Nokia N97

Applications

The N97 is the first Nokia smartphone preinstalled with the Ovi Store. This lets you download applications directly from the handset without having to go through a PC. If you are assuming that this rivals Apple's App Store, then you're in for a huge disappointment. Firstly, there aren't that many applications available and that's probably due to the infancy of the store. Secondly, most of them are paid apps. Those that are free are rather useless or simply don't work. The Apple App Store has tons of mundane apps, too, but at least those are fun if not gimmicky and provide short bursts of amusement. The Ovi Store is a radically different experience. The success of an online apps store revolves around two key aspects: The types of programs available and community reviews. The Ovi Store is sparse on both counts. Granted we may be a little harsh here, but it is obvious the Ovi Store pales against Apple's. All said, there are more (and much better) apps on the Web and we hope to see these on the Ovi Store soon.

Nokia, at least, seems to be aware of the shortcomings of its infant Ovi Store, and has preinstalled a bevy of applications on our review unit of the N97. These include Drawing, JoikuSpot, Traveler, YouTube player, AccuWeather, Amazon, AP News, Bloomberg, Buses@SG, Dial-a-cab, Facebook, Flight Info, Hi5, iGV, Slideshow, Singapore Exchange, Calories from SingHealth, Soccer, Straits Times, Wine and Dine, Boingo and Qik Capture. It's a good mix, from business to lifestyle apps, that much we can say. Note that some of these may be specific only to Singapore, so what you get in other countries could differ.

Performance

Aside from the inconsistencies in the user interface, the N97 provides a decent enough performance. It employs a resistive-type display, so you can use a stylus on the touchscreen unlike capacitive screens. There's no built-in compartment on the N97 for the pointing device though. Instead you'll have to string the bundled accessory through the eyelet on the handset; a minor inconvenience for those who don't like dangling objects hanging off their phones.

The N97 is best experienced if the device is connected to the Internet. Live widgets such as Facebook, AccuWeather and Straits Times (for Singapore market) apps give almost real-time updates of the weather, news and what your friends have posted on their Facebook. Understandably, this takes a toll on the battery. During our review, the battery lasted a day on average. So if you are out and about most of the time and a heavy user, you should consider investing in a spare battery. Alternatively, you can slow the battery drain by having the live widgets go offline.

Shutter lag is measured at 0.3 second and that's rather fast for a camera-phone. Picture quality is decent, though we did notice a slight yellow tinge in some of our shots. Overall, the N97 camera doesn't pack bells and whistles such as face detection, but it still has enough basic image settings for a camera-phone. Slightly disappointing is the VGA video capture resolution, especially when we're seeing much higher resolutions for video recording in phones such as the Samsung i8910 HD.

Conclusion

The Nseries represents the Finns' portfolio that pushes the envelope in terms of cutting-edge features. With HSDPA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth stereo and a bunch of connectivity options, you have a very capable smartphone with the N97. The specifications are great, but it's just not impressive in other aspects, especially when it comes to the user interface and applications, two things Apple has perfected.

We also feel that the S60 software is dated, or perhaps having waited so long for the N97 to emerge, our interest has waned. To be fair, the N97 has gotten many things right, but we're not sure if that's enough to fight off its competition particularly when it bears the burden of being a flagship.

Tags: HTC Touch, Symbian Inc., Nokia Corp., Keyboard, touch screen

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