Nokia N97 vs. 5800 – A World Apart

by Mike Macias on June 28, 2009

n97-5800

Many Nokia 5800xm owners are wondering if the N97 is worth the upgrade. The price difference between both devices is about $300 depending on where you buy. For instance Amazon.com has the 5800 for $289.99 right now while the N97 is going for $654. Below I will briefly talk about some of the main differences between both devices.

Touch Sensitivity & Responsiveness

If you’ve ever owned the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic or played around with one you’d know that the touch sensitivity is not very good. I currently own both devices and the touch experience is like night and day. The N97 is closer to the iPhone sensitivity, a lot more responsive and smooth. This for me was extremely surprising, I didn’t expect the N97 to be that sensitive. Even some iPhone buddies are jealous, saying their device is TOO sensitive, but the N97 was just perfect.

The N97 has a lens protector for the camera.

The N97 has a lens protector for the camera.

The Web Browser

The Nokia N97 has kinetic scrolling in the browser just like the iPhone. I really wish the entire interface was like this, rumor has it that it might be coming soon to the Contacts list. The Nokia 5800 does not have kinetic scrolling in the browser which is a huge bummer. The browser of the N97 is also much faster and more usable. When a web page is loading the N97 browser automatically switches to fullscreen while the 5800 keeps the navigation bars on the side. You must manually put it in fullscreen mode. It’s up to Nokia if they want to add this in a firmware update.

User Interface

Both devices run on Symbian S60 v5 and are much alike. The homescreen is much different, the N97 having the option of homescreen widgets or blank, while the 5800 allows you to have favorite contacts communications on the homescreen, blank, or four shortcuts. I would give the N97 the advantage because it’s so customizable. Just check out the N97 homescreen widgets page here at the blog to see what you can do. Besides the homescreen just about all other aspects of the user interface are exactly the same.

The Nokia 5800 is slightly thinner than the N97.

The Nokia 5800 is slightly thinner than the N97.

n97-open

Nokia N97 has a full qwerty keyboard.

Other Differences

- N97 has a slightly bigger screen
- 5800 loudspeakers are better, and louder
- The N97 has a real keyboard – It’s awesome
- 32gb build in on N97
- Build quality of N97 is much better
- The N97 has a much bigger battery.

That’s all I can think of for now. If you have anything to add or questions feel free to leave your comments below.

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Article by Mike Macias

Mike has written 77 articles for your enjoyment.

On The Web: http://twitter.com/mikemacias

About: Mike is the editor-in-chief of N97fanatics.com and a huge mobile fanatic. He also runs MaemoFanatics.com and the popular E71fanatics.com. Contact him via email at contact@n97fanatics.com or at his Twitter page.

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  • Ahmet45
    Common i have both of them ,but the n97 is a total let down ,128 ram ,434 MHz processor its just ridiculous,seriously 32 gb memory its good but not that important,im not even talk about the buggy laggy firmware,the only good thing is the camera .I always buyed nokia phone but now im very dissapointed .I prefer 5800xm to n97 .Samsung with s60 ,HTC winMo ,Sony ericson s60(satio) they are better from that crap .
  • u5man4
    nokia 5530 is also comming out...its 5800's little brother but the home screen of 5530 shd be on 5800 =x which has 20 contacts in the contacts bar while 5800 has only limited it to 4
  • Martin
    COuld you please provide me a link, i can not find it :?
  • Oh crap, forgot the link. Here ya go...

    http://bit.ly/gEIuX
  • Ran
    The link you posted merely quoted a paragraph from GSMArena's review of the N97 and their audio testing, and they don't tell a thing about how the phone will sound with a $300+ pair of IEMs.

    Personally I find the SQ of my 5800, both through the speakers and through the 3.5mm jack, vastly superior to models like N85 and the iphone. The N85 sounds like a broken record inside and out (hissing sounds like an entire marching band playing next door to you), while the iphone simply has not enough power to drive my earbuds. (not that Apple had decent SQ to begin with).

    Like the other commenter, I too am concerned greatly regarding the soundquality of the N97. If I know Nokia, they'd probably crippled the soundquality on the N97 just to distinguish between their XM and N line. That's going to destroy whatever little virtue the N97 ever had to begin with.

    I'd like to hear more about the soundquality on N97 though because the 32GB of internal storage is going to destroy 5800, provided the SQ is equal.
  • Martin
    about music..is the music quality (listening through good earphones) the same as in 5800 or better/worse.. because if it is better, or the same (with good bass, and overall phenomenal sound) i am going to buy n97, but if the sound quality is not as good, i will get 5800XM, because this currently is my main factor of choosing one, got money ofr both, so Mike, could you help me out?

    thanks
  • I personally think the sound quality of the N97 is great through headphones and can't notice a difference between the two. Here is an article about how good the sound quality is, on par with the iPod Touch. Once you're done reading it leave a comment and ask him your question. He also owned the 5800xm in the past, and Devin is a big audio nut.
  • Nicolas
    How can you compare a $850 phone and a $350 one...
  • Mainly because people asked. I'm sure they asked because these are two of
    Nokia's only smartphones.
  • psilas
    WHAT THE HELL ARE U PEOPLE ON?

    The nokia 5800 is going to be a lesser phone as its half the bloody price.

    I have 5800 and have played alot with my sisters N97 . There really is not that much difference between the interface and while the 97 felt a bit more solid,had a half decent joypad and looked prety cool,its certainly NOT worth DOUBLE the money.

    I also have absolutelty NO problems with the touch screen on the 5800, it feels great and responsive, as it should.

    They also both lack a 3d chip but the sound quality is not as good on N97 as it is on the 5800,plus the 5800 can run ANY program the N97 can.

    The versions you whiners had was an earlier model, the ones now are just great with very few glitches.

    The iPhone is shit,the 5800 better, the N97 better still but the overall winner is.........
    ...............NOKIA 5800 = Best bang for buck, great phone.
  • You do make some good points about the price. But I wrote this article because I got many emails from people asking if they should buy the N97 or 5800 - and they had money for both. To some it IS worth double the money - you it may not be. I now have my entire music library and videos on my N97 so I didn't have to drop a few hundred bucks on an iPod. I was also let down by the 5800's camera... the n97 is a welcome surprise.

    It all comes down the the needs of the person.
  • Clarissa
    I also own N97 as well as 5800. For me 5800 was a total let down. The touch feeling was not good and I had massive problems with my music files that kept lagging nonstop.
    N97 on the other hand is a great buy i am not regreting. Though a bit more pricy, the touch as mentioned is awesome. Having an itouch as well really lets me have a good comparison. One thumbs up to N97 is the way u answer ure phone calls from locked mode. Swipe left to unlock and swipe right to answer. It is much better than many other touch phones i have tried b4.
    Overall, thumbs up to N97!
  • Hi Clarissa, thanks for the comments. I agree the 5800 was a let down, but I suppose much of it can be fixed with a firmware update, except for the touch. I just discovered how to use the touch answer method on the N97, indeed it is very very cool.
  • Nokia N97 is really no doubt is better than Nokia 5800 because it has much more functionality as well configuration than Nokia 5800. Hope N97 does not have as many bugs as Nokia 5800 has :)

    For Nokia 5800 Games, Applications, Themes and Wallpapers-

    http://nokia5800downloads.blogspot.com/
  • All of those apps, games, and themes also work for the N97 correct?
  • Nice write up Mike. I wish the N97 had the options besides just widgets.
  • You mean you'd like to have the Contacts Communication homescreen? Hopefully they add that as an option if people want it. Other than that the N97 has the other options, if you customize the widgets properly.
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