Nokia N97 Fanatics » General News

N97 Firmware Updated To Version 21

Mike Macias — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:49:34 +0000

Finally, we have version 21.0.045 firmware for the Nokia N97 available. We’ve been talking about this release for a few months now, and it came a month later than expected.

According to Vaibhav from The Symbian Blog, there are a few noticeable changes as shown below…

This update builds on the improvements brought by the previous v20 (PR 2.0) update and will improve call reliability and provide a better touch scrolling experience. The web browser and music player also get improvements; the new firmware also promises improved image and video stability.

A new theme is supposed to be included as well. If you have a screenshot of it send it our way!

My twitter pal @MickyFin posted this update about the new firmware today…

@sloanb Loving mine mate. Its transformed my N97 into what I always wanted from it. Watch vids on YT, Gravity, and more, nothing closing.

Right now the firmware update is only available via NSU, meaning you must update from the computer. Over the next week it’s supposed to be available over the air if you can wait. I’ll be updating tonight and letting you know my thoughts in the comments below.

Memory Reorganizer Helps To Clear Up Space On Your C: Drive Instantly

Mike Macias — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 13:47:43 +0000

Is the C: drive on your N97 being crunched for space? Thankfully Nokia released a software update that quickly reorganizes some system files and throws them on the mass storage drive. The update can be found in the Software Update application along with a few other updates that you might want to install.

Once you install the update all you need to do is run it from the Apps folder. The process took about 10 seconds for me and then the app removes itself when the task is completed. I managed to recover about 6mb of space on my C: drive. That doesn’t sound like much but it helps considering I was already down to about 11mb remaining.

Some people are also reporting more free RAM. I haven’t noticed this in my case, but the smartphone does seem a little more stable.

I’m curious to see how much space is recovered from everybody else’s Nokia N97 C: drive.

Can We Expect Another N97 Firmware Update By The End Of The Year?

Mike Macias — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:31:33 +0000

I’ve gotten a ton of emails from you the readers asking if Nokia will provide another firmware update for the N97 by the end of 2010. There are a few bugs that need to be worked out in v20 and of course there is always room for improvement. I know for a fact that another firmware update is in the works and a few sources told me it will add a few new features, stabality, and bug fixes. I searched around for anything “official” and there is not much to be found. Although I did find this post by a Nokia employee at their forums:

Link

Dear updaters
Here’s the latest update on the N97 2.0 software status.

Using your PC to update
We have created new support content to help you have the smoothest update experience, and to help you get the most out of your device. See the Nokia N97 support pages for more details.

Software availability
We published an additional 60 variants this week.

Software roadmap
I can now confirm that the next release for the Nokia N97 is planned for mid-late December 2009. At this stage I cannot tell you exactly when it will be available, what it will contain, or which variants and operators will approve it.

Regards
xbungle

Mid to late December. Well we’re just about there folks. Hopefully more news will start leaking out about new N97 firmware in the coming days. If you hear anything be sure to keep us informed in the comments section below!

To Mini Or Not To Mini? The Smaller N97 Is Calling My Name

Mike Macias — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 22:00:36 +0000

I’ve been checking out the Nokia N97 Mini since it was first announced. At first I wasn’t turned on by it at all for many legit reasons. But after reading some hands-on reviews on the N97 Mini my opinion began to change. People are saying the Mini feels much better in hand, having a more solid & refined feel to it. The main gripe I have with my N97 (besides the RAM) is the size of the device. I feel like it’s slightly too big and chunky, especially when pulling it out of my pocket or holding it with the keyboard closed.

Besides the size of both devices, here are a few other issues I’m pondering in my head…

Keep in mind I’m leaning more towards the N97 Mini and I have NO hands on experiences with the Mini – yet.

