Okay, now that Nokia World 2008 event has been over and the N97 has burst into the blogsphere, I finally took this weekend off to have a close look at the new flagship Nseries device. Let’s just get on with my initial impressions of the device as a whole, its future in India and finally a closer look. As always I would welcome you all to share your thoughts as well. (Click pictures for larger view)

Nokia N97 – A New Revolution with a Touch
Nokia N97 is the new S60 beast in the Nseries line up, adding a whole new dimension to the range of Nseries products. Thus, now we can expect Nokia to bring more exciting things to light in the future Nseries and Eseries devices but for now let’s see what N97 promises. The first thing that caught my eye when I looked at this device was the huge screen. It’s simply majestic. And not only is it big, it is all touch. That story doesn’t end here the home screen has been intelligently used to the full with the help of widgets. This is the best part of the device and in simple terms is a small box with the latest updates of various services you have online, from weather to emails to facebook etc. This too is customizable to suit your need which is amazing.

The form of the device looks no different when it is seen in a regular way giving it a solid clean look. But once you expose the QWERTY keypad you know are introduced to a completely new design. The way you expose the QWERTY is not slide rather the screen is tilt lifted up to uncover the underlying QWERTY. This is a unique way and was by far the most difficult mechanical aspect to achieve. Not only is the screen is big but the onboard storage space is also huge. It is a gigantic 32 Gigs which can be expanded more with the help of memory card. The battery is also 1500 mAh which looks strong but the final test is yet to be seen.
The QWERTY keypad is also very impressive as the buttons are big and this would help to minimize errors while typing. Although I am still not clear how N-Gage would work as we don’t have dedicated gaming keys but will look forward to see how it will be implemented into the touch segment. Another good news is the introduction of Nokia messaging and Nokia Maps 3.0

Things which I feel still could have been made better were the camera and flash. The camera is still 5 MP Carl Zeiss which for now has been a standard on the Nseries. I had a chat with the Nseries production manager on this and he addressed the issues by saying that they had improved the picture processing and final image quality. At present we have the dual led flash, which could have been coupled with a Xenon flash thus giving the pictures a new dimension as we see in the N82.

N97 & The Indian Connection
With the country still lagging a 3G Network, N97 will have a tough time. This is because a lot of the features that are being incorporated require high speed internet for eg: Nokia Maps 3.0, Email, Share Ovi, Nokia viNe etc. At present even the regular GPRS subscription is sporadic in its use. People still use their home internet dial up connection to surf the internet. Also these services are constantly being upgraded and thus everyone may not be up to date with them. I agree that this is not a disadvantage of the device but this is what the present situation is here in India. Above all the cost of the device will be a major factor. But a lot can change until next year when this device hits the market. It is a little early to predict the device and its future in India at present as the country is drifting at a fast pace but on a personal note, this device would make your eyes open wide. So the looks would say it all.

N97 – A closer look
1. The QWERTY keypad. It is made in a simple way with the D-Pad at the left side (which will help in integrating N-Gage). The keys are big and easy to get accustomed to. Note that the spacebar is in the third line which is a bit off for its normal position.
2. The tilt mechanism to lift the screen is also amazing and first in its class.
3. The Camera comes with a cover and dual LED, which I feel could have been made better.
4. Widgets on home screen and customizable with drag and drop feature is a very intelligent concept and the first in its class.
5. The device is a little thick and 150 g in weight the measurements of which could have been constrained.

(Picture courtesy Engadgetmobile.com)