Nokia N97

[SojIrOu]

ah i give up. i forked out $950 for it online. i can't be bothered to wait a month or more for 3 to release it. i'll probably get it by friday or monday. i just hope its a reputable site. lol.

[t0mbi]

@SojIrOu

Haha nooo! and we were trying to keep the Aussie N97 thread alive lol.

PLEASE post a review..even it is just for me lol but im really keen to hear from a fellow Nokia fan. I was (am still) a big fan of the N95 8GB so let me know how this phone goes :)

What website you buy for it?

[SojIrOu]

haha alright i'll see if i can post a review on neowin (if there isn't one already). i bought if from simplymobiles.com.au (hope its ok if i'm "advertising" them) for $939 + $15 shipping. i'm currently using the N95 and its great but i just want something new to replace it. :D

hopefully i'll get it by monday cause it wasn't shipped out today :(

[Loso]

wow 950? damn.. thats crazy.

anybody know if the Sony Ericsson C903 has been released?

[Subject Delta]

I think the N97 is a very impressive looking phone, the only major downer for me is that it doesn't use an Open Source OS, but I am still pretty impressed. The consumer smartphone market is certainly hotting up.

[SojIrOu]

haha well thats AU$950 so about US$700. i can't wait for it to arrive. :D

[SojIrOu]

wow they just released a new firmware for it already that addresses some of the sluggishness and bugs with the N97.

[Digitalx]

wow they just released a new firmware for it already that addresses some of the sluggishness and bugs with the N97.

That's not a bad deal to be honest minus the contract it beats RRP. As with 3 now basically being absorbed into vodafone I don't think there'll have been a chance for 3 to brand a n97 and sell it. I'm still waiting on retail launch so can get one eventually :( once you get it will be looking forward to proper non professional reviewers view. Also the firmware update was only for american N97's afaik.

Here's good article too from guardian in UK http://ow.ly/15GMaj

[Piggy]

After updating to the latest software, the touch screen is way more responsive and the lock mechanism isn't buggy like before. It's amazing what a small patch does for the phone's usability.

[SojIrOu]

thats great to hear. i'm still looking forward to receiving mine. :D

[EcPercy]

I bought an N97 directly from nokiausa. The phone and car charger came out to $690 USD. I am currently in Kuwait and everything works fine including 3.5g. Local stores here want anywhere from 250KWD to 300KWD which makes the phone $862 - $1035 USD....

I love this phone btw!

[Digitalx]

monday now SojIrOu has it come yet ? lol

[SojIrOu]

its here! ahahah. :D well technically its not here cause i bought it from crazy john's and had to go to back and forth to a few shops as well as cancel my order online. i paid $1080 with extended warranty so it beats getting it online since the shop i ordered from still hasn't got stock yet.

i was playing around with it and just finished updating the software. so i'm ready to take some photos for you guys and maybe put in my 2 cents about it.

[SojIrOu]

hey guys just want to check if nokia phones in australia comes with a warranty card (that is chopped with the shop's name) like some other countries or do you just use the receipt for warranty. i'm asking cause my phone doesn't have one and the lady at the shop told me to go back to them and they'll send it to nokia for me. i always thought that i should go back to nokia directly regardless of where i bought it from?

[carmatic]

http://gizmodo.com/5308440/nokia-n97-revie...ne=true&s=x

What a mixed bag.

[Elliot B.]

http://gizmodo.com/5308440/nokia-n97-revie...ne=true&s=x

lol ouch.

The N95/N82 were the last flagship Nokia handsets that meant anything. Luckily, they were fantastic.

[SojIrOu]

Hey guys, as requested I put up a little review of the N97 in the reviews section. I didn't do a comprehensive one since I only got to use the phone last night.

[bbfc_uk]

http://gizmodo.com/5308440/nokia-n97-revie...ne=true&s=x

Oh dear, thats not a good review. I've got a friend with a 5800 and you really have to press on the screen for it to respond, and i'm thinking the N97 is probably the same. No touchscreen device comes anywhere near the iPhone.

[SojIrOu]

Hmm its because the N97 and 5800 have resistive screens that you need to put a little pressure on it. You need a different style of "touching" to use it. Pressing it gently like a real button or tapping it lightly is the best option (my friends who are all used to the iPhone can't use it properly). Personally, I've got both at home and prefer the iPhone in terms of its touch screen but the N97's isn't bad or anything close to being bad. Furthermore, you have the d-pad for navigation like a traditional phone so I get into a dilemma sometimes as to which to use.

[bbfc_uk]

Hmm its because the N97 and 5800 have resistive screens that you need to put a little pressure on it. You need a different style of "touching" to use it. Pressing it gently like a real button or tapping it lightly is the best option (my friends who are all used to the iPhone can't use it properly). Personally, I've got both at home and prefer the iPhone in terms of its touch screen but the N97's isn't bad or anything close to being bad. Furthermore, you have the d-pad for navigation like a traditional phone so I get into a dilemma sometimes as to which to use.

Like you've said on the other thread, it depends on how people use touchscreens. The problem is, as you've pointed out, that the iPhone has a different touchscreen to the Nokia's and they work differently - Resistive vs Capacitive. If i didn't have an iPhone i'm sure it'll be easier to use the Nokia. It frustrated me when using the 5800 as to how much you have to press down for it to respond, but thats because of the above.

