Nokia N97 Cell Phone
Overview
What's good: cool slider form-factor, widgets, 3.5G, 5MP cam with dual LED flash, 3.5" 640 x 360 pixel display, N-gage gaming.
What's bad: maddeningly glitchy software was not improved by a recent update; operating system has not been properly reworked for touch screens; bad reception and poor call quality; unpredictable behavior; nag screens galore; seems to break easily (battery cover especially); battery drains too quickly, charges slowly, and the phone won't operate below a high level of juice. I could go on.
Introduction
The N97 is Nokia's current flagship device, which is a shame. Tank may be more appropriate a label for this one's role. Long-time, hard-core Symbian fans might manage a smooth transition, but I think that everyone else - save a select few - will be completely alienated and turned off by this phone. Those select few are folks with almost no cell phone experience. I say this because I think anyone with the slightest indication of what has transpired in the mobile world over the last five years will find it hard to look beyond the shortcomings of the N97 - they are plentiful.
Design & Features
The hardware looks pretty decent. It's subtle, sleek, and modern. but the light weight and plastic surface make the N97 feel cheap in the hand. And one the the N97 most certainly is not, is cheap. $699, even without a contract, is a ridiculous price for such a device. The resistive touch screen combined with the aforementioned characteristics put this phone at a value about 65% lower than the current going rate, in my estimation. (Even with the clearance tag, I wouldn't spend my money on it.)
If you can make your way past the clunky, flickering software, you'll find that the N97 has a decent cam, 3.5G speeds, and some pretty cool widget implementation. They won't tackle iPhone or Android widgets but they are hovering around the quality of Samsung's TouchWiz counterparts.
The sliding screen is probably the N97's greatest strength. It moves smoothly and feels solid. Pushing it up at an angle reveals a grid-style QWERTY with a D-pad and a space bar way off to the right side. It is cool to have that screen propped up at an angle for easy viewing while typing. (cont.)
Usability & Performance
When I first got this demo unit, the phone would not power on. I charged it for four hours, and it would still not power on. I was convinced I had a broken device, but the screen lit up when I plugged it in. I charged it for another six hours. The phone powered on, blinked, reset itself, rebooted a few times, and then died. I charged it for another 12 hours and the phone powered up and stayed on. This is where the trouble started.
Before I go on and forget the lesser annoyances, I'd like to point out that during a week of use there were four or five occasions where the battery ran below a certain threshold and the phone could not be used without charging it for another eight hours. When this happened, some data was lost while some was preserved. I can't be more specific than that because results were not consistent.
After getting past the hurdle of turning the phone on, I was happy to find some cool widgets available for the N97n home screen - the coolest of which probably being Facebook. There was even a widget for the Thai social networking site, Hi5. Cool. Tap on a widget and you're given an extended view. That's pretty handy, until you get a call. The software was so slow to respond that it would not answer a call while I was using widgets. O.K., no problem. Kill the widgets.
With all of the widgets removed from my home screen, and after a fresh reboot, I waited outside my wife's work for word from her that she was coming down, that I need to wait another five, whatever. The phone rang. It continued to ring as I tried to answer it. When I was finally able to join the call, my wife was already hanging up. Five rings it took to answer the phone - because the software was just that slow and buggy. Out of a dozen or so calls I received on the N97, I was able to answer two. When I initiated calls, reception was horrible. Every call ended with me saying, "let me call you back from a better phone."
I'd like to review the music player, web browser, gaming platform, etc. But the truth is that this phone is unusable for me. I tried all of these features, with varying levels of success. But in every case the operating system bogged me down and interrupted the experience. And that's what it comes down to with the N97: the OS is so cumbersome and apparent that no application is capable of truly shining - not the dialer, not a game, not the web browser. If a phone can't be used as a phone, I'm not sure any other features matter all that much.
Conclusion
I wish I could have found more positive things to say about this device. I'm sure fans will not be happy with this review, but the simple truth is that the Nokia N97 is the most unusable phone I have ever held to date. I was notified on my second run with the phone (I gave up on it the first time around) that a major software update was available. After hassling with the Windows-only updater and more low battery issues, I finally accomplished the update. I saw no practical improvement.
So, I give this unlocked GSM two thumbs down. If it sold unlocked for $250 - $300, I might be more optimistic.
See the N97's specs here.
Read full review » Nokia N97 full review. Noah from PhoneDog brings you Part 2 of 2. Nokia N97 full review. Noah from PhoneDog brings you Part 1 of 2. Noah gets Nokia's flagship phone of the moment, the N97. Touch, QWERTY, 5MP, 32 GB, and an LL Cool J video promo. But is it enough to justify the $700 price tag? Noah finally dips back into the mailbag - if you have a question you want answered, post it to the PhoneDog Forums! Here's the link:
http://www.phonedog.com/c... It won't ship until late May or so, but Noah got some time with Nokia's new flaghship, the N97, at MWC in Barcelona. Touchscreen, QWERTY, and 32GB of internal storage? Yup. Check it out. As expected, Nokia dropped a bomb on its faithful at Nokia World in Barcelona early this morning. What was it? The flagship N97 smartphone. Due in the first half of 2009, the N97 looks kind of like a modernized HTC Tilt, with its sliding, tilting touchscreen and hidden QWERTY board. Check out Nokia's promo video of the N97. Could it be? Word on the street is that Nokia is mulling over the idea of buying Palm. Wowsers. Could you imagine the N97 or the N900 with WebOS? From a business standpoint, it would make sense. When it comes to smartphones, BlackBerry and iPhone are tearing up the track. Android devices, by way of HTC or Motorola, is looming large in the headlines, especially lately. But Nokia has failed to generate buzz that’s even remotely on par with... Nokia's flagship seems to have sunk. What's good: Cool slider form-factor, widgets, 3.5G, 5MP cam with dual LED flash, 3.5" 640 x 360 pixel display, N-gage gaming. What's bad: maddeningly glitchy software was not improved by a recent update; operating system has not been properly reworked for touch screens; bad reception and poor call quality; unpredictable behavior; nag screens galore; seems to break easily (battery cover especially); battery... Nokia fans who believed in the mythological Mini N97 may have gotten their due: Images of the rumored phone have popped up in a side-by-side with the original. Take the full-fledged N97, put it in the dryer and shrink it a size or two, and that’s pretty much what this Mini looks like at first glance. A closer look at the slightly smaller, thinner handset reveals that the camera has gone au natural (without a cover) and lost the d-pad (at the... Nokia stock fell 10+% on the news that its Q2 2009 earnings were smaller than expected, and operating profit was a staggering 66% lower than over the same period in 2008, and sales were off 25% from a year ago. "Competition remains intense, but demand in the overall mobile device market appears to be bottoming out," Chief Executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said in a Wall Street Journal report.Nokia's market share only dropped one percent this...
