s let down by the lack of pixels, causing you to constantly scroll around, or re-scale everything. Below are some examples that show the difference that having double the pixel count can make when viewing the excellent, Nokia Users website . . .

























The difference in just this initial step up, from 240 x 320 pixels to 352 x 416 pixels, is considerable. In fact, on the N95 display you can’t even read one full paragraph without having to scroll.

Now let’s compare the N95 with the Apple iPhone . . .





























It’s not too hard to see why Apple has been praised for the iPhone’s web browsing experience. If you pair the multi-touch UI, the Safari browser, and plenty of screen real estate you get a powerful package indeed. How can Nokia compete with that?

The N Series already has a web browser that is almost the equal of Safari and a touch display looks as if it’s on the cards for next year, so how about adding a full VGA display? What difference will that make? Check out the comparison below. Again, on the right is the Nokia N95, but this time let’s bring in the big gun - enter the mighty Sharp 904 . . .






































This time the difference is massive! With just a couple of clicks you’d be able to traverse the entire width of most web pages.

I truly hope that Nokia don’t announce yet another revision to there flagship phone without upping the resolution, 352 x 416 really ought to be a minimum for any smart phone in 2008. If price is the reason for not going for a larger pixel count, then please at least offer it as an option - laptop manufacturers do this all the time.

The example above only show the benefits of higher resolution displays in one aspect of the phone’s daily duties, the improvements that those extra pixels would bring to video playback, photo viewing/editing and gaming are equally important.

Come one Nokia! Give us VGA with the next displays!
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