Nokia N97 mini

nokia n97 mini review

Release Date:  Q3 2009
Expert Rating:
    Customer Rating:

• Sophisticated look
• 3G
• Touch screen and QWERTY keyboard

• Omission of camera lens protector

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It is not more than three months when Nokia launched n97 and it brings another version of the phone, called Nokia N97 Mini. Though, it is named mini, but it is actually more powerful than the former. It seems that Nokia took n97 and chopped off a part from the left to create Nokia N97 Mini. The size of the screen became smaller by .3 inches, placed arrow keys in place of D pad and did slight renovation on the keyboard. Some section of the media believes that Nokia brought in Mini in the market because they were not satisfied with the kind of response n97 had generated and hence made some necessary alterations to develop the idea of a new version called Mini.

Nokia N97 mini Review - Expected response

The response of the customers is yet to be seen. The fact is that the latest structure of the phone suits Nokia N97 Mini very well. It is going to be a tough call for the customers to decide between the original n97 and Mini. Some might feel that getting almost similar phone with a price cut £100 definitely makes sense while some might get an impression that it might be the cheap version of the predecessor. What is the difference between both the phones? Nokia has made certain upgrades and changes to suit the market trend. Nokia N97 Mini includes the new Nokia 2.0 firmware upgrade that is still missing in the n97 version.

Nokia N97 mini - The alterations

There has to be certain unique aspects that will prompt the users to buy the new handset. So, Nokia introduced latest home screen widgets like Elle and CNN in the phone and also made certain updates in terms of kinetic scrolling and software. Compared to the earlier version that is n97, Nokia N97 Mini feels much more pleasing while holding. It is light weight (138 grams) than the earlier version and it is strong enough. Thus, it is quite natural to use this comparatively light weight mobile phone. If we consider the keyboard aspect, it can be said that there is no such significant change. Though Nokia insists that the keyboard features are improved, but not much of a difference is noticed between the two phones in this context. The keys are little bit are aligned and raised a bit. The keys of original n27 are also quite nice and there was no major problem.

Original Nokia N97 featured D Pad, but it is scrapped in the Mini. Actually, it does not make any difference because the navigations of application and actions are quite comfortably done with the arrow keys. Other than that, Nokia N97 Mini is a touch screen phone and hence it is very convenient to use the applications in a perfect manner.

In terms of appearance also, Nokia N97 Mini comes with a little tweak. The back portion of the device is metallic and it looks quite stylish. They made alterations with the camera lens cover also. The device doesn’t feature camera lens and hence it remain exposed and can get scratched easily. The display specifications of the phone include TFT resistive touch screen with 16 million colours. The size of the screen is 3.2 inches and the resolution it features is 360 x 640 pixels. Moreover, it includes some fascinating features such as handwriting recognition, full QWERTY keyboard, proximity sensor for auto turn-off and accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate.

Nokia N97 mini - Memory of the phone

Nokia N97 Mini maintains excellent memory back up. The device is loaded with 8 gigabytes of internal storage and 128 megabytes of RAM. The memory option of the phone can be expanded also and the limit is up to massive 16 gigabytes. For this aspect, the mobile phone includes microSD™ (TransFlash) card slot. Thus, the memory feature is updated also from the earlier version of n97.

Camera feature of Nokia N97 Mini

The Nokia N97 Mini is loaded with above average camera feature. The handset is loaded with 5 mega pixels snapper and it includes 2592x1944 pixels resolution, auto focus, Dual LED flash, Carl Zeiss optics and video light. Geo tagging feature is also provided with this camera phone. Main and secondary video recording are done at VGA@30fps and VGA@15fps respectively.

Music Player and Video Player of Nokia N97 Mini

The device is loaded with both music player and video player feature. The music player can play music files of different formats like MP3, WMA, WAV and eAAC+ while the video player can play WMV, MP4 and Real Video files. FM radio is also included in the Nokia N97 Mini.

Nokia N97 Mini Review - Connectivity and Network

Nokia N97 Mini is fabulous in terms of connectivity. It comes with 3G, GPS, Wi-Fi, 3.5mm audio jack TV-out and Bluetooth. The device is supportive to quad band GSM network of 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900. Moreover, it supports 3G network at HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100. GPS support is available with A-GPS and Nokia Maps.

Apart from excellent features, the Nokia N97 Mini looks simply stunning. Holding the device in hands gives a great level of satisfaction and sophistication too. The mobile phone is available in two colours which are garnet and cherry black. Announcement of the phone was made on September 2009 and the expected release period is around October. So far, the Nokia N97 Mini have generated quite a positive buzz, it is to be seen whether it can retain its initial hype and satisfy the eagerly awaiting the buyers.

UPDATE (APRIL 2010): Nokia have just announced a new n series phone, the Nokia N8.