The Nokia N97 revealed! The most powerful, multi-sensory mobile computer in existence
December 2, 2008
Desktop. Laptop. Pocket: The era of the personal Internet dawns with the Nokia N97 
“From the desktop to the laptop and now to your pocket, the Nokia N97 is the most powerful, multi-sensory mobile computer in existence,” said Jonas Geust, Vice President, heading Nokia Nseries.
Tilting touch display, QWERTY keyboard and personalized home screen – a true mobile computer
Nokia has managed to shock the hell out of me! OMG! Wow!
I was thinking of getting Nokia’s first mid-range and affordable Touch-screen 5800 XpressMusic phone to replace my N82 in late 2009, but I was really unhappy that the Nokia 5800 had no physical keys, so now it looks like this new upcoming sexy beast, the Nseries Nokia N97 will hopefully be my phone replacement for next year (unless something even better turns up till that time! I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a phone with Xenon-Flash, but lets see…) 
I absolutely love, love, love the QWERTY keyboard and touch-screen. In addition to being so darn sexy in looks, I’m simply over the moon with the specifications.
The Nokia N97 has taken the specs of the Nokia 5800 and notched it up by adding:
- Full-QWERTY keyboard + Touch-screen (Nokia 5800 has no physical keys! A deal-breaker for me as I blog and chat a lot)
- 5MP Carl Zeiss lens camera (Nokia 5800 has the measely 3.2MP outdated camera)
- Huge 3.5″ display (Nokia 5800 display is 3.2″)
- Powerful 1500mAh Battery! Same powerful battery as the Nokia E61i & Nokia E71 (Nokia 5800 only has a 1320 mAh battery)
- Massive 32GBs of onboard Memory + 16GB expandable Memory Card (Nokia 5800 only has 128MB onboard with 8GB expandable Card)
- MicroUSB jack, which supports charging over USB.
- 3.5mm Audio jack, with TV-Out support.
Nokia Press Release:
Barcelona, Spain – Nokia today unveiled the Nokia N97, the world’s most advanced mobile computer, which will transform the way people connect to the Internet and to each other.
Designed for the needs of Internet-savvy consumers, the Nokia N97 combines a large 3.5″ touch display with a full QWERTY keyboard, providing an ‘always open’ window to favorite social networking sites and Internet destinations.
Nokia N97 runs on Symbian S60 5th Edition UI.
Nokia N97 introduces the concept of ’social location’. With integrated A-GPS sensors and an electronic compass, the Nokia N97 mobile computer intuitively understands where it is. The Nokia N97 makes it easy to update social networks automatically with real-time information, giving approved friends the ability to update their ’status’ and share their ’social location’ as well as related pictures or videos.
Nokia N97 is perfectly suited for browsing the web, streaming Flash videos or playing games. Both the physical QWERTY and virtual touch input ensure efficiency in blogging, chatting, posting, sending texts or emailing.Nokia N97 supports up to 48 GB of storage, including 32 GB of on-board memory, expandable with a 16 GB microSD card for music, media and more. This is complemented by excellent music capabilities, full support for the Nokia Music Store and continuous playback time of up to 1.5 days.
Nokia N97 also has a 5-Megapixel camera with high-quality Carl Zeiss optics.
16:9 and DVD quality video capture, and support for services like Share on Ovi for immediate sharing over HSDPA and WLAN.
The Nokia N97 is expected to begin shipping in the first half of 2009 at an estimated retail price of EUR 550 before taxes or subsidies.
The guys at AllAboutSymbian.com already have a prototype of the Nokia N97 in their hands, and have done an excellent job of writing down the detailed specifications, so head on over there to read all about it!
Entry Filed under: MobilePakistan Blog. Tags: N97, Nokia, Nokia N97, Symbian, Symbian S60 5th Edition.
