Comments on: Nokia's mystery device? The Nokia N97

Nokia officially unveils the Internet-focused Nokia N97, a full-QWERTY smartphone with a touch screen. Will its style and substance compete with the iPhone, G1, and BlackBerry Storm?

[abeautifulhaze]

OH
MY
GOD!

The ultimate mobile handset has arrived. My N-Series users understand my excitement...My iPhone will be retired once this comes stateside. Expect this to force Jobs' hand in releasing a new version of the Jesus phone. You guys should really check out the videos on YouTube..Amazing!

BTW: Stay away from the n96..its sucks. Its predesessor, the n95 is a better handset. And did someone call this a beefed up AT&T Tilt?....SMH

[hawaiiinsomniac]

This mobile looks really great. The touch screen looks very responsive and the QWERTY keyboard with the screen tilt is really cool. 32gb? WOW!

[FeelGoodInc7]

"Still waiting for the N96" what? best buy even has it...in stock too.

[franglais--2008]

Too bad the video demo doesn't show the camera interface.
But no big deal; it looks nice enough that I'll probably buy it here in France a few months after it's released.
Like, once SFR or Orange sell it for 49 euro with a two year calling plan :-) The N95 8GB is already going for 29 euro with a two year, unlimited data, 3 hour talk time/month plan.
Sorry, people in the States! Ya gotta demand better plans!

[inverse137]

Uhh, how is this different than the HTC Touch Pro which is already available?

[abeautifulhaze]

LOL...

[dysonl]

It works.

[weaselander]

so this phone could stream hulu videos? that feature alone would put it well beyond the iphone for me

[ski.nick520]

i really hope this comes to tmobile...how come tmobile has never carried nseries phones? now with their 3G, there is no excuse...i could also see this coming to att. overall i think it is nice. probably beats the G1, and storm, but not the iphone, and i think its most likely going to end up like most nice nokia phones, in the $400-800 price range, because it will not be put on a carrier

[FCBarca]

Looks fantastic and the real essence of competition in the tech world...Better still that it is not branded to one of the many poor services in the USA either.

Love my E71but now seriously debating this beauty

[Ilgaz]

E71 is a "Enterprise" (Business etc.) device. No N series can beat E on business type of things. I heard E71 has a particularly multimedia friendly business device too.

[ZetaZeta_]

GUI seems a little clunky and reminiscent of Windows Vista (the black shine, etc.). Wish it were a little more fluid and components rendered a little faster. I'd have to toy around with a demo myself, but from experience I never really liked double clicking on a touch screen.

[AppleSuxLeo]

I want in NOW. Stop teasing us. Outdoes the iPhony by far with higher rez screen that does 16x9 and the keypad is perfect for typing and it opens up many more gaming possibilities than a non-keypad phone. 5megapixels of goodness with 30 fps video , wow !

[bdaughtry]

Why? Nokia, and others, are now all playing serious catch up. I don't see it ever having the app support that the iPhone has. The ONLY possibility IMHO is Android, and even then, Apple now has a huge head start. Nokia can survive for a long time, but in the end, it'll be Apple & Google. Windows mobile as an also ran. Palm = Rest in Peace.

[nrek]

This makes little sense. S60 has more apps (and more free apps) than Apple could ever dream of. Toss Home Media Server into the equation and not only is the iPhone app-world seriously lacking, the iPhone's limitations themselves become completely obvious.

No video, no mms - those are characteristics of phones that were created in 2000/2001 when screens were still nothing more than green/black LCDs. The only -- ONLY -- start Apple has is 1. multitouch, a novel interface concept & 2. a full browser. Those 2 things do not make a great, advanced or remarkably ahead of the curve handset.

[koodaaja]

There is a ton of free and commercial software available. Check mosh.nokia.com or handandgo.com or several other places.

[Mark_Anderson]

@bdaughtry

You're from the US aren't you?

[inverse137]

by AppleSuxLeo December 2, 2008 1:06 PM PST
I want in NOW. Stop teasing us. Outdoes the iPhony by far...
---------------------------
Uhh, when was the last time Nokia had the smartphone market share that apple has? Oh yeah, I remember now...never.

