Plenty of good questions are starting to come from readers, so I thought I'd gather them together here and answer them more formally. See below. And add extra questions about Nokia's newest flagship to the comments on this thread and Rafe and I will do our best to answer them in the main body of the piece.
Read on in the full article.
I believe everybody remembers those horrible video comparisons between the N96 (no HW 3D acceleration) and the N95 (HW 3D acceleration) playing Global Race. The game was almost impossible to be played on the N96 because it lagged so much. Could you please try Global Race on the N97 and maybe post a video?
Ok my pet hate with the N97 is the inclusion of the D-pad and the compromise over the space bar. I really think the E75's keyboard design should have been used on this device.
What are your thoughts on this?
Steve have you tried hooking it up to a real keyboard(Bluetooth) yet?
Oh and what happened to the video out cable?? Nokia cutting corners?
Some one has post the comparison with N82 and HTC MAGIC,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ben_smith_uk/sets/72157619114701281/detail/
and, WOW......
And the other video from china shows a N-Gage ASPHALT4 on N97,
http://tech.163.com/mobile/09/0602/07/5APO6UAU00112K8F_3.html
(Last half of 3rd video), not bad.
And my own (brief) http://www.ovigaming.com/news/item/9831_N-Gage_on_Nokia_N97_video_Need.php
No sign of lag in those videos, that's a good sign. I guess Global Race was a game specifically designed to use HW 3D acceleration. I just hope such games will appear as 'non compatible' with the N97 on Ovi Store.
eldar had a review in russian and sum1 translated it and stated eldar claims that with the latest firmware (released about 3 weeks ago) the free ram on boot was around 70mb, i take it that this is not the case? Or they got confused between ram and c drive memory, thanx for any info you guys here at AAS can give. Also when closing the qwerty does the screen still flip to portrait even if you hold the device in landscape? Thanx
Anuyone know if the hinge on the N97 is Alloy, or plastic.? Im lead to believe its lightweight alloy, and the framework continues within the device to add to the strength.
I put together a size comparison thread up over on Nokiausers.
Ok, its a dummy N97, but same dimensions.
Does it play normal xvid avi files smoothly without the need of downsampling before?
Where is the GPS antenna located on the N97, will it have the same problems with a closed keypad as the N95?
Is the magnetometer output included in the GPS data so that any GPS-aware application will benefit from it?
What is the battery life of the phone when running GPS applications such as Google latitude or SportsTracker?
Can we expect any cool augmented reality applications that make use of the GPS, accelerometer, and the magnetometer, possibly also combined with the camera? With access to an online phone directory it should be possible to simply point the phone at a specific building and receive a list of all people registered at that address, for instance 😊
Appreciate your efforts,
Frank
Is Global Race so hard to run?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efbbxcep6dQ
Or this one is 3D HW free down grade version?
It says the hinge is made from powder metallurgy.
Thank you for answering so promptly!
I've got one more question while I'm at it:
If you are using 3G data and you walk into range of a known wifi hotspot, will the N97 automatically start using it? Or do you have to prompt it?
does anyone know when the N97 is out in Australia?
As even Nokia Australia themselves couldn't tell me.
But thats nothing new as they never seem to know.
Could you compare jpg filesize between the N82 and N97? You mentioned once a difference between the N95 and the N97. Also what about a WPM comparison test between the N82, the E71, the E75, the N97 and a keyboard 😉
Cheers,
snoyt
Steve, please put your Nokia fanboy hat on. What is you impression of the N97?
Too early to tell?
Slightly disappointed?
What you expected?
Mixed?
Piece of $%^&?
...
@kolaf
The answer you seek is here - http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/forum/showpost.php?p=421050&postcount=3
Can you confirm that the battery can be replaced (one of my dislikes with the iPhone)?
Any improvements with integrating e-mail/calendar/contacts/tasks with Microsoft Exchange? My N73 has basic features, but it's not that reliable.
Ivan
Do you know of any developers, such as Gravity, who will be launching a home screen widget for Twitter and is it possible to publish a photo of the stylus ( if you havn't lost it yet )
Hi Guys
Does the N97 have predictive text like the E71 from the qwerty keyboard?
I love this feature on the E71 and it would be one thing I would definitely miss if I do make the switch....(why am i kidding myself I really want one)
Thanks in advance
Roy
Unregistered wrote:Can you confirm that the battery can be replaced (one of my dislikes with the iPhone)?
Battery is indeed removable Ivan. 😊
Have you encountered any problems with the call send/end keys, with them being touch sensitive? e.g accidently ending (or making) a call.
Thanks Steve you guys shock me at your response speeds. More questions:
Software
1) People have been commenting the 5800 facebook app to be "slow" and "buggy". Is this the case with N97?
2) How many items are there on the OVI store for N97?
Hardware
1) You've commented earlier on the space bar position and the low profile of the keyboard buttons. After using it for a while, please comment on the typing comfort / speed.
2) How's the call quality? Is it typical Nokia - Loud and clear? How about the speakerphone?
Thanks so much again
Hello friends
1. About Ovi services: does it Sync. contacts & calendar automatically with Ovi?
2. Did you try to fill the 32gb!!?? and see if it slow the device or not?
3. Can you compare the keyboard of the N97 with the E90 Communicator,am quite happy with the E90 keyboard.
4. Well,the screen is bright and great but what about fonts? i like to see more informations rather than larger fonts,how can u say about that comparing it with 5800XM? i mean is it bulkier or they use the screen space better?
5. I read everywhere about the N97 great build quality...how can you compare to E90,E71?...i dont think 5800 is great.
Sorry because i mention many questions & for my imperfect english.
Thanks
Does it come with a stylus and if so, can that be inserted into the phone as per 5800? If not, do you think the phone does not need one? Is there a soft qwerty keyboard for use in landscape with the case closed? Any correction software included? Thanks.
Steve, would you say that N97 is really nothing more than n95 + touchscreen and qwerty pad?
Just picked up my N97 here in Dubai (won it in a radio competition - it's not officially out until next week).
Have you guys managed to get Google Sync working yet? I can't seem to be able to successfully download Mail for Exchange.
Also, no joy with Skyfire - can you try at your end?
tulloch wrote:Does it come with a stylus and if so, can that be inserted into the phone as per 5800? If not, do you think the phone does not need one? Is there a soft qwerty keyboard for use in landscape with the case closed? Any correction software included? Thanks.
It comes with a stylus, but there's nowhere in the phone to store it.
Selecting links on web pages can be tricky at times (far more difficult than on an iPhone)
No soft qwerty in landscape.
Not sure what you mean about correction software? It does have predicted text for the "phonepad" soft keyboard.
A bit off topic but why is AAS giving all this coverage to the N97 but ignoring the i8910HD?
Are there any discernable differences between the North American and UK versions of the phone? both in terms of hardware and software?
thanks.
FaizDaDon wrote:Steve, would you say that N97 is really nothing more than n95 + touchscreen and qwerty pad?It more like a 5800 with QWERTY + slightly higher CPU clock speed + updated software.