If not so pricey, Nokia phone could hurt Palm Pre

CARLSBAD, Calif.-- Palm is fortunate that the Nokia doesn't yet have any U.S. carrier partners for its N97 smart phone. The phone, which was unveiled on stage at D: All Things Digital conference has some very impressive features. But, because the phone isn't subsidized by a carrier, anyone who wants one will have to pay $699. The soon-to-be-released Palm Pre will cost $199 with a two-year cell phone contract. The 8 GB iPhone also sells for $199.

On stage demo of Nokia N97 at "D"

(Credit: Larry Magid)

At the moment, Palm is getting a lot of attention ahead of its June 6 release of the Pre, which impressed me and a lot of other people when it was announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. If the N97 was competitively priced, it might have put a damper on early Palm sales but at three and a half times the price, the new N97 is a nonstarter.

Nokia didn't allow D attendees to try out the phone so all I know is what I saw during the demo. My impression could change once I actually get my hands on one but--based on what I saw--it looked quite good. The GSM phone is likely to work on the AT&T and T-Mobile networks in the U.S. as well as most networks in Europe and other parts of the world.

Like the Palm Pre, there is both a touchscreen and a QWERTY keyboard. The iPhone only has a touchscreen. The N97 comes with a whopping 32 gigabytes of internal memory plus a microSD slot for those who want even more memory. The Palm Pre has only 8 GB while the current iPhone maxes out at 16 GB.

The N97 has a 5 megapixel camera with a Carl Zeis lens. Most important, the lens has a cover to protect it from being scratched or soiled by coins, keys and pocket lint.

Nokia, which acquired Navteq in 2007, incorporates Navteq's mapping technology which includes turn-by-turn directions and a point of interest data base that's dynamically updated with such things as gas prices.

One possibly useful feature is a text to speech engine that can read your e-mail out loud. Like most text-to-speech software, it speaks in a robotic voice that many people find annoying but it does make it possible to listen to your e-mail while driving. Of course, you still have to configure it, which could require you to take your eyes off the road, but once you press the play button it can read all of your recent messages.

It also has a built-in FM transmitter to stream audio to a car radio.

This post was edited to correct the error that originally said that the iPhone maxes out at 16 MB. It is, of course, 16 GB.

[junko915]

embarrasing to point out by first paragraph at the end... wrong "sell".

[gerrrg]

Spell check doesn't always work, eh?

[larrymagid]

Oops and thanks. Fixed.

[Mr. Dee]

The Palm Pre has only 8 GB while the current iPhone maxes out at 16 MB.

Larry, the iPhone maxes out at 16 GBs, not 16 MB.

The N97 with all its features look too bulky though, but the UI and features are over all impressive. Too bad about the price though, with the Pre and next iPhone coming this summer, Nokia will soon be forgotten.

[monkeyfun14]

The Palm also has a expansion slot I believe which would give it a memory advantage over the iPhone.

[thundernad]

nope, pre has no memory slot.

[larrymagid]

You are,of course, correct and I just fixed it. Thanks

[ElArZ]

It might soon be forgotten in the US due to the price but it definitely won't be anywhere else, because it's a monster of a phone.

[davidmcelroy_dotmac]

Why in the world would you say, "there is both a touchscreen and a QWERTY keyboard. The iPhone only has a touchscreen." Don't you understand that QWERTY is just the LAYOUT of the keyboard, whether it's virtual keys or physical keys? The iPhone's keyboard is QWERTY, too. What you mean is that this Nokia phone has both a touchscreen and a physical keyboard. Why do writers keep making this moronic mistake?

[larrymagid]

II was following common usage by calling it QWERTY keyboard when referring to a physical keyboard but you're actually correct about QWERTY referring to the layout. I actually thought about that as I was writing this and decided to go with common usage but it's hard to argue with your point.

[manojlds]

Thats not a mistake. As Larry says, that how it's being used. After all, when you read the article, you understood that it referred to the physical keyboard, as will everyone else who reads it. It is always better to go with how a term is being used than what it really means. At the end of the day, it doesnt matter if it's correct or not. What matters is that it was understood.

And think of it this way. Specifying as a physical keyboard doesnt say the layout, but specifying as a QWERTY says that it is a physical keyboard with QWERTY layout ;)

[davidmcelroy_dotmac]

The fact that an ignorant error comes into common usage doesn't justify its continued use by someone who DOES understand the contradiction of the term. When you can do it the right way OR the way that other people are incorrectly doing it, why not take the route of doing the right thing instead of following the ignorant crowd? The way it's done here makes just as little sense as using the brand Coke for any soft drink, as is common usage among some people. It might be common, but I expect more from professionals.

