Aside from a better case, Nokia should’ve included the N97 into its Comes With Music program (currently unavailable for this phone, much less in the Philippines). The phone isn’t as hip or youth-oriented as the 5800, but purchasing a flagship Nokia model always represents brand loyalty and a significant investment for the buyer. Why not reward that kind of devotion?

All things said, each Nokia N97 comes with a lot of useful items. At the very least, the USB data cable, hands-free kit, charger adapter, and the phone’s built-in 32GB of memory means you don’t have to buy accessories to maximize the N97. The bundle is good, but pretty much standard for a high-end phone.

As far as I know, the N97 isn’t under Nokia’s Comes With Music program, which allows new phone owners to purchase as much music as they want within a year from the Nokia music store. Nokia can easily change this, and even make it available retroactively to early adopters. That will definitely provide more value for the N97.

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A complete log of the phone’s usage over two days, accompanied by frequent updates on remaining battery life, is available on Philippine affiliate Technograph.

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I like your phones, and I’m happy with the S60 platform. Really, I am. It’s just that when I see iPhone users enjoy a pretty functional Wordpress client, I feel a bit sad. I know Symbian and S60 can do much better than that.

Courtesy Nokia

I love Wordpress. I use Wordpress to blog for this site, I use Wordpress to blog for my other tech site, and I used to use Wordpress for my personal blog. I probably will when I restart that.

I’ve tried Scribe and Wordmobi, both publicized as Wordpress clients for the S60, and I appreciate the hard work and passion their authors put into them. But let’s face it, both apps are in beta and need lots of work. They’re both limited by their dependency on Python for the S60, which by itself is pretty buggy. I’ve experienced long wait times (with no progress bars to reassure me that something is happening), time-out failures, and even the occasional socket error that unfortunately requires restarting the phone to clear.

The author of Scribe is pretty open, warning us about these problems. I am totally sympathetic to his difficulties, but I’m still basically left with no effective way to publish posts from my new Nokia N97.

Simply put, all I ask is that you spend good money to have a team develop an awesome Wordpress app for the S60 platform. Fly people in, pay for their living expenses, give them complete access to everything you’ve got on S60, and treat them like royalty—so long as they come up with something that literally redefines mobile blogging.

Then, after running it through every usability test imaginable, and making the necessary adjustments, make this Wordpress app available for free. Do the same for the source code. I’m perfectly willing to pay good money for a very good Wordpress app, since that blogging platform represents a huge chunk of my income, but I’m pretty sure making it free will attract lots of users.

As for developers, access to the source code represents a great example they can base their own efforts on, providing the programming insights and solutions they need to make their own apps equally awesome. These developers will thus gain the knowledge they need to code better, more effective apps for the Ovi Store. That means more users, and more paying customers.

In fact, why stop at Wordpress? Why not invest in other apps you know mobile users will find tremendously useful, apps that are truly special and go beyond just presenting information on-the-go? I know, I know, you’re probably waiting for third-party developers to come out with the good stuff. After all, it’s their efforts that led to great apps like Gravity, easily the best Twitter S60 client around (and definitely worth it at just over $10).

But let’s face it: Symbian isn’t as sexy as the iPhone OS. It doesn’t enjoy a visibly fervent following, even though the platform took its sweet time to provide built-in features your phones have had since time immemorial, like MMS, copy-paste, and video recording! Unless you’re willing to invest in active efforts to develop your developer community—beyond setting up online resources and forums (which are very useful, to be clear)—it will take a lot longer for the best mobile app developers to embrace your platform passionately, if at all.

As for myself, I’d be happy with just a Wordpress client that maximizes your phones’ features, free from bugs. Improve on what Scribe and Wordmobi promise but occasionally fail to deliver, like the ability to quickly integrate pictures from the media gallery into the post.

It should be so easy for me to blog from your mid- to high-end phones, especially on something as fully-featured as the N97. But it seems no one has the time—or expertise—to provide an app that makes this a very easy and straightforward process. So it’s up to you, Nokia, to deliver, to come out with your own awesome apps that developers can derive inspiration from.

Regards,
Rico Mossesgeld

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You see, the N97 uses a microUSB port for both its USB cable and charger. This means older Nokia chargers won’t work with the phone—unless the bundled adapter is used. At least this means the phone can also draw power through a computer’s USB port.

At least the adapter accepts the older, thicker charger-pin, and the much thinner one found in newer models. This should serve as warning for N97 owners to keep track of what comes with their phone, because if they lose the included charger and adapter, they’ll have no choice but to rely on the USB cable for charging, buy a new charger from Nokia (which comes at a price of course).

Unless of course, this new USB-based charging format represents Nokia’s plans for future models. You never know. (Oh wait, it does!)

