RSSNokia goes full-tilt in unveiling its N97
By Tim Conneally | Published December 2, 2008, 10:08 AM
Mobile phone leader Nokia posted a countdown timer that ticked away the seconds until the company officially unveiled its newest mystery product. Early this morning, it was revealed to be the latest N-Series device, the N97.
As with the other N-series devices, Nokia calls the N97 a mobile computer rather than a handset. It runs S60 5th edition and offers 32 GB of on-board storage which is expandable as much as 16 GB via MicroSD. Communication protocols for the device are HSDPA, quad-band GSM, GPS and A-GPS, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 2.0.
Expected to come to European markets in the first half of 2009 with a unsubsidized price tag of €550, the N97 takes the now familiar touchphone design and adds a tilt sliding mechanism to reveal a full QWERTY keyboard. Also of note is the on-board 5-megapixel camera with 30 fps MPEG-4 video capture, integration with Nokia's Ovi and N-Gage services, and support for MP3, AAC, WMA, MPEG-4, H.264, Real Media, and Flash.
Executive Vice President of Markets at Nokia Anssi Vanjoki spoke at Nokia World today, saying, "It is, of course, a phone as well, but it is a computer! We need to have all the same essentials on this as we have on any other computer that we use."
With the N97, Nokia debuts its social location concept or "So-Lo" (*cringe*). The idea is that the pocketable Internet and geolocation capabilities of the modern handheld device can provide a persistent window into social networks that allows for real-time updates.
WoW! Nokia rediscovered the HTC Kaiser (aka the AT&T Tilt) and slapped on a 5 megapixel camera to boot and more memory. No wonder Nokia is losing market share.
While I am no Apple fan, the phone is brilliant in its construction and ease of use. You either innovate and offer something different and better or imitate. The N97 is no innovator. Why buy an imitation when the real thing is better?
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|Wow...this could easily compete with the iPhone and the G1...vy nice. I'd love to see it integrate with Google Apps...w00t
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|Its an improved N96! Cut the price to $199-$299 + 2yr plan, then they might see a lot of interest.
Based off the picture, they should scale down on their use of graphics in their user interface. My "fat fingers" will have a problem with crowded desktop on such a small screen. Just my opinion.
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|"The idea is that the pocketable Internet and geolocation capabilities of the modern handheld device can provide a persistent window into social networks that allows for real-time updates."
How to forfeit any privacy against nothing and become your own jailer.
sicks me to the death.
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|Spying phones are not news for a very long time, at least since GSM was released. And it was enhanced after the "preventive war" efforts, you already have no privacy at all:
You can be traced while you have a cell phone in your hands. New toys just let you play with some of that "features"...
I just want a N97 in my hands, but NOW!
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|What I'd like is a Nokia phone with WM os. Now THAT would be a killer in my book.
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|you serious? WM is horrible.
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|To be fair, WM6 isn't too bad - a helluva lot better than 5. I'd also say it's better than Symbian, simply because it's offers the same lack of stability and performance but also much more expandability.
I reckon the iPhone is still setting the benchmark in a good, cohesive and usable interface though. WM6 is too disjointed and inconsistent, and Symbian still feels like a 5 year-old phone.
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|I WANT. But does anyone know what that diagonally oriented button is that's on all the new high-end Nokias?
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