N97 Mini has a weaker battery. 1200mah battery compared to the N97’s 1500mah. The standby time is 310 hours on the Mini and 400 for it’s big brother. This is a big deal to me, although I think I’ll be fine if I keep an extra battery in the car for emergencies.
N97 Mini has a smaller screen. 3.2 inches compared to 3.5”. Not a huge deal for me, and the Mini has a sharper display since they both have the same amount of pixels.
N97 Mini has a better keyboard in terms of tactile feedback and material. Some may like the standard N97’s keyboard layout better but honestly the change is not a big deal to me. I’d rather have the keyboard that’s easier to type on and so far reports are saying the Mini wins.
The N97 Mini has a bigger C: Drive. This is another big one for me since I feel like the phone runs better with my most used apps being installed to the phone memory instead of mass (ie: Nimbuzz, Gravity, Profimail).
N97 Mini is lacking the FM transmitter. This doesn’t matter to me since I’ve only used it once on my N97.
N97 Mini has 8gb mass storage and a microSD slot. Coupled with my 16gb microsd card I got from Amazon that makes 24gb. That is plenty for my needs.
The back of the N97 Mini has real metal and no camera slide protector. I like it this way better.

Those are the main differences between the N97 vs. the N97 Mini that really matter to me. Like I said earlier – my main thing is the size. Check out some of these N97 vs. N97 Mini side by side pictures that were given to me by @961Ant1 of All About Nokia. Thanks buddy!

As you can see the N97 is thinner and shorter than it’s counterpart.

Here is a great photo of the back of the Mini taken by Norman John and found in the N97 Mini photo gallery at Symbian World.

And lastly a shot of the two keyboards in the gallery found at S60 Blog.

To finish this off I’ll show you a few quotes by Ant1 from All About Nokia…

- It feels very solid; it’s like an Eseries. (perhaps should have been dubbed “E97”?)
- It fits very well in the hand – identical to the 5800XM
- Sliding mechanism feels more robust than the N97’s
- The keys on the keyboard are more spaced out, less slippery
- Tactile feedback on the keys is improved. The keys have been softly raised to provide that.
- There’s no camera lens protection
- The device feels so slim
- Nokia N97 mini Designed in Finland

As you can probably tell I’m trying to convince myself that it’s worth it to sell my N97 and get the Mini. I love the fact that the Mini has that “e-series” feel to it. I loved the build quality of the Nokia E71 immensely and it seems the Mini is closer to that. Right now Nokia is having a weekend sale and the price is $479 usd. But I’d have to purchase by tomorrow. Amazon has the Nokia N97 Mini but it’s not shipping yet and still sitting around $532 depending on the day.

What are your thoughts on the two devices? Do any of you own the N97 Mini? I’d love to get some help with this decision. I’ve had people on both sides of the aisle trying to tug me either way.

If They Only Knew Then What We Know Now: Back In Time With The N97

EverythingBlaxx — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:08:29 +0000

Something big?

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Barcelona, Spain

Nokia unveils “something big”

Nearly a year later, we all now know that something big turned out to be the N97 and in hindsight, we can take a lot of good and a lot of bad from everything that transpired between Nokia World 2008 and today. I can still recall in the days leading up to Nokia World 08, Nokia unprecedentedly decided to gas up the hype machine and put up a ‘Countdown to Something Big’ clock on their homepage. Now I don’t know if this had the same effect on everyone but I woke up for work just a tad earlier than usual to find out what all the fuss was about (I know a few of you even stayed up until 2 or 3am Eastern Time to find out live) and I wasn’t disappointed whatsoever. After what they had done before last year’s Nokia World since the N95, Nokia had to get people talking beforehand and make sure the spotlight was focused solely on their new flagship device. When the device was revealed, not many could say anything bad about it without reaching (resistive touchscreen, off-center spacebar, 5MP camera, LED flash) and all hands on videos were prefaced with the disclaimer that the phone was running a very early version of the software. In the months that followed, we saw more videos and previews showing off the device and its features, sample photos from its camera and we continued to lust for it. We also got a firm release date, June 2009 (Notice that Nokia had a countdown to the announcement but not the release?) As we got closer to the release date, more of the technical specification were revealed (434MHz ARM11 CPU, 128MB of RAM, no graphics chip) and many of the interested parties were ready to make a decision on whether or not this device was for them. There was a huge divide between those who felt that this device was nothing more than an N95 with a touchscreen and those who felt that its other specs more than made up for an underpowered processor and embarrassingly low amount of RAM. When the device finally hit shelves, this debate had to take a backseat because it was the software that betrayed it. The phone arrived with so many bugs, hiccups and defects that it made you wonder whether in 7 months, Nokia bothered trying to get that pre-production firmware up to release-spec. With all that said, I’ve given some thought to what I would say to Nokia if I had a time machine and could travel back in time 1 year.

