Nokia N97 anticipation continues.

After much personal debate inside my own head about the usefulness to be gained from the N97, I still find myself anticipating it nonetheless. Even after coming to the conclusion that this phone would be too expensive to own, I am still considering the saving of funds in order to make it happen. What is it about this N97 that makes it such an enticing piece for me despite the opinions Howardforum.com naysayers? It's quite simply the convergence of a large touch screen and a qwerty along with other worthwhile features...and all on a Nokia!

I have owned sliding/folding qwerty phones in the past. Both the HTC TyTN 2 and Touch Pro were feature-packed and reliable to a point, and my short trial with the Nokia E75 was also on the same level. Also, I can honestly take into account the memorable Nokia E90 Communicator and E70 in the midst of this issue. What took away from overall usage efficiency for each of these devices was gaining access to the keypad. Whether there was unfolding or sliding to be done, it did take away from having the fast qwerty access of the E71/BlackBerry form factor. Being able to spend what seemed to be mere seconds in pulling out the E71 from a pocket, typing a response, and putting it back was a huge benefit for me no matter where I was throughout the day or night. The non-qwerty bars couldn't offer this fast method of response unless I was willing to use the stylus on the HTCs or T9 on the Nokias. Since I had become accustomed to the qwerty, these alternate methods were out of the question and I began shunning keypad sliders and folders altogether.

I am now ready to look into replacing my E71 that I have had the pleasure of using for the longest time, and the N97 may be the most promising. There is an excitement that comes at the thought of owning such a brand new product on the NSeries line up that has never been seen before. This isn't another N95 wannabe or a forgettable XpressMusic model, it is a TOUCH enabled Nokia with a SLIDING qwerty keypad! Just when I think that it can't get any better, the 3.5mm headphone jack, stereo speakers, 32GB storage, and 30fps camera are included in the package! The closer the release date comes for this model, I am getting all the more excited to see what is in store for all of the new adopters....and wondering if I will be one myself. In a sense, the N97 is what the iPhone and HTC TyTN/Touch Pro isn't: a mobile smartphone offering the same reliable Symbian OS functionality and features with a tactile qwerty and touchscreen. It seems to flawlessly blend all of the worthwhile aspects of the iPhone, E90, TyTN 2, and N95 into one entity that is sleek, desirable, and attainable. While it may not possess the portability benefits of the E71 at first sight, there may be other gains to consider such as the touch interface, stereo sound, advanced video quality and 3.5mm jack. I will take a risk and think it's safe to assume that the call quality and reception will be top notch as always.

The only possible concerns remaining involve compatibility with specific applications: Missing Sync for Symbian, Nokia Sport Tracker, Google Maps, Quickoffice and Nokia Mail. While I can live without these apps, Missing Sync is the most important and involves the synchronization of my PIM data between my E71 and Mac. Sport Tracker is not essential since I can continue using the Nike Sport Kit with my iPod Touch during my runs. Google Maps would be especially hard to do without, but its potential absence could give me time to become familiar with Nokia Maps and the Nokia Search function. I am almost 100 percent sure that Quickoffice and Nokia Mail will indeed be supported, so I currently have no plan B in the case of them being unavailable. The touch interface of the Symbian S60 version 5 does cause some concern from me as well, for the initial reviews from its presence on the XpressMusic 5800 model didn't really appear to be a landslide one way or the other. With the additional features of the N97, I am hoping that getting used to the new OS proves to be worth it. I will not lie to myself and expect it to be as fluid as the iPod Touch or iPhone, but I do expect adequate reliability for my personal use.

The Omnia HD is definitely a more advanced choice with superior graphics and a breathtaking screen, but watching videos will not be my main purpose and accepting the lack of a tactile qwerty is not feasible for me. No matter how much more accurate an on-screen touch keypad tries to be, I doubt that it can ever match the reliability of actual buttons. I prefer to not have the screen space dominated by character rows with only a small text box to see what's being typed. Having a separate qwerty allows me to have an undisturbed main screen for this kind of text entry. Watching videos would be fantastic on the Samsung, but I have been satisfied with the screen quality of past NSeries devices and the N97 seems suitable for me. Stereo speakers on the E90 and N95 were amazing for music playback, and I believe the N97 will be no different. There is a chance that the Omnia HD may surpass it, but this really isn't an issue for my personal taste. I admit that there is caution with relying on another Samsung product after my horrible experience with the Epix from AT&T (this could have been due to Windows Mobile). Despite its slimmer dimensions, the Omnia will never satisfy my needs without a tactile qwerty.

