Comments on: Nokia N97 Review

By: Entertainment

Entertainment — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:06:43 +0000

Form Factor, 32G of onboard memory, Multi-Media feature (excellent video playback, music functionality), radio, S60 community, fully-loaded with Joiku-Spot, Bloomberg, Qik and other productivity apps, beautiful large screen.

By: matt

matt — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:46:11 +0000

I’m gettin this phone in about a week and a half. A lot of the reviews I’ve read seem very opinion-based and some written by iPhone lovers, stating each feature and how it fails compared to the iPhone.

I personally love Nokia and BlackBerry devices. I own an iPod Touch but it didn’t make me want an iPhone. They’re not real smartphones anyhow (no multi-tasking). I’m excited to get this phone and with Opera Mobile (recently released for Symbian (YESSS)) + the new firmware updates make this phone a win.

By: New N97 Owner

New N97 Owner — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 08:39:44 +0000

i just bought an N97 despite what comments other people have made and i love the phone…and from what i can see from all the cons that people say its just that they dont know how to use the new interface of the phone or has had a bad luck in the set they got..besides that the phone is superb with its qwerty keyboard and touch screen and also superb speed on software also.. no complains here….

By: Stuart Gray

Stuart Gray — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 08:55:17 +0000

I have big problems with my N97. First when i tried to answer a call 4 the first time I found I had to unlock the phone first then by the time I worked that out I had missed the call.
Then when I tried to make a call I flicked the unlock switch and the screen was barely visibly with no back light, so you have to lock it and then unlock it to get the back light 2 come on. Its just been a nightmare,now my phone is in getting repaired because my screen has stopped workin. wish i had kept my SE K850. Let me know if any1 else had these problems

By: christexaport

christexaport — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 19:21:34 +0000

Be patient, N97 owner. October is the N97’s month. New firmware is excellent, with kinetic scrolling and much more widgets. You’ll see.

By: N97 owner

N97 owner — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 22:09:15 +0000

I have a Nokia N97 and I’m VERY disappointed. Nokia made promises and came out with a useless device. It’s firmware software is FULL of bugs, it’s extremely slow, freezes, Skype is still not included but they said that the Nokia N97 will be shipped with Skype. The worst thing is that Nokia lied and lies about the N97. What they do is simply not telling the truth about their buggy device. I am very disappointed. I’ve always had Nokia phones, but I’m sure this is my last Nokia phone. Bugs and lies – this is what you can get from Nokia. If you planned to buy an N97, forget it. It sounds great what Nokia tells about the device, but the device is useless.

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 22:15:05 +0000

I went with the Iphone3gs over this, but not because its crappy.I wouldn’t use powerful to describe it but is a lot better than what some folks say it is. A friend of mine has one and I got some hands on time with it. It has the big advantage of multi-tasking but with a slight delay opening programs, like the keyboard(spacebar not an issue), FM radio is a plus, design has a real gadget feel to it(love the tilt screen), resistive is not as bad as I thought it to be(still prefer capacitive), huge storage 32gb with additional for Sd storage, speakers are just ok(not as loud as my N95 8gb), excellent call quality and browser can do flashlite. But, the OS was still the old symbian made into having a touch interface. Of course now, Maemo5 is a whole different story. Overall, its a good phone to me, not great and I’m still glad I got the Iphone3gs. If Nokia came out with Maemo5 on the N97, it would have been a no brainer for me.

By: antonioj

antonioj — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 20:20:12 +0000

@gerald by “so much more powerful” you mean a crappy processor, 3x less free RAM, crap resistive screen, no multitouch, awfull touch UI, when compared with the 3gs?

By: gerald

gerald — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 17:04:11 +0000

I had previously a 2nd gen iPhone. It’s full of scratches and the screen broke after falling from less than 2 feet. I am really happy with the N97 now – so much more powerful than the iPhone in all aspects (I admit – not as easy to use). Shure, its touch and feel is a bit plasticish (I would have preferred one of those mythical Nokia E-Series stainless steel frames), but its a VERY robust phone. The slide/opening mechanism is an artwork in engineering. Traditionally, Nokia phones are more robust than they feel – my kids didn’t even ask for an iPhone when they saw how quickly their friends’ ones perished during biking tours, at the beach or whatever while their Nokia’s remained intact.

By: Terrence W.

Terrence W. — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 09:18:17 +0000

To Mark R. :

If all of Nokia’s N series phones have such bad build quality, then why are you considering buying the N97? Seems like a contradiction to me…

To all:

Does anyone know what the battery life is slated to be?

By: nman

nman — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 23:49:37 +0000

Tech wise the phone is like an expensive sports car, it isn´t for the average person so we shouldn´t try critique it that way, it is a very expensive toy that has it´s own style and it takes getting used to, once you start to play with it, get to know it and learn how to handle it , then you become fully addicted and can´t get enough, the iPhone is lacks alot compared to 97.

