Nokia N97 Review: part two

Product Name: Nokia N97
Price: £469.20
Supplied by: Clove
Reviewer: Shaun McGill

Here we go with part two of the Nokia N97 review. I am making a concerted effort not to compare touch screen smartphones with the iPhone, but it is of course difficult because I am using one on a daily basis. It seems to break down into two distinct parts for me; on the one hand the iPhone interface and usability has not been matched by any other device so far, but on the other devices like the N97 have far superior cameras and other specifications which put the iPhone into second place. It is obviously a case of what you need the most, and here I will break down the various features of the N97 to offer a complete picture how well it works as a top of the range smartphone.

Camera

The camera in the N97 is not going to wow serious camera phone junkies, but for a layman like me it is impressive. The specs hold up well with 5 Megapixels, Carl Zeiss optics, autofocus, dual LED flash and a second VGA front mounted camera for video calling.

Every single snap I took came out well and this was pleasing, particularly because pictures could be taken in the blink of an eye. The focussing was super quick and it has what you most need in a phone camera- the ability to take a quick snap with little fuss.

Video capture is also good with a decent framerate and average sound quality. It is possible that firmware updates will improve this, but in my opinion it is more than adequate for 99% of users.

General Performance

I was surprised at how snappy the N97 feels and I have not experienced any delays at all during the testing period. Screen taps take some time to get used to, and I have often found myself tapping more than once to open an app or a setting, but things are improving in that area.

The amount of internal RAM is disappointing when the 32GB of onboard memory is considered, and once again there appears to be a mismatch in the two. It is unlikely to cause any serious issues, but the comfort of having more would be welcome.

Screen

The screen is large and of high enough density to produce a pleasing experience in games, apps and for the entire interface. It does look washed out in bright sunlight, but what Nokia doesn’t? With the move to touch screen finger driven interfaces, it would be nice to see more manufacturers work on better screen technology. Don’t get me wrong- it works well in the sun, but could be a little better.

The touch sensitivity is good and works well most of the time, but I still find myself feeling the need for a stylus from time to time. This also happens on Windows Mobile devices and we still seem to be some way off a fully satisfactory finger driven experience on Symbian or WM. One ‘very’ annoying aspect is having to double tap in the main interface and then to single tap in some apps and then double tap in some other apps.

Connectivity

Everything you need is here and you will not find yourself without some form of connectivity wherever you are, but then again maybe you will come up against the same nightmare I did when first using the N97. Wi-Fi would work in one app and not another for no apparent reason (all settings double checked). Mail for Exchange would not connect at all despite having no issues with net access and again all settings being double checked- being offered a connection error message with no detail is hardly useful. I dread to think how someone unfamiliar with smartphones would feel- it was incredibly frustrating at the start!

GPS is also a problem on the N97- it struggled to hold the signal in Nokia Maps and continually popped up saying ‘waiting for GPS’ before gaining a signal again. On a Motorway it would just veer off in a different direction and completely lose my position over and over and over again.

Call quality

This is the highlight of the N97 for me- great sounds from the earpiece and even better from the speaker. It is incredibly loud in speaker mode and does not suffer from distortion, despite being a little tinny.

Signal

Excellent! HSDPA everywhere in my house, which is impressive compared to almost every other smartphone I have tested recently. It also brings up a decent signal at work which is another place I have had issues in regarding signal strength.

Battery

It appears to be quite good for normal usage, but Wi-Fi had a dramatic effect in my tests. I went from a full charge to a battery warning in under 4 hours of sporadic Wi-Fi usage. I need to give it more time, but it seems adequate for day to day use, and I guess it is difficult to ask for more.

Tomorrow I will conclude the N97 review and spend some more time talking about my experience of Nokia Maps on the N97, the keyboard and why this has been one of the strangest experiences I have had with any smartphone.

If Nokia bothered to put 3 engineers in a room for an hour to fix the problems this could be one of the best smartphones ever made. It is incredibly disappointing that a company as big as Nokia can bring a smartphone like the N97 to the market in its current state- it is unbelievably careless and customers who are prepared to pay a lot of money for a flagship smartphone should expect more in the first day of use. Most of the issues can be overcome with some effort, but it should not be needed.

Available from Clove for £469.20 with a free Bluetooth headset and case.