Nokia N97 hands on: First impressions

This week i was one of a privileged few to get to grips with the brand new Nokia N97, Nokia’s first Nseries entrant in touchscreentechnology, For our first impressions on what is set to become one of the biggest phones of 2009, read on…

The first thing people tend to notice about a phone is how it looks and in this department Nokia have outdone themselves. Having previously only seen the phone in White, dressed in Black the N97 is one sexy piece of kit. When closed the screen dominates the front of the phone with only one physical button (menu) and two touch sensitive buttons (call end and answer) present. This minimalist design makes the N97 look classier and more understated than some of its touchscreen peers.

On picking up the phone, the N97 definitely has a substantial weight to it; at 150 g this is no feather weight but this serves a s a positive giving the phone a premium feel in the wake of some rather flimsy and light weight Nokia phones. When closed the phone feels solid and there is little give in the slide mechanism. The slide itself, reminiscent of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1, is excellent. Working on a hinge, the slide is smooth and gives the impression of quality and a solid build that wont fail somewhere down the line. When open, the screen arcs up providing a better viewing position and presenting you with a full QWERTY keyboard. The keyborad is also very well made. Compared the the Xperia which was small and fiddly to use, the N97 keys are spaced out leaving little room for error whilst the directional keypad on the left is also very user friendly.

So the N97 is well made, what about how it operates? Powering the phone on is a pleasurable experience in itself as you are presented with the awesome 3.5 inch touchscreen. The display itself is bright and vivid with excellent levels of detail and, thankfully, this great screen quality is paired up with an even better touchscreen experience. Navigation is quick and easy and the N97 is incredibly responsive; there is no delay between selecting an icon from the menu and entering into it. The boost in screen dimensions also means the touchscreen interface is a lot easier to get to grips with; after 5 minutes using the phone i was browsing like a pro. The home screen presents you with the familiar lay out of Symbian shortcuts but with a new focus on social networking and messaging. Icons for Facebook, MySpace and Nokia’s own Ovi service sit alongside the usuals suspects such as messages, calendar and contacts. A simple jab on the relevant icon takes you where you want to be and of course, as with any Symbian phone, shortcuts are all customisable.

Though i wasn’t able to upload any images for closer inspection, the camera on the N97 looks to perform very well. The interface is simple and easy to use and opts for physical camera buttons rather than on screen for things like zoom and capture. The powerful LED flash also provides ample illumination for low light situations. Video capture is equally as impressive capturing at 30 frames per second and with the 3.5 inch display plus TV output, video playback is well catered for.

And sadly this was it, my brief play with the Nokia N97 was over. Though i would have loved to have delved a little deeper and taken a look at the web browser and GPS capabilities which should feel right at home on the excellent screen. None the less, the N97 was more impressive than i had imagined (and i was already a big fan) and this brief play test has left me wanting more.