Edited July 7, 2009 by bbfc_uk

[bbfc_uk]

Phones 4U are offering the Nokia N97 White. Apparently its exlcusive to them at the moment. If I had to choose a colour for that phone, then white would be it.

Nokia N97 White @ Phones 4U

[TheDudeLasse]

No they are not the same thing...

A-GPS = GPS + Assistance via network

From wikipedia:

So A-GPS is just like a "faster" GPS

I had some issues with the GPS. I tested in my video review aswell.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZJe9Nd_wx0...re=channel_page

[EcPercy]

http://gizmodo.com/5308440/nokia-n97-revie...ne=true&s=x

I pretty much gave up reading this review at the part where the guy was like "I couldn't bang out a text message while driving to save my life." If that's how you rate a phone you are an idiot.

Yes, I have an N97. You can use t9 while driving. I can use t9 without needing to look at the screen. I wanted a touch screen phone with a keyboard, but I have actually found little use for the keyboard since you can still use a touch screen version of t9.

This guy clearly favors iPhone. That's cool. To each his own. Sat with a friend of mine the other night and we compared the iPhone to the N97. His phone has 2.0 firmware.

Things we noticed. The N97 is much faster loading things. For instance. He wanted to show me the wifi (netstumbler) or something like that. Took at least 2 minutes to find all the access points. Opened wifi on the N97 and it found all the access points almost instantly. We were doing a bluetooth search. Noticed one very important thing. Seems like iPhone only sees other apple devices!?

My friend told me one other thing that I can't get past with iPhone. Seems like when you upgrade firmware... most of your old apps break (probably because dependencies or something) and a lot of times the backup won't completely restore so you wind up losing information. Lets not forget that iPhone just added MMS and Stereo Bluetooth (my old nokia candy bar phone had this feature....)

iPhone is cool, but needing a buttload of apps just to get functionality that other phones already have is pretty lame... then you have the apple store and apple telling you what you can and can't have on the phone... unless you hack it. I never had to hack a WM phone to add the apps I want. Also, symbian seems to be the same. I can install whatever I want.

I have to say that so far I am pretty impressed with this phone. It's better than any WM phone I have owned.

Quick Edit: The friend that was comparing his iPhone to the N97 went out this past weekend and got an N97 so it can't be as bad as this review...

[Elliot B.]

I pretty much gave up reading this review at the part where the guy was like "I couldn't bang out a text message while driving to save my life." If that's how you rate a phone you are an idiot.

I think he was joking.

This guy clearly favors iPhone. That's cool. To each his own. Sat with a friend of mine the other night and we compared the iPhone to the N97. His phone has 2.0 firmware.

Then it's not really fair to compare if both devices aren't using the latest firmware/software.

Things we noticed. The N97 is much faster loading things. For instance. He wanted to show me the wifi (netstumbler) or something like that. Took at least 2 minutes to find all the access points. Opened wifi on the N97 and it found all the access points almost instantly. We were doing a bluetooth search. Noticed one very important thing. Seems like iPhone only sees other apple devices!?

The 3.0 software is faster than 2.0, and the 3G S is faster than the 3G. Test the 3G S and you'll find it beats the N97 when it comes to loading apps (apart from those that are more complicated than that of the Nokia devices). Remember, the iPhone's processor and video chip are MUCH faster than the N97s. Also, the Bluetooth in iPhones is only for accessories (headsets etc.) and things such as multiplayer gaming (with other iPhones). No file transfers etc., which is shame.

My friend told me one other thing that I can't get past with iPhone. Seems like when you upgrade firmware... most of your old apps break (probably because dependencies or something) and a lot of times the backup won't completely restore so you wind up losing information. Lets not forget that iPhone just added MMS and Stereo Bluetooth (my old nokia candy bar phone had this feature....)

I've never had any problems with apps breaking after updates.

iPhone is cool, but needing a buttload of apps just to get functionality that other phones already have is pretty lame... then you have the apple store and apple telling you what you can and can't have on the phone... unless you hack it. I never had to hack a WM phone to add the apps I want. Also, symbian seems to be the same. I can install whatever I want.

Again, the 3.0 update adds a lot of features available in other phones, therefore a 'buttload of apps' are not required. You may not need to hack WM or Symbian, but their selection of apps is poor and will be in comparison to the App store for at least a long time. Plus, Symbian needs signed apps, which are hard to come by unless the apps are freeware or legal (unless you want to crack them, which is effort - and illegal).

Basically, you seem uninformed and saying "This guy clearly favors iPhone. That's cool. To each his own." does not excuse you for ripping an un-updated iPhone.

Quick Edit: The friend that was comparing his iPhone to the N97 went out this past weekend and got an N97 so it can't be as bad as this review...

Your friend (does he really exist?) bought an N97? Then I guess you're right, the review means nothing! :)

[Ohwhyme]

I got garmin mobile xt on my phone and its amazing. Since I dont use 3g or anything, I have all the maps I need offline and it gives me driving directions too. Theres a difference between the 5800 and n97 apparently the n97s screen is more responsive. I bought it for 570 with coupons from nokiausa as well as extended warranty and overnight shipping included.