[thundernad]

Wow. This is a really poorly written story. How about telling us something about why the phone is an iphone/pre' competitor? That's a pretty lofty claim and internal memory, megapixels, navigation and txt to speech alone certainly doesn't qualify it. How about some comments on the interface or why you put it in the same league as the pre and iphone??

[larrymagid]

I made it very clear that this story was based on a demo, not a hands-on review. As I said in the piece, I'm looking forward to testing it out which is necessary before making a real comparison. Still, based on what I saw and comments made by others at D who saw the demo, it seems pretty impressive. We'll see what it's like when people have a chance to play with it. Whether it's better than the Pre isn't my point. My point is that if it were priced at $199 i think that some people would hold off buying a Pre until they could compare it with this phone which, ultimately could hurt Pre sales. I don't think it will have much of an impact on iPhone sales but that, too, remains to be seen. Because it's likely to sell for $699, I don't think it will have any impact on Pre sales.

[manojlds]

Read this great review and find for yourself. Unfortunately, the original article is in Russian.

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http://www.mobile-review.com/review/nokia-n97.shtml&prev=hp

[thundernad]

And like others have already commented: hardware specs alone doesn't make a phone. It is the software interface that matters. You never even mentioned the devices interface in the article, which is why i submitted the above critique. Cnet readers really should expect more than this amateurish work.

[quixel1]

Nokia will not be forgotten and this is an awesome phone Some peope got it pre-ordered for as low as $454 by a price mistake that was honored while others got it for just over $500 Yes a lot more but an open phone and one that many will buy espeially in Europe and the rest of the world. I won't buy it as a cell phone is nice and all but I won't pay that high of an initial pice or even that high of a monthly charge as any of the gsm networks charge. The Palm Pre I do want but I probaby can't get it as I along with many are on the SERO plan for $30 a month and more then likely wil not give that up That being said I have seen the Pre pre-ordered price of as low as $99 for the phone and around $57 something for the monthly service charge for the $69.99 plan. Ehhh t is definitely worth it for most but double what I pay now.. Hmmmmm if i can't get the Pre somehow with a very low cost plan I wil try and get the new HTC Touch Pro 2 on the SERO plan if possible. I do know that the Touch Pro was available for SERO users for he $30 plan soo if this 3.6" Touch screen phone stacks up nicely and has improved on the original I think I wil snag me one of those as it looks pretty impressive and I didn't get the original only because of it's 2.8" screen because I wanted a little bit bigger so 3.6" looks to be very nice =) . As many things as all these phones have on them and the apps available for them I find i don't really use them much.I have mapping and games and other things on my phone and other units mp3 players and all and for me I just don't seem to play with them or use them that much no matter how nice they are. Have friends with all the gaming systems and all and find that even though they are nice I don't use them!!!

[Eric602]

I completely agree with you Larry. I am going to purchase a Pre because I am a Sprint customer but if the N97 were on the Sprint Network I would purchase it rather than the Pre. Price & the fact that it is incompatible with Sprint keep me from purchasing the phone today. Your article is fine- its just that some of you people need to do your homework and learn that there are more phones out there than just the Blackberry, I-Phone, & Pre. Look at the N97 features PEOPLE!! It would definitely compete with any other smart phone on the market except the price is probably going to kill it like the exceptionally small keyboard will most likely hurt the Pre.

[abaddon504]

ive been waiting for this phone since the N96 debuted. my fingers are about to break they are crossed so tightly that nokia can work something out with ATT/Tmobile to bring this beauty stateside. there isnt another phone out there that can hang with the N97 in terms of features.

[sapporobaby]

To point out, the rest of the world is used to paying what mobile phones actually cost. Mainly the US needs subsidized phones to make it out the door. To Mr. Dee, Nokia will be here for quite a while. It is better to be thought a fool than to do as you did by opening your mouth and proving it.

The N97 will do very well in the other parts for the world. Nokis barely even competes in the US and it is still #1. In case you missed it, the Nokia 5800XM is the number 1 selling media phone in the UK (to some in the US without a passport, the UK refers to the United Kingdom, Britain) and has done very well globally.

In short, Nokia would not have to sell one phone in the US and still be on top.

[gskimmel73]

Yes and no. In the rest of the world, Nokia is everywhere. The US is a huge market for them that provides growth and that is what they need right now.

[spinoza2]

Larry's article barely touches on the software (understandable since he wasn't allowed to touch the device...). We've learned from the iPhone that the key to a good smartphone is software; the hardware is secondary. I owned an earlier Nokia flagship model, the Communicator 900, whose hardware specs sound impressive even by today's standards. After spending the tedious hours learning its software interface and all of its functions, I eventually found myself using it for little more than a cell phone and limited email, which was pretty silly since it was a hefty brick of a device. I have little confidence that Nokia will produce anything close to the iPhone in terms of the software experience, Symbian is way too clunky and nerdy for that.

