Nokia N97 mini review: Hardware

Nokia N97 mini review: Hardware

Available from Clove for £412.85

Main features- 3.2″ tilting touch screen display, 8GB internal memory, 3.5mm audio jack, 5 megapixel camera, TV Out, 3G/HSPA, MicroSDHC card slot.

In the box- Nokia N97 mini mobile computer, Nokia Battery (BL-4D), Nokia High-Efficiency Charger (AC-10), Nokia Connectivity Cable (CA-101), Nokia Music Headset (WH-701), User Guide, Ovi Suite DVD 1.1

The original Nokia N97 wasn’t exactly large by smartphone standards, but with Nokia targeting a non smartphone audience it was seen by many as a bit of a brick. The main problem with the N97 at launch was the software which felt unfinished and there were many aspects that made it difficult for the user to get familiar with the phone. Nokia learnt from this and improved the software, and these improvements have been carried forward to the N97 mini. Everything is here that is in the original, and the only concession is that there is 8GB of memory onboard as opposed to 32MB on the N97. The inclusion of an expansion slot does mean that there will be enough memory options for almost every user though.

The packaging is very professional and you get the usual charger and sync cable plus, wait for it, a decent pair of headphones! This is the first set I have seen from Nokia which you will be happy to use for music playback and it’s great to see Nokia finally listen. However, for a phone which costs over £400 and which supports TV-out it would be nice to see a TV-out cable in the box. These cables are not overly expensive these days, but I am sure than many would appreciated seeing one included.

The phone itself is very slim and looks more like a Nokia 5800 than anything else when you first see it. It feels very solid and there is little indication that a slide-out keyboard is hidden beneath the screen. It is a touch on the weighty side at 150 grams, but it is a reassuring weight which is likely derived from the good quality materials that have been used. It is hard to explain how well this phone is built, but every aspect from the housing to the buttons gives an impression of superior quality and this is without doubt one of the best built phones I have ever used.

The buttons are as you would expect; lock key on the left, volume and camera keys on the right, on/off key on the top (also used for profile switching) alongside a 3.5mm headphone jack and a microUSB sync charge port top left which is not the best position for it.

The keyboard slide mechanism is superb and flips the screen immediately. There is again a real sense of solidity even when it is open and the shallower screen again (than the original N97) works very well. The keyboard is a bone of contention for many and I totally understand why; the space bar is to the right, the return key is where you would expect the delete key to be and everything  feels somewhat misplaced. You do get used to it quite quickly, but it is a major shift away from the standard layout you may be used to on other phones, and is in my opinion an unnecessary shift because it adds little to the overall speed of typing. The keys are flush, but have just enough pronouncement and travel to provide a satisfactory typing experience and overall I would rate the keyboard as suitable for general typing, but a missed opportunity because we could have had so much better.

It is hard not to like the N97 mini from a hardware perspective and everything from the 3.5″ bright screen to the buttons make it feel top of the range. Nokia has done well on the hardware and so all you need to do now is come back tomorrow to see what the software is like.