Nokia's mystery device marks a stunning return to form for the mobile giant
Nokia’s surprise announcement of a new flagship smartphone, the N97, took us all by surprise this morning. Sadly the public won’t be able to get their hands on one for a good few months yet, but that hasn’t stopped us getting excited. We recently judged the iPhone 3G as the best mobile phone on the market today. We think the N97 will change that, and we’ve come up with seven good reasons why:
1 Nokia + touchscreen = finally
We’ve been waiting so long for a touchscreen Nokia that we've been talking about the forthcoming Tube (or the 5800 XpressMusic) like some kind of mobile messiah despite the fact that it’s actually a fairly limited mid-range handset. The N97 is the one we should have been waiting for all along, and the touchscreen means a bigger display (3.5in) and a cleaner interface.
2 Bigger, better, faster, more
The main strength of both the N95 and N96 was a hugely impressive specification, and the N97 continues that trend. Onboard memory is 32GB, upgradeable to 48GB, it has a 5MP camera with Carl Zeiss optics, a Qwerty keyboard and highly versatile connectivity, social networking capabilities and format support across the board.
3 It looks great
The secret of Apple’s recent success is a simple one: it recognises that products billed as being desirable should actually be desirable. It’s ridiculous that we spend hundreds of pounds on unfinished technologies (hello, Blu-ray) and put up with products seemingly aimed at making our lives more difficult rather than easier (that would be Windows Vista). The N97 looks like it has both style and purpose.
4 Nokia has learnt from its mistakes
The N96 is a good smartphone but it’s fair to say it hasn’t had nearly the same impact as the N95 it replaced. Why? Quite simply, it took far too long to appear. Just recently we said Nokia wouldn’t get away with waiting that long again, and it hasn’t.
5 The N97’s launch has been stage-managed perfectly
The N97 announcement reminds us a lot of how another big technology company goes about things. This was a genuine surprise to most of us, and as a result it’s jumped straight to the top of the headlines. We were all so focused on the Nokia Tube that we missed this one altogether.
6 Nobody hates Nokia
There are a lot of people who don’t like Nokia’s handsets, but nobody actively dislikes the company. A lot of people won’t consider the iPhone simply because it’s made by Apple, while others won’t go near BlackBerry because of its stodgy all-business heritage. Nokia has always been a company about phones, and it’s been rather successful too.
7 Comes With Music
Nokia has been quietly building its add-on services like Comes With Music, N-gage and Nokia Maps, and clearly they are as much a part of its medium-term strategy as the N97 is. Comes With Music doesn’t have the market traction of iTunes, but it doesn’t have the limitations either, and the N97’s huge storage capacity is perfectly designed to do it justice.
Comments
Posted by James on 12 Nov 2009, 16:58
So the N97 proved to be quite a popular phone, but in no category could it compete with either the iPhone 3G or the iPhone 3GS. This nokia n97 review sums up my thoughts quite well.
The demand for iPhone's stays really strong and Nokia have still not got a handset out there that can catch it.
Posted by Jessica Kornakova on 24 Jun 2009, 06:50
This phone is ideal for me.
It's good value for money.
the camera quality is better than the iPhone,
it's sleek, esp with a qwerty.
it's good for sms, and mms forwarding (iphone lacks this.)
no phone is perfect, but the N97 is defintily closer to perfection than iphone.
iPhone is loaded with applications. whereas the nokia has things you really need. the function is much better.
and its looks good, two colour options: black or white,
its a thinner fone, easier to slip in your pocket.
i have tried out both.
im definitely for the Nokia N97
Posted by Anonymous on 7 Dec 2008, 12:30
usb port on the side below the keypad = plug it in and you can't type easily - doh!
Posted by Juice on 4 Dec 2008, 14:10
The iPhone will not be killed anytime soon, not because its the best phone in the world but because its an iPhone with seriously sexy (and sometimes fictional) marketing behind it. My last 5 phones have been the original iPhone and several e series Nokias, I love nokias but I'm slowly getting bored and frustrated with the OS. All I really want for Xmas is a higher screen resolution and html email as standard. Got those?
Posted by Faye Pearson on 3 Dec 2008, 10:25
The good:
It's got 5mpix camera, 32gb storage and takes SD.
The bad:
Series 60 will handcuff the imagination of developers.
The ugly:
Being prettier than the N95 isn't something to boast about.
Posted by berian on 3 Dec 2008, 03:20
It doesn't make me want it.
Don't get me wrong - the iPhone has its issues but all phones do. That said I'm a self confessed Apple fanboy - but an even bigger Gadget Fanboy
When I first saw the iPhone - I was like - I gotta have one. So I ended up getting on from the states due to the fact it wasn't out in the UK for another few months.
When I saw the iPhone 3G - I was like - I gotta have one. So I spent half of my student loan on getting it.
When I see the nokia I think - well that's the problem I don't - I just see a nokia. Not a must have for me.
Posted by Martin James on 2 Dec 2008, 17:35
The image is incorrect so apologies if this misled you – our mistake entirely. Regarding the OS, you're quite right, but with Nokia now owning Symbian it's fair to expect the N97 to take best advantage. Usability vs the Storm is an interesting point, and until we've spent as much time with the N97 as with the Storm we'll hold off commenting. But we will say this: the Storm's clickable touchscreen is very innovative, and very good
Posted by Martin James on 2 Dec 2008, 17:17
Thanks, and apologies! Gremlins in the system – the correct image has now been attached.
Posted by John Keogh on 2 Dec 2008, 17:04
Points 1-6 mean nothing without a powerful OS underlying a good GUI. I can see from your picture there is an email symbol for messages - not a good start. You haven't mentioned how usable this phone is - better than the Storm?
Keyboard? Many people can type faster on a virtual keyboard that corrects mistakes than a clicky plastic thing. Why have a keyboard - is their touchscreen implementation flawed? possibly, since I can see 13 other buttons on the front of the phone which should be unnecessary given a touchscreen.
Posted by Anonymous on 2 Dec 2008, 15:58
Good artical - but your photo at the top of it isn't an N97. I haven't a clue what it is, but I know it isn't the N97 that Nokia announced today.
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