Nokia launches iPhone rival
Updated on 19 June 2009
Nokia releases flagship device to compete with Apple's new iPhone 3GS. Benjamin Cohen compares the smartphone rivals.
The N97 is Nokia’s flagship device complete with both a large touch screen and a flip out full QWERTY keyboard.
First off, it is not as slick or as sexy as the Apple iPhone 3GS but it does have strong points which mean it is worth considering seriously.
The first is pretty basic: price. Whereas the iPhone is only available from o2, the N97 will be available from next week on most of the major phone networks.
For now you can only purchase it outright for £499. But from next week the mobile networks will offer free handsets to those willing to subscribe to £30 to £40 a month mobile contracts.
The touch screen on the N97 is large and it is quite easy to use but it is not quite as good as the iPhone; it lacks the ability to use two fingers together to shrink or enlarge an image/ web page for example.
Like the iPhone, the N97 has been designed to run scores of apps, in this case purchased from the Ovi store. Some are free but there are thousands rather than tens of thousands of different applications as is the case with the iPhone.
Remember smart phones are so called because they offer multiple functions. In the case of the N97 it does boast a pretty decent 5 megapixel camera with a Carl Zeiss lens.
As standard it also contains 32 GB of memory enough to store all of your music together with tons of videos downloads from the BBC iPlayer (which works very well on the N97).
The full QWERTY keyboard is certainly miles better than the touch screen only offering on the iPhone. But, I did not find it as easy to use as my BlackBerry Bold.
It is a good little phone and if you opt for the free phone, 24 month contract; it comes in at £800 less over its lifetime than the iPhone 3GS.
