Nokia N97 vs Nokia N97 mini Advice

sonic.trip

Ok I've been wanting the N97 since I seen the videos before it was launched. I'm finally going to take the plunge and buy it unlocked from here

The problem is someone said one of the operators has dropped it for the mini because of problems. I know there is software issues but thought they were resolved?

So, my question is do I go for the N97 mini and get a more compact phone with 24gb less memory and no fm radio or do I go for the N97 and get more memory, bigger screen, but a phone that might still have problems? Both are the same price unlocked by the way.

Any input would be greatly appreciated,

thanks

rizzee

I'd get the mini. Has the potential to have more memory than its big brother (32GB cards) & would you really need the full 32gb?? Its smaller, less bugs. Thats all my own opinion, I don't care about lack of radio, the ergonomics of the phone would do it for me tbh

jesus_thats_gre

Are they not identical in terms of bugs when both are updated to the most recent firmware?

rizzee

jesus_thats_gre wrote: »

Are they not identical in terms of bugs when both are updated to the most recent firmware?

AFAIK, the mini comes with the latest fw so is less prone to bugs.

jesus_thats_gre

rizzee wrote: »

AFAIK, the mini comes with the latest fw so is less prone to bugs.

Yeah but the N97 can be updated to that very same firmware?!?

xanthor

rizzee wrote: »

AFAIK, the mini comes with the latest fw so is less prone to bugs.

Both running 2.0 at the moment IIRC. Had to do a hard reset after the last FW was installed. No bugs since then.


..and don't the two of them have the same amount of expandable memory?

lafors

sonic.trip wrote: »

Ok I've been wanting the N97 since I seen the videos before it was launched. I'm finally going to take the plunge and buy it unlocked from here

The problem is someone said one of the operators has dropped it for the mini because of problems. I know there is software issues but thought they were resolved?

So, my question is do I go for the N97 mini and get a more compact phone with 24gb less memory and no fm radio or do I go for the N97 and get more memory, bigger screen, but a phone that might still have problems? Both are the same price unlocked by the way.

Any input would be greatly appreciated,

thanks

Don't get either, I've had the N97 since the first day it came out on O2.
I debranded it, cleared all the crap off it and have it on v20 firmware now.
My camera lens was scratched badly after a couple of weeks, the GPS has serious problems locking on and when it does accuracy is crap. Not enough RAM available even after the v20 release. Phone still locks up on occasion and programs shut down themselves. I've done a bucket load of hard resets at this stage. They fix it for a while but the crashes eventually come back.
Check out nokiausers.net in the N97 section and you'll see most there have problems with it.

I love my phones/gadgets but I'm p*ssed off after buying this phone. There are fixes available for both the lens & gps issue but you'll have to give your phone in to the nokia service centre for a few weeks to get it done.

If I was you I'd wait a month and see how the N900 turns out to be. It looks to be a beast of a phone but I'd be wary of buying one of the first ones (being a "tester" for Nokia) after what happened with the N97.

RAWLiNGS

Neither of those. It's relatively expensive compared to other phones. I have an iPhone which is great, but just before I bought it I had both of those phones in my hand...

I would wait as there will be more phones coming out soon, possible better ones. Those phones run Symbian -as you probably know it- and there is no future in that OS.

My mate has on of these for 2-3 months, and He doesn't like it at all. The phone is full of bugs. Slow. Touchscreen is not to responsive, (it uses resistive technology). Keyboard inconvenient to use. That Symbian OS is a joke.
Camera is very good. Screen is very bright.

I really wanted that phone, but after I used for 10 minutes I went for an iPhone.

I think Motorola Milestone, or the upcoming Xperia X10 can be a better choice.

I hope It helped. Good Luck!

jesus_thats_gre

Have had mine since launch week. While there are a few things that annoy me, I am ultimately pretty happy with the phone.

The whole thing about the touchscreen being unresponsive is complete bollox to be honest. I am on my second iPod Touch and while the capacitive screen is better, you will barely notice any difference between the two.

The only area where the N97 really falls down in my opinion is in the music player. It is complete horse ****e when the device has 20+ gigs of music stored on it.

Comments on the keyboard, slowness or web browser are stupidly overplayed.

Have a read of the review of the new Motorola Droid for example. Compared individual keys and their placement to that of the N97. Then go read the N97 reviews. The N97's keyboard got slated by the likes of Engadget whereas very little negative was said about the Droid.

Generally, if you read reviews on American sites, you will come away with a bad opinion of the N97. If you read reviews on European sites and liked previois Symbian handsets, you will come away with a positive opinion of the N97.

sonic.trip

Thanks all for the comments, I'm not really concerened about the music player on it tbh, I jaut want to make sure I'm getting a phone that won't keep crashing on me!

The i phone would be nice but unfortunately its way out of my price range, its about £699-799 unlocked while the n97 is £370

@jesus_thats_gre I was happy with the N95 since I bought it so I'm sure I would be happy with the N97. Can I ask did you get the N97 or the mini?