Palm seems to have come back from near death with the upcoming release of the Pre, but I have yet to be impressed until I read online reviews and play with a demo unit. From a previous encounter with the terrible qwerty on the Treo Pro, I am guessing that the Pre will not exhibit much of any difference in the user experience. Another potential turn-off about the Pre is the screen size in comparison to the N97. However, I am a bit curious to see how the WebOS turns out in the upcoming reviews from a number of users. The touch navigation looks to be just as impressive as the iPhone if not better. On the other hand, even mentioning the Pre at this point seems to be a lost cause since there is no GSM variant available at this time.

Overall, I am hopeful that the N97 will be a great release and a suitable E71 replacement...and the white looks pretty amazing. It's not that I dislike the black version, it's just that the white looks cleaner and has more of a pure aesthetic quality to it with the chrome accents. Black is much more common amidst mobile devices anyway, so why not mix up my arsenal a bit with a color alternative that's not tacky or gaudy? I will be sure to keep notice of how well it can be used with one hand and the sliding qwerty. I do figure that I may not be storing it in my pocket like the E71, but instead resurrect the black belt clip holder that I use for my backup Treo 750. I am not going to expect much from the beginning once I start to use it, but hope that it can match what the E71 can do for me in emails, messaging, calls, and PIM data management. I am certainly looking forward to a much better multimedia experience with the video capture on the camera, for the E71 has been lacking with its 15 frames-per-second quality. The music will no doubt be a pleasure to listen to from my current 16GB microSD card once I install it, and the included 32GB of storage will be a great addition for more media. On the Howardforums.com site, there are those who criticize Nokia for not fostering innovation and I have indeed been one of them. However, it has been a long time since a promising gadget appeared to be a cure-all for the tech toy addiction in me. Once I settled down and looked at the N97 for its benefits versus its potential pitfalls, there was definitely a chance to consider this as a worthy upgrade to the E90 Communicator (more so than the E75). There is some apprehension of slow OS performance from the prototype devices, but I am hopeful that this is not the case with the final production units. As for the rumor of an E71i model with a 5 megapixel camera, I think that I would have to wait and see.

TRENT
Sent from my Nokia E71
TRENT SENSE blogger/netcast host
trentonnsmith.blogspot.com
youtube.com/absolon3

First Look - Nokia N97

Nokia E71x: No good for me, but good for someone.

Upon taking a look at the Nokia E71x from AT&T the other day, I was thrilled to finally see the first updated qwerty bar model since the forgettable E62 from years past. To see a recent version of the Symbian OS was indeed a treat in regards to the limitations that can so often plague network-locked phones, but this is where the warm feelings had come to an end. It was no surprise to see the E71x lacking in web access, calendar views, and menu shortcut commands in the one hour I had spent at the network store, and I was all the more thankful for my unlocked E71-2 model.

I often do not hesitate to take on the "phone snob" mentality when I come across even one blunder on a mobile device, so it can take considerable effort on my part to be open minded in this manner. There could be a silver lining when I do consider the potential benefits of the E71x to the average AT&T customer. For someone who is only concerned about making/receiving calls/messages and possibly accessing email, there is no doubt I that the E71x can and will deliver flawlessly. The most recent Nokia models can be counted on to provide great sound quality, reliable reception, and suitable camera capability with the reassurance of Symbian functionality. While this depends on the overall stability of the AT&T ROM software installed onto the device, there is at least full tech support available if necessary.

From a different perspective, the changes in certain menus and shortcuts are actually beneficial in simplifying the Symbian OS. Honestly, I can remember the headaches of navigating the labyrinth of E62 menus and feeling like Link in a Zelda RPG video game. After years of experience I have come to be proficient in getting to where I need to go for certain tasks, but the normal AT&T user will not fit this criteria. Overall, I can give kudos to a certain extent to AT&T for at least attempting to make the Nokia E71x more accessible to the general American public.

