One word: orgasmic.
This flagship device from Nokia has been a long time coming, since the iPhone sparked off the touch-screen smartphone wars. Sure, it was revolutionary, but it wasn’t perfect. Others have tried it, but as with all touch-capable devices, the interface is very important. A lot, if not all, of other touch-screen mobile phones besides the iPhone uses resistive touch, which is just not as sensitive or as fluid as capacitive touch.
A responsive touch interface is very important. This is because in the race to create the ultra-cool mobile devoid of any buttons (for the love of God, why is this so?), the screen is the primary mode of input. Thus, for impatient geeks like me, the method of input must be fluid. The iPhone was the first touch-screen device that impressed me with its input method. That is why I’m glad that the Nokia is not afraid to add a little thickness to the N97 by sporting a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. It makes the input that much easier! Now the only other thing regarding the keyboard is how good the buttons are, but since it’s Nokia, I have no doubt that its tactility will be perfect!
Regarding the OS, it is running Symbian S60 v5, which is also the same OS on the Nokia 5800. I have my experiences with the Symbian S60 operating system on the Nokia Ngage QD, Nokia E65 and Nokia N95 8GB. I must say, with each device, the experience does get better; there’s less annoying quirks. The Ngage QD was the worst; it gets bogged down and sluggish way too easily. The E65 is much better, but I remember not being able to make calls directly from the Contacts application. The N95 was unsurprisingly the best, being the most updated and most advanced S60 version. So far, I can’t really recall any annoying bugs on that phone. I haven’t yet had a chance to see the Nokia 5800 in action, seeing as none of the people I know has one. Hopefully, the S60 v5 is as good as the N95’s.
One thing I’m hoping is the creation of a simplified store ala. Apple’s App Store, where you can easily search, download and install a multitude of applications. Currently, nothing beats Apple’s App Store, where everyone, from giant corporations like EA to that developer crunching code in his mum’s basement, can easily submit apps for users. Nokia has already bought and released the Symbian OS as open source. I’m guessing the next step would be to provide a unified platform where talented coders can showcase their apps and provide useful updates to the Symbian OS. Andriod already has the Andriod Market and Microsoft is rumoured to be launching a Windows Mobile Marketplace soon.
The specs are pretty much what you would expect on a Nokia flagship model: 5MP camera with Carl Zeiss lens, supporting a whopping 48GB of memory (32GB onboard, with 16GB in microSD), continuous music playback for 1.5 days or 4.5 hours of video (can I transfer that battery to the iPhone?) and “DVD quality” video capture (MPEG-2 at 9.8MBits/s!?). It has a widescreen 16:9 3.5″ screen, perfect for viewing videos or movies, and the usual connectivity options of bluetooth, GPS, HSPA and wi-fi. And not forgetting, the uber-important 3.5mm headphone jack!
As with all Nokia flagship devices, this one costs 550 euros before taxes and subsidies. However, given its amazing array of specs, I wouldn’t think that will be money wasted. I’m definitely looking forward to the release of this mobile phone, and I rue the day when I have to choose between my iPhone and purchasing the N97.
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