Nokia's N97 gets sized up, felt up, and photographed
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted Dec 15th 2008 10:05AM
posted Dec 15th 2008 10:05AM
You know what they say -- another day, another hands-on look at the N97. Although the folks at Mobile Review insist that this is not a formal review, they have been kind enough to post their extensive thoughts on the phone -- as well as more UI and comparison shots than you can shake a stick at. Overall, they seem to really dig the handset's design: sure, it's big (a shade larger than the iPhone), but it's well-proportioned, and doesn't seem bulky. And even though it's a slider, it doesn't have that "wobbly" feeling that sliders tend to have. Other features of note include a secondary camera that can serve as webcam and the 3.5-inch, 640 x 360-pixel screen, boasting 16 million colors, which they call "a true marvel." But that's not all! Hit the read link for thoughts on the new, improved music player, all those widgets that you crave, and comparison shots with the HTC Touch Pro, Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, and the Apple iPhone. Video after the break.
[Thanks, Imran]
[Thanks, Imran]
My new favourite phone.
favorite
color
I totally concur.
the wait is torture!
Same here. I can't wait to finally ditch WinMo and my HTC Kaiser (this combo was never really designed for finger input in the first place) and I've been waiting for something OTHER than Windows to look into. It seems that Nokia might have exactly what I've been wishing for! Woohoo!
Mine too :)
I hope Orange are gonna carry this in the UK (like would all the other carriers :)) Then I might have a new phone in my hands next year :)
Oh come on Engadget.. using the iPhone as a measurement? Does that make me 20 iPhones tall then? :|
Uh, I kinda forgot to add the point of my post..
So this phone isn't even in the same market as the iPhone. Yes I know, you guys like to put the iPhone into every category possible.. I'm still waiting for the Vertu vs iPhone post btw.. I think it's quite obvious this phone is in the same market as the Touch Pro and Xperia X1 and all those other full QWERTY sliders.. Now if it didn't have the QWERTY, then it would be a direct comparison with the iPhone..
So your reasoning is that it's not in the same class as the iPhone just b/c the iPhone doesn't have a hardware keyboard?
What do you have to say to all of us out there that are more proficient with iPhone's keyboard than any other mobile keyboard to date?
You're a liar? I doubt you could type faster than me on your little iPhone than I could with my Touch Pro. It's not possible.
"So your reasoning is that it's not in the same class as the iPhone just b/c the iPhone doesn't have a hardware keyboard?"
Actually, yes I am..
@Ray
I am as proficient on the iPhone's software keyboard as I am on the G1's hardware keyboard, for example. It's just a matter of getting used to it. Yes, a hardware keyboard tends to be easier to get used to, but it's irritating when people assume with blanket statements like "it's not possible." You don't use an iPhone on a daily basis from what I can gather; don't make claims you can't back up.
But of course, my reasoning will have little effect on you because you, like the rest of the multitudes on Engadget, have an automatic mindset against the iPhone. Not sure why, though.
Пеар седьмого контингента? )
:D
i wish engadget would feel me up...
?
Here's to Dopefish - shortest highest ranked comment ever.
So the Phone was reviewed in Russia? Ahh Russia, mat rossia. Funny, I heard that yesterday comrade Putin and his thugs arrested over 130 people in an anti Kremlin march.
In soviet russia, old stupid misconceptions make you !!
I was looking to upgrade now but I'm willing to wait 6 months for this baby.
Ive been looking for a phone that does pretty much everything, the N97 is one of those, this will definitely put the iPhone to shame.
As long as it has some decent third-party apps to go with it
That's why everyone (including engadget) loves the iPhone
@stephen,
You have no reasons whatsoever to nag about 'third party apps' in S60 platform. I had like 2 GB of apps (all of them cracked, didn't have to pay a penny, ssshh) to consume for my N70. There is at least one app for virtually everything in s60 platform already.
Arke,
The Symbian development community thanks you for your support, no doubt.
@USE,
I was just making a point there.
And about the community being grateful to me, well.. if I can something for free so easily then why should I spend my hard earned money? would you? do you?
So you see, that's not exactly my problem. If the community can somehow make it easier to buy than to crack, then most, including me, will go that way. Me owning a iPod Touch and actually paying to buy apps from app store would support my last argument, I guess.
Arke,
no worries. I pay for app store apps but not iTunes music or movies. I register shareware if I want to use it. But I don't have a Symbian phone so I don't know how easy/hard it is to purchase apps legally.
And this is going to be like the typical Nokia handset, released unsubsidized, for an outrageous price. No, thank you.
Depends where you are living. Europe and Asia will of course get it with all the carriers while USA will be left out and probally Canada...they have had new Nokia phones lately thought.
There's still at least 2 more TS phones yet to released for this year from Nokia and i'm still all about the E series TS device that Eldar talked to be the mass market high end S60 device E77. Metallic, thin, hopefully qwerty as it's E series device and more support for mail softs.
