Nokia N97 - thoughts?

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Marts - 01 Jul 2009 01:34 GMT

Been reading a bit about the forthcoming release of the Nokia N97, a supposed
iPhone challenger.

Just wondering if anyone here is considering it and if so, why?

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Rod Speed - 01 Jul 2009 07:45 GMT

> Been reading a bit about the forthcoming release
> of the Nokia N97, a supposed iPhone challenger.

> Just wondering if anyone here is considering it and if so, why?

Mainly because I dont like the limitations of the iphones and do like
a decent touch screen now that I have gotten so used to it with the
GPSs and I have always believed that Nokia does a much better
job of a decent intuitive user interface than anyone else with mobiles.

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Will Kemp - 02 Jul 2009 17:24 GMT

> Been reading a bit about the forthcoming release of the Nokia N97, a supposed
> iPhone challenger.
>
> Just wondering if anyone here is considering it and if so, why?

No - because it's got a physical keyboard, which adds weight, bulk, and
unnecessary complexity. Physical keys are obsolete now - touch screen
virtual keyboards are a massive improvement. I'd wait till Nokia bring
out an equivalent with a touch screen and no keyboard. The quality of
the 5800 is an indication that Nokia's next one will be good.

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Rod Speed - 02 Jul 2009 18:46 GMT

> Marts wrote

>> Been reading a bit about the forthcoming release of the Nokia N97, a supposed iPhone challenger.

>> Just wondering if anyone here is considering it and if so, why?

> No - because it's got a physical keyboard, which adds weight, bulk,
> and unnecessary complexity. Physical keys are obsolete now - touch screen virtual keyboards are a massive improvement.

Trouble with that approach is that there is nowhere
to show the text you are replying to etc.

> I'd wait till Nokia bring out an equivalent with a touch screen and no keyboard.

It would make more sense to do a decent voice to text instead.

> The quality of the 5800 is an indication that Nokia's next one will be good.

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Kwyjibo - 03 Jul 2009 12:43 GMT

>> Been reading a bit about the forthcoming release of the Nokia N97, a
>> supposed iPhone challenger.
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> No - because it's got a physical keyboard, which adds weight, bulk,
> and unnecessary complexity.

Utter sh.t. The mechanical complexity decreases at the expense of software
and processing complexity.

> Physical keys are obsolete now

LOL.

> touch
> screen virtual keyboards are a massive improvement.

Says you. There are lots of cases where touch screens are f.cking useless.
Try using one at the beach in the middle of summer when you can't see the
'keys'.

> I'd wait till
> Nokia bring out an equivalent with a touch screen and no keyboard.

That's cos you're a useless knob.

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Kwyj.

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Marts - 05 Jul 2009 23:21 GMT

Will Kemp wrote...

> out an equivalent with a touch screen and no keyboard. The quality of
> the 5800 is an indication that Nokia's next one will be good.

Had a fiddle with a mate's 5800 recently. Wasn't too shabby, I must say. But I
didn't get to try the touch screen keyboard on it.

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Marts - 08 Jul 2009 06:02 GMT

Will Kemp wrote...

> No - because it's got a physical keyboard, which adds weight, bulk, and
> unnecessary complexity. Physical keys are obsolete now - touch screen

One of the bigger complaints about the iPhone was its virtual keyboard. I wonder
if it's been improved with the 3GS. No-one seems to be commenting on it. If it
has, then great.

As for a physical keyboard being "obsolete", dunno if this is the case. The
major smartphones still have them. I'd say that for serious business users who
use them a lot for email, they'd be hard to get rid of.

The dimensions of the phone are similar to my PDA which isn't that bulky. In
fact, just eyeballing my PDA with a steel rule the N97 is 2mm thinner.

Still, I can't really comment until I've actually played with one.

I'm waiting for Optus to introduce it into its range and to see what it will
cost. It does 900/2100 megs UTMS so it'll be ideal for its "Yes G" network as
well as its existing 2100 meg 3G. There's nothing yet to indicate that Telstra
will be carrying it and if it did it'd be hideously expensive, anyway.

If Rod Speed's still around I wonder if he's still got his N95. He was using
some database arrangement with it I think. Just curious to find out what. I run
DDH's Handbase with my PDA and it is now available for iPhone and Symbian OS. I
may port it over, but if there's another decent DB out there I'll give that a
shot.

My favorite was ThinkDB/Smartlist for the PalmOS but it's not ported over to
WinMob or iPhone or Symbian. So it's out as a choice.

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Rod Speed - 08 Jul 2009 10:58 GMT

> Will Kemp wrote...
>
[quoted text clipped - 22 lines]
> yet to indicate that Telstra will be carrying it and if it did it'd
> be hideously expensive, anyway.

> If Rod Speed's still around I wonder if he's still got his N95.
> He was using some database arrangement with it I think.

Just for access to what I have in databases already.

> Just curious to find out what.

Access databases on the main system.

> I run DDH's Handbase with my PDA and it is now available
> for iPhone and Symbian OS. I may port it over, but if
> there's another decent DB out there I'll give that a shot.

I dont run a database system on the N95.

> My favorite was ThinkDB/Smartlist for the PalmOS but it's not
> ported over to WinMob or iPhone or Symbian. So it's out as a choice.

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Will Kemp - 08 Jul 2009 10:59 GMT

> As for a physical keyboard being "obsolete", dunno if this is the case. The
> major smartphones still have them. I'd say that for serious business users who
> use them a lot for email, they'd be hard to get rid of.

I haven't used a phone with a physical qwerty keyboard, but they look
pretty crappy. I wrote a 700 word article using the virtual keyboard of
my 5800 and i found it quite acceptable. I touch type and i find with
practice i can type acceptably quickly on the virtual keyboard by using
the corners of the tips of my index fingers. It's got a good physical
feedback system and you can feel when you've hit a key - and you can
often also feel when you've made a typo.

> I'm waiting for Optus to introduce it into its range and to see what it will
> cost. It does 900/2100 megs UTMS so it'll be ideal for its "Yes G" network as
> well as its existing 2100 meg 3G.

That contributed to my decision to buy it. I considered the G2, but its
frequency coverage isn't much good.

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Marts - 09 Jul 2009 10:02 GMT

Will Kemp wrote...

> > I'm waiting for Optus to introduce it into its range and to see what it will
> > cost. It does 900/2100 megs UTMS so it'll be ideal for its "Yes G" network as
> > well as its existing 2100 meg 3G.
>
> That contributed to my decision to buy it. I considered the G2, but its
> frequency coverage isn't much good.

G2? If you mean Yes G, how do you know that it's coverage isn't that good? I'm
not aware of any issues with it, but I am assuming that it's still being rolled
out. Its coverage maps suggest a fairly wide coverage for Vic and SE NSW, places
where I'd need it the most.

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Will Kemp - 09 Jul 2009 10:32 GMT

> Will Kemp wrote...
>
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>
> G2? If you mean Yes G,

I don't. I was talking about the Google phone 2, the HTC Magic. But i
must have been thinking of one of the other ones i checked out at that
time, because the HTC's got 900/2100 as well.

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Marts - 09 Jul 2009 10:02 GMT

Will Kemp wrote...

> I haven't used a phone with a physical qwerty keyboard, but they look
> pretty crappy. I wrote a 700 word article using the virtual keyboard of

I've owned a Palm Treo 750. It was OK, but the layout of the N97 appears to be
more ergonomic.

Sometime next week when I get time I'll wander into the local Optus store, see
if they have one and have a play with it.

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