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1.
schawlaf | December 2, 2008 at 3:07 pm
I’m not impressed , It’s just a hyped up N Series when compared to it’s earlier S60v5 sibling 5800 Express Music
Here’s my comparison
Screen :
N97 – 3.5 inches 640 x 360 Pixel Touchscreen
5800 – 3.2 Inches 640 X 360 Pixel Touchscreen
Camera :
N97 – 5 MP Carl Zeius Duel LEd Flash
5800 – 3.2 MP Carl Zeius Duel LEd Flash
OS : Both Symbian S60 V5
Onbaord / Expandable :
N97 – 32 GB + 16 GB Card
5800 – 8 Gb Card
input MEthod :
N97 – Touch screen Keyboard and slide out keyboard
5800 – Touch Screen Keyboard
both has GPS, HSDPA, Wi-Fi, USB 2.0, stereo Bluetooth and a 3.5mm headphone jack
so where is the difference Price yup there the difference matters
N97 – 550 Euros Expected in 2nd Half 2009
5800 – 330 Euros in India ( Jan 09 Launch )
So for 220 Euros all I get is a lrger screen on board memory , some widgets which I think could e installed later on 5800 , a keyboard . no Thanks
reminds me of N95 -8gb and N96 scenario
Farhan
ourn958gb.blogspot.com
2.
schawlaf | December 2, 2008 at 3:10 pm
ooh I forgot one more thing doesn’t the form factor reminds of HC TYTN II
3.
Moblogpk | December 2, 2008 at 5:07 pm
@Schawlaf
I was in the process of writing my blog when you commented
Well, I’ll have to disagree with your comment
I’d say that there is a huge difference between the phones, both in terms of specifications, as well as the build-quality.
QWERTY physical keyboard,
as compared to NO physical keyboard on Nokia 5800,
1500mAh Battery,
as compared to 1320mAh battery on Nokia 5800,
increased 3.5″ display size,
as compared to 3.2″ display size of Nokia 5800,
5MP Camera,
as compared to the outdated 3.2MP cam of Nokia 5800
All of these above specs are certainly worth the money.
I would rather pay more and get a Nokia N97 with Full-QWERTY than get a half-baked Nokia 5800 XpressMusic with no physical keys. It’s a total deal-breaker for me
But obviously, Nokia has always created multiple devices to suit all budgets & needs. Not everyone will be able to afford the Nokia N97 in the beginning.
For example we can take the case of the superbly built Nokia E71, and the stripped down plastic-version, the Nokia E63. Both have almost the same specs with just a few things reduced to bring the price down, the metal material of the phone replaced with cheap plastic and therefore reduce the over-all quality of the phone.
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is already a hit and “Sold-out” in most of Russia, and it will remain at the top as it is more friendly in terms of price to the average consumer so it will gain massive sales, whereas the Nokia N97 will be mind-blowing for people like me, always on the move & who love QWERTY phones + extra Battery time and are willing to pay for it
After getting the Nokia N82, I realised how much I miss QWERTY, so lets see till next year. I’m sure the prices will come down reasonably as more Touch-screen devices show up on the horizon.
And yes, the design does look similar to the HTC TytN II.. hehe.. but this is a “Nokia TyTN Dynamite” with 5MP Carl Zeiss lens!
4.
schawlaf | December 2, 2008 at 5:42 pm
We’ll this average consumer will stick to 5800 XM ,
will try to pursuade my boss to get a N97
5.
Moblogpk | December 2, 2008 at 5:58 pm
@Schawlaf
Well Farhan, I’m an average consumer, but I have my Camera & QWERTY needs.
Haha
The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is based more on Multimedia & Music needs.
The Nokia N97 is based more on internet, blogging, chatting and photography needs (the extra battery time is a gift for people on the move).
Both are different phones which cater to people with totally different requirements, so price becomes a secondary deciding factor.
I would recommend to wait for a while before getting the Nokia 5800. Nokia has planned to release several wonderful devices next year, so competition will bring on a price war which will benefit us all
I just recently bought the Nokia N82, so no plans to change to a new phone till the next 10 months atleast. I will Insh’Allah get the Nokia N97 by the end of 2009. By that time the prices will be down and I won’t need to pay 550 Euros like newbies
Will be saving money till then.
But ofcourse, being a gadget-freak makes the waiting very difficult indeed
6.
Ese | December 4, 2008 at 4:29 pm
OH my! oh my!
@ Moblog pk
I think my soon to be bought E71 has a partner already. come next year.
7.
Ese | December 4, 2008 at 4:35 pm
Oh did i mention i’m an average consumer as well? lol
8.