I have learned this type of device takes months to learn to use, it is like a relationship and there is no way you can fully review this phone on the surface without really owning it for a few months.

the phone is not perfect, but it is cool and all my friends are eyeing it like it is Pamela Anderson, and I´m sure Tommy Lee could point out all Pamela´s faults too, but who cares she is hot and so is the N97!

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 13:05:46 +0000

whoa, I thought this post was already dead. I’ve commented enough on this post myself. @Rachael, have a great time with this phone.Its not as bad as the review said. I was planning on getting one, but I am really picky with the type of touch screen and OS. Nokia needs to revamp the touch os and are on the right track with the Maemo5 OS now. I prefer the capacitive touch screens, although there are good reasons why resistive is good, and I guess I expected too much of this phone. Overall, its a good phone to me and great to some. I ended up with the Iphone3gs,and liking it so far. I doesn’t mean that I won’t go back to Nokia as soon as they have a phone that satisfies my preferences.

By: Rachael

Rachael — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 11:52:54 +0000

I think that this review is stupid,
everyone i know that has had this phone enjoys it
and i am planning to buy it tmrw
i also believe that although you may not like it
doesnt mean other people wont
and no a lot of people are not buying because you made it sound like it was the biggest piece of junk there is.

-1

By: gayathri parthasarathi

gayathri parthasarathi — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 05:20:28 +0000

it is worst cellfone i have ever owned and i was conned into pre booking this weird device….waiting to return it

By: Nokia Geek

Nokia Geek — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 16:50:36 +0000

I have been using my N97 extensively for 3 weeks now. I agree with Christexaport’s expert comments above.

Like Chris, I use my fingernail to press the touchsreen. The phone is very responsive, except when the web browser is busy processing content. I have not had issues of RAM running out. I place all new applications, photos, etc. to the whopping 32 GB of flash memory that N97 has.

No crashes so far, only some minor bugs in the web browser.

The physical keyboard should have a greater travel distance for more tactile feedback. The space bar is conveniently located on the right side, for easy pressing with the right thumb. I do not understand why many reviewers complain about the location of the space bar.

The physical dpad is ok for me. I use it a lot, to point the cursor to small links on a web page. A finger and touchscreen is not a very accurate pointing instrument. I would like an option of using the phone entirely from the physical keyboard and the dpad.

The battery life is great in N97. A single charge at night lets me play with the web browser all day.

By: Dean Eades

Dean Eades — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 15:42:53 +0000

On my 3rd N97 this one is ok at the moment

By: Dean Eades

Dean Eades — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 15:41:49 +0000

On my 3rd N97, at the moment this one is ok

By: dan

dan — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 14:14:46 +0000

I really like mine!

By: Jim

Jim — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 22:01:55 +0000

I received from Nokia and have been using the N97 from the first day it was released.
It is loaded with great features, and has about all the capability one could ask for.

Nevertheless, I would never advise anyone to buy an N97. Here’s why:

Battery life is inadequate. Can’t get through a day with average use.

Keyboard is slow and difficult to use, poorly designed, poor tactile feedback, impossible to see expcept in low light when the internal lights are illuminated. BIG DISAPPOINTMENT. I really hate the old style telephone keypad text entry, but it’s actually faster and easier that the QWERTY hardware.

Operating system is arcane, clunky, and NOT user friendly.

Really screwed up memory management. Very small C: drive, that fills up over a few weeks. The only cure, and advocated by Nokia tech support is to reformat the phone. Then it works fine for a few weeks until you have to do it again. That means hours reinstalling and reconfiguring the phone each time. If you don’t reformat, the phone will bog down completey, most apps wont’ run, and you will be tormented by Memory error messages.

If have installed programs you have paid money for on the Ovi store, once you reformat, you can’t download them and reinstall unless you PAY AGAIN.

Symbian, and the overwhelming majority of apps available are Euro-centric. Nothing wrong with Europe; I wouold rather live there, but I don’t. That means funtionality for US users always seems “once removed”, kind of like always dealing with a poor translation into English.

If the damn Apple phone would mulit-task and integrate with Exchange server better (mulit-task again), I would put up with no keyboard.

I can’t stand the thought of using a stylus, but may be driven to an HTC WinMo device soon. The N97? Maybe for $100, but then you would still have to use it.

I the meantime I may have to fire up the E71x again sitting in my drawer. With all the hassles and bugs in the N97, I have come to appreciate how nice it is to have a touch interface, but even then, the device has to work, and the N97 doesn’t without a continual fight.

