The Nokia N97 - A first look at the specs and some first impressions
Written by Glenn Letham
Tuesday, 02 December 2008
The Nokia N97... we've heard from a few folks about their first
impressions so now it's my turn. So, what are my initial thoughts about
the N97? Well, given I haven't had my hands on one yet I can offer up
some thoughts from a distance...
Well, it's been about 12 hours now since the word of the Nokia N97
was officially released at Nokia World 2008 in Barcelona. Many of the
mobile vocal have had a chance to air their initial thoughts about the
new device (scheduled for release sometime in 2009, likely Q2). See for
example the following bloggers first comments:
James Whatley and the Whatley POV
- James rips on the device in typical Whatley fashion, however, he does
finally admit that you'll need to get in the line behind him for this
one!
So, what are my initial thoughts about the N97? Well, given I haven't had my hands on one yet I can offer up some thoughts from a distance...
I'm likely most excited about the whopping 32 GB of internal flash
memory... oh, and you can also expand that with another 16GB via
MicroSD card. The integrated GPS accompanied by a bonus inclusion of a
magnetometer means that some exciting location-aware applications will
eventually support this device. Speaking of mobile LBS
apps, the addition of the new Nokia Maps 3 with turn-by-turn
directions, friendly walking directions, satellite imagery and more
mean that there's no need for any N97 user to also have to pay for an
additional PND service and device in the vehicle. I'm also excited
about hearing that the N97 is being tied to the concept of 'social
location' ie. sharing content that your capturing and creating with
others via your social networks, all tied to your location as well...
this is indeed what people want.
Other items that get me excited about the N97 include:
- full slide out QWERTY keyboard... ever since using a Nokia e71 I've been hooked on the QWERTY... this is great to see.
- sports S60 5... this would be my first look at an S60 5 device.
- shutter lens on the camera... I haven't seen this since the original
N95 but I know loads of people, including yours truly, will appreciate
the return of this to the design (small things can make a big
difference)
- Touch UI... to date I'm simply not a fan of the iPod although the
option of having touch navigation is awesome... having another way to
navigate around the device is a real treat. I've seen loads of
"traditional media" touting touch as "THE finally here" capability of
this device, however, I don't see it that way. It's going to be great
to have that capability but its definitely not THE main selling point.
- the HUGE screen, similar to the Communicator (see Nokia E90) will
make web browsing, watching video and mobile TV a real treat, not to
mention all that real estate when working via mobile on office
applications.
- full integration with the Ovi service... this has been promised and
is something I've been waiting for, perhaps this will be the device
that actually delivers a great experience along with Ovi... we can only
hope!
Potential pitfalls:
- size.. indeed it is a bit large
- price and availability... unfortunately for us in the USA we get
late access to all these cool devices and none of the carriers offer
them so forget about a subsidized N97
Like many of the other bloggers and writers mentioned above, I've
been a long-time power user of the Nokia N95 (8GB) and so the N97 is a natural next step
for those of us looking to "upgrade". I'm currently testing an N96 and
while its a very cool, powerful device, I simply don't see it as the
next-generation device for the N95 user... that's where the N97 will
come into play.
So what's the big selling point for the N97? In my mind, this one is the complete package.
This will no doubt be THE always connected, converged, multi-media
computer and mobile companion that the typical S60 power user will
crave... hopefully the large size (3.5" screen - 640 x 360) means that
it will fit in my pocket!
In short, I'm already in line for this one (provided
that we'll actually see it come to market here in the U.S) so James
Darla, Rafe, Ricky and others... get behind me man ;0)
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