Thanks

jesus_thats_gre

I have had the big N97 since launch week. Had the N95 8GB before that, N95 before that and nearly every generation of Nokia Symbian phone since the 7650.

I like the phone. It is far from perfect but I really like it all the same.

sonic.trip

jesus_thats_gre wrote: »

I have had the big N97 since launch week. Had the N95 8GB before that, N95 before that and nearly every generation of Nokia Symbian phone since the 7650.

I like the phone. It is far from perfect but I really like it all the same.

I think I would be the same as you so, I've always had nokia phones and don't like other manufacturers so I think the N97 is for me

Are you running the v20 firmware at the moment and has it frozen on you at all since you have had it?

thanks in advance

lafors

sonic.trip I was probably a bit harsh on my N97 in my first reply
Its not a terrible phone at all. When it works its fantastic.
Its just that its a bit underpowered in the processor dept and its c: memory runs short if you're not careful. If you wipe it clean and put the programs on the mass memory then you should be fine.
You should also realise that O2 are still on V12 firmware and if you get it off them you'll have to change product codes (invalidate you warranty) to bring it up to V20. Even at that V20 isn't the holy grail of fixes, its just the firmware the phone should have had when released.

With regard to crashes on V20, I still get a few. The inbuilt browser will crash the odd time (it only closes the browser, it doesn't restart the phone). The photo library will crash sometimes too, again it only closes the program not crashing the phone. Garmin likes to crash too.

It's just small things that are annoying, like the transitions aren't smooth enough when moving between programs i.e. sometimes you will see blocks of the "desktop" until the program/webpage/etc fully loads. Thats a software issue I expect hopefully fixed with a firmware update. And the screen rotating when you get a call and takes a second to reappear so you can't swipe to answer, again a very basic software issue but very annoying.

The camera lens scratching and the GPS issues are big though. You need to accept that you may(will probably) have to send it off to get fixed if(when) they happen.

I'd still take my N97 over an iphone/htc hero/satio anyday......though I'd take my N82 back in a heartbeat

JonathonS

I got a Mini last week, and have had nothing but trouble. I loaded my contacts from a 3 year old Razr (names and nos only) and got a "Memory Full" message when I tried to send a text. Since than it has hung continuously. Rang the helpline, they told me to check for software updates. Checked from the phone - tells me I have the latest software. The Nokia site does not list any updates for the Mini, only the N97. My ver is 10.0. I'm looking for a replacement, but recon I should have held on for the N72 instead.

Breezer

jesus_thats_gre wrote: »

The only area where the N97 really falls down in my opinion is in the music player. It is complete horse ****e when the device has 20+ gigs of music stored on it.

Could you elaborate on that a bit for me please? I've been looking for a device to replace both my E51 and 5G iPod for a while now, and unfortunately all I'm finding is not-so-smart phones with good music players or smart phones with poor players. And I really really don't want an iPhone

I have about 11.5 gigs of music, and i can't see it doubling in the lifetime of this phone. Would that be alright do you reckon? I tried putting it on a 16 gig card on the E51 and the music player choked.

I'm more interested in the N97 mini to be honest so if anyone has a music collection of this size or greater on that I'd love to hear how it goes!

jesus_thats_gre

I can't answer to be honest. I just fond that the player becomes completely unresponsive after I loaded my music. I don't use it often do I got over it pretty quickly.

sonic.trip

Breezer wrote: »

I'm more interested in the N97 mini to be honest so if anyone has a music collection of this size or greater on that I'd love to hear how it goes!

when I get mine I will try it and report back, don't have much use for it though, prefer my ipod

lafors

Breezer wrote: »

Could you elaborate on that a bit for me please? I've been looking for a device to replace both my E51 and 5G iPod for a while now, and unfortunately all I'm finding is not-so-smart phones with good music players or smart phones with poor players. And I really really don't want an iPhone

I have about 11.5 gigs of music, and i can't see it doubling in the lifetime of this phone. Would that be alright do you reckon? I tried putting it on a 16 gig card on the E51 and the music player choked.

I'm more interested in the N97 mini to be honest so if anyone has a music collection of this size or greater on that I'd love to hear how it goes!

Breezer I have 12gb of music on mine. I put the music on the phone using iSync & iTunes via my mac mini. Haven't had any issues with the player?

Breezer

lafors wrote: »

Breezer I have 12gb of music on mine. I put the music on the phone using iSync & iTunes via my mac mini. Haven't had any issues with the player?

Music to my ears (pardon the awful pun)

xanthor

Breezer wrote: »

I'm more interested in the N97 mini to be honest so if anyone has a music collection of this size or greater on that I'd love to hear how it goes!

15.3 GB on mine. Had no problems with original firmware.
After 2.0 was installed, music player froze. Hard reset, and the music player hasn't frozen since.