The marketplace is screaming for a phone with the connectivity of the N97 (Quad band w/tri-band 3G, FM receive/transmit/ wi-fi, bluetooth, standard cable connections, great battery life, fast CPU, user accessible battery and micro SD slot, a decent operating system, great UI, no stylus required, excellent QWERTY hardware, quality video and still capture, flawless Exchange server interface, that can multi-task. Unliced of course.

Am I missing something?

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 11:11:14 +0000

@Ikenna
I was excited to have ordered the N97 through Dell, but they took such a long time and ended up with an Iphone3gs, and I don’t regret making that choice. I finally got to play with the N97 since a good friend of mine has one and it is really a good phone. I hesitate to say great because I prefer a capacitive/multi-touch screen, although having a resistive screen has advantages too. I also keep comparing the N97 to my favorite N95 8gb with regards to sound quality. Overall, the N97 is a solid phone, great design having that true gadget feel to it. Maybe I was expecting too much from Nokia, but in the end its all up to the needs of the user. I would not talk someone out of buying the N97. Having said that, I am hoping Nokia would soon redo the Symbian OS and more on par with the Iphones, Android and Palm because IMO that will be the expectation of consumers. Oh, I ended up getting used to tapping on a screen, especially on a landscape format.

By: Rush Limbaugh

Rush Limbaugh — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 22:07:58 +0000

The fact that a child can use a phone means nothing to me. The fact that it offers what I want I means everything. That’s why I chose this over a number of phones. This is nowhere near difficult to use, and everything is consistent on it. Single taps in menus with grid layouts, double taps in menus with lists. You and a large group of people out there may not like that, but if you think about it, there’s a great reason for it in most of those menus. Take the video gallery for instance. Say I’m going through videos I’ve taken and I want to send it via Bluetooth to a friend I’m with. I can find the video, tap it once, and then tap send at the bottom of the screen and I’m done. How do I do that on an iPhone without opening the video to play it? Does a tap and hold bring up a menu? I really have no idea if it’s even possible, but even if the N97 ditched the double tap for say tap and hold, it’s a huge waste of time in my opinion. The double tap allows for you to select something and then bring up an options menu for it. If there’s an easier, faster way to do it, I’m sure they’ll implement it eventually. And that’s one thing I love about S60; the ability to have an options menu everywhere. Do you need it everywhere? No, but is it useful in particular places? Darn right it is. Web surfing on the N97 is fantastic. I have used the iPhone before and I know what it’s like. It’s very smooth, and I think the N97 is right there with it, but because of the two different screen technologies used in both phones, the N97 requires a tad bit of pressure on the screen that some people might not like compared to gliding your finger over the iPhone screen. I also like the double tap to zoom on the N97. I’ve never actually needed to sit there and adjust the zoom manually, because the double tap to zoom gets it just where I want it. Of course it would have been nice to have multi-touch just to say I have it but it’s not at all necessary. I also love the homescreen. They finally took what I loved about active standby and expanded it. And what’s wrong with having space for 4 favorite contacts or 4 application shortcuts? Find two more or leave them blank. Nokia wanted an organized customizable homescreen and that’s what is there, unlike the mess that Samsung’s widget homescreen is. It’s by far the best I’ve seen on any phone. It’s a great device, I love the OS, and you’re not going to talk me into an admission of buyer remorse. That being said, it certainly isn’t perfect, but neither was my last phone and I still loved that. Good luck looking for a new phone. Oh and it’s not sad that typing on glass isn’t your bag. I hate it too. That’s why I have to have a keyboard.

By: ikenna

ikenna — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 07:33:00 +0000

i spent 5 yrs as a corporate lawyer and was cursed by the blackberry, so, on principle, i won’t be buying a bb and return to those dark days

rush, seriously, come on, you know i’m talking sense right. the mere fact that the beginning of your post says the n97 “isn’t as bad as people are saying it is”… is obviously not a good a start. a child could use the iphone – and that isn’t meant as a downer it’s more that the phone makes sense. everything from the second u unpack it out of the box makes sense. keys are where they’re supposed to be, prompts work intelligently, web surfing is just ridiculous, there’s no double tap rubbish or clumsy features (like the irritating fact that you can’t just add two favourites to the home screen, it has to be four…. stuff on the n97 rminds me of an eastern european gymnast, solid, clunky and may win technical awards but it certainly ain’t pretty). That said, it’s just sad that typing on glass isn’t my bag. typing on a bb was blissfully easy but, for aforementioned reasons, i won’t be going there. anyway, i’m still waiting for the phone that has the intelligence, beauty and functionality of the iphone, the speaker/sound quality of the nokia, and decent keys to type on. right, that’s it for me, i’ve never replied to a bo thread before but this vent was actually quite enjoyable. no hard feelings, each to their own.

