The Nokia n97 Review - Is It Any Good ?

The Nokia N97 is a well designed mobile phone by Nokia that comes with many entertainment and business features. There is a full sized QWERTY keyboard that slides out allowing the user to use the N97 mobile phone in horizontal screen mode. Measurements for the N97 are 117.2mm x 55.3mm x 15.9mm which gives the handset its well proportioned size with a weight 150g which is no surprise due to all the features and technologies.

The N97 is available in two colors choices: transition black light and white. With a weight of 150 grams the device feels light in your hands, but solid enough to be able to withstand the daily wear and tear of being in your pocket and even the occasional drop. The N97 does not feel as sturdy as the N95, but the sliding mechanism is superior and you should not experience any of the hinge related problems seen on previous Nokia builds.

Beneath the large 3.5-inch touchscreen is a 3-row QWERTY keyboard and a 4-way navigation on the left side. When I first began using the physical keyboard I had some trouble adjusting to the small keys and the placement of the space bar on the far right. I can tell you with absolute certainty that you will not be breaking any speed records on this keyboard, but it is fully capable of handling lengthy emails and constant text messages. I have no hesitations in recommending the Touch Pro2 keyboard over the N97's keyboard, simply put the N97's keyboard is too small to compete. However, if you are comparing the N97's keyboard to the Motorola Droid you'd have a very close battle.

Nokia N97 includes SMS, MMS (multi-media messaging), Instant Messaging, Emailing with Attachments and Push Emailing with POP3, IMAP and SMTP capabilities. For organisation and staying on route can be a way of life with superb selection of application tools featured on this fantastic mobile phone which include Conference Calling, Document Viewer, GPS Navigation, A GPS Receiver, OS Symbian Operating System with S60 5th Edition Software along with many many more applications. The user can also keep entertained and fully occupied with the built-in Java, Embedded, Downloadable games with N Gage support to make your gaming experience much more enjoyable.

The camera feature of Nokia N97 is really hi-fi. Its immaculate 5 mega pixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and 2592x1944 pixels can capture really unbelievable clear shots. The LED flash, auto focus and video light technologies in the device ensure great quality picture in any light conditions. The mobile phone also offers geo tagging, which saves the location where the image is taken using the camera. This is great tool to make good memories. The mobile also features video recording facility and the captured or stored videos can be viewed in standard 640 x 480 VGA resolution. Videos can be enjoyed in wide screen 640 x 360 in order to match the letterbox display of the phone.

Stereo speakers are at both ends of the left hand side of the device, with both microUSB slot (equipped with LED indicator) and slider button to lock/unlock the screen in between. The latter, as well as camera shutter are really easy to use. This, unfortunately, doesn’t hold true for the volume rocker. Well, situation is not that bad with the button that turns volume up, because it has enough travel, the thing is you will have to apply much more force to turn sound down. The 3.5 mm earphone jack is on top of the device, so you won´t need to swivel the N97 in weird positions while carrying it around into the pocket of your trousers or jeans. Power button is on one of the sides and feels comfy to press despite it doesn’t have much travel. The only thing on the bottom side is a lonely gap, where the stylus strap is attached - but you can hook any knick-knack that is to your own taste. 

For entertainment purposes there a built-in music player system with a featured FM Radio with RDS technology. There are a great selection of ring-tones available along with voice commands and voice dialling capabilities to make life a little less demanding. The music player system features a great range of features and technologies to keep the user amused endlessly. Keeping in contact with friends and family can also be quick and easy with the messaging services available on the Nokia N97 mobile phone.

Thus, this handset has balanced both the entertainment and the communication features in a brilliant manner. Most importantly, the impeccable battery of this gadget has the potential to offer you long hours of talktime i.e., 4 hours 40 minutes and 430 hours of stand by time.