Maxabout Review

Feature Rich Multimedia Handset

Nokia has unveiled this full touch screen mobile that it calls "the world's most advanced mobile computer". Nokia N97 combines a slide-out Qwerty keyboard with a 3.5in touch-screen, up to 48GB of storage, and high-speed internet access. It's the most exciting product to come from Nokia in some time. Product managers were calling it the 'Facebook Phone' because it's aimed at mobile social networkers and multimedia mavens.

It introduces the concept of ‘social location’. With integrated A-GPS sensors and an electronic compass, it 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.

It has the same amount of megapixels as the N96. The iPhone surely has some competition because of the 16:9 widescreen (640×360) and takes a microSD Memory card and can store up 36GB of internal Memory. The best thing about the N97 is Nokia’s own Keyboard instead of you going through the number keys and looking for the right letter.

N97 looks like a cross between a lot of different phones from the iPhone to the Google G1 Phone to the HTC TyTN II. Up front, the Nokia N97's 3.5" screen dominates the whole front of the phone except for the little button on the bottom left side corner which serves as the shortcut key to the N series multimedia applications.

The call and end buttons are touch sensitive like ROKR E8. On the top of the Nokia N97 is the 3.5mm headphone jack and the power button. The Nokia N97 is just a tad bit larger and thicker than the iPhone and when you slide out the QWERTY keypad, you're reminded of the HTC TyTN II with it's angled screen.

The Nokia N97 feels solid enough to hold though it just feels a bit too large especially if you have small hands. The QWERTY keypad is evenly spaced and you won't have trouble typing nor would you have to worry about pressing two buttons at a time. The buttons are very minimal compared with other QWERTY keypads from HTC or Blackberry.

Main Features of New Nokia N97:

• Supports up to 48 GB of storage, including 32 GB of on-board memory . 
• Excellent music capabilities, full support for the Nokia Music Store and continuous playback time of up to 1.5 days.
• 5-Megapixel camera with high-quality Carl Zeiss optics, 16:9 and DVD quality video capture.
• Support for services like Share on Ovi for immediate sharing over HSDPA and WLAN.
• 16:9 widescreen - 640×360 - resolution.
• Full QWERTY Keyboard.

Internet browsing definitely looks better from the picture because of it’s touchscreen it will be easier to control with the likes of ‘Opera Mini’. Nokia India has launched the N97 in Indian Market and it will be available in all Nokia Stores in two weeks from now. It is expected to be priced around Rs.35000.