Nokia N97 First Impressions

Smartphone design is a series of compromises. It’s about making disparate functions fit oddly together. Engineers must find the best balance so that extended features don’t compromise those of highest priority. A smartphone is still a phone first, and everything else second. There, the Nokia N97 delivers. The audio call quality is simply outstanding. It’s the best I’ve heard or had others hear from any handset—and that’s using a Nokia BH-804 bluetooth earpiece. Several friends described the sound as “lively” and “full.” One person said “rich.”

The next priority is battery life. The N97 uses Nokia’s BP-4L, a 1500mAH 3.7v monster Lithium Polyomer battery. My daughter gets three to four days charge using the same battery on the Nokia E71. So far, in two days heavy use, the battery performance has proved to be excellent. But I’ve yet to give the battery full workout, by way of persistently data connected widgets.

The N97’s battery life comes from compromise. Nokia chose a lesser microprocessor than the iPhone 3G and Palm Pre, which both use 600MHz ARM processors. The N97 uses a 434MHz ARM processor. Presumably, the older generation and slower processor will consume less power. Does the slower ARM perform? I can answer yes, based on early testing. Caveat: I’ve yet to tax the N97—and there is a secondary performance concern. For reasons I can’t justify, the N97 packs 128MB of RAM; iPhone 3GS 256MB.

Snail taken using Nokia N97 close-up mode

Gadget geeks already are faulting the N97’s 3.6Mbits HSDPA compared to 7.2Mbits for iPhone 3GS. Slower is more sensible for the US market. AT&T is only now rolling out 7.2Mbits service, which I expect to be a real battery-life sucker. For N97, the slower speed is fast enough for now, while better balancing battery performance. As I stated a few paragraphs back, smartphone design is very much about compromise—pieces fit oddly together.

The N97 is bigger than I expected, but it’s surprisingly light for the size: 117.2 × 55.3 × 15.9 mm. I normally order Nokia cases from PDair in Hong Kong, but the N97 cases aren’t yet available. So I had to shop around from something make-do. I found a usable case at Best Buy for 20 bucks on sale: The Eddie Bauer Smartphone Wireless Case, or EBUDY44. The N97 is a snug but comfortable fit. The case really inspires me, because no major US carriers carry Nokia N-Series phones. Yet American-based Eddie Bauer offers a smartphone case that, according to the product box, fits Nokia models N73, N82, N95 and 6300.

The N97 screen is bright and crisp. I was somewhat skeptical of the resistive touchscreen, which I found to require too much pressure on the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic. But the N97 screen is surprisingly responsive, but I’ll quibble with the touchscreen in a future post; it’s a UI design issue rather than hardware problem.

The QWERTY keyboard has great touch and feel, much better than I expected. The AT&T 8525 (aka HTC TyTN) uses similar QWERTY keyboard and tilt-screen approach, and I didn’t like the implementation. But, somehow, Nokia got the keyboard, tilt-out hinge and angle of screen just about right. I got to typing right away, with few mistakes.

I’ll end this long preview with the 5-megapixel camera. I’m convinced that the snail pics above could sell the Nokia N97 to almost any gadget geek or photographer. Close-up (e.g., macro) mood delivers, and then some. I did expect better camera start-up time. The Nokia N85 starts up almost immediately after opening the lens cap. Not the N97. But the camera is fast enough once started. I’m hugely satisfied by the photo results, but I’ll stop there. The camera deserves a fuller review.

But, as afterthought, I’ll add one more thing—as a taste of what’s coming in a fuller review. The N97 comes preloaded with several widgets on the home screen. Facebook is among them. I easily logged into Facebook and uploaded a pic of my daughter—my first with the N97. I’ve used the iPhone Facebook app, but am initially more impressed by the one shipping with the Nokia smartphone.

While long, this post is but a preview. My early Nokia N97 reaction is “WOW.” But I do have some concerns about some functions and user interface design. I need to test more to determine what might be user error before reaching final conclusions. But I can say this: I’m keeping the N97, and I would likely recommend it. I say likely only because my testing is far from finished. It’s going to fun.

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Nokia N97 Value vs. iPhone 3GS

On June 10, I sold my beloved Nokia N96 and the N79 abandoned by my daughter for the E71; the proceeds paid for the N97, which I purchased from Nokia USA. For the price of one N97, I could have bought two iPhone 3GS smartphones with some money left over. My N97 arrived on June 12, seven days before Apple and AT&T started selling the iPhone 3GS.

Why spend so much? As I’ll explain in the next post, on first impressions, the N97 is a mix of well-balanced capabilities packaged oddly together.

I chose the black N97, even though I pined for white. Two reasons for black: White wasn’t available, and I worried about it not being masculine enough. Dumb, huh? Until Friday, Amazon listed both colors for $603, but unavailable. Price jumped to $699 yesterday, but down to $682.94 today. Amazon partner MobileCityOnline wants $799.95 for either N97.

Is the N97 worth so much when the comparable iPhone 3GS, the one with 32GB of RAM, will sell for $299? That lower iPhone pricing is subsidized by AT&T. In the United States, Nokia doesn’t have a carrier for the N97, which means no subsidy. But that’s not true in international markets, where major carriers will offer the smartphone for much less. Something else: The iPhone’s unsubsidized price is about the same as what the N97 sells for. Still, 700 bucks is big money for a cell phone.

Close-up of snail taken with Nokia N97

But the N97 is more than a cell phone. It’s a pocket computer, GPS, high-quality digital and video camera, media player and much more. Does that sound like iPhone to you? It’s not. Apple and Nokia have made decidedly different design decisions.

For example, Apple chose to use a capacitive touchscreen that responds to electrical pulses, whereas Nokia chose a resistive touchscreen that responds more to pressure. Capacitive touchscreen is highly responsive and made it easier for Apple to offer multitouch capabilities. Apple’s more tactile approach makes the iPhone seemingly magical. By comparison, resistive touchscreen isn’t as sensitive or sexy. But it’s much better suited to using a stylus, which shows more global thinking on Nokia’s part. In countries like China, a stylus will be more useful for inputting characters from the local language. Apple’s approach is great for marketing; Nokia is being more pragmatic.

Many reviewers go bonkers over iPhone because it’s sexy, sleek and seemingly magical. Then there’s Apple’s App Store, which is hugely appealing. Apple’s smartphone is a sports car, and like a sports car there are sacrifices made for form over function. Apple’s sport is fast, but the gas tank (battery) isn’t as big, the engine has more horsepower (600MHz ARM processor) and the interior isn’t as roomy (no keyboard, lesser digicam, etc.).

I would compare the N97 to a Volvo. The smartphone looks and feels solid. Construction is of highest quality. The design isn’t sexy but sensible. Like a Volvo, the N97 oozes good engineering. Features aren’t just plentiful, they’re sensible. In my early testing, Nokia has found better balance of how the features work together than did Apple. For example, I have yet to find a feature that overtaxes the battery or performance. Some people drive sports cars, others Volvos. Others prefer cheaper cars (free cell phones).

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