It has finally arrived, the Nokia N97! After six months of waiting, Ive finally obtained a production unit and can start sharing all the details of this beautiful unit with N97fanatics! I wont even bother with an unboxing as I’m sure most readers have been keeping up with all if not most of the news surrounding this device. Let me just dive in and get to the meat of the product. Since this is a first impression post Ill be going over the physical aspects of the unit and save the OS, multimedia functions, etc. until a later time. Hopefully my thoughts/descriptions will help you get a better idea on what to expect when you are holding the N97.
So how exactly does the N97 feel? It feels like a mash up of an E-series and the N-series. Overall the device is beautiful, the front has a huge screen at 3.5″ and only one physical button (S60 Menu key) which is angled (as the trend has been for most recent N-series devices). The button is the standard S60 menu key which allows users to access the S60 menu, close out windows, and switch screens (it also has a breathing effect). The front face also has two touch sensitive buttons which are the call and end buttons. The top portion of the phone has an earpiece (small slit) and is accompanied by a proximity sensor (which turns off/deactivates the screen while the face is pressed against it) and the front facing camera. Both are blended well into the handset and do not detract from the overall look of the device. The bezel around the front face is a silver metal which is a nice accent.
The back is made up of a single piece of rubberized/hard plastic. Although the back has a matte finish it blends well with the rest of the device. The rubberized plastic feels good in hand and provides the user with a sense of security. The back of the phone also houses the 5MP Carl Zeiss Lens which has a protective lens cover. When the cover is slid down the camera lens and dual LED flash are revealed. An interesting thing to note is that the inner lip of the lens has a blue accent. I’m not to sure if this is a protective plastic that is meant to taken off or part of the design but I think its an interesting color addition to an otherwise colorless mobile.
Moving on to the sides of the device we are able to see the right side houses the volume rocker and camera button. Both of these are gilded in silver and are firm and nicely designed. The left houses the speakers, microusb port for charging and data transfer (there is also a small LED that acts as a charging indicator), and lock switch.
The top of the device has a power button and 3.5mm headset jack.
The bottom of the device has a lanyard hole and small space to remove the back cover.
Last but not least the keyboard. The keyboard and hinge mechanism are one of the most surprising things on the device. The hinge system is unique and provides the unit with an excellent system to raise and lower the screen. The support based on this hinge is unwavering. I toyed with it for a bit and this system is meant to last. The keyboard is surprisingly nice. The spacing of all the keys and dpad are great. The space bar being in new position to the right took about a day to get used to and I have no problems with it. The back lighting is even and is pure quality. The only thing I have noticed is that the the keyboard is flat. The keys do not have too much depth to them but there is tactile feedback. Although Im not too sure on how I feel about this I know that initially I was having a lot of trouble typing. The second day I decided to turn on key press tones to assist me with assuring me that I had pressed the key. Over time and in the full review later on I will have a more in depth on this. One interesting thing to note is that my buddy who uses a BlackJack 2 absolutely loves the keyboard! Which I found strange since I think the keyboard on the BJ2 is good. But again, I will dive further into this later on.
So how do both of these parts work together? They work perfectly. Unlike previous N-series devices plagued with manufacturing defects this device (at least mine) doesn’t seem to have any. A major contributing factor to the sturdiness of this device is credited to the simplicity of the design (with the exception of the hinge), the reduced amount of parts need to construct the external case, and essentially having n0 room between the top and bottom section when the device is closed. Nokia went to great lengths to create a device that didn’t have the past flaws of past N-series devices and it shows. Kudos to the designers, the N97 is something special.
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