Nokia N97
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The Nokia N97 is a high-end
smartphone A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as multi ...
introduced on 2 December 2008 by
Nokia Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, originally established as a pulp mill in 1 ...
as part of its Nseries and released in June 2009 as the company's flagship device. The N97 was Nokia's second S60-based
touchscreen A touchscreen (or touch screen) is a type of electronic visual display, display that can detect touch input from a user. It consists of both an input device (a touch panel) and an output device (a visual display). The touch panel is typically l ...
phone, after the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic. The device features slide-out
QWERTY QWERTY ( ) is a keyboard layout for Latin-script alphabets. The name comes from the order of the first six Computer keyboard keys#Types, keys on the top letter row of the keyboard: . The QWERTY design is based on a layout included in the Sh ...
keyboard, and runs on the
Symbian Symbian is a discontinued mobile operating system (OS) and computing platform designed for smartphones. It was originally developed as a proprietary software OS for personal digital assistants in 1998 by the Symbian Ltd. consortium. Symbian OS ...
v9.4 (Symbian^1/S60 5th Edition) operating system. Its design takes cues from the Nokia N79. A smaller and lower-cost variant, the Nokia N97 mini, was later released. As the successor to the
Nokia N96 The Nokia N96 is a discontinued high-end mobile phone announced by Nokia on 11 February 2008 at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona as part of the Nseries line. The N96 runs Symbian OS v9.3 (S60 (software platform), S60 3rd Edition, FP2). It ...
, the Nokia N97 heralded the company's Nseries "multimedia computers" into the touchscreen era. The N97 was highly anticipated and, despite respectable sales, in industry circles the phone was considered a hardware and software "disaster" that contributed to Nokia's decline. In 2010, a Nokia executive called the N97 a "regrettable failure". The N97 was followed as the Nseries flagship by the
Nokia N8 The Nokia N8 is a touchscreen-based smartphone developed by Nokia. Announced on 27 April 2010, the Nokia N8 was the first device to run on the Symbian^3 mobile operating system and it was the company's flagship device for the year. It was rel ...
over a year later, while the Nokia E7 released in 2011 was a continuation of the Nokia N97's form factor.


Release

The Nokia N97 was released in US
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...
stores on 9 June 2009, and worldwide on 26 June 2009. In September 2009, it was reported that some two million N97 handsets had been sold in the three months after its release. The N97 shipped with trial versions of Quick Office, Adobe Reader, Boingo, Joikuspot,
Ovi Maps Here Technologies (stylized and trade name as HERE and here) is a multinational group based in The Netherlands specialized in mapping technologies, location data, and related automotive services to individuals and companies. It is majority- ...
, and Ovi store software applications. The device's initial software met a mixed reception, prompting the release of new
firmware In computing Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computer, computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and the development of both computer hardware, h ...
in October 2009. Nokia released the new firmware with kinetic scrolling for the N97 to address drawbacks in the initial firmware release. In October 2009, the N97 Mini, a smaller version of the original N97, was introduced. The N97 Mini was regarded as an improvement over the original N97.Nokia N97 mini review
24 November 2009. Retrieved 15 May 2010.


Operating times

Informal tests found that the N97's battery could hold a charge through nearly two days of the original N97's regular use. Nokia claimed the following operating times: *Talk time: Up to 6.0 hours (3G), 9.5 hours (GSM) *Standby time: Up to 17 days (3G), 18 days (GSM) *Video playback: Up to 4.5 hours (offline mode) *Video recording: Up to 3.6 hours (offline mode) *Music playback: Up to 40 hours (offline mode)


Special applications

With the optional
DVB-H DVB-H (digital video broadcasting - handheld) is one of three prevalent mobile TV formats. It is a technical specification for bringing broadcast services to mobile handsets. DVB-H was formally adopted as ETSI standard EN 302 304 in November 2 ...
Nokia Mobile TV receiver, SU-33W it became possible to watch television on the phone. This was compatible with Nokia's N-Gage platform, the only touchscreen with this capability at the time.


