A few weeks ago, David Gilson wrote up his thoughts on the N97 classic. While there was an awful lot to like about it, he found it to be undermined by an unstable OS, due to insufficient RAM & C: drive space. He was also curious to see if the N97 mini was really everything the N97 classic could have been, so he borrowed one and got to grips with it. What follows is a discussion of the differences between these two phones, and how each one lends itself to different usage scenarios. Hopefully this will help the with the venerable question "which should I buy?"
Read on in the full article.
Agree about the battery life on the mini, could be better.
Not fussed about the missing Facebook 'app' as i find m.facebook.com or touch.facebook.com better than most 'apps' or widgets.
No Iplayer? Wait....what? Don't have it in front of me (mini is the Wifes phone, she's at work), but pretty sure i've downloaded and played back at least one episode of the Albert Square going's on to show her it can be done.
I do agree that the screen on the mini seems to be just that, mini. But thats probably just me as my own two phones are the i8910 and (until recently 😞 ) the HD2.
Good write up. Thanks for that.
Yep BBC iPlayer came on my N97 mini too (sim free UK variant), works fine for both streaming and downloads.
Regarding iPlayer on the mini:
- It wasn't present on the mini that came to my house
- It wasn't available via the Ovi store
- It isn't on the BBC's list of officially supported devices
So for the rest of you, did it come pre-installed? Can you see it listed on the Ovi Store while using your mini? I'd like to work out what's going on here.
Cheers!
Got iPlayer but don't remember if it came on the phone, may have downloaded it but the point is it works perfectly on the N97 Mini. Also have the Facebook app which I'm pretty sure came pre-loaded.
Yes, the screen isn't as good outside as transflective but to be honest all screens are quite hard to read in bright light and I use it a lot more indoors so I'll live with it.
I find the size of the N97 Mini quite large in my jeans pocket, so I'm glad it's not as large as the N97, although a bigger screen might be nice! Talking of the screen, I think the N97 Mini's screen is great for looking at photos, it has such a high density of pixels they look great.
The point about using the N97 open on a desk: I hardly ever feel the need to use it like that, I'm always holding it as you have to press quite hard on the keys and it's just not really a desktop device; so I don't find the instability of the N97 Mini vs the N97 an issue.
The metal back on the N97 Mini is really nice, it adds a quality feel, not held the N97 so can't compare.
I would be surprised to hear of any smartphone (or even a dedicated SatNav for that matter) lasting very long between charges when used for prolonged periods in a car without being plugged into a charger. My standalone Mio would certainly not last much longer than 80 minutes without needing charging....
neither! One should wait for N8 :rofl:
miki69 wrote:neither! One should wait for N8 :rofl:
True, but you won't get a physical keyboard!
I have updated my N97 classic to version 21.0.102 using FOTA on 4th April 2010, and it has Ovi Maps 3.03 in firmware. After the update, the free space on c: increase from 25 m.b. (with Ovi maps 3.03 installed in c: ) to 36 m.b without the need to hard reset the thing. It seems the update wiped out the Maps application itself on c: and replace it with the ROM version.
I'd like to add another pro for the N97 for a very specific use case: emulated games!
I use the Vampent emulators (vNes, vSun, vBoy and vBagX) and the fact that there's a D-pad on the correct side (same as hand-held consoles) makes a huge difference! I tried playing on the N97 Mini with mirrored controls (the arrows on the other side), but that just seems weird. And no, you do not get used to it after a few weeks when you also play on PC and Xbox360, where the D-pads are also on the left side 😊
I have somewhat around 20Mb of free space on my C: with everything on it that I need (QuickOffice update, Maps 3.03, Java Runtime 2.1 Beta) and all the rest installed on E: or my SD-card. I am still waiting for the firmware update, why do some people already have it a month earlier? I have the plain RM-505 model that isn't tied to an operator... I WANT MY UPDATE 😃
delanz wrote:I have updated my N97 classic to version 21.0.102 using FOTA on 4th April 2010, and it has Ovi Maps 3.03 in firmware. After the update, the free space on c: increase from 25 m.b. (with Ovi maps 3.03 installed in c: ) to 36 m.b without the need to hard reset the thing. It seems the update wiped out the Maps application itself on c: and replace it with the ROM version.
I've continually checked the N97 classic I was sent for review, and even today I still couldn't get the '102 update over the air. 😞
darkjeric wrote:I'd like to add another pro for the N97 for a very specific use case: emulated games!D
I was using ZX Spectrum Speccy emulator (http://fms.komkon.org/EmuSymbian/) on my N82, but unfortunately Speccy programmer did not port his emulators to S60 Touch... Probably never will 😞
But the again, even Nokia still did not port Internet Radio or Nokia Wireless Keyboard drivers...
David, I did change my N97 product code using Nemesis System Suit to the APAC Malaysia Black code. My original product code (Malaysia CV Black) still stuck at version 12. Happy with the decision 😊. No more White Nokia screen of death.