Love it, Hate it: Apple iPhoneLove it, Hate it: Google AndroidLove it, Hate it: Palm Pre I was reading Game Informer magazine the other day, and the Letter from the Editor was basically a shout-out to everyone who's ever accused him of favoring one platform over another over the years. He did this by running through a list of what he likes and dislikes about every major gaming platform currently on the market.Dealing with... I've been testing the Nokia N97 for more than a week now. On the one hand, I'm not very impressed with the device. On the other hand, I know it represents a predictable refinement of Nokia's N-Series lineup that will keep thousands of Symbian loyalists happy until the first Symbian Foundation OS devices hit the market. If they ever do. Still, I don't think the N97 is a worthy competitor to smartphones from the likes... Pros: Wi-Fi, Touch Screen, Fuul QWERTY Keyboard, Updates for OS and best of all... The Built in Cam! Cons: Tilts up a bit too steep, no cover for the mini USB port and very pricey. Summary: All in All it is a good phone love it and i do not plan on getting a new one for at least 2 years All Nokia N97 user reviewsProfessional tool!It is very helpful for me!Thanks! None of them! Wait for the N900 as it will be the ultimate mobile computer with phone capabilities! I perfer nokia!Now I just need one video converter!en!Nidesoft Nokia video converter?Thanks for your inoformation!I will try it ! quote this article from http://bestvideoconverter...
This summer there are some very strong devices out there including Blackberry Tour, Nokia N97, HTC Magic, iPhone 3G S, Palm Pre. Some may prefer iPhone 3G S or Palm Pre, but at last I have narrowed down my choices to Blackberry Tour and Nokia N97, and I’ve had a really tough time choosing between the two:[img]http://nidesoft.com/forum... tour:· Supports high-speed 3G EV-DO Rev· Non-touchscreen, a large,... u idiot the OMNIA HD IS SYMBIAN NOT WINDOWS and i swear it is the best phone ive ever had i have had it for 4 days and it is excclent i had a iphone 3g the iphone was good but the omnia hd IS FANTABAULOUS, its the best phone on the marker that BIG BUTIFULL JUSICY AMOLED HD SCREEN IS GERGOUS i swear to god its 10 times better than the iphone 3gs, itd a wait of money for all the features it lacks, the N97 is also a great phone my bro got one and... Hey everyone! I am thinking about replacing my blackberry bold for something touchy and slidey! I am tired of the old blackberry os, I've been a hardcore user for 3 years, and have had every blackberry. I need something different. I am thinking about getting either the Palm Pre or the Nokia N97.
I hear the N97 has a better body build, and the pre a better OS. The N97 with a 5mpx and the Pre with 3 non autofocus (how????)... The N97 has an... Well in my opinion i dont like Windows Mobile, even Windows Mobile users says that WM is a bit dificult and if your old phone is not a WM phone it may be a little hard to get use to it.
iphone 3GS is a great phone, but AT&T is a bad carrier, you may wanna go for the 3G cuz u can use it with any carrier now.
Nokia n97 is a great phone but the same WM problem if you are not use to Symbian it may be a little hard to get use to it...
so have you... Hi, i also like the omnia hd. It is overall the best phone of the three you mentioned. The n97 is only avalible unlocked for 700 dollers and the screen is not very responsive, the 3g s is good but you lose a lot of features thanks to att and you have to buy a redicules aditional plan with it however with the omnia hd you don't. The internet seems faster on the omnia hd rather than the others based on the videos i've seen. I also think the omnia... Hi everyone,
I'm currently looking to buy a new smartphone, i've been going back and forth between many of them for the past few weeks, but i kind of narrowed my choices down to a couple, and i was wondering if anyone has some suggestions to help me, and others who are struggling between which smartphone to get.
Currently i'm leaning towards the omnia HD (or possibly the regular omnia), which looked wonderful, but im still... Buying choicesWith new service  This item is not being sold with a service plan by any online merchant. With pre-paid service This item is not being sold with a pre-paid service service plan by any online merchant. Purchase phone only Accessories Purchase compatible accessories for this phone Ringtones & MediaShop for compatible mobile content for this phone
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4.8 
this mobile can do what the PDA can do.
so it i a smartphone.
but Symbian, its OS, is not software enough, that may be a problem.
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It should come out this summer. I'm also Verizon so when my contract end this summer, I'm planning on switching to t-Mobile and using an unlocked n97. Good luck