The number of ground-breaking, and headline-grabbing, features mean there is a danger that it is easy to forget about the phone's core offering. It is easy to overlook, for instance, that unlike a good proportion of current smartphones you can buy, this is a full-feature 3G handset.

There is a secondary camera so that you can make and take video calls, for instance. It has can download video clips at breakneck speed (up to 3.6Mbps on suitably enabled 3G HSDPA enabled networks) - and has an online browser that can allow you to browse the full internet, and not simply take what is offered by your network. And it can take full advantage of the mobile TV packages your airtime supplier has on offer.

But this handset goes one step further than most 3G phones, and puts itself on a level keel with the best PDA phones, by offering Wi-Fi. Wireless local area networking is not just a useful facility for geeks - the cable-free data hook-up is more than a handy route for accessing email at home, in the office and on the move. It also effectively increases the coverage of the 3G network, allowing you broadband connection in places where otherwise they would be impossible.

Even more significantly, for the canny user Wi-Fi offers a low-cost way of getting on the net and keeping in touch whilst you are on the move. At a million coffee shops, motels, pubs and campuses around the world you can hook up the phone to practically all its online services, without having to pay a penny to your operator. You don't have to be a jetsetter to harness this advantage - it's a priceless money-saving feature at your own desk or on your own sofa, too. Some operators do, however, disable VoIP access features, so check before you sign up.

There's the smartphone advantage too. You can upgrade the phone in a wide variety of ways with programs, tools and reference material. But what comes preloaded is pretty impressive. A QuickOffice suite allows you to read Word, Excel and PowerPoint files, whilst further utilities allow you to access PDF and ZIP attachments that you may also receive by email. If you want to write spreadsheets or use a word processor, you need to invest in an addition piece of software (such as MobiSystems £16 OfficeSuite).

The MP3 player not only benefits from the bespoke buttons, but also from a healthy onboard memory. There is 160MB of storage out of the box, before adding MicroSD cards that slot into a hot-swappable slot on the side ,which can increase capacity by up to 2GB apiece.

In addition to supporting the stereo Bluetooth A2DP profile, the handset has a no-nonsense 3.5mm headset socket to enable you to use a wide range of listening accessories, like standard headphones or speakers. The supplied earbuds come in two sections - the headphones themselves, and a connector cable that provides a wired remote, and which doubles as the antenna for the built-in FM radio tuner (yes, it has a radio too).

Sound quality from the music player is very good. Even with the speakerphone, you get a far better performance than with an average music phone. But with the supplied headsets you get excellent sound quality, which can doubtlessly be further enhanced with a higher-priced set of headphones.

For the photographer, a 5-megapixel camera really does offer the promise of images that can match those of a standalone camera, even if there is not an optical zoom on offer. The N95 does, however, employ quality Carl Zeiss Optics.