1. Don’t announce a device until it’s ready or close to ready

It’s nice to build up anticipation for a device and let people plan their next mobile device purchase (this can be important when your devices costs $700) but 7 months is entirely too long of a period to let pass between announcement and launch. Especially when we’re talking about your flagship device that looks like more or less a finished product except for the software and it’s not like they made any improvements on that pre-production software anyway (In fact, they actually made it worse in some ways. Theme effects anyone?). This is something that Nokia still hasn’t completely learned yet (E72) but they’re getting better at (N900). The fact remains that if you can’t release something within 3 months of officially announcing it, the device isn’t worth talking about in its current state.

2. What’s the point of having testing facilities if you don’t use them?

We’ve all seen the fancy videos that Nokia produced showing off their torture testing facilities and the absolute hell that they put their phones through before release. So tell me why these facilities never caught the fact that the lens cover on the N97’s camera was scratching the camera glass it was meant to protect? While we’re on the topic of testing, the issue that some N97 users have been experiencing with the GPS unable to maintain a lock because of interference between the GPS antenna and the phone’s internal components is inexcusable. All one needs to do is take a 15 minute drive with Ovi Maps running to realize that something is amiss. I seriously doubt that it is SUPPOSED to lose track of you and have to recalculate every 500 feet.

3. When we said we wanted another N95, we didn’t mean that literally

Anyone who considers themselves a Nokia mobile phone fan will agree that the N95 changed the game forever when it was first unveiled. It was the first device to pack every cutting edge mobile technology at the time into one attractive package. Since that moment, everyone has been waiting for Nokia’s second act and to bring another powerhouse flagship device to the market and at first glance, we all thought that the N97 was it. It even took S60 5th Edition to places we didn’t even think it was capable of going based off of what we saw on the 5800 XpressMusic. However, a couple months before release we learned that Nokia decided to use more or less the same guts as the N95 that we all loved so much. This might not have been a problem except that S60 5th Edition is a far different beast than S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1 and you might try and say that the 5800 XpressMusic has the same amount of RAM but doesn’t provide as frustrating of a multitasking experience as the N97 but recall that the N97 is a bit of a mish-mash between S60v5 aka Symbian^1 and Symbian^2. This makes it Symbian^1.5 if you want to call it anything. Taking that (and the fact that it’s 2009 and not 2006) into consideration, Nokia should have given the phone a little more juice to power their Frankenstein UI. At the very least, 256MB of RAM should be a given. I don’t care if it’s a little laggy while I’m switching from app to app, just make sure there’s enough memory so that they don’t close in the background while I perform another task. Part of me wonders if the backlash directed towards the technical specs of the N97 would have been a lot less harsh if the phone was released in December 2008 instead of June 2009. People wouldn’t have already known about the 600MHz CPU and 256MB of RAM in the iPhone 3GS and an assortment of Blackberries that just waste those resources (I don’t see why you waste time and money putting that kind of tech into one device that doesn’t multi-task at all and a bunch of devices that multi-task like crap but I digress)

