First, the great components. The style of the N97 might be fairly sober, but build-quality is really high; the matte-finish plastics are tough but surprisingly light, and the hinge is sturdy and reassuring.
Anybody who frequently switches devices or would like to make use of their personal peripherals will not be disappointed: the standardized connectors like mini-USB,
3.5mm headphone jack and microSD mean you won’t be carrying a bundle of proprietary leads and accessories. Nokia haven’t forgotten that a smartphone is, at its core, a telephone, either; call overall performance is as great as we’ve come to expect in the company, with the full-bodied earpiece and nicely balanced microphone meaning that those on every end from the call use a decent audio knowledge. The speakerphone isn’t, perhaps, the loudest we’ve noticed, however it does rate extremely as among the clearest.
That telephone performance continues when it comes to connectivity, using the N97 proving tenacious with a 3G signal and offering speedy browsing speeds. Utilizing AT&T’s network we had no problems with lag or premature disconnects, and it was rare to see anything but complete or almost-full bars about the signal meter. Battery life is also decent, though you’d assume nothing less from a 1,500mAh Li-Ion pack. Nokia quote up to 360 minutes of WCDMA talktime (up to 570 of GSM) or 400 hours of WCDMA standby (up to 430 hours GSM); our testing found that they’re reasonable estimates, using the N97 easily capable of lasting a couple of days with moderate use.
After the promise of such a broad, well-spaced keyboard, the end result is incredibly disappointing. The hard rubber keys themselves are pretty tactile, but their singular lack of travel drains away both accuracy and appeal. It’s a shortcoming shared by the D-pad, too, which means that not only is text-entry impaired but non-touch navigation. We recognize that Nokia had to make some compromises to accommodate the sliding form-factor, but it’s a similar situation in the HTC Touch Pro2 or even the T-Mobile Sidekick and we’d choose their keyboards in a heartbeat. Ironically, the one aspect we thought would present a problem – the offset spacebar – was the easiest thing to get used to.
Video recording is also possible, either in widescreen 640 x 360 to fit the letterbox display or in more standard 640 x 480 VGA resolution. You can also upload content directly to online galleries from the handset, which is a neat trick, although it doesn’t seem possible to do this automatically. Video quality falls short from the iPhone 3GS, showing periodic blocking and smears when panned quickly or attempting to capture fast-moving subjects, though at least the capacious memory means you can store plenty of footage.
That’s if, of course, you’re not utilizing the N97 as a media player. Audio quality is strong, and aided by the fact that you’re free to use your personal headphones with the standard Three.5mm jack. The N97 not only has an FM radio but a transmitter as nicely, meaning you can pipe audio in the smartphone out through a nearby tuner. This is particularly useful in the car, though it’s worth noting that sound high quality takes a significant dive as with any FM transmitter. There’s also Bluetooth 2. A2DP, which worked with no problems with the test headset we tried.
Among the most obvious areas where touch on the N97 falls short is in the browser. Rendering remains speedy, but Nokia have unfathomably removed the full-page preview map, which used to pop up in the corner and show whereabouts you are about the page. Since there’s no multitouch, zooming uses a slider control or a double-tap. About the plus side, the presence of Flash Lite Three. Means that YouTube videos can be watched in the browser itself, generally playing smoothly. Nevertheless, while Internet browsing on complete touchscreen devices is usually an effortless, straightforward affair, there’s nothing truly in the N97 where the technology puts it any further ahead than the company’s personal non-touchscreen phones.