Interested to hear when and where these N97 mini's with iPlayer were bought. Are you sure you were downloading, and not just streaming iPlayer programmes? (There is an unofficial web runtime widget, that has allowed me to stream iPlayer even on my E55, but you can't download content).
I've just checked, again, and it's definitely not 'official' for the N97 mini. Here's the BBC list of supported devices - http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/where_to_get_iplayer/.
Also, I just checked the Ovi Store on the N97 mini I reviewed, and it's still not there.
I think I must have downloaded it by going to the iPlayer site from my phone. The version I'm running is like the one in the AAS article
Both of these phones are dogs, Steve. I am aware you've been trying to squeeze some juice out of these machines for a long time, but they are dogs.
I don't have an n97 but an e63 but i got iplayer by going to bbc.co.uk/moble/iplayer/iplayer.wgz, i think, and now i just spoof my user agent using iphonesque. With the N97 Mini you won't need to do this. Just download the widget. Hope this helps.
Unregistered wrote:Both of these phones are dogs, Steve. I am aware you've been trying to squeeze some juice out of these machines for a long time, but they are dogs.
Apparently you didn't read the article, because if you had, you would have noticed that Steve didn't write the article, David Gilson did...
iPlayer was offered as a download for my N97 mini when I opened http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer in the web browser.
I have an unbranded UK mini RM-555 running firmware v 11.0.045 if that makes any difference.
Regards
Paul
I have long hesitated between several devices before choosing the N97 mini, mainly because of a special rebate I was able to obtain.
To be honest, since I was used to the N95, the GUI seems a bit peculiar at first, but I quickly understood the underlying design and it got better after a few hour use.
I have reached the same conclusion : it is less a entertainment multimedia mini-computer etc. tool � la N900 than a very convenient messaging and communication device. Just what I needed.
Arnaud ZIEBA
buster wrote:Apparently you didn't read the article, because if you had, you would have noticed that Steve didn't write the article, David Gilson did...
So what? They are dogs anyway.
buster wrote:Apparently you didn't read the article, because if you had, you would have noticed that Steve didn't write the article, David Gilson did...
Does the author of the article make the phone any less a dog? Nice deflection.... Typical though.
davidgilson wrote:
1) Interested to hear when and where these N97 mini's with iPlayer were bought. Got hers from mobiles.co.uk, so it's an unlocked version (with an Orange sim). I updated to the latest Firmware (11.0.045), but don't recall installing the app. However i checked and going to www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer (with the default 'web' browser) certainly brings up the 'Download BBC Iplayer' screen.
2) Are you sure you were downloading, and not just streaming iPlayer programmes?
Yup, downloading Dr Who right now. I know it's downloaded because it will check for a license before playing the file. And now its playing. Equally i know the difference between streaming and watching downloaded/stored iplayer content as i also have the i8910 (streaming only).
3) Also, I just checked the Ovi Store on the N97 mini I reviewed, and it's still not there.
Don't think you can get it from there?
Hope this helps.
(oh, btw Dr Who in the default file file format on the mini (3gp, odf?) vs a full fat .avi version on the i8910? No contest... 😉
davidgilson wrote:True, but you won't get a physical keyboard!
Ah, the irony. Let's go over this again for the hard of thinking: both these phones are terrible. Touch is pointless. S60 5th edition is appalling.
Buy an N86 8MP.
can someone compare for me?
i noticed on the 97 classic keyboard in the pictures above that the comma has shifted to be a [shift] key, and the fullstop has become the default. is this a UK specific keyboard?
most interesting!
Okay everyone, someone caught up with me on Twitter (before I read later posts in this thread), and guided me to getting the iPlayer installed on the mini. I've updated the article accordingly.
The situation seems to be somewhat of a mess. Some of you have had iPlayer pre-installed, yet it's not available on the Ovi Store, nor does the BBC list the mini as an official device.
Hi symbian lovers! 😃
I em nokia user for several years now, and my last and best enjoying phone is nokia 5800xm EU CIS2 Red, it works perfect and i have newer problem with it or software, because i always find the solution for it, but is shame... that such a miracle phone to be made on plastic materials, i wonder if nokia could ewer build better covers for n5800xm, but i know they will not do that lol.
I was looking for better symbian phone with metallic covers and better screen not so easy to scratch as it it with n5800xm, the samsung HD it still expensive but big and sound quality thru speakers is really ugly, and strange there is no mini qwerty keyboard on screen on portrait mode, neither Nokia97 mini has that at all, as i use mini qwerty keyboard a lot on texting and chating, and that is turning me off to not bay one or the other!
This samsung HD and N97mini i had a chance to try in shop, and their firmware was newer updated..., so i ask you guys who own this phone models if you happen to update..., do you get mini qwerty keyboard on screen after update or not??
Unregistered wrote:So what? They are dogs anyway.
To you maybe. Not to many others.
Unregistered wrote:Does the author of the article make the phone any less a dog? Nice deflection.... Typical though.
If someone posts a stupid comment like the one I commented on, and gets the author wrong, it kinds of implies they haven't actually read the article, making their comment nothing more than ignorant bias...