4. v20.x.xxx firmware should have actually been v10.x.xxx firmware

While I think it is great that the N97 has received 3 firmware updates in the 5 months since its release, I do believe that 2 of them should never have been needed. The update to v11.x.xxx came less than a month after the device was released to take care of some of the problems the phone was shipped with. Just the fact that this release came so quickly tells me that Nokia knew about the problems the phone had but shipped it out anyway (From what I understand, no global firmware update is getting done in 3 weeks. No way! Not happening!) rather than delaying the device another month. The update to v12.x.xxx came just over a month later and contained more bugfixes but nothing groundbreaking. Then came word of the update to v20.x.xxx, an update so significant that Nokia felt the need to have it on display at Nokia World, so significant that there were numerous hands-on videos of the firmware in action, so significant that we ran multiple posts about it on this very site. This is really the firmware that the phone should have come with. Yup! I said it. The changes made in v20 are significant but that’s only because the phone was so lacking to begin with. When you really take a cumulative look at what was added/changed/fixed with this update, you’ll notice that they are all things that the phone should have had the ability to do in the first place. Kinetic scrolling on all menus and lists, longpress for function keys, general stability. These things aren’t monumental, they’re basic accessibility functions and what does the fact that we had to go 5 months without them say about Nokia? Hell, what does it say about us?

I know it must sound strange hearing these words from me, one of the N97’s biggest fanatics but the more I think about it the angrier I get. In my hands, I have one of the most beautifully crafted mobile devices in recent history. So why does it shit the bed shortly after I turn it on?

So tell me, if H.G. Wells showed up at your doorstep and gave you the opportunity to go back in time, what would your advice for Nokia be surrounding the N97?

My N97’s Near Death Experience

Matt Towsey — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:30:17 +0000

Now I’m not usually clumsy but I have had a couple of close calls with my N97. This is quite unusual for me as I have never dropped any of my previous phones or had any accidental damage. The same cannot be said for my trusty N97.

The N97’s initial brush with mobile heaven

Now I had my mobile safely stored in my jeans pocket ready for going out as normal. Now I have 3 young children so getting out of the house is never a quick affair so after making it out to the car eventually I idly went to check the time on my mobile as I no longer wear a watch, I slid my mobile out of my pocket and it slipped straight through my fingers

Before I had a chance to grab the phone it was heading screen down to the pavement on a 3 foot fall. I looked on in horror as the phone bounced screen first on the concrete floor. I grabbed the phone and flipped it over. Much to my delight the screen was fine, no damage and no scratches!

However on closer inspection the silver metal outer frame had not fared so well. I now had some minor damage to the metal surround. A small price to pay when you consider the alternatives.

I checked the phone over and everything was working perfectly.

My Nokia almost meets its maker again

As I said earlier I’ve never had any problems with my mobiles in the past and had always been very good at looking after them. So after the near fatal accident I was somewhat relieved to say the least.

A few days later I was listening to some music via the MP3 player on my phone, something I do quite a lot on my N97. The phone was on the side and I had a juice sitting next to it. Yes I can tell you know where this is going …

I went to grab something else on the side completely forgetting the drink was there and knocked it all over my open N97. I’m not one to panic but I grabbed the phone, shook the juice off and ran for a towel. I frantically dried the phone off. I inspected the phone and could not see any signs of the juice having gotten into the screen, must be sealed real tight. Now my other concern was has any of the juice seeped into the keyboard. None of the keys appeared to be sticking and all of them were coming up when using them on screen.

Realising that the juice would get stickier as it dried I left it overnight and anxiously checked it in the morning. To my surprise I had gotten away with it again. All functions are working fine and have been ever since.

Moral of the tale

I can almost hear what you’re saying, this is why you should have a screen protector and a case! I couldn’t agree more but I have never been someone who drops there phone and have never ever split anything on one before, nor am I likely to again. Still no arguing with how robust the N97 truly is!

