Nokia N97 review: Lock, stock and touch

16 June 2009
They don’t get any bigger than that. A launch of this caliber can aptly be called inauguration day. The release of Nokia N97 is the N-series counter-move that geeks have been waiting for since November. Easily one of the most...

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  • J
  • Jeff. F.
  • Lxs
  • 17 Jun 2009

Kumander Robot, 17 Jun 2009I blame gsmarena.com for continuing to perpetuate the megap... moreI totally agree. . . I have a feeling those going on about MP's and Touch are either of a certain age bracket(goin on 'bout megapxls) . . . or lonely(gotta hav the ultimate 'touch' experience). . . Pleez. 'N who said sumthin bout current cells aren't meant to last long(3-5years)???? Specify and say touch-based cells, pleez. Not all phones are touch(thankfully) . . .

    • ?
    • Anonymous
    • uEB
    • 17 Jun 2009

    Kumander Robot, 17 Jun 2009I blame gsmarena.com for continuing to perpetuate the megap... moreThey aren't misleading..it's one of the most important aspect to look at as well
    i mean i read this review and found out..oh what, the camera has the same tech as my N95 8GB? and i read N95 8GB's review like 1 and half year ago? nice...
    i would like to see something finally improved, like i said, the HD video recording from Omnia HD

    Yes this is NOT the Ultimate phone! and i have to admit i'm a bit disappointed =(
    and yes that's right, it copied other mobiles..
    i would like to see some innovation like the apple iPhone, but from the manufacture Nokia =)

      • s
      • subho
      • vGh
      • 17 Jun 2009

      NOKIA, 17 Jun 2009dude go educate urself make more researches and then come b... moren97 has just copied all the feature from the other n series phone.there is nothing unique about this phone.which will make it stand in the market. this phone doesnot worth the hefty price tag.if the price is not reduced then it would spell doom for this phone.becoz at the same price samsung is launching omnia hd which has the most advanced technology one can expect in a cell phone

        • N
        • NOKIA
        • 0nV
        • 17 Jun 2009

        Anonymous, 17 Jun 2009again read the review before saying that this is the ultima... moredude go educate urself make more researches and then come back...

          • ?
          • Anonymous
          • mD6
          • 17 Jun 2009

          NOKIA, 17 Jun 2009this is the ultimate device ofcourse it is... what is not u... moreagain read the review before saying that this is the ultimate device. have you seen SE and Samsung ?? Im sure SE will soon lead the world of technology because the are so strong in this area

            • K
            • Kumander Robot
            • 2An
            • 17 Jun 2009

            I blame gsmarena.com for continuing to perpetuate the megapixel myth. Megapixels is a very misleading way of measuring how "good" or "new" the phone's camera is. Technically-uneducated people have no idea how tiny the image sensors are in ALL celcams, and that size has NEVER increased since the 1st celcam. Obviously the reviewers have no idea how laughingly small a celcam's sensor is compared to a point&shoot cam, much less that of DSLR, even with the SAME MEGAPIXELS.

            So what happens when phonemakers cram 8, 10, or even 12+MP on the same-sized image sensor? MORE noise, LESS dynamic range, LESS color accuracy, softer per-pixel images, all those things that contribute to reduced IMAGE QUALITY, the only important attribute of image sensors. It's good though that gsmarena.com has started using resolution & color charts, this would educate people that those celcams with >8MP would not automatically make better images, given the same sensor technology and similar image processing engines.

            Tiny celcam sensors, using the current state-of-the-art , should top out at 3 or 4 MP at best, while P&S cams are proven to be best at 6-8MP at most, while DSLRs should be at 12-15MP at best. Only further sensor tech developments and improved image processors would allow further increase in MP without sacrificing image quality.

            Bottomline, gsmarena.com should stop nitpicking the MP of celcams (not just the N97), many other features should be accorded greater importance, i.e., OS & UI, reliability, ease of use of SMS & voice calls, software & technical support, etc.

              • A
              • Ahmed
              • MPJ
              • 17 Jun 2009

              This phone is not the best for entertainment or even for business, It's big, slow, bad camera .. I can't find anything special in this phone except it's Qwerty keyboard.

              Satio and Omnia Hd are a way better than this phone I think.

                • N
                • NOKIA
                • 0nV
                • 17 Jun 2009

                Anonymous, 17 Jun 2009ultimate device ?? did you read the review or not this is the ultimate device ofcourse it is... what is not ultimate about it the camera? u dont need more than 5 MPx in a phone even 5 is alot... u need more get a digital cam, it is more professional than any camera on any phone. u think the 12MPx on other phones give u good qualityof a 12 MPx digital cam... if u think that ur wrong...
                Nokia makes its devices in a professional way. the N97 is a full mobile (exept for office you need to upgrade it to be able to edit) but this is common in N-Series cause it is not a business phone. what is it that for u is ultimate the HD quality?! go get the samsung or SE... if u have been using Nokia for a long time you would know what i am talkin about...

                i have tried alot of other brands like HTC / LG / Samsumg / SE / Qtek / BB / Panasonic / Sharp / Apple / Motorola / O2, i have come back to Nokia...

                i can rank them all for u but u will c Nokia is on the top...

