It has been a while since I updated but FINALLY I am back. I tried wordpress while I was away and seem to be drawn back here for some reason. Well along the way I picked up a nice new Nokia N97 phone to play with.
This phone is the best Nokia N series device that I have ever used. I can see though that this will not be able to compete with the new Palm Pre or iPhone for customers in the US. With no subsidy the price tag is a bit high for most people who are looking for a smartphone. The user interface is just like S60.. ok it is S60 but they have not really changed on it since my N95. So here it is.. the good and the bad -
GOOD -
1. Camera - 5 megapixel goodness. Decent low light shooting and auto focus which is quite nice. Lots of options to keep you busy. Pretty impressive for a phone.
2. Keyboard - I have missed a physical keyboard. I can type pretty well on the iPhone but having keys is nice again. The big complaint of most is the space bar on the right hand side of the phone but honestly that took me all of 5 minutes to get used to.
3. Multi-Tasking - HEY APPLE.. push notifications are ok but that is not replacement for true multi-tasking. Running an IM is actually do-able on a phone like this. Order has been restored to my IM life away from a computer.
5 . Screen - sharp and clear. The screen is more sensative than the 5800 that I had been using. Almost like a capasative screen.
BAD .. yes there is bad.
1. Interface - while it is not a problem at all for me since I am used to S60 the interface is a bit dated. A new user would not have an easy time figuring out where everything is.. The newer more modern devices like the iPhone and Pre have a much more user friendly interface and this give a casual user a better experiance. For a power user the customazation that is available with S60 is amazing.
2. OVI Store - ok the concept is good but so far the execution seems a bit off. There isn't the clean interface and eaasy to use feel to this one. And well.. the apps are all crammed into random categories so as things get added it is going to get harder and harder to find things pretty quick. As this grows they really need to break things down to categories to make it easier to find what you want.
3. Price - There is not much that Nokia can do in the US about this. No carriers mean no price breaks. Granted for an unlocked phone with this feature set it is not terrible but not many users who are not Nokia fans will grab this one.
I have only had the phone for about a week now so I may have more comments as I use it more but for now at least for me it is a keeper.
