[General Topics] yarod_g14:
N97

The N97 is Nokias newest N series device.

N series is VERY famous for all in one smartphones that actually kick the crap out of all HTC's efforts.

lol sounds unbelievable doesnt it......Nokia....smartphone....cant be in the same sentance!

I had an N95 and I now own an N95 8GB. The N95 was my introduction into the symbian world.

Simple facts for you guys:

The n95 n85 all the old N series devices run S60 V3 operating system. After first round of updates etc this has been my favorite OS yet. Very stable very fast, very capable of multitasking - No touch screen on s60 V3. They run OMAP 2420's etc just like windows mobile. Oh but Nokia didnt feck us like HTC did without giving us proper drivers.

I play quake 3 arena full GL on my N95 - flawlessly connected to bluetooth mouse and keyboard and TV out.

Most N series phones have up to 5 MPXL Carl Ziess Camera's which are arguably the best in their range out of all manufacturers. My N95 is fully capable of recording VGA vids at 30 FPS.

All the N series devices have full in line remote controls for Audio playback (play pause stop rewind fstforward answer volume etc)

The N series devices have all been hacked at and all system files are accesible for enterprising users. (freeloaders rejoice - yes!)

The built in web browser supports flash video out of the box, its fast and works well.

Built in music player is flawless..

Most major apps have been ported to S60 V3.

- Coreplayer with support for my GPU on my N95? Yes!

- Mobipocket for ebooks! Yes

- Opera mini? Yes

Its rare that I find things that work on smaller windows mobile devices but not on S60 V5.

So, the old N series devices have a huge following. The N86 with its 8mpxl 128 ram and tiny form factor is probably the best mini smartphone in the world in terms of raw power - multimedia capability and functionality....

I was waiting for the N97 thinking that it would push the envelope further.

The N97 runs S60 V5 which is now part of the symbian foundation and has gone open source. This means its very cheap for users to make apps for it.

The main difference is that users cant develop app and send it round for people to install......just like the err SDK certs was on older windows mobile - you couldnt install somehting unless it was signed! It is posisble to sign apps for your own device but you have to spend 10 mins researching. Easy really.

So this N97 has S60 V5 which is a touch smartphone OS based upon all that Symbian has learned throughout S60 V1 V2 V3 and UIQ....

So when I found out that the N97 was running the SAME CHIPSET! OMAP 2420 with a faster processor and NO DEDICATED 3D chip!!! I WAS SHOCKED!!

In some ways it seems like its a step back from previous gen with the Power VR chips.....

So after investigation I found that the Samsung i8910 Onmia HD actually is the REAL world evolution of the N95. It is running OMAP 3 not 2 and has a FULL power VR SGX chip (same chip as IPony 3 G S. Which might be a pale comparision of the OMnia HD - I have not played with one yet....

The omnia HD also runs S60 V5 (same as Nokia 5800 and N97)

I think this OS is going to be a very very big contender over the next year.

The main selling point of the N97 is that it has full functionality out of the Box.

It comes with proper facebook support and social networking apps that all sit on the home page. All easy to access and very swish...

It has proper keyboard and all the old N series reasons to keep - Carl ziess optics with a proper camera......proper music player with inline remote.

Its also not bloated OS so will have plenty of multimedia power....

If someone seriously offered me a touch pro 2 or a N97 the N97 would be first choice. Why would I want a nice phone, nice screen substandard MP3 player some stupid adapter - no 3.5 jack. No decent camera....mutimedia playback which is less powerfull than my old i900 omnia......

Then on top of that, using HelloX you crack the N97 and customise to your hearts desire. Download install what you want, rip it chop it hack it.......

2 years ago I would laugh at someone telling me that they would get a Nokia over HTC. I would say - yeah go get a expensive brick that cant do anything.....

Now days the simple facts - 3.5 jack, similar fully customisable OS and installable apps, proper camera.....all sell it to me. Gotta be slightly blind to think Nokia dont deserve some kudos for their devices - even if they cocked up a bit with N96 and now potentially N97 without Omap 3 and Power VR

Palm pre and iphone 3g S and Samsung i8910 are the beasties to watch!