N97 in white is sexah, but really started to like E series more receantly than N series for some reason.
And that outrageous, unsubsidized price will still be a better value than the bending over you'll have to perform for any $200-$300 subsidized AT&T smartphone (including the non-copy-and-paste/multitasking iPhone) over the course of a 2 year contract...You have to love that outrageous $30 data plan.
It doesn't matter, It is still not worth that price. No way in hell.
I have no problem paying a small premium over the course of 2 years to get an actual smartphone.
For me, 32GBs of internal storage AND an expandable microSDHC slot, multitasking, copy and paste, A2DP, actual QWERTY keyboard, and amazing battery life is *more* than worth that premium.
I don't know about you though, but that's the beauty of freedom. No one is going to force you to get this phone when it comes out, just like how no one is forcing me to bend over, get an iPhone, and welcome the Apple/AT&T overlords.
Typical American attitude. Would rather pay more over the long term on borrowed credit than save his/her money and pay it all up front. Do you also shop at those rent-to-own furniture places?
/American
//annoyed at our credit problems.
"And that outrageous, unsubsidized price will still be a better value than the bending over you'll have to perform for any $200-$300 subsidized AT&T smartphone (including the non-copy-and-paste/multitasking iPhone) over the course of a 2 year contract...You have to love that outrageous $30 data plan."
I agree that subsidized phones costs are not clear, but as an American, what is my alternative? So I buy the N97. I need to get service for it, don't I? So now I'm going to get a plan from AT&T anyway, right? True, I don't need to sign a contract, but I'm paying the same amount per month as before, only I paid $800 (or whatever) for the phone instead of getting a Touch Pro for half that. American mobile rates may be higher to pay for subsidized phones, but that just makes you doubly screwed if you buy an unsubsidized phone. Or am I missing something?
"I agree that subsidized phones costs are not clear, but as an American, what is my alternative? So I buy the N97. I need to get service for it, don't I? So now I'm going to get a plan from AT&T anyway, right? True, I don't need to sign a contract, but I'm paying the same amount per month as before, only I paid $800 (or whatever) for the phone instead of getting a Touch Pro for half that. American mobile rates may be higher to pay for subsidized phones, but that just makes you doubly screwed if you buy an unsubsidized phone. Or am I missing something?"
AT&T's data plan for unlocked Nokias is $15 a month.
Does it make sense now?
"AT&T's data plan for unlocked Nokias is $15 a month.
Does it make sense now?"
Nice, I didn't know that. Nokia should pay you a commission, because I think you may have made a sale!
Please don't tell me that any of you enlightened Europeans actually think that any of these advanced Nokia phones are actually worth that many hundred dollars. That is my point. Yes, you are getting the phones unsubsidized, but you are paying through the nose for that priveledge. I am fine with company's making a profit, but the fact is that that phone is ridiculously priced. It would have to be nearly perfect to justify it, and the size, weight, and sluggishness of the UI show that it is very clearly not even close to perfect.
I have never wanted a phone this badly...
same here. I saw the preview and I jizzed in my pants. (ref. snl skit).
Thats one ugly phone!
Game over man, game over!!!! The N97 is gonna isht on the competition!
if it is anything as slick as this, i am buying
Uhh, this?
let me rephrase, if the phone is as slick as it shows in the video, i am buying it
What is with Engadget's insistence on calling this phone "thick," or "big" Of course it's going to be a little thicker than the beloved iPhone, it kinda has to be if it's going to have a physical keyboard. The 3G iPhone is 12.3mm thick I believe? This Nokia is 15.9mm. That's not all that much...
Off topic, but I cannot stand it when writers treat company names as collective nouns in the plural sense. Simply sounds stupid. "Nokia is," not "Nokia are."
End of rant.
And I thought I was fussy asking for extra salt on my chips.
Uh that's English as spoken in England. It's nice because it refers to the people that comprise the entity rather than the entity itself.
While the video looks really cool and the UI seems really fluid, I'm still skeptical.
The "hands-on" videos show the UI as still very sluggish and not responsive as the ad suggests:
http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/02/nokia-n97-video-hands-on/
All N97s at the moment are on prototype firmwares, they'll polish it up by the time it's ready to go live on the markets, the 5800EM looked sluggish in all the previews but the final version in stores is much faster with smooth transition effects.
*sigh*
Looks like this phone is going to suffer from the same clunky feeling interface that s60 gives my N95. :( I *REALLY* wish Nokia would improve on this. Look how the accelerometer doesn't yield a proper screen turn. Look how it hangs, and tries to re-paint the screen in pieces when applications are switched. Look how it doesn't register proper input all the time.
The features on this phone are the best I've seen to date, but the Symbian s60 OS running the hardware is fucking things up ROYALLY. Any way we could load Android on this phone perhaps???