Reception

Criticism of the original N97 included its relative lack of
RAM Ram, ram, or RAM most commonly refers to: * A male sheep * Random-access memory, computer memory * Ram Trucks, US, since 2009 ** List of vehicles named Dodge Ram, trucks and vans ** Ram Pickup, produced by Ram Trucks Ram, ram, or RAM may also ref ...
and available storage. With only 50MB of free RAM after boot, the phone could become sluggish and close applications to conserve memory. Many first-party applications would install only on the root partition and with around 50MB of free space, this was used quickly in competition with the needs of temporary OS files. The N97 Mini resolved this issue, often offering users over 250MB of free space in fixed storage. A memory mapping change from firmware version 20 enabled applications to use less RAM and to better disengage, which eased the strain of less free RAM to the end-user. Anssi Vanjoki, Nokia's EVP of Markets admitted that quality control of the device's software was troublesome, saying "it has been a tremendous disappointment in terms of the experience quality for the consumers", though Vanjoki later claimed that the issue could be repaired by
firmware In computing Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computer, computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and the development of both computer hardware, h ...
updates. Steve Litchfield of "All About Symbian" wrote in a 2011 blog post: "The N97 really was the device that should have ruled the world - it had, almost literally, everything. And yet it became the one device that Nokia had to (literally) apologize for, publicly. The one device that became a millstone around its neck." Nokia acknowledged that on many units the covers and lenses were mounted too closely, resulting in scratches from dust and debris. On later units, Nokia reportedly fixed this issue. Other early adopters of the N97 encountered speed problems with the phone's built-in GPS lock. The phones lost track of their current locations, making Nokia's free turn-by-turn navigation software unusable. Users were offered under-warranty repairs for lens cover and GPS issues at official Nokia service centers. Although Nokia phones traditionally had provided strong signal reception, the Nokia N97 fell short in this area, demonstrating poor signal strength, even when compared side by side to other phones connected to the same network. The
user interface In the industrial design field of human–computer interaction, a user interface (UI) is the space where interactions between humans and machines occur. The goal of this interaction is to allow effective operation and control of the machine fro ...
of the S60 5th edition software platform, built on top of Symbian OS 9.4, was criticized by the TechRadar site as inconsistent, insofar as menu items required two taps to activate.Phil Lattimore
Nokia N97 Mini review
7 December 2009. Retrieved 15 May 2010.
In 2010 Nokia apologized to customers who had experienced shortcomings with the N97 and its software. Despite generally lukewarm reviews, the phone sold well. However its marketing as an "
iPhone The iPhone is a line of smartphones developed and marketed by Apple that run iOS, the company's own mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, at ...
killer" tarnished Nokia's smartphone reputation at the time.


Nokia N97 Mini

The N97 Mini was a downsized version of the N97 introduced in October 2009. The N97 Mini reduced some features of the original N97, such as 8 GB of storage memory, touchscreen, and a shorter battery life.Nokia N97 mini review
SlashGear (24 November 2009). Retrieved 9 December 2013.
It used the 2.0 Nokia N97 software by default. The keypad was somewhat redesigned. The big D-pad on the left side was replaced by four arrow keys on the right side. There also was more space between each key, and keys were a bit higher, which offered better tactile sense when typing. This table lists significant differences. A limited edition, the "N97 mini Raoul Limited Edition" was released in collaboration with fashion house FJ Benjamin and the Raoul brand. It also featured a ''Fashion Asia widget'' and became available in late October 2009 in
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
and
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
.


Reception

The
user interface In the industrial design field of human–computer interaction, a user interface (UI) is the space where interactions between humans and machines occur. The goal of this interaction is to allow effective operation and control of the machine fro ...
of the S60 5th edition software platform, built on top of Symbian OS 9.4, was criticized by the TechRadar site as being inconsistent, insofar as menu items required two taps to be activated. When compared to the original N97, the cheaper N97 mini was regarded in reviews as an improvement, especially its keyboard.


Successor

There are three phones considered as successors to the N97. Firstly is the N8, as it became the new multimedia flagship for 2010. Also is the C6, which had a similar sliding-out QWERTY keyboard - however since the C6 uses the same specifications, the
Maemo Maemo is a Linux-based software platform originally developed by Nokia, now developed by the Free software movement, community, for smartphones and Internet tablets. The platform comprises both the Maemo operating system and Software development ...
-powered
N900 The Nokia N900 is a smartphone made by Nokia, launched at Nokia World on 2 September 2009 and released in November. Superseding the Nokia N810, the N900's default operating system, Maemo 5, is a Linux-based OS originally developed for the Nok ...
, also featuring the keyboard, yet considerably better specifications have been considered the successor.


See also

* BlackBerry Storm * Daxian N97 * HTC Touch Pro2 *
HTC Hero HTC Hero (marketed as T-Mobile G2 Touch by T-Mobile International AG, T-Mobile in the UK, Austria, Germany, Croatia, the Netherlands, Slovakia, and Hungary; and as Era G2 Touch in Poland) is the third phone manufactured by HTC running the Android ...
*
iPhone 3GS The iPhone 3GS, stylized as , is a smartphone that was developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the List of iPhone models, third generation of the iPhone and the successor to the iPhone 3G. It was unveiled on June 8, 2009 at the Apple Worldw ...
* Nokia 5800 XpressMusic * Nokia C6-00 * Nokia E7 *
Nokia N900 The Nokia N900 is a smartphone made by Nokia, launched at Nokia World on 2 September 2009 and released in November. Superseding the Nokia N810, the N900's default operating system, Maemo 5, is a Linux-based OS originally developed for the Nokia ...
*
Palm Pre The Palm Pre , styled as palm prē, is a multitasking smartphone that was designed and marketed by Palm with a multi-touch screen and a sliding keyboard. The smartphone was the first to use Palm's Linux-based mobile operating system, webOS. T ...
* Samsung i8910 Omnia HD * Sony Ericsson Satio


References


External links


Nokia N97 demonstration videoNokia N97 Discussion ForumNokia N97 Data sheetOfficial Nokia N97 website launchedNokia N97 detailed specificationsReview: Nokia N97 mini by Chris Targett 12 May 2010
rather positive review of the mini
The stress test of Nokia N97 (93 points from 100 possible)
{{Authority control N-Gage (service) compatible devices Mobile phones with an integrated hardware keyboard Mobile phones introduced in 2009 Nokia Nseries Mobile phones with user-replaceable battery Slider phones Discontinued flagship smartphones