Seven months ago, I was able to review the Nokia N97, then the flagship Nseries multimedia computer. This was a big deal for Nokia, and they needed to nail it, given several factors that I outlined in my Nokia N97 Review Conclusion. The unit I reviewed then had firmware v10.0.0.12, and it was a complete mess. You can read the full Nokia N97 review series here. However, several weeks ago I received my own personal N97, and immediately installed firmware v20 on it.
The result is, well, pretty much exactly what I expected back in June, when I said
The N97’s firmware is, without question, the buggiest launch firmware I’ve ever seen, topping even the N95-1 and N96. Does that make it a colossal fail? Surprisingly, no. The good news is that the hardware is solid – which means that with a firmware update or two, the N97 will, without question, be a rockstar smartphone.
Since getting the phone, setting it up, and using it as my primary device, I haven’t experienced any of the issues that I previously had. All of my contacts synced over from Google Contacts beautifully over SyncML, and GooSync handled my multiple Google Calendars smoothly, as well. No double first-names here (Ovi Sync is still a mess and should be avoided at all costs, though that’s not limited to the N97).
When I booted the phone up, the Software Update app politely informed me that an update to Ovi Contacts and N-Gage was available, which I promptly downloaded. Sure, N-Gage is dead, but I do have a handful of games that I might as well try to get transferred over. The firmware update also fixed the QWERTY keyboard, so that I can press and hold a button to get its corresponding function character, instead of a row of e’s or f’s.
The GPS module on my N97 is also well connected, so much so that I have consistently seen a SOLID GREEN GPS indicator in Ovi Maps, whereas on most phones I have several bars of green with a few yellow ones tacked on to the end.
While the phone obviously has the same horrid amount of RAM and internal storage, the handling of these precious commodities has improved. It does require a watchful eye, but I’m able to fully use my N97 without any issues, including multitasking and whatnot. The Memory Reorganizer app helped a bit, too.
After the 5800 XpressMusic finally converted me into a touchscreen fan, the N97 is much more pleasant to use, for sure. I really really love the hardware, specifically the tilted screen, camera button, and the keyboard (which is nicely tactile on my black NAM unit).
For those wondering, my batch is 42/2009. It’s too early to tell if I’ll have the camera lens issue, but overall, this phone is awesome, and only poised to get better, especially with the release of the N97 Mini, which uses the same firmware. If you were holding out on the N97, now’s a great time to take another glance at it. You can get a pretty good deal, and with this new firmware, it’s finally capable of performing as my primary phone.
I was stricken with the camera lens issue, but it’s definitely under warranty, so I’ll be sending it off promptly to get that taken care of. Expect a followup post on my experience with Nokia CARE in the U.S., as that’s been a rough experience in the past.
Overall, for $532 unlocked, with v2.0 firmware, the Nokia N97 is a great little machine. It does everything I want it to, can easily last through a full workday thanks to its 1500mAh battery, and the firmware is finally usable.
Have you stuck with the N97? How do you like it?
