Nokia N97 Mini now shipping to American lovers, haters
By Darren Murph 
posted December 2nd 2009 9:59PM
posted December 2nd 2009 9:59PM
The miniaturized version of Nokia's N97 began shipping to eager consumers in Europe in late October, but for those unable to save their pennies in America while waiting for the N900, today's the day to unload. As of right now, the (obviously unlocked) N97 Mini is shipping from both Dell and Amazon here in the States, with the former offering it for $430 (after coupon) and the latter selling it for $479.99. Any takers? Or has the full-sized N97 already claimed that piece of your heart?
Never really understood why. The big N97 is pretty compact versus 3.6" smartphones with keyboard, and shaving half an inch off the screen doesn't exactly make the thing small either.
@YpoCaramel I have a pet theory that the N97 Mini was a completely different phone that was just retooled to have the N97 hinge. The other phone, with the addition of the hinge and just a little bit smaller, was christened N97 Mini because they thought N97 was going to sell well.
@YpoCarame
Exactly! Why would anyone really take the mini over the regular N97. The phone is pretty awesome if you figure out how to make it work :) Im just waiting for Nokia to fix the lens issue so i could send mine in :)
@spiky32kobe Please see below - apparently they doubled the internal memory and of course, 2.0 is preloaded. I like my N97 too despite its flaw - it has a great app database for Hong Kong, Nokia worked really hard with local media, these are applications not available on other platforms.
I'll wait for the mini n900.
Keep the price at 450 or so and i'm there.
is this going to work on tmobile 3g bands or at&t?
@saturnblackhole at&t (1800)
I'm an unsatisfied N97 owner so, naturally, I don't recommend its little cousin. Even with firmware 2.0, S60 5th addition is borderline abysmal.
I might put mine up for sale on eBay or Craigslist.
@Unbiased
Unfortunately, this sums up my thoughts on the N97 as well...no matter how much I want to love it.
@Omagus My thoughts too, I'm an unhappy N97 user.
Anyone who's used this phone will tell you that it is a very different phone from the n97 (original). Solid build quality (more tactile, full metal, keyboard still 3 row but they've removed the d-pad so the keys are better with more travel), doubled the internal storage (c drive) so app's are more stable, faster and less prone to the out of memory notifications, smaller but much better screen which also makes it easier to use one handed + the 2.0 sw which for some reason works better on the mini than the original.
This has 8gb internal compared to 32 on the original and also lacks the fm transmitter. If you really want an n97 go for this, otherwise look elsewhere.
@Munk Ahhh now I get it. Thanks. Grrr.... they should update my big N97 C: memory arghhh...
@YpoCaramel Yw. Yes, they really screwed up the n97 and those responsible should be spanked!....errr....moving on!
The n97 is a much better device but unfortunately the ram is still in sufficient if you plan to open multiple flash heavy sites (yt + disney + espn gamecast etc). Main attraction for me was the usability. The screens smaller but crisper with better pixel density. Its easier to hold and use single handedly. Better keyboard (imho) and a great overall build with lots of metal.
Not buying either, the N97 has some fairly poor reviews on Amazon, sighh. But it seems Nokia is the only carrier with the balls enough to release a factory unlocked USA 3G phone. Where are the other carriers that should be doing this, but arent?
@Hydra
Sony does just that... I think they'd be better off if they got subsidized high end phones though.
I just wish Australia had the type of range America gets. We have not even got the Hero over here yet! Considering The Engadget Show is getting sponsored by Nokia, are we going to see reviews on the Mini, X6 and other phones hitting the market soon?
@(Unverified) Don't worry your not alone, people in North America are in the same boat. We envy what the Europeans get before us (ex: HTC HD2, Nokia X6)
@Tommy but you get droid first and lots of other things first.
There is no point getting the mini at this price especially when the n900 is $500 with a rebate at amazon.
@Tommy The N97 and mini have Att's 3G , which is also the same 3G bands for many other countries.
The N900 only comes with tmobiles 3G bands, until they add on, or make a separate version, it really alienates many would be buyers
@Hydra Honestly, maybe I misunderstood what you said. But if you said what I think you said, then the N900 is WCDMA 900/1700/2100. This means it will work in Asia/Europe/More (900), T-Mobile USA (1700) and Europe/More (2100).
Details about frequency bands can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UMTS_frequency_bands
woop tee doo!
Why does the piece read $480 when it's $500? Something I've missed?
They only time I'd consider buying this phone is when they sell it for $99 with no contract. Why should I pay premium for a poorly developed phone.
Who'd want it? The N900 can be found for the same price or cheaper, and is more of a device anyway.
What a terrible handset the N97 is... I dunno if it was rushed out of the factory or what. Many inconsistencies in OS level.
Nokia should ditch Symbian for N-Series devices and go with Maemo.
I was also playing with E72 and its an amazing device. It is symbian based but is lightning fast and a friend of mine has several apps installed on it... Even for making the phone a internet sharing point. Just amazing.
For the N-Series thank god n900 is here to save the day.
I got a N97 Mini yesterday on contract. So far it isn't going well, awful battery life, intermittent response from applications, buggy and often slow to respond UI. The only thing I do like so far is the keyboard.... as it stands I can't see myself wanting to be stuck in a 2 year contract with it.
@Kristoffa Sorry to hear that mate... I know the pain.
Try to go for a refund and get the n900.
Why is Dell selling a Nokia?
I think that is a great phone. Nokia made some big improvements over the older version. I am really thinking about picking this up, the deal is almost too hard to resist. Thanks for the tip Engadget. :)
Shouldn't they be making N97 XXXXL for the US market?