Nokia’s Booklet 3G isn’t the only new device from the company on our test bench today; two of the Finn’s newest smartphones have also arrived, in the shape of the N97 mini and the E72. Announced back in September and June, respectively, each offers a full QWERTY keyboard and S60 OS, but in strikingly different ways. Check out our unboxing videos, live galleries and some first impressions after the cut.
It’s all go in Nokia N97 land this week, with the double news that not only have the Finnish company released the much-anticipated 2.0 firmware update for the original N97, but that the Nokia N97 mini would be arriving on shelves. The N97 mini – officially announced at Nokia World back in September – has a smaller chassis than the N97, but uses the same touchscreen-friendly S60 5th Edition OS.
Nokia’s flagship London store has announced that the Nokia N97 Mini – the compact version of the N97 smartphone – will go on sale there from October 23rd. The N97 Mini has a 3.2-inch tilting resistive touchscreen, full QWERTY keyboard and 3G, and is expected to be priced at around €450 ($639) pre-subsidies.
As well as the obvious product launches from Nokia World this week – the N900, X6, X3, N97 mini and Ovi SDK – SlashGear also had the opportunity to sit down with various executives and team members from the company and discuss not only Nokia’s plans for the future but some of the decisions that have brought them to this stage. After the cut in our Nokia World wrap-up, a new DRM-free media store, plans for future netbooks, the push for the US market and more.
We made no bones about our disappointment with the Nokia N97 back when we reviewed it in late June, so we were wary of the N97 mini. Having played with it at Nokia World this week, it’s clear that many of the issues we had with the larger model have been addressed; still, there are some glaring frustrations that leave us more enchanted by the N900 than this new, compact device. Check out our first-impressions and a hands-on gallery and video after the cut.
Video hands-on after the cut
Nokia have announced several new devices at Nokia World, including making the Nokia N97 Mini official – complete with preloaded Lonely Planet information – as well as debuting the Nokia X6, a touchscreen device, and the Nokia X3, a Series 40 music phone. The X6 has managed to fly beneath the radar in the run-up to Nokia World, offering a 3.2-inch touchscreen, 16:9 aspect display, direct access to Ovi Store and Facebook integration.
We knew the Nokia N97 Mini was only mildly smaller than its full-sized sibling, but Mobile-Review’s Eldar Murtazin has – thanks to his early access to the QWERTY smartphone – confirmed it with a full review. Unfortunately for Nokia, he’s not impressed: a combination of insufficient price differentiation between the N97 Mini and the N97, mediocre looks and, most damning, a keyboard that’s actually worse than that of the original add up to a handset that’s yet to answer the original question of “why bother?”
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