Moblogpk | December 4, 2008 at 6:36 pm
@Ese
lol..The average consumer is a user who has average, i.e, normal uses for the device. So, you know what Ese.. We, the 3 average users a.k.a “Gadget-freaks” will keep buying awesome devices from Nokia, and make Nokia one VERY happy company indeed! LoL 
Hahaha!!
This Nokia N97 is my dream-phone. 1 month back when I was in a dilemna whether to buy the E71 or the N82, I wished that Nokia could create a phone with the perfect camera of the Nseries and the fantastic keyboard of the Eseries, and they did it!
Apart from this public Mobile Blog which I hardly update
, I also have 3 other personal blogs where I write regularly, so just imagine what a blessing the QWERTY on the N97 will be for me 
Can’t wait to get my hands on it next year!
And wow, so you are getting the E71? Thats great! Hope that you enjoy it
I love my N82, but gosh I miss the QWERTY so badly!
I love blogging & chatting, and the T9 is killing me! LoLs.. The Apple Wireless keyboard helps, but its not portable enough to carry around everywhere, and will look too stupid to use in public places 
hehe
9.
Chris McKenna | December 5, 2008 at 2:42 am
I have the E71-2 and hands down, it’s the best device that I have used. I am looking forward to the N97 as I think it suits me perfectly and, with Nokia phones, the quality of the models produced and MFD in Finland are fantastic.
I had the Bold and it went back due to it did not work as a cell phone- making and receiving calls did not function due to a cheap and lousy transmitter. All else it was very nice but, still, the device felt flimsy. I dropped it once and it was scratched bad.
I had the iPhone and that went back due to bugs and being lousy as a cell phone. I had tried the BB Storm and, well, I disliked that in many ways-especially the touch screen click thing. Hated typing on it and, the unit I had tried out, froze when rotating right in the store. We had to remove the battery and hard boot the thing. I found most of those devices to be utter junk and unuseable.
Not so with the three Nokia devices that I have owned. I have a 9300, an E62 and now the E71. All of them are built like German tanks. I have dropped and stepped on them when getting gas, it has fallen out of my pocket off a roof and still works. Just rock solid and, the best part; the radios used are the best as far as reception and pulling in signal strengths.
I was looking at the E71 the other night thinking of how to improve it and, it would be to increase the screen and add a full slide out board. Well, I go online and see the N97 is just that plus a better camera too! There is an E75 that I had seen that also has a slider mechanism that I thought would be ideal for me.
The N97 though, with it’s full sized touch screen and larger qwerty looks exactly like it would work for me. The build quality also looks grade A. Being an engineer myself, I look at that and take that into consideration along with the quality of the software that is used.
Do you know if this device is going to have biz features like email client software and office type of apps on it or, is it strictly sticking to the N-series of users vs. E-series users.
Chris
10.
Moblogpk | December 5, 2008 at 4:57 am
@Chris McKenna
You’re absolutely right about the superb build quality of Nokia phones. I’ve got Nokia phones which have lasted for years with no problems at all. Love them! 
Hi there!
The Nokia E75 looks promising and I’m sure it will have a great price as well. Enterprise users who have no need for multimedia will love it (if Nokia ever announces it!)
The announcement of the Nokia N97 has currently totally overshadowed everything else in the Nokia lineup, specially with its all-in-one QWERTY, 5mp camera, TV-Out and touch-screen. If the price comes down, I think it will be a great success
About the Email & office applications, it’s quite clear that Nokia has marked the line where the Eseries is for Enterprise users, and the Nseries for Multimedia users, so there will be some things missing from both sides.
Even though the Nokia N97 has managed to merge the hardware of both N & E-series, I’m sure Nokia doesn’t want to put its Eseries in jeopardy.
As it is still too early to know from the prototype about what apps Nokia will allow in the final N97, we’ll just have to assume that the N97 won’t have Eseries Applications.