                  • e
                  • endlessz
                  • uEB
                  • 17 Jun 2009

                  You know what else was also missing from the Main disadvantages area??
                  Here's what's missing:
                  1. No HSUPA, only HDSPA at 3.6mbps also! should have been at least 7.2mbps, i mean E72 is coming on its way and it has 10.2mbps HSDPA? come onnnn!

                  2. No Amoled screen! they should have learned from N85, and they SHOULD have seen it's competitor Samsung Omnia HD! i'm ok with a 3.5" screen vs 3.7" screen of Omnia HDs one, but the Oled technology is missing dude...seriously...

                  3. CPU processor only runs at 434mhz? Samsung Omnia HD its competitor (again) has a CPU of 800mhz? that could be said doubled dude!

                  4. Oh lastly but not least...5mpx cam??! i've been using N95 8GB for almost 2 years and now i get the same camera? ok i know they were compared and the N97 won, but..barely, right? does it actually offer anything new other than that? i would like to have a HD video recording like Omnia HD please! an 8mpx camera wouldn't hurt also, lol

                  That would pretty much conclude the Main very very important disadvantages N97 has!
                  Surely i would still look it up as a high end device if i see someone using, BUT since i know it's not that good on-the-inside, then i would choose Omnia HD or Iphone 3G over this anytime anyday~

                    • R
                    • Rohn
                    • P%j
                    • 17 Jun 2009

                    Now if only GSM Arena would put up the review of Samsung Omnia HD, or i8910 HD or whatever it is..
                    Need proper comparison..
                    Besides cannot trust the samsung Omnia HD users, they are full of compaints..
                    Need a proper review.. Im pretty sure its a better phone compared to n97

                      • p
                      • pee-yaj
                      • ji{
                      • 17 Jun 2009

                      Nokia should innovate. The search for the 'ultimate' smartphone is heating right now, with Palm, Samsung, HTC, RIM, LG gallantly peedling their smartphones with amazing features ( read. palm pre, omnia hd) to dethrone the iPhone.
                      In my part, Nokia 'should' polish Symbian's UI to suit the consumers, that's why iPhone and Pre is popular...Also, try to attract more developers to create great apps..The last paragraph in the review sums Nokia's situation..Well, the good times are over.

                        • M
                        • Mr.X
                        • nT3
                        • 17 Jun 2009

                        BennY, 17 Jun 2009Nokia has a bad one bad thing at start!the prce they dont c... morei totally agree

                          • B
                          • BennY
                          • mD6
                          • 17 Jun 2009

                          Nokia has a bad one bad thing at start!the prce they dont care whats on their specifications if they have 2mpix camera or 5mpix camera the price will fly i hope this phone wi be at least not 700 euro cause i have read on interenet that Omnia Hd and N97 will have the same price so u can imagine what kind of advantage have Omnia Hd against N97 so in the end Nokia will ignore everything and will be the most expensive phone on History

                            • ?
                            • Anonymous
                            • nT3
                            • 17 Jun 2009

                            OMG!!!! OVI is real Crap, i'm iPhone 3G user and nokia trying to copycat the iTunes... ovi sucks big time

                              • ?
                              • Anonymous
                              • nT3
                              • 17 Jun 2009

                              i'm so sorry but i don't like it not a one bit... i feel sorry for NOKIA when i saw the last page of the review and GSMARENA put the pics of all the other mobile: (iPhone, HTC, Idou & X1) i felt like they try to say to NOKIA Wake up and look below and see where you standing... i hope NOKIA does something about this

                              i really hate the user interface it's the dumbest thing i ever seen

                                • A
                                • Architengi
                                • qb1
                                • 17 Jun 2009

                                Super phone. N97 seems to be the ultimate game console, social network messaging device and a powerful GPS. Also the web browsing with FULL Flash and Java is like on computers. The big screen with resolution of 640 pixels wide makes also the WEB experience very nice. Keyboard. Quick-Office. No need for a netbook or a laptop anymore.

                                I want a N97!

                                  • 2
                                  • 200i
                                  • LEr
                                  • 17 Jun 2009

                                  sick phone!!!! best smartphone ever made

                                    • a
                                    • akshay
                                    • 2@j
                                    • 17 Jun 2009

                                    i will prefer x1 or satio(idou) over this phone anyday..

                                      • Y
                                      • Yuki.
                                      • Mm4
                                      • 17 Jun 2009

                                      Noot. Nokia 5800 is the king of S60 v5. still no phones which can mess with the king of S60 v5.

                                        • ?
                                        • Anonymous
                                        • ji{
                                        • 17 Jun 2009

                                        According this great review, im very disappointed with N97. Ive been using Nokia E90 black for sometime and ive beed waiting for N97 to release so i can get 1 right away. But now im having second thoughts. Its almost like 5800 (which i bought for my gf), good but not perfect. However 5800 was a mid range phone and N97 is a high end phone, so good isnt good enough. Maybe ill get iphone 3gs or Touch pro 2.