Don’t want to carry a phone and a music player around with you? Well, we’ve put together a guide for MP3-heads who like to travel light - follow these simple steps and your N95 will be a ‘Pod bothering rock ‘n’ roll star!
What you’ll need:
2GB microSD card
A Windows PC
Step by step:
Step 1 - Boost your storage
If the N95 has a major Achilles’ Heel as a music player it’s the lack of built-in storage, so the first thing to do is remedy that, by buying yourself a 2GB microSD card (the largest capacity officially supported on the N95). This gives you enough space for 500 or so tracks at decent quality. We picked one up from our local Currys for just under £15, but shop around online and it’ll cost you as little as a fiver.
Step 2 - Break out the ear goggles
The N95 has a proper 3.5mm headphone socket, which is a huge boon - the bundled earphones are pretty useless, you see, so you’re going to want to invest in decent set. We use Sennheiser’s CX 400 earbuds, which are comfy to wear, sturdy enough to withstand the daily commute, able to block out external noise brilliantly, and more importantly capable of delivering class A audio to your lugholes. We’re talking crisp, clear sound with tight bass and sweet highs. Expect to pay around £30 for a pair.
Step 3 - Get lost in music
The N95’s music player is compatible with MP3, WMA and AAC files, so you’ll want to build a digital music collection. You can either rip your CDs (you can use the Nokia Music PC app for this, but we prefer Windows Media Player) or buy and download tunes from a store such as the Nokia Music Store, PlayDigital, 7digital or eMusic.
Alternatively, you can access the Nokia Music Store through your N95’s Applications menu, and buy and download tunes direct at 80p a pop (use Wi-Fi though, or you’ll be racking up a huge data bill).
Step 4 - Sync it all
Now you need to load your tunes onto the N95. While you can use Nokia’s recent Music app (reviewed here), we’d personally recommend Windows Media Player to sync music with a phone, and you can do so by connecting your N95 to your PC with a USB cable, then selecting the “Media player” option on your phone. Then open up Media Player and head to the “Sync” tab, drag the music you want on your phone over to the right-hand column, then hit the sync button. Bish bash bosh - your tunes will be on your Nok in seconds, and you’re ready to hit the streets!