I know it is a trivial statement by an idiot but just throwing numbers around is meaningless. Yeah, a Ferrari can get to 60mph faster than my prius but in the real world that red italian sports cars is essentially useless.

yeah, the Nokia might have some better specs but this is a smart phone...it is not a toy. How it works in a business environment is what counts.

Until it is shown to be more beneficial and makes me more productive, and therefore more profitable, it's "numbers" mean absolutely nothing.

So, AppleSuxLeo, try pulling your head out of that dark orifice, and learn that numbers useless when you misinterpret them.

Now, just so your little uneducated head doesn't retreat further up there and think I am an iPhone groupy, I use an HTC phone.

[nrek]

To your first question - Nokia sells more handsets globally than Apple.

[Mark_Anderson]

@inverse137

"Uhh, when was the last time Nokia had the smartphone market share that apple has? Oh yeah, I remember now...never."

You... you... are joking, right?

[celsius0010]

Um apple is in last place in the number of apps available by The thousands.. Quite possibly the TENS OF THOUSANDS (No typo) when compared to WM, Symbian, and Palm. And yes even BB because they very smartly use the Java standard... The only Smart phone the Iphone has beat in the number of apps is the G1 and that was released THIS QUARTER..

And PLEASE dont say anything about usefullness of Apps I'll give two quick examples available on Symbian and Wm that TRUMP THE WHOLE APP STORE.. Turning your phone INTO a wifi hotspot and Full video play back IN mobile web browser on almost ANY website.. That would be leaps and bounds past the safari which is real cute..

Please use Google so you dont say things that make you like the part of your body that you use TP for. Thanks-

[celsius0010]

Do you know anything about what you are talking about?? And who are you waiting for show you how to use a symbian phone for business.. I use HTC too and love it but lets be honest.. Are you waiting on a blogger to come to your house and show you the web sites that have the thousands of business apps available for Symbian.. Apple has like none.. Symbian has probably like several thousand.. Just because you dont see Americans using it doesnt mean its worse.. We lead in basketball, skateboarding, rap, rock, and big computer OS'. We lag behind the rest of the world in Food, Cars, and Cell Phones. Those arent opinions those are sadly facts. And if you ask how somthing objective can be a fact, I would say it is because you are the one thousandth of a percent that doesnt agree. And you are NOT an expert on the topic as well.

[keiferdark]

day late and a dollar short. iphone killer will become exceeding difficult in the future as well due to updates from apple. someone better think out of the box on the touchscreen design, apple closed the door on that. if you want an iphone killer dont mimic it create an interface never before seen like a holograph. impossible? we have come along way since the rotary phone where the long cord was your freedom.

[celsius0010]

Think out of the box you mean like when apple stole the design from a certain manufacturer who announced and released a MAJOR touch phone BEFORE Apple... ( Please google LG Prada)

Listen my American Brethren.. I love our country too... Yes our land created the two dominate Computer OS' Windows and Mac.. BUT WE ARE BEHIND THE REST OF THE DEVELOPED WORLD IN PHONES.. Period the Iphone is revolutionary IN THE EASE OF USE IN THE OS and the fact that it is an IPOD thats it.. The browser is great its one of the best but others have the missing video features(skyfire) and others are just as easy to use (opera, webkit).. It looks sexxy but lots of phones do..

Apple stole the Idea of the touch screen large screen candybar with few buttons, its a well known fact.. WM had large touch screens for YEARS..

I see all of these ridiculous posts from casual phone users thats what the Iphone was made for.. If you dont copy and paste info from Notes, Word Docs, Spreadsheets, emails, texts, calendars, and web pages.. You are having FUN on your phone and not working.. Having a great MP3 player is an important feature as opposed to oh I dont know multi-tasking apps.. DId you know sprint has free phones that can do this?? Lol The Iphone's feature set would have LESS features than a japanese phone from FOUR years ago.. If you dont believe me please use Google it is your friend....

