The iPhone, even amidst a furious onslaught of competitor smartphones, has for the most part retained its title as the leader in the smart phone or touchscreen market. The reason for this is that many competitors have managed to nail the replication of or improvement on one of the iPhone’s many strengths, but have fallen short of the well-rounded appeal of the iPhone. Somebody should have told Nokia that it’s simply unfair to storm the scene and blow away the iPhone all at once.
The Internet is abuzz today regarding Nokia’s announcement of its new flagship device, the N97. I use the term device because, even though it functions in the capacity of a mobile phone, it is so much more. In fact, Nokia isn’t dubbing it a mobile phone…they call it a mobile computer.
Not a netbook or a smartphone. It is the first true computer the size of a normal mobile phone. You might be thinking, well most phones have high-speed data, qwerty keyboards, onboard memory and intuitive operating systems and graphical user interfaces…how does the N97 stand out?
First off, the N97’s memory capacity dwarfs the storage of all smartphones on the market, boasting 32 Gb of onboard storage with space for up to an additional 16 Gb. The N97 contains a 5-megapixel Carl Zeiss camera assembly capable of taking 30 frame per second DVD-quality video, a full touchscreen capabilities coupled with full keyboard and tilting touch display, and GPS.
That’s the hardware side of it. In execution, the handset is simply breathtaking. Perhaps most impressive is the home screen design of the GUI; whereas on other smart handsets, users are forced to browse through applications to view updates to individual platforms and applications. Not so with the N97; users can add and rearrange widgets for their favorite social networking and media platforms on the homescreen, which updates information to each widget continuously.
Forget waiting for an update to reach your email and then display a new message in your inbox on your handset; instant updates displayed directly on your home screen. Some are even calling the N97 the Facebook phone, obviously because the handset will be the first to make continuous social networking in one’s pocket a reality.
Video rendering is gorgeous. The camera can capture DVD-quality video at 30 frames per second, and playback doesn’t disappoint in the slightest. The media player reflects a simplicity like that of the iPhone, employing simple controls and easy navigation.
The tilting touch display looks to be of the highest caliber, comparable if not superior to any other on the market today. Tilting the screen back and forth requires little effort, but isn’t flimsy. When tilted, the screen leaves plenty of real estate available for the full QWERTY keyboard, which contains well-spaced, appropriately-sized keys.
Nokia didn’t engage in the game of iPhone imitation, unlike many handset manufacturers. On paper, Nokia has bested the iPhone in just about every way.
That leaves two questions: what will the price be, and once it is in consumer hands, how will it perform? Flashy debuts will always put a product in the best possible light, and Nokia isn’t particularly known for making cheap handsets. Obviously the N97 isn’t what you might call inexpensive, considering just the hardware of the mobile computer and not the overall performance of the operating system, UI or other aspects. That’s what I like to call the wait-n’-see factor.
The N97 is projected to ship in the first half of 2009 for a price of 550 Euros before taxes and the all-important carrier subsidies. Who wants to call Steve Jobs to see what plans he has for the next iPhone, and whether or not he plans on replacing his handset with this lovely little mobile computer?
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