0		Nokia, N97, new, big, deal

The whole world is going gaga about this new beast from Nokia called N97. Nokia N97 It comes from the Finnish mobile makers N Series stable and is being launched in 75 countries. Sensing an opportunity Nokia has jumped into the touch screen bandwagon.

Users and consumers did not prove Nokia wrong. Its XpressMusic 5800 has sold more than 13 million units fast closing in on iPhone sales. Now it is back with one more touch screen phone - N97.

The beauty of Nokia N97 is, it is both touch screen and has a QWERTY keyboard. This is coming from the failure of Blackberry’s storm. Blackberry’s USP was the keypad and when it launched its touch screen phone everybody was like “There is no keypad and you call this blackberry”.

Both the touch screen and the keypad phones have their own advantages and disadvantages. N97 just mixed them up to see if it works. From the looks alone N97 is a winner.

A deep dive into the specifications.

1. 32GB internal memory expandable up to 48GB. (That is more than what I have in my laptop)
2. 5MP auto-focus Camera
3. Cost : 36,000 rupees. It costs $700 in the US.
4. 3G : HSDPA, 3.6 MBPS. (Only BSNL has 3G in India)
5. 128 MB RAM
6. GPS (With satnav to go out of the box - not sure if it works in India)
7. 3.5 inch touch screen
8. Ovi Store pre-loaded. A lot of freedom than iPhone’s store.
9. QWERTY keypad
10. Battery Life ( 9 hours of talk time, 400+ hours of stand-by time, 40 hours or music — all mutually exclusive)

Detailed specifications at GSMArena

Few idiosyncrasies :

1. TV-Out provided without a cable.
2. Not so good keypad.

Promo Video :

 

N97 Live Demo

 

There is a lot of buzz around the launch of Nokia N97. By far it is the most widely publicized mobile in India with huge banners in all major newspapers and website’s. Not even iPhone had this kind of coverage. May be that is the reason for iPhone’s failure in India.

TechTree has a contest going for 7 days where you can win a Nokia N97 by answering questions over a week.

You can pre-order your N97 by sending an SMS N97 to  55555 or visit nokia.co.in/prebookn97

Verdict : Nokia N97 ~ Touch screen like an iPhone + Keypad like a Blackberry. Now, that’s a godsend or so I think. Boy Genius has a different opinion.

Which one would you get? N97 or iPhone 3G S? Don’t tell me Palm Pre. Or you gonna wait for HTC’s Android version.

PS : I cannot understand the price tags on these phones when they launch in India. 36000 rupees is a lot of money. May be Nokia is falling into the Apple’s trap. Looks like nothing has been learnt from the success of XpressMusic which was in sub-20K range.

PPS : I had 36000 rupees, Nokia N97 is not something I will spend that money on. I would take it as a gift though.