Nokia N97 'Mini' gets pictured in the wild?
By Donald Melanson 
posted July 29th 2009 2:42PM
posted July 29th 2009 2:42PM
We've already heard talk of a Nokia N97 Mini (or Mini N97, if you will) from folks who should know what the situation is, and it looks like things have now gotten more interesting still, with some seemingly legitimate pictures of the rumored device finding their way to us that show it out and about with its bigger brother. As you can see above and in another pic after the break, the device is slightly smaller and slightly slimmer than the regular N97, and it's also received a few subtle design changes, particularly on the back, where the camera has lost its sliding cover. Could it be real? Almost certainly -- either that, or it's a tremendously talented KIRF -- though we're not sure we understand the business justification for a new version of the N97 that isn't small enough (or different enough, for that matter) to hold its own spot in the lineup. Not much more to go on than that, unfortunately, but you can pretty safely move this one up a notch on the ol' Rumor-o-Meter.
Nokia n97?
notice the lowercase n.
Yeah, that's a good idea.
Btw, how would you pronounce that?
"nokia-lowercase-n-ninety-seven"
or simply "nokia low end ninety seven"
I thought their N series were all lower case n's until I bought an N85.
The website even has a capitalized N - http://www.nokiausa.com/find-products/phones/nokia-n97#/main/landing
Looks like they trimmed down that neat looking but space hogging and useless tilt mechanism. But the keyboard still only has three rows.
Weight?
155 lbs, healthy like stallion, you?
@ daniel
your response isn't the funny part, but its really your avatar that seals the deal.
OMG it's black, so it looks like an iPhone.
OMG! It looks sexy, so that it's like an iPhone. Why can't Nokia be original for once!
No, devices that actually look like the iPhone, like the completely original Zii Egg, look like an iPhone [or iPod Touch in that case]. This looks nothing like an iPhone.
It does happen, despite it being super crazy cool to pretend that the iPhone/iPod Touch's immense popularity has had zero affect on other devices and companies.
not that much more 'mini' if you ask me. reminds me of iphone nano.
I agree. It's barely smaller, I don't see the point.
If I had to guess, *all* the specs are smaller: screen/form yes, no D-pad yes, but also smaller mass storage (8 GB), smaller camera (3 MP).
Removing GPS wouldn't happen since they are so hot for SoLo across the whole platform but compass might get pulled. FM transmitter? May be gone too.
With all those changes, I don't think there's any confusion. They're doing a similar nerfing of the 5800 to get it into cheaper markets.
this should make this with android...
it would look classy : )
after extensively playing w/ a 1.5 build of android yesterday/today. i agree. but, and here's a big but, if it still has the same horses ass processor powering the thing, i'll stick on the sidelines for yet another round.
Good. For those of us that can't blow 600 benji's on a phone, maybe this will be real and drive down the price of the man sized version.
uhh 600 benji's would total 60 000?
Haha, good call. That's why I need the phone, to calculate the correct about of benjamins in a given amount.
The space bar looks wider and there _seems_ to be four arrow keys, PC style. I can only wish it had a capacitive touchscreen and some brand new software (Maemo perhaps) in it. Then it would be a killer device.
If it is real, update the bloody hardware. Stick a faster chip in there and release an OS that isn't laggy.
Looks good. But it will perform just as bad as the regular N97.
I think this is awfully KIRFy.
I doubt that this is real. It just looks like a fake. Nokia has shitty design already, it's not exactly hard to copy in a crappy factory.
There's no way they would give that a model number remotely close to N97. It would be like shooting themselves in the foot.
space bar still fails
Throw some android on that bitch, I'll buy.
I would risk to say that it CAN be the promised nokia's maemophone - the lack of the d-pad is a sign of it.
Maybe, but last known leaks on the Maemophone indicated a 3.5" display, same as the N97 (but higher-res). This is noticeably smaller.
It _could_ be that this replaces the N97 as a 640x360 S60 machine, and the Maemophone (with casing produced on old-N97 tooling, just in a different color) is introduced. I don't really believe this, as it seems totally crazy, but so does going with a 3.1" 800x480 screen anywhere outside of Japan.
