Paul Jacobson

This post has been an idea in my head, bouncing around while I debate what to write about my Nokia N97. I was hoping I could tell you that the phone performs even better than I expected, satisfies all my needs and is undoubtedly the best phone ever … like, ever! Sadly, I can’t do that. I should probably begin with what my expectations are of my device. For one thing I want my smart device to plug into my contacts and calendar and sync with them as effortlessly as is possible. I don’t want to change processes that work well for me although I am open to new and better ways of working.

The Nokia N97 is a great smartphone and Internet device, it really is. It is the top of the current Nokia range and can do just about everything smartphones these days can do (and more) in terms of raw functionality. At the same time, the N97 is somewhat disappointing to me given my initial expectations of the device. I was hoping the N97 would become my one device that I carry around with me and which takes care of my communications, Internet connectivity and media needs. It only really caters for some of these needs adequately.

I am not going to talk too much about the N97’s UI. It isn’t great, there’s no denying it and anyone at Nokia or Symbian you speak to will likely agree that the current S60 user interface is dated and due for an overhaul (expected around 2011). The iPhone 3Gs and Android devices have far more modern interfaces that look terrific. All of this emphasis on the UI did get me wondering about the underlying Symbian operating system and from what I was told, it remains a robust and effective mobile operating system today.

I decided to approach this post from the perspective of an N97 user. I don’t own an iPhone and as I pointed out previously, I have always been a Nokia user. I am also a Mac user and that tends to skew the experience for me. I think I would have a better overall experience of the N97 and Nokia devices if I was a Windows user. It almost goes without saying that I don’t know everything about my N97 and what I can do with it so you may find yourself going “Yes, but, if you look at this menu and click on this setting you can do that thing …” in which case, please comment below or drop me a note and correct me.

Pros and Cons, briefly

To begin with there are a number of things I like about the N97:

• the slide-out keyboard is pretty good although the angle seems just a little off to me;
• the camera is the best I’ve had on a mobile phone and takes fantastic photos in decent lighting (although not so great photos in dim to low light);
• Maps 3 which beats the pants off Google Maps on this device (this is one of the applications I would miss most if I ever stopped using a Nokia device);
• the over-the-air software update application (not news to iPhone users but this is a boon for Mac users who can’t use Ovi Suite yet); and
• the widget framework.

Unfortunately the N97 starts to lose its sheen when I get down to the nitty gritty of my day to day experiences. Unlike my E71 and a host of other Nokia devices, there is still no iSync plugin which means I can’t sync my N97 with my MacBook and update my contacts list and calendar on my device and vice versa. This presents a challenge because much of what I do each day and with my phone depends on up to date contacts and calendar information. I haven’t actually sync’d my N97 since I got it and although there are options available, none of them really seem to put a smile on my face. I have this nagging sense that to truly commit to the N97 I would have to make some serious changes to my productivity processes and systems.

Messaging, messaging

The phone’s Mail for Exchange support does go a way towards alleviating the pain of not being able to sync with my MacBook and I’ve thought about ways everything could just sync with the Google cloud where much of my stuff is. It is do-able, I imagine, but I just haven’t had the time to sit and figure it all out and get it working. The last time I used Mail for Exchange was on the pre-release N97 I used at the end of May/beginning of June and that made quite a mess of my calendars and contacts so I need to psych myself up to try it all again.

The built in email application is pretty basic so one of the first things I did was replace it with Nokia Messaging. That was a bad idea. Nokia Messaging has an improved interface but it installs to the phone memory (distinct from the 32GB drive) automatically and without giving you the option to install it elsewhere. This is a problem because it doesn’t take a lot of mail to take up all the available phone memory and start crashing the device. To add to that pain, I also received an email from Nokia informing me that my Nokia Messaging subscription had been terminated because one of my devices was transferred to someone else. That is a great security measure but I don’t know which device is the culprit. In any event, I had by that time decided to kick Nokia Messaging and go back to the default. Thankfully Nafisa reminded me about the Gmail app for the N97 and that works pretty well for me.