A Comprehensive List Of Nokia N97 Firmware 2.0 Changes; Some You Might Not Have Noticed

Mike Macias — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:01:36 +0000

Hi folks! Now that the highly anticipated Nokia N97 firmware 2.0 has been out for almost a week, we thought it would be a good time to go over the firmware and point out some of the additions, subtractions, & changes that we’ve found. Some are hard to notice and others are obviously there right in front of our faces! N97 Fanatics staff member EverythingBlaxx has already talked about many of the changes in his hands on preview he gave early last month. Today we will reiterate some of those changes & go over a few more things.

Myself, EverythingBlaxx, & Amir decided to work together on this article to give you a nice long list of bullet points. Take a look at some of the changes we found and see if you have anything to add.

Positive Changes/Additions

Option to customize current profile from the shortcut on homescreen.
Letters on the dialpad (however, those with European language packs installed won’t get this feature).
Systemwide copy/paste from the keyboard (hold down the Shift key while there is highlighted text on the screen will change the softkeys on the side to copy and paste).
Tapping on the cover art in the music player will bring up the volume slider.
Photo gallery shows the date the image was taken/created if you use the scroll bar on the right (it only shows dd/yyyy however).
Not sure if this is new but you no longer have to tap directly on the progress bar on the Now Playing screen of the Music Player to jump around in a song. If you touch in the area between the bar and the title of the song and the artist, you can also jump around during a song/podcast/etc.
The clock appears at the top of the web browser when showing the status of a loading page.
Phone number type icons (mobile, work, home) fixed in Log.
In contacts app details for Facebook, MSN, Yahoo, Ovi, Gizmo, Google, Skype have been added.
New icons for the default themes (ie: Videos&TV, …)
New homescreen widget: “WLAN wizard”
When scrolling in Contacts/Music lists using the bar on the right, letters will appear, ala Apple iPhone.
Album art in music lists.
Podcast library in the Music Player sorts episodes by podcast.
Speed in the messaging application has considerably increased, I don’t have to wait 2 seconds to reply to a text
The photo layout is a lot better now, thumbnails load faster it seems.
Long-press keys to get secondary functions.
Ovi Store application & page loading seems to be much faster and smooth; also new content has been added.
You can now move the clock/date widget anywhere on the homescreen.
SIP/Voip settings have been added. Use this tutorial to get it working on your Nokia N97 (we will cover this more extensively in the near future).

Negative Changes

Vibrating alerts have decreased in strength and length. Instead of 2 vibes for a text message, I get one very brief one that I usually can’t feel
Pressing “Back” in music player now minimizes the app instead of going back to song list. To avoid the Back button from hiding the Music Player, make sure you launch the Music Player via this method: Menu -> Music -> Music Library.
Despite the UDP feature that’s supposed to leave your settings intact when upgrading firmware, it seems to have ERASED playlists.
Automatic Updates settings for Web RSS Feeds are being erased every time you reboot the phone. Keep this in mind if you’re using the rss widget on your homescreen. Firmware Developers said they would look into this issue because they didn’t notice it.

Did you notice some of these changes? Have we missed anything? We’re looking forward to reading some of your comments. Be sure to give us your overall thoughts on the new firmware.

video in top right by tehkseven.

Nokia N97 Firmware 2.0 Is Out! Update Now & Use These Tips

Mike Macias — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:56:59 +0000

The new firmware version 2.0 for the Nokia N97 is finally out. You know – the topic we’ve been covering tirelessly the past few months.

As of right now you can only update via Nokia Software Update on your PC, however Over the Air updates are supposed to be coming in the next 24 to 48 hours. Follow the tips below to have a safe & happy update.

Firmware Update Tips:

The update is showing about 142mb for me so be sure to have a fast and secure connection before updating.
Always backup your important data before a firmware update.
I (actually EverythingBlaxx) recommend hard resetting your N97 before this update just to start fresh. Be sure to backup your important data like contacts, messages, & bookmarks before the hard reset. Follow the tutorial by EverythingBlaxx to learn how to hard reset the N97.
Do not bump the cable or disconnect your N97 until the firmware is completely installed.
Be sure to use a full battery.