In reality, I'd say it's probably just an N97-2. They're hitting it with a refresh, and tweaked it just a little more than the N95-1/3/5 vs. 2/4/6 variations.
N97-2? Doesn't anyone remember the N95's later revisions? For the 3 they changed quite a bit, smaller screen, no camera cover, etcetc. I wouldn't be surprised at all if this was the next revision of the N97.
Whoever hates Nokia's design obviously has a bad taste. Nokia has definitely designed the classiest phones out of any company for several years now. The N, E, and 6xxx series are all filled with tasteful design.
and definitely the most usable touchscreens!
/s
I believe this is a Vodafone exclusive that was rumored a while back
http://www.worldofnokia.co.uk/2009/07/nokia-n97-mini-e72-at-vodafone/
Cripes! I ordered my N97 the day before yesterday...F***
Tor already ordered it and his brand new N97 is up on ebay by now.
It looks like a prototype but I am definitely excited about this!
N97 + N97 mini = Double Fail
legen000 + legen000 + legen000 = Triple Fail
You=just fail. No more, no less.
Why would any phone need to be smaller than the N97? It's too small as it is. They should make a phone version of the N810, but with a better placed headset jack and a real standard USB port (like mini-USB). And an A8 Cortex proc or Tesla... And Android...
Smartphone isn't about shape, it is about software! Needless to say Symbian is way behind!
pray tell. Smartphones are about productivity and functionality. The symbian platform does this well. It isn't particularly suited to a consumer market but for the smartphone market it is.
Look at it objectively, devices like the iphone have great software/interface but using both, it actually does not translate into more usability or more productivity/functionality over say an e90 or an 71, for example. To top it off, one of the major fundamentals of the smartphone simply isnt met on an iphone and other touch device; the ability to functionally operate 1-handed in an efficient manner.
Theres a reason the N nokias compete with iphone and thats because they are devices for the mass consumer. The E90 and to an extent the E71 are purpose built for productivity while N nokia and iphone are consumer devices.
Your implied post is that current symbian isnt workable when the reality is that all it lacks is snazzy graphics.
I had an n97 for about two weeks - it was my first nokia since my e61 (what a great phone that was), I couldn't believe how slow it was compared to some other modern phones I've been using. Is it the firmware or the processor?
it's the processor, sorry man
Whatever way you look at it, a smaller turd is still a turd unfortunately.
When it comes to design I would rather have the bigger one.
What needs to change is:
-Capacitive/brighter/higher resolution screen
-More Ram
-Better OS
-Fewer Bugs
-Descent price 500 and lower.
-Better Flash
Looks like this could be the N900 / Maemo-Phone that was rumored a couple months ago.
Needs a dvb-h receiver, oh wait they don't use that tech in the US do they?
I saw the site these pics were originally on before the page was taken down, I believe it still has the same tilt mech as the N97 because the bar that runs across displaying the spec is still there. To those who are interested, it clearly stated 8gb internal memory, not the 32 as is standard now. The rest of the specs escape me though.
Do I think this is the next Maemo device? No.
The N97 doesn't have a Control key.. so copy and paste is very cumbersomely via the screen.. however, it does have a far less useful sym button that pops up a table of extended symbols.. It also has a blue shift button.. Shift q is Q, but blue-Q is 1.. That phone doesn't appear to have either in the conventional places.. that being said, it does have 4 extra buttons over the N97.. but they aren't on the bottom row or on the edge and from the picture they appear to have two symbols on them (like the Q on the N97 has a q and 1 or the a has an a and an @)
Makes me think its a bit bs.. That being said, the N97 is awful.. truely terrible.. and we all know Nokia never fix a phone they release broken.. they simply replace it with a slightly different model that works..
I think it too soon.. and if I were Nokia, I'd want to forget the N97 and pretend like it was never sold..
So who ACTUALLY has the mini N97? Engadget or gadgetreview
http://www.gadgetreview.com/2009/07/gadget-leak-mini-nokia-n97-spotted.html
At least they removed the lens cover so it doesn't scratch it's own lens...