My new media device? And what about all those apps?

I was also hoping the N97 could take over from my iPod as my primary media device and while Nokia Multimedia Transfer does a decent job transferring content across using a sort of iTunes bridge and the Nokia music app works well, the device doesn’t so much sync as shuffle media around. I listen to a lot of podcasts and audiobooks and I haven’t figured out yet if my N97 would carry on from where I left off, leave a marker of some kind where I stop and then allow iTunes to continue from there. I have transferred some media to my N97 and the 32GB of drive space does come in handy!

When it comes to applications I accept that the iPhone and Android devices have better applications, for the most part. Just the same I can still do what I need to do with my N97 and the apps that are available. The widget framework is a little buggy and stops working if it gets annoyed with me but turning the phone off and on a couple times seems to sort that out. The Ovi Store has great potential and I’ve had pretty good experiences downloading and installing apps on my phone using the Ovi Store app. In fact the first app I bought through the Ovi Store was Gravity which is a great Twitter app that really is worth €10 to me. The Ovi Store doesn’t have nearly the variety of great apps that the iTunes store does but I think it will improve in time.

There are other things that niggle (the battery indicator can be a big fat liar and I often find myself with no charge left in the middle of something) and just as many aspects of the phone that I really like (the swooshy call answer thing is nice, as is the touch screen experience – even if it isn’t as good as the iPhone with its capacitive touchscreen). If you look at the N97 in isolation, it is a great device. It really is. When I look at the N97 as an essential device in my day to day life, I can’t help but still feel a little let down. The experience isn’t as good as the hype I built up for myself in the last few months.

Alternatives, for what they are worth

When I look at the iPhone and Android phones like the HTC Hero, I become even more aware of what is missing from the N97 in terms of the general user experience. It does go beyond the UI though. I don’t see the N97 ever integrating with my Mac nearly as well as the iPhone will. That level of integration is important because my workflows begin with my Mac and move outwards. Using Google services for email, calendaring and so on does make it easier to work more productively but the inability to sync my calendars the way I have set them up, for example, gets in the way. In fact, when I consider the services that are most important to how I work, Android devices take on considerable appeal but I do ask myself whether going with an Android device wouldn’t be committing to another platform and modus operandi that is dependent on my using Google services.

As well as the iPhone will integrate with my workflows, I can’t help but feel that I would be sacrificing a number of things that my N97 does well and that I have come to rely on. Nokia Maps 3 with its guidance is an example of that functionality the iPhone just can’t match just yet. That being said there are more and more apps for the iPhone and probably also for Android that enhance those devices to a point where they will do everything the N97 does and more.

Bottom line

Despite all its deficiencies in my eyes, I like the N97. It is a well built device and it generally works well for me. There are probably a number of ways I could tweak the device to fit better into my workflows which I am simply not aware of so any criticism should be weighed accordingly. Then again, there are things that I just can’t do with an N97 that I can do very well with an iPhone or perhaps an Android phone. Using an Android device would ironically mean I would need to change how I do some of the things I do anyway but the growing number of quality apps and the tight integration with the Google services I use could make up for that. The iPhone would undoubtedly fit the best with my MacBook and be the closest to the one converged device I long for but that does come with sacrifices.

For now I am happy to use my N97 and explore ways I can use it more effectively. There are even times I long for my E71 and its slim form factor. On the whole, though, this is a solid phone and it does what I need to do every day. What it doesn’t really do for me is introduce me to even better ways of doing things or better things I can do to be more productive. That potential can be pretty valuable too.

I had an opportunity to use the Nokia E75 a couple weeks ago. It has taken me a while to sit down and let you know what I think about the E75. I prepared a short video review which I have embedded below. I apologise for the terrible audio volume, I seem to have had the wrong microphone recording audio! You may want to don a pair of headphones and crank up the volume to watch this video.

