Nokia's flagship N97 QWERTY smartphone review

Nokia N97

Nokia N97

Nokia N97

Nokia N97

The Nokia N97, announced in December 2008 at Nokia World in Barcelona, Spain, is Nokia's flagship Nseries smartphone, and is also the company's most prominent touchscreen device, with a roomy 3.5in touchscreen display. We put the QWERTY-equipped sliding smartphone through its paces in our review, to see how well it fares.

Physical Aspects

At first glance, the Nokia N97 looks like most other touchscreen smartphones these days. There's a large 3.5-inch nHD (360x640 pixel) resolution touchscreen with a trio of buttons along the bottom – two of which are touch-sensitive. However, there's a hidden surprise when the top part of the phone slides over and tilts up to reveal a 5-way d-pad and QWERTY keyboard. The 117mm x 56mm x 15mm (4.6in x 2.2in x 0.6in) phone itself is built like a tank, with a solid 147g (5.2oz) heft in your hand, and there are no unwelcome creaks from the phone when in use.

As mentioned, the front of the N97 features a large 3.5-inch nHD (360x640 pixel) resolution resistive touchscreen^(INFO) display. This display is much more sensitive than most resistive screens, resulting in an incredibly pleasant touch experience. Below this display are touch-sensitive end/send keys, as well as a hardware key that happens to be the menu button. Above the display is a secondary VGA-resolution camera for video calling, an ambient light sensor, and a proximity sensor. The latter of these is used to disable the large display when you hold the phone to your face, to prevent accidental button presses during a phone call.

Along the right edge of the phone, you'll find the volume rocker, as well as a two-stage camera button. A partial press on the camera button will focus the camera, while a full press snaps a photo. Along the top of the phone is the power button and 3.5mm audio port. The micro-USB charging/data port is on the left edge of the phone, with a tiny charging light. In the middle of the left edge of the Nokia N97 is a slide-lock switch that is used to quickly lock or unlock the display. Stereo speakers are also located on either corner of the left edge of the phone.

Pushing against the left edge of the phone activates the spring-assisted slide mechanism, which tilts the display up, rotates the on-screen image to landscape orientation, and uncovers the 5-way d-pad and QWERTY keyboard. The d-pad is positioned to the left of the keyboard to make gaming easier, and the space bar is positioned off to the right, amid the bottom row of the keyboard. Each key is slightly raised, and separated by a millimeter of empty space. This makes it easy to feel your way across the keyboard, however the keys offer little-to-no tactile feedback, which can make speed typing a chore.

Nokia N97

Nokia N97

Nokia N97

The Nokia N97's 5 megapixel autofocus camera is located on the back of the phone, protected by a sliding lens cover and flanked by a dual-LED flash. Beneath the back cover lurks a monstrous 1500mAh battery, as well as a microSD card slot for expanding storage.