[dysonl]

Well said Celsius. Thank goodness there are people like you who can be objective and is aware of what's happening outside of the USA. The iPhone has one tenth of the capabilities of other phones available in Europe and Asia; it has one tenth the number of applications available on other mobile OS's. Still, ignorant Apple sheeps believe it's the ultimate phone. Get real. Try travelling outside the US.

[USDecliningDollar]

It really needs an FLC pico projector!

I am tired of these worthless tiny screens! I want phones with pico projectors so that I can project my pictures, movies, presentations, spreadsheets, etc. onto a wall or screen! I don't care about zooming in on a document or image, I want to see the whole damn thing! Give me FLC pico projectors! DLP projectors have crap fuzzy images!

[nrek]

The problem is, comparing apples to oranges [/pun]

Apple creates products for people to consume. Full browser, squishy interface, fun to toy with... but no flash (camera or the software), no video, no MMS, no tactile keyboard, no data Bluetooth (big one) - can't bind a Bluetooth keyboard to it, MONO Bluetooth audio output... I mean, iPhone is an iPod touch with a crappy phone attached to it, really.

Nokia creates products for people to contribute. Bluetooth data binding, 5 megapixel camera, high rate video, full blown awesome applications like Ovi, PC Suite, Home Media Server, QIk (w/o hacking the phone), Stereo bluetooth output, resident Internet Radio, Video teleconferencing (non US), TWO cameras, a flash, a light for video at night (newer N-series models). Their products are built to allow the users to contribute, share & create.

So at the end of the day, all these comments about iPhone's better, iPhones worse - blah blah blah. Pointless argument. They're built for two entirely different people. iPhone for sheep, Nokia for shepherds.

[dysonl]

iPhone is for show; Nokia is for go.

[abeautifulhaze]

Yeah this sucks....I want a phone that can make sweet love to me and groom my back hair, while projecting interactive hologram video of Google Earth in 1080P. Stupid Nokia...always behind the curve....they'll never catch Apple by releasing a high quality iPhone alternative with, uber specs and a desirable form factor....

CNet's comment section is always good for the most pompous, jaded, uneducated, biased and unrealistic opinions in the blogosphere.

*waits for the..."its too thick!...my Razr blows this out the water" comment*

iPhone killer does not mean that this phone is going to singlehandedly give Nokia the majority of the American mobile marketshare (eventhough they are galaxies ahead of Apple in the international market). It just means that it is potentially a better handset than the iPhone and with the massive hardware and functionality shown, plus the Ngage gaming platform incorporated..this is a serious contender.

[NeverFade]

Prada came out a long time after the iphone, and even longer if you count when the iphone was demoed!

Apple did not copy prada.... if anything, it's backwards.

[Mark_Anderson]

What the hell?

The Prada came out on 22 March 2007. The iPhone came out on 29 June 2007.

Get your facts straight.

[celsius0010]

And Prada was announced before the Iphone was announced buddy.. Hey do me a favor and google ppc-6600 and see what comes up.. just curious.. You iwhores lol Do you even know about high tech phone features like blue tooth tethering, remote pc, wifi sharing, vga res tv out, ota music downloads, live video streaming no?? didnt think so.. Do you guys know about any low tech phone features like mms, cam flash, removable battery, removable mem, video cam, voice command, etc etc etc.. no?? none of those either wow my samsung from 2005 has all of those and actually 3 of the high tech ones too lol.. stop being biased just say the Iphone is better because it is pretty, has an Ipod, is easy for me to understand, and has an app store full of great fake mario kart games...

[houzz]

Phone looks great! I for one will be picking one up as soon as a NAM version is released. As for the price that seems good too, I dished out 789 for my N95 8GB and never once regretted it.

Buying subsidized phones is bLAH!

[ZRei14]

Yay Bonnie Cha!

[jilsonj]

i heard nokia is making a system where any nokia phone can send txt, call, pxt to another nokia phone for FREE!!! Using a satellite kinda like G.P.S. i heard its coming out on 2012