Nokia Zone
Brought to you by Nokia
Nokia Zone » Trial User Views » Nokia N97  » Overview

Featured Articles

Overview

  1. stevenxie
    “The Nokia Greatest Hits Mix-Tape Phone” - Steven X

    Throughout my time spent with the Nokia N97, I cannot help but feel that Nokia took all of the great features of previous Nokia smart phones and tried to mish-mash them into a single mobile device. One N97 to rule them all? Not quite.

    The amalgamated gadget we get in the end is more like a mix tape, it has some of the best songs your secret admirer think you will like, but ‘think’ is the operative word here. You may or may not like this ultimate/frankenstein phone. And with mix tapes, some quality of the original gets lost in the dubbing.

    The Nokia N97 is not a perfect phone. I do not mean that it was designed to be the perfect phone, I mean the device in its current state is not working as designed. It looks like a finished product, yet feels like it is still in beta - a buggy and incomplete gadget but with plenty of promise and potential. I know from experience that the N97 will only grow with every firmware update until it eventually fulfils its destiny. So I believe things will get better, the craziness will get fixed.

    When the Nokia N97 does ascend onto its throne as the Nokia Smartphone Trophy, is it worth the price tag? Well, it depends. If you are looking for the clickiest keyboard, flashiest camera and zippiest electric guts, the N97 will disappoint you.

    If you are a hardcore Symbian S60 power-pusher, the N97 will not surprise you, nor will it impress you as it is a panicky multi-tasker. If you consider a “jack of all trades but master of none” device qualified to be the one-eyed king in the land of the blind, the incredible flexibility and ability to perform all tasks respectably above average standards of the Nokia N97 will serve you like royalty.

    Oh, and if you think the iPhone is a “smart” phone, the N97 will blow your mind and then some.
    From: Steven Xie
  2. ramonchow
    This trial came at the perfect time for me. Just researching and deciding on my next phone upgrade and the N97 was definitely on the short-list, so being able to get hands-on with it for a week helped me answer some questions.

    Could I live with a touch-screen in terms of text input and navigation? Could the N97 run the applications that I can’t live without on my current E66 competently (Microsoft Mail for Exchange, Facebook, Gmail, Fring, Hotmail, Twitter clients, Adobe PDF)?? What is the Internet surfing experience like?

    It seemed like the N97 was made for people like me who surf on the go, message a lot, take a lot of ad hoc photos and videos of the kids, and don’t like carrying multiple devices. It’s a good size, looks good and does all of the above more than competently! Battery life was acceptable at about 2 days of moderate use.
    From: Ramon Chow
  3. kelvinkoh
    I am honored to be one of the few lucky trial participants to be selected for the Nokia N97 experience. Besides being able to “play” around with the phone at no cost, I also fully enjoyed and squeezed every juice of entertainment out of it.

    The very last Nokia phone that I used was the Nokia N80. Unfortunately, I replaced it the very next month as it just did not felt right. I wanted to see how Nokia have advanced since the last time I used their phone.

    Being an avid phone user, I always like to keep track of the latest development in the telecommunication industry. It was a wonderful experience using the phone for the past week and I thank Nokia and Hardware Zone for it.

    The phone itself is very engaging, I just cannot stop playing it even for a moment. It has so many features that a week of trial is just not enough to explore the phone.

    Of the many touch-screen phones that I have used before, iPhone, iPhone 3G, HTC Touch HD, the N97 is without a doubt the best phone that I have ever used.

    When I first received the N97, the first glance was that it looks bulky and thick. However, upon holding it in the hands, it fit snugly into the palm and the weight of the phone is surprisingly light. This is even with the battery in the phone.

    The screen is wide and glossy; this will be a major fingerprint magnet over time. However, comparing with all the available touch-screen phones in the market, this is the disadvantage that touch-screen phones will have.

    The material that was used for the back of the phone is made of plastic. Different from the rest of the N series, it has a matt surface. Therefore, people like me who have sweaty palms will not encounter the problem of leaving fingerprints all over the phone.
    The lens for the camera has a similar design to what Sony Ericsson uses for their C series. This is great for people like me who hate dust and scratches on the lens.

    Overall, the Nokia N97 is definitely worth buying. With the 5-megapixel camera and 3.5-inch wide screen and HD resolution for videos, it will keep one entertained for hours and hours. The new interface is also worth mentioning: as the home screen is customizable, every user will also be different. On a scale of 10, I will give it an 8.5, for every phone there will always be room for improvement.
    From: Kelvin Koh

Pages: [10] 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 » Show All