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• The N97 is very similar in size to the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic in terms of thickness and width, and slightly longer. Will cause pocket bulge but is still impressive for a flagship.
• Compared to the N96 and N95, the N97 is more responsive. Still a bit slow though, especially when trying to run apps that use connectivity a lot (Maybe using a phone under better 3G or 3.5G coverage will provide better results?
• The sliding mechanism of the N97 is very solid and feels well made. A ribbon cable connects the upper part of the phone to the rest of the device. Very inaccessible, but this is a worrying vulnerability—cut the cable, goodbye phone?
• The QWERTY keyboard feels a bit flat. Maybe the next model should take a cue from the E-series keyboard and use slightly rounded keys?
• Why drop the plectrum/guitar key, used as the stylus for the 5800, and replace it with a detachable pen? Detachable = easily lost.

That’s all I’ve got now. A full review to follow when possible. For now, pics! (Click them thumbnails for the full-size editions)

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It seems the Nokia N97 will rely on brackets to push the top part to the side and up. Definitely not as seamless as the XPERIA X1, but it works for me. At the very least, the mechanism satisfies the gaudy need to showcase the actual model name of the phone, and the specs summary. Who this satisfies I honestly have no idea.

According to nokia.com.ph/n97preorder, the pre-order period for the Philippines will run from June 16-18. Will this apply to other countries as well? Your guess is as good as mine, but I’ll share any info as I find it out.

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Would you get a Nokia N97? Personally, I was never into Nokia’s kitchen sink phones. Aside from the high cost of (usually unsubsidized) ownership, N9Xs were never known for their responsiveness. On top of that, you’ve also got usefully multi-functional models like the E63. That’s available at a much lower price point, yet literally has enough functionality for practically any mobile task.

I might change my tune if this phone meets my responsiveness standards. Here’s to hoping for quick dibs on a review unit!

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What I do like about the video is how it whets my appetite for Nokia’s new flagship, with shiny and carefully-cultivated cinematography, including shots of the phone in action. But even better is the clearly inclusive approach of Nokia; no Jobsian snobbery to be found here. The ultimate implication—this phone is so cool because it lets you do practically anything, and not because it makes you stand out—kinda plays like the anti-thesis of Apple’s simplistic branding.

Nokia should keep one thing in mind though: if they’re going to push for “Internet everywhere”, sister company Nokia Siemens Networks (an infrastructure provider) had better cover the globe with its cell sites!

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Fortune magazine recently reports on the worldwide launch of the Nokia N97, but primarily concentrates on Nokia’s lack of presence in the US market. A definite anomaly: just why can’t the world’s biggest cellphone manufacturer seem to make a dent on America?

You have clear proof of Nokia’s commitment to the US, and grumblings from carriers like AT&T that they’re not willing to play the carrier game.

That, according to Fortune, is a big reason driving Nokia continued loss of market share in the US:

Nokia also refused to cater to American phone companies’ whims. In Europe and Asia, consumers usually buy phones and telephone service separately, so Nokia needs to please only the end user. In the U.S., where phones and service are sold together, carriers want control over the way the phones look and perform. (Another challenge for Nokia is that the dominant wireless standard in North America is CDMA; most Nokia phones are designed to operate on the global standard, GSM.)

Heck, I’m really tempted to lambast the carriers and call them out for wanting to keep their control over the cellphone market in the US. But the fact is that US consumers would rather lock themselves into a two-year plan than pay for a phone outright. That’s a fact that Nokia should start accepting, because it may call for a more accommodating relationship with the carriers.

Ot, alternatively, the Finnish manufacturer should start reconsidering its plans. But whether they like it or not, mobile success in the US may be very important after all:

By lagging in smartphones Nokia isn’t just missing out on sales; it may also be losing the attention of software developers that make cool games and applications for mobile devices, a growing number of which operate in the U.S.

Nokia is reinventing itself yet again as an Internet company, a sort of Yahoo.com for your phone. It is trying to woo application developers to its mobile platform through offices in Silicon Valley and Boston. You’d think it would be tantalizing to write software for the world’s largest mobile platform. But ask developers worldwide to show you their favorite mobile apps, and they’ll probably pull out their iPhones.

(Image from The Smart PDA)

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N96 buyers, consider yourselves screwed. Nokia’s just announced the N97, continuing the kitchen-sink tradition of the N9x series.

Perhaps taking a cue from the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1, Nokia has made their new flagship a side-slider, which reveals a QWERTY keyboard underneath. Standard high-end features like WiFi, Bluetooth, HSDPA, and a 5 megapixel camera are on-board, as well as the welcome integration of the standard 3.5mm headphone jack. More info, specs, pics, and a video for those who keep reading.

You can expect the N97 to offer the usual Symbian S60 5th edition experience (to be found on the 5800 XpressMusic), but let’s see how it works with the 3.5” widescreen (640 x 360 pixel touchscreen) and 32GB of integrated memory (a microSD slot will accept up to 16GB of additional memory, according to the press release). Check out the company video for a virtual N97 in action:

And see this iPhone-N97 comparison via Robert Scoble (take care of your phone man!):

Perhaps the most important info—aside from the projected price of 550 euros and Q2 2009 release—is the battery capacity. A phone with so much functionality needs juice to run properly after all, and it’s probable Nokia will equip the N97 with the 5800’s 1320 mAh battery (here’s to hoping they’ll shoot for 1500 mAh). Expect updates on this as they become available.

(N97 product pics courtesy of Nokia)

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