Dec 02 2008
N-97: The New Smartphone from Nokia
According to Wall Street Journal report, Nokia Corp. is set to unveil N-97, a new smartphone with a touch-sensitive screen, a slide-out full keyboard, and access to a range of Web-based software applications, today. But the device won’t be commercially available until the first half of 2009. It will sell for 550 euros ($699), though wireless carriers will likely discount the retail price.
Cellphone manufacturers generally make trade-offs for aesthetics, affordability and battery efficiency. But with fierce competition at the high end of the consumer market, there is pressure across the industry to stuff more and more features into a single device. The N-97 has the touch screen popularized by Apple Inc.’s iPhone, a real keyboard that appeals to users of BlackBerrys and Nokia’s own E-Series devices, and fast Wi-Fi Internet access to complement third-generation broadband access.
It will also let users customize their phones — even their home screen — with small applications called widgets. The programs, which will run off the Web rather than having to be installed on the device, could include news feeds, weather updates, games and tie-ins to social-networking applications such as Facebook.
The N-97 will carry an upgraded version of Nokia Maps, which the company is to release Tuesday. The new version builds on Nokia’s $8 billion acquisition this year of digital-map maker Navteq. It adds more details such as 3-D building landmarks and items that improve pedestrian navigation, like subway entrances and escalators. It also synchs with Nokia’s Ovi Web portal, allowing users to plan trips and routes from their computer and have them automatically transfer to their phone.
The N-97 is the latest in Nokia’s lineup of ultra high-end Nseries phones. It packs some state-of-the-art features, including a five-megapixel camera, DVD-quality video capture with an output jack that connects to a television set, and 32 gigabytes of onboard memory capacity — twice that of the iPhone. It has a built-in music player and users get a year of free access to Nokia’s catalog of four million tracks.
The results of cramming in so many features are evident in the physical design of the device, based on an early prototype. It is about 30% thicker than the iPhone, though about on par with the G1 from HTC Corp. and Google Inc. Its 3.5-inch screen slides out to reveal the keyboard, tilting upward at a 30-degree angle so users can more easily see what they are typing. Like the iPhone, the N-97 will have a piece of hardware called an accelerometer and can sense when the device is being rotated — a useful feature for games.
Like other touch-screen phones that have emerged from Research in Motion Ltd. and Samsung, it won’t do some of the iPhone’s tricks. Users can’t zoom in and out of photos and Web pages by pinching or spreading two fingers. And, at least in the early prototype, users must scroll by touching and dragging a thin scroll bar, rather than simply flicking the screen up or down.