11.
lara | April 29, 2009 at 12:26 pm
i wish his price is lnt that expensive :SS:S:SS bcz its my dream cellphone:S:SS::S
12.
chris mckenna | May 23, 2009 at 6:51 am
I just ordered mine today and it should be here soon! Can’t wait to test this thing out and compare it against the new iPhone that is coming out June 8! Personally, I don’t think the iPhone will even come close to this device. In fact, rumor has it that the new hardware version of the iPhone is going to be around the same price as the N97. I have my bet on Nokia for the better device that packs more features such as almost ten hours of talk time not to mention the 5mp camera, expandable ram to 48GB, better graphics and a full qwerty as well as virtual touch screen keyboard not to mention it will blow the iPhone into a ditch when it comes to call clarity and reception due to a superior radio transmitter / receiver. But, proof is in the pudding.
13.
Chris McKenna | May 23, 2009 at 9:41 am
Actually, the N97 has more than the E series. It has a full blown web browser not the stripped down version that’s in the E series and, it has full Skype which, the E series also does not have. Both E and N series have the same email client now as well so, for email, there’s nothing different about the client either as both support full MS office, MS ex, Lotus, MS outlook and express etc so, it’s the same client as far as I can tell. So, the N97 looks like it’s a better overall device packed with more features, larger memory capacity etc.
14.
Chris McKenna | May 23, 2009 at 9:42 am
Boy I can’t wait to test this thing out! The day this thing arrives I will be a happy camper!!
15.
MK | May 30, 2009 at 10:26 pm
omg!!! this phone is soooo freak’n amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <3
so buying it!!!!
16.
chris mckenna | June 21, 2009 at 7:31 am
Well, finally, it’s here. I got it last night. Here’s a summary of what I found so far.
1. There’s no Skype client built in like Nokia advertised for the US model. They removed it due to some controversy with Verizon and other cell providers that were complaining about a bunch of reasons why it should be removed.
2. The headphone jack had no output despite the sound being on, headset connected. I could raise and lower the levels, end calls, answer them but, no audio was routed to headset. No sound, no output, no input- it was not working. Remove the battery, restart and audio is now working on the headset. Bug.
3. The indicator light: was not working despite being set to “breath” and “flash” for emails, missed calls and texts.
4. The keyboard layout is a bit funky. They put the space key all the way to the right and, there’s no dedicated number keys so, the user has to use a function key.
5. The touchscreen works excellent. No problems at all.
6. Accelerometers work excellent. No hanging, no overlapping screens like on the iPhone. It just works.
7. Call quality is superb. Loud and clear. The loudspeaker mode works great.
8. The GUI is really nice. Easy to use and get around on.
9. Wicked nice display. Very nice resolution.
10. Handwriting mode works fine. Took me a few minutes to get that hang of it but, it works really good once you get used to it.
That’s all for now.
17.
Chris McKenna | June 23, 2009 at 11:57 am
Ok, found out some more information. The full Skype client is on the way in a future software udpate along with full keyboard shortcuts and a virtual keyboard. Symbian updates announced that they are working on it. It was a rush to get the device out on time so, some things were cut and, Skype, keyboard shortcuts for copy / paste etc are a few that didn’t make the initial release.
After learning how to get around on the device and get the new latest email client and opera browser, this N97 is a really nice phone with super long battery life. I have been on it all day and the status is still full. Looking forward to the software updates and those shortcuts.
I did however, find a workaround by using notes to copy and paste to and from and, in the menu, they list “view open apps” just like Command – tab on Macs or ALT + Tab on PCs to toggle between open apps or, you can use the old method by simply holding the menu key down and then selecting which one you want.
Overall, this phone is very nice and I do like it quite a bit.
18.
Chris McKenna | July 3, 2009 at 10:26 pm
There’s been a FW update for the N97 along with new maps, updates to quite a few apps and, so far, things are rock solid with this device. There is a design issue that I have verified with both the Chinese and FInnish models where, the mic is picking up hand noise from the case body which ends up in the audio path / X-mitter. So, there’s some form fit and function issues as well with some models. Mine is fine but, some have reported crooked fronts, wobbly displays, misaligned keyboards, cameras and numerous other issues. The keyboard has a problem with the tactile feedback on the upper and lower rows vs. the middle row where, the user can feel the click.
I can still type on mine and it works and has been working perfectly for two weeks.
FW update is V11 so, be sure to update your device to rid the bugs. CM