[sapporobaby]

First of all it was a Communicator 9xxx series if you even had one. Second, the iPhone and N97 are two very different machines designed for two very different markets. The N97 can easily slide between both the corporate world as well as the consumer world while the iPhone is mostly an iPod with phone. Simply adding Exchange connectivity does not make it a corporate phone. Not to mention the fact that it is locked, locked, locked. Did I mention locked? An unlocked, global trotting N97 will best the iPhone in almost every category. Take the time, get a passport and learn to see the world than through your myopic eyes.

[seven7dust]

people have finally woken up and are buying phones nowadays based on the software
hardware specs and megapixel cameras are so 2006
just like Nokia phones
their software is so outdated it's not even worth comparing

if the 5800 is anything to go by the iPhone or the Pre have nothing to worry about
the Symbian Touch O.S is not even a comparison !
add the Crappy resistive unresponsive touchscreen
and it's not even in the same league !
the N97 will suffer from the same problems !
unless Nokia writes a brand new O.S or better yet get a clue
and use Android !

[sapporobaby]

The 5800XM is more phone than the iPod with phone, aka iPhone. The 5800XM sold over 3 million phones in the first three months of its release and is the number 1 phone in the UK. Think before you speak.

[seven7dust]

@sapporobaby
who cares how many it sells !
Nokia sells on brand name ofcourse !
when it comes to software they are far behind others !
and yes I've used a 5800 and it's beyond horrible

[sapporobaby]

Here is the beauty of it all. You are one of the VERY few that think this way so Nokia was not going to get your money anyway. Sooooo who cares. You can move along now.

[sapporobaby]

I hit the submit button before continuing to prove how utterly inept your statements are.

You said: "who cares how many it sells?". That didn't strike you a bit as well, stupid? If they sell 30 million, I guess in your world of cotton candy and make believe this does not matter, but to the real world it means that there are 30 million Symbian users out there who are quite happy which makes your opinion moot.

[seven7dust]

@sapporobaby
Even the Nokia Ceo has praised the iPhone and called it a wake up call
might want to read !
http://venturebeat.com/2009/05/28/nokia-chief-executive-offers-praise-for-the-iphone/

and have 30 million 5800 realy been sold ? or is it more FUD from you
like I said Nokia sells on brand Especially in countries like India and China were Competition is Limited !
if you look at Web site Metrics from Admob or others the iPhone has pulled away from the pack
then lets look at applications over a billion downloads already
call it watever you want but the iPhone is actually used unlike the 5800
which is probably more for people who are ignorant or like headaches
add Android and Palm's web O.S to the mix and there's only one way Nokia's market share is headed !

[mrcockrell]

I have to agree with some of the other comments, most people don't realize Nokia is king in the rest of the world, almost to the point of having a monopoly in some countries, in many other countries the average consumer won't even consider buying a phone that does not say Nokia on it

They really don't need to even sell 1 phone in the US

The Nokia N95 & N96 really had no competition for YEARS so the author was correct in comparing the N97 to the iPhone and Palm Pre

I do wonder thought if there isn't somthing illegal going on in the US between our carriers and rival cell phone makers that is keeping Nokia out of the US market

[gskimmel73]

From what I understand, US carriers don't like to work with Nokia because Nokia doesn't want to make many changes to their phones to appease the carriers. If the iphone was made by any other company besides Apple, it never would have made it to market.

[bonesbautista]

We'll see this on ATTWS in about a year, just like the "hot" E71x that just hit the streets - about a year after the E71 came out, just that the ATT version is neutered just like ever other branded phone. S60's just too complicated for the US market in general, and Nokia's touch interface - yikes! I've owned Nokia S60 phones for years and the interface really does need a major overhaul - HTC might be willing to put a pretty face on S60?

I'm more interested in the Pre or the upcoming US-spec General Mobile DSTL1.

[M_Allen_H]

I have been interested in this device for quite awhile. My understanding, unfortunately, is that it is a little underpowered in comparison to the competition.

[spinoza2]

The problem is that Nokia is a cell phone company struggling to make a mobile computer, and Apple is a computer company that has created a state-of-the-art mobile computer with full communication functionality. Nokia sells millions and millions of cell phones because they are relatively inexpensive and heavily subsidized in most countries. The iPhone can't be compared to the Nokia Communicators of yesteryear because the iPhone is using a powerful desktop OS as the basis of its user interface. Nokia--and all the other *cell phone* manufacturers are continuing to make "smartphones"; the iPhone is not a smartphone, but a full-blown computer manufactured by a computer company that plays a defining role in software development. This is why the CEO of Nokia has called the iPhone a wake-up call to the industry.