The E75 is, in some ways, similar to its predecessor, the E71 in that both are designed to be business messaging devices. That being said the E75 is also touted as a great device for your leisure time too. While its functionality does tend to support both your personal and business needs, the device’s design lends itself far more to business use.

The obvious innovation with this device (at least as an Eseries device) is the slide out keyboard which I have mixed feelings about. On the one hand the larger keyboard makes typing more comfortable and on the other hand the flat keys made it a little more difficult for me to type accurately. That may just be me and my biggish fingers but I kept hitting surrounding keys by mistake. There are a couple other features the E75 has which make this a device worth considering if you are keen on an Eseries device. The E75 has a narrower form factor and the more conventional alphanumeric keypad on the front of the phone for people more accustomed to this form factor rather than the E71’s (and several other members of the Eseries line) qwerty keyboard. It runs a newer version of the S60 3rd edition software and comes with Nokia Messaging which is a huge improvement over the usual Nokia email client you find on Nokia’s smartphones (even the flagship N97, for some reason).

These improvements do improve your experience of the device although I was happy to return to my E71 with its admittedly smaller and yet easier to use keyboard. I found the E75 a little bulky after my E71. The E75 is about double the width and it is heavier. While it can be easy to forget you have an E71 in your pocket (it is slim and relatively light), you will definitely feel an E75 in your pocket. I do prefer the E75’s software version over my E71’s but when it comes down to it, I’d stick with the E71 (or perhaps hold out for an E72) if I were given a choice between the two devices. This is really one of those times you have to play with both devices and pick the one you personally prefer. Neither device is inherently better than the other (and no, I won’t even attempt a comparison with the iPhone or even the N97, both of which are in a class of their own).

The E75 will get the job done (and, in the process, help you get yours done). It is a solid device with a decent set of software features you will expect to find in an Eseries device. If you are in the market for a business device that is not a Blackberry then perhaps you should consider this one.

You’ve heard about the amazing Nokia E71 and you may be thinking about getting one for yourself. It is a terrific phone, for sure, but it has just been superseded by the new Nokia E72 which is even better (all existing E71 owners … I feel your pain).

The E72 boasts a number of improvements over its year old cousin including a 5 megapixel camera, support for download speeds of up to 10.2 MBps over HSDPA and a new optical navigation key which seems to bring the scrolling experience that much closer to the Blackberry’s trackball. It gets better. The audio jack is the standard 3.5mm jack and the phone runs s60 3rd edition (feature pack 2 – the same version the E75 runs). It also comes with Nokia Messaging for a better email experience.

There is some pretty exciting instant messaging integration built into the device too. According to the Nokia press release:

On top of these developments, for the first time, owners will be able to set up instant messaging (IM) accounts provided by Nokia Messaging direct from the homescreen. In just a few steps, device owners will be able to connect to their favorite IM accounts such as Yahoo! Messenger, Google Talk and Ovi, amongst many others.

These new IM features are complimented by Nokia’s range of email solutions with a lifetime license for Nokia’s mobile email and IM service, Nokia Messaging, as well as onboard clients for Mail for Exchange and IBM Lotus Notes Traveler. Accessing popular accounts such as Yahoo! Mail, Gmail, Windows Live Hotmail, Ovi Mail and thousands of other email service providers is simple through improved on-device email setup, with the same easy to use UI integrating all of the owner’s corporate email accounts as well.

It feels like just yesterday that I got the E71 and as fantastic as the device is, the E72 looks even better. This slim device is an even better business tool and the only gripe I have right now is that the space bar is so small. I have been trying out the E75 and will post a review soon but if the E72 performs the way I think it will, it will beat the pants off both the E71 and the E75.