By: StarGate

StarGate — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 07:32:58 +0000

Wot the matter with you lots about the Iphone is better, no is not, because the Iphone cannot change the spare battery and spare memory card. So the Nokia 5800 can change the spare battery and spare memory card on it. Don’t waste your moneys on Iphone, think very careful hard on it to ask first and the Nokia 5800 is a winner 100%, try it for your self and you be please to understand that now is better that Iphone.

By: Rush Limbaugh

Rush Limbaugh — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 22:33:52 +0000

Whoops, looks like the first one did go though.

By: Rush Limbaugh

Rush Limbaugh — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 22:32:22 +0000

And I strongly advise that nobody take advice from ikenna. Buy the phone you like, if it doesn’t meet your expectations, return it. I find the N97 to be a great phone. I take it you’ve never used a Blackberry ikenna. You have to do exactly the same thing on their keyboard to get a number. Alt + R to get 1. You know that if you hit the blue arrow button at the bottom right of the keyboard twice, you can type all the numbers or blue symbols you want right? I find the phone to be very user friendly even though it does have its issues which all phones do, and I’m sure if it loaded everything into is memory upon start up that it would be as fast as the iPhone too. Maybe you should try the HTC Touch Pro2. That seems like it would be right up your ally.

By: Rush Limbaugh

Rush Limbaugh — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 21:58:49 +0000

And I strongly advise that nobody takes what ikenna says to heart. This phone isn’t as bad as people are saying it is. If you don’t like particular aspects of a phone, fine. I don’t like the OS on the iPhone, or the lack of customization options or the lack of keyboard, lack of camera megapixels, camera flash, camera shutter button, true stereo speakers, multi-tasking ability, and no call send/end buttons on the phone body. I’ll never buy one ever, and I’m sick of hearing so many people brag about it. It’s a phone. It’s flashy. It does a few things. So what. If you want a device with a big touchscreen, a great camera and a full keyboard, your options are limited and the N97 is on the top of that list, no matter what anybody says. Hey ikenna, maybe you should look into getting the HTC Touch Pro2 if you want a full QWERTY and big touchscreen. I think you’re blowing things way out of proportion, and to be honest, you sound like the one from Apple’s HR who’s out to just fill up sites with propaganda. If you don’t like the phone, well that’s really a shame. Return it and get over it. I love this phone, and its not difficult at all to use. I think its very user friendly and a lot of things make sense in terms of how the UI was designed, but it has its faults, as do all phones. It’s a great phone though.

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 21:52:47 +0000

Resistive screens does have its advantages, but imo capacitive will be the trend even outside the US. Maybe someday they can come up with a combo, it becomes resistive when used with more pressure and a stylus. As far as multi-tasking, we can’t assume that the majority of smartphone users absolutely needs to multi-task. The iphone is so responsive that opening and closing programs will seem like multi-tasking though I would prefer that the Iphone starts to truly multi-task, and that will happen maybe on 4.0. I don’t know what Apple’s strategy is because I know they have the ability to make this possible. Its all a marketing thing I guess. The N97 is a good phone, but its for a select group of consumers. After reading on Apple’s quarterly earnings, Nokia has got to get more on the ball on the smartphone arena, they may own the majority of the worldwide market, but there is a whole lot competition with the Iphone garnering more success and publicity.

By: ikenna

ikenna — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 20:34:03 +0000

the thing with sites like these is that you never know if comments are left by marketing guys and pr guys from competing phone companies…. well, whoever u are, i should have listened to the majority of the reviews and stayed well away from the nokia 97. what a purchasing error. for so many reasons the iphone is quite simply the undisputed king of the smart phone arena at the moment. n97 is sluggish, totally not user friendly, and the keyboard, which was one of the main reasons i bought the damn thing, is not easy to use at all. one word – numbers – how on earth anyone is supposed to hold the shift key down and type numbers 6, 7,8,9, and 0 comfortably, is beyond me. how nokia can launch a phone like this with as much furore about it being an iphone killer is similarly beyond me. anyway, rant over. bottom line – i strongly advise you not to buy this phone.

By: Zible

Zible — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 05:48:44 +0000

It’s strange seeing the comments about users not wanting to multitask.I couldn’t survive without this capability. I’m constantly poping between the web browser, the music player, my email, photos and just notes, copying this from this and that to that and having to re-launch the apps every time would kill me. And this was before I started riding the bus to work every day.

As for the resistive vs capacitive complaint… As I’ve read it, any phone that wants to do well in the Asian markets are resistive, it’s to hard to write all the characters using your fingers compared to a stylist. So there you go, you can stop asking for a capacitive screen, it’s never going to show up on a phone that wants to do well in places other then the U.S.

By: christexaport

christexaport — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 22:01:53 +0000

@ Charlene,
hadn’t seen this issue myself yet, but try saving the number in this format
+1-234-567-8910

…as opposed to 123-456-7891