I’ve been using the Nokia N97 for a few days now, and was quickly able to come up with a number of things that I absolutely hate about this phone. However, since other reviewers seem to be railing on it, I figured I’d be nice and start with the things that I really really love about the Nokia N97. This is most certainly not a comprehensive list of the best features of the phone, but rather things that I find awesome, specifically in comparison to Nokia’s first S60v5 smartphone, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic.
First off, the Nokia N97 is the first Nseries that feels like it was built by the Eseries team. This is something I’ve been longing for since, well, since the inception of the Nseries and Eseries. Eseries models are notoriously built exceptionally well, whereas Nseries, typically, seem to use cheaper plastic and appear to go through a less strenuous quality control process. The N97′s materials are super high-end, and feel fantastic in your hand. The slide-lift mechanism is phenomenal and addicting, and simply incredibly well done. Of course, I’ll be testing the N97 for 3-4 weeks, and will be keeping an eye on it, to make sure this build quality stands up to the test, but as Matthew Miller recently discovered, I think the N97 will be just fine.
Second, I really love the active homescreen, and I love even more that *I* get to customize it. This is, again, the first Nseries that allows users to customize the various things that show up on the homescreen. You can see an example of mine below. I love that I can have Facebook, Nokia Messaging, the weather, and TWO rows of application shortcuts on there. It’s simply brilliant, and I can’t wait to see more apps come available with homescreen widgets. I know Mobbler is considering one, and I believe that Gravity is also working on it, as well.
Third, I love this screenshot. Yes, that’s my bookmarks list. You know what’s missing from this image? That’s right, all those worthless folders that were hardcoded into the bookmarks list and never had anything in them. It’s really nice, and allows me to manage my bookmarks so much easier. I still prefer Keytoss, but this makes things a bit nicer, nonetheless.
Fourth, the camera key. I know, that’s silly, but it really is incredibly well done. On the N97, the camera key doesn’t awkwardly jut out like it does on other phones, but yet I’m also not mashing my finger into the side of the device to activate it. The team was able to get a nice balance between the two, and it’s just nice to use.
Fifth, the contacts jump screen (for lack of a better title). When you click on a contact in your phonebook, you’re taken to a sort of shortcut page, similar to the pop-up on the newer Eseries. This is contextual for each contact, based on the information that you have stored about them. For instance, if I have a phone number and email address stored for Darla Mack, I’ll have nice links to initiate a voice call, send an SMS, send an email, or start a video call. If I only have an email address stored, I will only be shown the email shortcut.
Sixth, I have an onscreen menu button. One of my big complaints of the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic was that the onscreen S60 menu button shown in the emulator was removed, so that you *had* to press a hardware button to open the menu. I just think, on an otherwise entirely touchscreen phone, pressing a hardware button to access the menu is inconsistent and awkward. No longer with the N97, as I was able to use an Application Shortcut as the S60 menu button. It won’t pull up the task manager, but at least it’s a start.
Seventh, the browser. Yes, it’s the same browser that I have on my Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, but with 2 very important tweaks. First, the browser automatically switches back and forth between fullscreen mode. The onscreen progress bar shows long enough to confirm that the page has loaded completely, and then the browser gets out of your way so you can use the full screen to browse. It’s just nicely done. The other is kinetic scrolling. You can flick a page in any direction to go scrolling through. If only Nokia would implement this into every aspect of S60 5th Edition, such as my contact lists and music tracks, I’d be a happy, happy man.
It’s a short list, I know, but it’s just a preview of the top 7 things that I really love about the Nokia N97, after a few days of use. Tomorrow, I’ll be a bit more harsh, listing out 7 things that I really hate about this new powerhouse smartphone. Do any of these really stand out to you?