Updates:

The entire UI is much snappier, bringing it up to power with the E71. Opening system apps is instantaneous.
The new firmware allows you to put your clock & profile widget anywhere on the screen. You cannot remove it, however. Screenshot…

New message reader app reads messages out loud to you. I guess that was already there in v12.
This firmware version is only available for unlocked and unbranded devices right now. Branded devices usually take a few weeks to get the new firmware. Read how to debrand your N97 posted at this site a few months ago if you can’t wait.

I am currently in the process of updating my N97. I’ll update this post throughout the day with information about the new firmware. Be sure to share your experience in the comments below.

Official N97 Firmware 2.0 Information From Nokia Employee, Available In Coming Weeks

Mike Macias — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:00:31 +0000

I found some “official” information posted in Nokia’s official forums today about the upcoming N97 2.o firmware. We’ve already gave a hands on preview of the new firmware, but this is something for those who want hard facts and statements straight from the horses mouth. According to the Nokia employee we will see Nokia Email built-in, Ovi Maps 3.1 with 3d view, improved memory and battery performance, etc.

Here are the direct quotes…

Dear updaters

Nokia N97 software update 2.0 will be released in the coming weeks. The software update will make your N97 perform even better, through numerous fixes, improvements, new features and new functions.

What’s new
The software contains many fixes and improvements including:

Improved touch screen scrolling
Ovi Maps 3.1 with 3–D maps
Nokia e-mail, Ovi Contacts, Ovi Store
Improved memory and battery performance
Improved image and video stability

Software availability
As usual, we will publish standard non-customised versions of the software, with country (SIM-free) and operator versions following in the following weeks. The Nokia N97 (and several other devices) can check automatically for new software. Go to Menu > applications > SW Update and enable automatic checking. MyNokia members will also receive an SMS stating “new software is available” as the deployment progresses. To register, go to www.nokia.com/mynokia.

Warm regards,

The Nokia Software Update team

Link

Very interesting stuff, yet vague. Surely there will be more areas of improvement and some new widgets. Personally I’m extremely happy to see that Nokia Email will be hardwired into the firmware and improved battery performance.

I can’t wait for this update to hit, especially since my N97 has been acting up the past few days. Let’s pray that “coming weeks” means next week rather than the week after.

Be sure to check out our N97 firmware 2.0 preview by EverythingBlaxx if you haven’t already.

Nokia Addresses N97 Scratched Camera Lens Issue

Mike Macias — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 03:49:56 +0000

Some of the early N97 owners have noticed their camera lens is scratched slightly and in some cases causes deep scratches that affect the picture quality. I had this exact problem and ended up sending mine in for repairs. This was back in July and within 10 days they replaced the phone (I had other problems besides the scratched lens). The camera lens on my new N97 has yet to scratch after 3 months and nearly 500 photos. Occasionally I get a dust buildup and wipe it with a soft cloth.

Here is what Nokia has to say about the issue…

If you’re an N97 user and you’ve noticed the image quality on your device is affected by this, then this is what you should do:

1. Take a soft cloth and clean the lens.
2. If that doesn’t work, get in touch with your nearest Nokia Care Point where the Nokia Care Point staff can then determine whether or not the lens and or the lens cover mechanism needs replacing under the device warranty.

You can get a complete list of Nokia care points from the Nokia website.

In some instances (it seems to be pretty rare, despite the volume of N97s out there) the lens cover may have been mounted a little bit too close to the lens glass. Where this is the case it’s possible for particles of dust or grit to get stuck under the cover, which in turn could affect the lens.

Link

How about you? Is your camera lens scratched and affecting your picture quality?

For more information on this issue check out this great writeup by the folks at All About Symbian. Photo by allaboutsymbian.com