As Technograph asserts

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.

Take the Nokia E75 out of the box, and you’ll see a transparent sticker plastered over the display. Apparently, Nokia received too many complaints, from people who couldn’t figure out that on some phones, the red End Call key doubles as the power button! The side-effect of this noobishness? You have to take off the display cover to start using the phone, wasting the sticker’s screen protector potential.

Based on the attended product briefing, Nokia’s pushing the E75 as email-centric, highlighting the QWERTY keyboard that slides out from underneath the otherwise candybar-looking smartphone, as well as the email-friendly messaging app. Functionality-wise compared to the E71 however, the E75 is pretty much the same, with a different form factor and a newer version firmware to set it apart (and I was told that the same firmware is being prepared for the E71).

The complete data sheet is here, courtesy of Philippine affiliate Technograph. More pictures and a review to follow soon.

So how long does the battery of the Nokia N97 last on a full charge? Turns out much longer than the N96 and N95: “For now though, one thing is clear: based on my (admittedly undemanding) usage, the Nokia N97 almost lasted for two days. A definite improvement over the N96!”

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.

Dear Nokia,

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. Read more

At first glance, the Nokia N97 can do-it-all, literally featuring every cell phone functionality Nokia has come out with to date. But a particular feature will cause owners of this phone to be more careful with their stuff (and, not to mention, the phone itself).

You see, the N97 uses a proprietary port for both its USB cable and charger (which is weird, since Nokia agreed to implement standard USB for future phones). 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.

Here’s a key to getting more people to adopt Nokia’s software (and in turn, the Ovi suite of online services):

Running the Ovi Suite installer of the Nokia N97, it’s clear that Nokia’s PC software could use improvement. A lot of improvement.

At first glance, it’s nice to see the installer provide the user with some options during setup. Install Nokia Photos? Leave out Nokia Music? But in hindsight, this approach—separating the various facilities into different applications—does not work. Not only does it come off as cumbersome (What, I have to install all of this?!), it lets users potentially miss out on functionality required to maximize their phones.

The rant/article continues on Philippine-affiliate Technograph.

Finally getting a to play with the Nokia N97, here are some first impressions:

• 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)

So was a video of the unannounced Nokia E72 really broadcast on YouTube accidentally? In any case, the video (now off that site but available through Dailymotion) reveals that the E72 will feature the same tablet form factor as its predecessor the Nokia E71. Right down to the QWEERTY thumboard and four application keys situated below the display.

Screenshot of Dailymotion video

Some other revelations: A 5 megapixel camera, availability in black, gray and gold colors, and a nifty touch-scrolling mechanism. According to Brighthand, the E72’s workflow demo in the video reveals that the phone will run on Symbian S60, version 3.2.

Based on what I know about the E71, you can bet that the E72 should have WiFi, Bluetooth, and fast mobile broadband connectivity. Most likely HSDPA, but a step up to the faster HSUPA wouldn’t be surprising.

Legit availability and pricing info—as well as more specs—to follow once Nokia officially (or “officially”) announces the Nokia E72.

The concept is easy to understand: design a system that can create power from radio frequency energies to charge batteries. The potential for this is huge, since RF devices are practically ubiquitous—at least for those who need to charge batteries on a regular basis. WiFi and cellphone antennas are just some of the examples of RF-creating items that the proposed charging system can utilize. The full news report below:

Nokia Prototype Generates Power from Ambient Radiation
Shane McGlaun

Future Nokia devices may charge batteries without needing an AC outlet

Markku Rouvala, a researcher from the Nokia Research Centre in Cambridge, U.K., and a group of researchers are working towards a development that could lead to phones that are able to top off their batteries by harvesting power from ambient RF signals.

The type of radiation that the researchers are trying to harvest for the power comes from Wi-Fi transmitters, cell phones, TV antennas and other sources. Rouvala says that the prototype device that has been developed could harvest as much as 50 milliwatts of power. That amount of power would be sufficient to charge a phone that is switched off.

The current prototype is capable of harvesting only three to five milliwatts. Two passive circuits are required in the prototype device.

Rouvala said, “Even if you are only getting microwatts, you can still harvest energy, provided your circuit is not using more power than it’s receiving.”

Generating power in this method isn’t a new break through; the same method is used to generate power for wireless sensors and RFID tags. Technology Review reports that this year a researcher at the University of Washington developed a temperature and humidity sensor that was able to draw the power it needs to operate from a signal emitted by a 1-megawatt TV antenna 4.1km away, but the device needed only 60 microwatts.

Nokia’s plans are to generate much higher levels of power from ambient signals. To develop 50 milliwatts would need about 1000 strong signals and an antenna that can pick up such a wide range of frequencies would suffer from efficiency losses.

Researcher and physicist Steve Beeby works on vibrational energy. He said, “If they can get 50 milliwatts out of ambient RF, that would put me out of business.”

Nokia is mum on the details of its plan, but Rouvala says, “I would say it is possible to put this into a product within three to four years.”
The technology would not be used to power a phone alone; it would be combined with other energy-harvesting technology like solar cells. This sort of power generating technology would be especially welcome on Nokia handsets designed for emerging markets.

(Image courtesy Encyclopedia Britannica)

I’ve always assumed the N97 would mimic the form-fitting slide of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1. According to a video shared by Philippine affiliate Technograph, that’s not the case:

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.