Update: I received the E72 datasheet from Nokia yesterday:

I received a pre-release Nokia N97 from Nokia SA yesterday to take a look at and test for a couple weeks. The version I received is not the same version that will be shipped but it is probably pretty close. In a sense this is a release candidate so there is still a chance the software may be a little buggy and the phone isn’t really supported by 3rd party providers. I’ve noticed a couple quirks which will probably be resolved by the time the phones ship (I understand that the devices will start shipping internationally in a matter of weeks although Nokia can’t confirm any details at this point).

I have set up the N97 to use it as my primary phone and so far I have not been disappointed in any significant way. The touchscreen is even more responsive than the 5800 Xpress. The keyboard is fantastic and it hasn’t taken me too long to get used to typing on it at all (I’ve been using the phone for about 2-3 hours by the time I write this). One little thing that works well on the N97 that didn’t really work on the 5800 is that effect you see on the iPhone when you flick/scroll the screen and the screen scrolls, slowing to a stop. That works quite nicely on the N97 too.

The touch UI combined with a physical keyboard make the N97 a very flexible and useful device. I tend to do most of my typing with the keyboard but the on-screen keyboard comes in handy in situations where it may not be convenient to pop open the physical keyboard (although I am not sure when that would happen). The device is pretty compact, with and without the keyboard extended. Gamers will like it, it feels pretty similar to what I imagine a modern gaming handset feels like (not a gamer myself so I am guessing a bit). A lot was made of the hinge and this form factor in the “making of” video which I recommend you watch.

I’ve prepared a video introduction to the N97 where I share a couple preliminary thoughts about the phone. The bottom line is that I love it already! I am looking forward to spending time with it as my primary device for the next few weeks. I am also incredibly envious of the 10 people who are going to win one of these devices in the Search for N competition!

While you’re at it, check out my post where I talked a bit about my expectations of the N97. I also recommend you check out the “N97 Fondle video” which I embedded in this post. It demonstrates more of the phone’s functionality quite nicely. I suspect this device is going to meet or even exceed those expectations, particularly when the final versions ship and the device is better supported by software like Nokia’s Multimedia Transfer software (which will bridge the gap between the N97 and iTunes to allow me to move media across easily).

I’ve started testing out the N97’s media capabilities and shot this quick video this morning in my garden:

I compared my E71 and the N97 in a series of photos so you can get an idea how big the N97 is. It does come across as a bit of a beast but when you actually have it, it doesn’t look that big at all.

All in all, this is a very promising start to my time with the N97. If you haven’t already started collecting answers to the Search for N competition clues, you may want to get up to speed. You don’t want to miss your chance to win this beauty!

Feel free to participate in a discussion about the N97 and keep an eye on my updates as I go on FriendFeed:

I had an opportunity to play around a little with a pre-production Nokia N97 yesterday and my initial experience of it is pretty good! I took a couple out of focus and indistinct photos of the device to share with you:

The phone performs pretty much as I hoped it would although it was in offline mode and I didn’t have a chance to test out things like web browsing and other data services. This is also a pre-production unit so it may still change a little and perhaps even be optimised even further by the time the phone starts hitting stores in June (we may only get it a month or two later due to some approval processes at ICASA and the networks).

The device feels right in my hand. I thought it might feel a little small or narrow but it doesn’t. It is bigger than my E71 but not uncomfortably so. This model has a plastic case (at least it felt like plastic) but unlike the 5800 Music Xpress, it feels more substantial. The touchscreen is pretty much the same as the 5800 in that you feel a vibration when you do things using the touchscreen. That is your feedback that lets you know you have actually done something. The touchscreen transitions pretty quickly between landscape and portrait modes and my only real challenge was getting used to how to navigate around the interface.

I shot a quick video just to get a sense of what the video quality on the device is and it is also pretty good! I could comfortably use the N97 for casual videos although I am curious about how it will perform in low light situations.

Looking forward to trying one of these out over a more extended period of time but based on my short time with it yesterday, I am going to start saving …