However, the "phone snob" in me cannot help but address this issue of carriers having to go to such great lengths to alter a phone for its business. I can certainly understand that most people aren't experienced with phone usage and may need things simplified, but their best interest is not always at the forefront of the carrier's operations. There are some alterations to phones in general that still irritate me to no end, for they simply demonstrate the carrier's desire to make money off of the consumer at the expense of functionality freedom. For example, the GPS feature on a Samsung Epix model had been crippled to only work with AT&T Navigator and could not be accessed by Google Maps; this could possibly be the same case for the E71x. Years ago in beginning my stint with Verizon service, I was shocked to find out bluetooth had been crippled to only work with headsets! After I didn't know any better and figured I was at the mercy of the carrier, I discovered the unlocked Nokia E70-2 and hardly looked back since then to the locked models. With unlocked phones I tapped into a broader sense of enhanced phone usage that intrigued me, which gradually transformed me into the tech toy addict I am today!

Despite my being free of carrier dependence, I do realize that not all consumers need or want to be free in this manner. Some may be completely content with the device selection and some simply don't have the capacity to be concerned with such matters. With this in mind and knowing just how reliable the Nokia brand can be, I can say that the E71x can potentially be a great acquisition for an average user.

TRENT
Sent from my Nokia E71
TRENT SENSE blogger/netcast host
trentonnsmith.blogspot.com
youtube.com/absolon3

Nokia E71x sighting

I am currently standing in an AT&T store and taking a quick look at the Nokia E71x model that is on demo. From the appearance of the interface menus looking similar to the E75 I had a while back, I believe that Feature Pack 2 is installed on the E71x. A minor addition to the home screen is digital clock display on the taskbar toward the lower right corner of the screen.

Calendar:
Upon accessing the calendar, the default appearance is only consists of a full screen month view and not the dual frame view of the E71. Setting up new appointments also looks different with a simpler interface that is much more basic and straightforward. One minor element I am noticing is that there is no fluid animation movement with the cursor moving from one date block to another.

Contacts:
Contacts is known as the Address Book. While the layout of the default listing appears to be the same, there appears to be no convenient sub-menu arrow when a name is highlighted. In order to do anything with a contact, either the select key or the left Options key must be pressed.

Messaging:
Pressing the Messaging hotkey brings up the typical listing found on the E71, except for one addition: Instant Messaging. This gives a user access to either AOL, Yahoo, or Windows Live messenger services.

Camera:
Interface is the same as the unlocked E71, except for the Gallery being referred to as MyStuff.

There are software additions from the network: AT&T Music, Cellular Video, AT&T GPS, Yellow Pages, Media Mall, Media Net, and Games & Apps. In the main menus, there have been some rearranging of the icons. It looks like the Tools and Settings folders have had a number of the usual icons stashed within them to make the interface navigation easier to deal with.
Web application from the unlocked E71 appears to be completely gone and replaced with the Media Net icon. When I attempt to access the web, there is an error that prevents me from doing so (probably an issue with the demo). This possible lack of online access flexibility is disconcerting, but not at all surprising in the least. The Yellow Pages icon seems to be only a reincarnation of Google Maps.

There are a number of themes that come pre-installed on the E71x: Default, Black Minimal, Blue Angels, Majestic Mountains, Pebble Beach, and Sunflower. While the available choices do show potential with striking wallpaper photos and colorful theme layouts, there is only one that has caught my eye. The Black Minimal has a professional feel to it, complements the black form factor of the device, and provides great contrasting for navigation; it also appears to be the AT&T default with the network logo displayed on the home page wallpaper.

There is thankfully an onboard Quickoffice suite in the Games and Apps folder, but when I try to begin a new document there is a pop-up stating the lack of a license for the feature. Adobe PDF, My-Cast Weather, Mobile Banking, WikiMobile, and MobiTV are other apps included. Pre-installed games are Monopoly, Brain Challenge volume 2, WPT Texas Hold 'Em 2, and Collapse! Chaos. Of course, there is network access to buy more games and apps.   

I will post my thoughts on this device at a later date.

--
Trentonn Smith
Sent from my MacBook Aluminum
TRENT SENSE blogger/netcast host
trentonnsmith.blogspot.com
youtube.com/absolon3