The handset was publicly announced at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona 2008,citation needed and started selling in September 2008.2 Europe, Middle East and Asia-Pacific are the first locations to provide the handset for consumers. The American and Chinese versions are expected shortly thereafter.4 October 1st is set as the U.K. release date for the N96, although London has a separate date of September 24th when the device will go on sale exclusively at Nokia's flagship stores on Regent Street and at Terminal 5 (Heathrow airport).5
N96 is a dual-band HSDPA (900 and 2100 MHz) (while N95 was a single band (2100))
No need to open the slide for optimal GPS reception.
Thinner and lighter than N95 8GB.
N-Gage free games coupon (varies by country) [Just 1 game free].
Nokia N96 has VGA video call camera (N95/N95 8G has CIF)
Video Light - Allows illumination when recording video in the dark (the N95 doesn't have Video Light)
Back up feature - Allows the user to back up the phones settings on to a Micro SD memory card. This includes contacts, massages and media. This allows for easy restoration (the N95 doesn't have this)
Video Stabilization
Upgraded Bluetooth Stereo Audio
Stronger and super qualitative sound and 3D speakers (N95 8gp normal speakers)
Same battery as original N95 (950 mAh), but the N96 reportedly has a much better battery life using the same battery (Nokia N95 8GB has 1200 mAh)
No Hardware 3D graphics accelerator for N96
No infrared port
N95 classic has lens cover and much more qualitative shutter (N95 8G/N96 don't have this feature)
manually select MMS messaging mode. If you write a long text message it will automatically select MMS mode which could stop the recipient from receiving the message if they do not have MMS set up on their handset. (Nokia USA employee stated that there is an update in the works to fix this very soon)
VoIP 2.1 support for WLAN and Cellular. However there are many sites over the web (use any search engine for this) claiming that VoIP client is removed from N96 (ie. VoIP client which can be used directly by end-user, not VoIP API which can be used by software developers in their applications). N95, which has built-in VoIP client, can be used for internet calling without installing any additional software. Of course third party VoIP applications can still be used on both phones (N95 and N96), but they are offen neither so reliable nor so flexible as the built-in one.
The pencil button that allows you to mark/unmark items and highlight text is not included.BUT This action can still be done however, by pressing and holding down the # key'.