Mini N97 Nokia: description, review and reviews

One of the best communicators in 2010, according to experts and users, is the Mini N97. Nokia in this case has significantly revised its flagship device and made many useful changes to it. It is about them that will be discussed in our article.

For whom this communicator

The younger model of the flagship communicator "Nokia N97" is the Mini N97. Nokia not only reduced the price and reduced the size of this device, but also carried out serious work on the problematic moments of the "senior" device. As a result, many significant comments in this "smart" phone were eliminated. Otherwise, this gadget is almost an exact copy of the flagship.

This communicator was of the greatest interest in 2010 for those who could not afford to buy a more expensive N97, and the need for such a high-end device was. So it was necessary to such potential buyers to stop their choice on the reduced modification of the device. But this does not mean that the prefix "mini" is bad. In fact, in this gadget, the software was substantially improved, the quality of the hull assembly was improved. As a result, it turned out an excellent smartphone at a very democratic cost at that time.

Equipment

The extended package was a big plus in the Mini N97. Nokia really in this case strongly tried, and the package included the following:

• The communicator itself.

• Accumulator battery.

• Interface cable CA-101.

• Charger AC-10.

• Stereo headset WH-701 with the ability to control the device.

• User's manual and warranty card.

• Disk with proprietary software Ovi Suite.

The only component that is missing in this list is the memory card. She had to buy separately for an additional fee. As practice shows, its maximum size could be 32 GB. External storage with a large volume is not recommended for use in this reduced version of the flagship device in 2010, as the memory card itself may fail.

Design

Like the older model in the line, the Nokia N97 Mini was a slider with a touch screen. Only if the classical representatives of this type of case were equipped with a mechanical keyboard that went down, then here a full QWERTY keyboard went into the side. Most of the front panel was occupied by a display with a diagonal of 3.2 inches. Under it were three mechanical buttons, two of which were used to start and end the call, respectively. Well, the first one is the menu button.

Above the screen, the following elements are grouped together: a front camera and a talking speaker. In the same place, an ambient light sensor is displayed . On the left side of the gadget are loud speakers (the sound in this case was in stereo, and it was provided for 2 speakers), a battery charge indicator, a micro-USB port, and a device lock button. On the opposite side were the volume controls and the camera control button. On top of the audio port to connect an external wired speaker system and the usual for this manufacturer button to turn on the smartphone. On the back of the Nokia N97 Mini there is an eye of the main camera and its LED backlight.

The front panel and side faces are made of plastic, and the back cover is made of metal. It is this element in terms of design is a serious plus of the model in comparison with the flagship gadget, from which it was made of plastic. At the same time, the quality of the assembly was significantly deteriorated due to this and there was a certain play in the case. In the same case, the build quality was perfect. The color options for the body are four - black, gold, white and brown. To gain access to the QWERTY keyboard, it is necessary to push the left lower part of the case to the side. The number of keys in this case is 38.

Some users complain that some letters are put into an additional set of characters (for example, in the Russian version, for the set of letters "B", "Y", "I" and "X", it is necessary to press an additional "Shift" key, and "b" "Is generally displayed in symbols, and it can be typed only using a special menu). But again, all these problems arise at the initial stage of using the smartphone. Then the user gets used to it all, and there are no complaints about such ergonomics in the future.

CPU

How can I describe the processor in the Nokia N97 Mini? The characteristic of this chip is really not impressive. It included only one computational module based on the ARM 11 architecture. At the same time, its clock frequency was only 369 MHz. As for the manufacturing company, Finnish marketers preferred to remain silent. Therefore, one can only guess whose semiconductor crystal was used in this gadget.

Now budget smartphones are based on 2 nuclear models of central processors that can accelerate to 1 GHz. On more advanced models in this case and speech can not be. On the other hand, the system software was an operating system such as Symbian. It is less demanding on the hardware resources of the gadget. As a result, serious problems with the smoothness and stability of the communicator were not noticed. An exception in this plan is only a periodic load on the initial modifications of the system software. But this problem was solved by updating the system program, and this in the future will be considered in detail.

Memory and its number

In this device only 128 MB of RAM. At the same time, about 70 MB are available for running user applications. Now these figures look ridiculous, but in 2010 on the OS "Symbian" it allowed to launch up to 10 applications. Also, the owners of this smartphone could download any of the complexity of the Internet page. The capacity of the built-in drive in the Nokia N97 Mini is 8Gb. The capacity of the system drive "C:" is increased to 256 MB. There is also a slot for installing external memory cards. This device allows you to install such drives with a maximum capacity of 32 GB. Even by today's standards, the memory subsystem of such a device can be called acceptable. Well, in 2010, from this position, the gadget was one of the best.

Display

3.2 inches - this is the screen diagonal in the Nokia N97 Mini. Overview of its technical specifications to date is not impressive, but in 2010, at the time of the device on the market, it was one of the best parameters. The screen resolution is 360x640. The pixel density in this case was 229 ppi. Such a combination of diagonal and resolution ensured a good quality of the output image. The display matrix was manufactured using the obsolete technology of "TFT".

As a result, the picture on the screen was distorted when it deviated from the right angle. Another important nuance is that the smartphone used a resistive sensor, and this imposed certain limitations, which are not present on modern devices with a capacitive sensor.

Cameras

A fairly good basic camera was used in the Nokia N97 Mini. Characteristic Its technical parameters now, of course, is not impressive, but in 2010 it had virtually no competitors. It was based on a sensitive element of 5 Mp. Autofocus was also implemented, and there was a double LED backlight. At the program level, there were many modes that allowed you to get an excellent photo in almost any situation. But with the recording of video clips, the situation was much worse. The maximum resolution in this case was 640x480 with a refresh rate of 30 times per second. Against the background of the capabilities of the current gadgets, these parameters are really not impressive. But at the time of the device's release, the user did not have to count on something more. There is also in the smartphone and a front camera, the possibilities of which are just enough to make video calls.

Battery and autonomy

Quite good things were with the autonomy of the Nokia N97 Mini. The BL-4D battery had a nominal capacity of 1200 mAh. At an average load, a smartphone on one charge could last 1.5-2 days. When listening to music, this value was reduced to 28 hours. Well, in the mode of continuous communication in mobile networks of the 2nd generation, this communicator could last 6-8 hours. If you turn off the data transfer and use the device at a minimum, then one battery charge should be enough for 4 days. The output current in the charger is 500 mA. As a result, it took about two and a half hours to fully charge the battery.

System software

As the operating system in this case, stands "Symbian". Its version is 9.4. The second name of this product is S60 5 Edition. Six years ago, this platform was actively developed, and the amount of software for her complaints did not cause. But now it has become a problem. The Finnish manufacturer gave up its achievements, which ultimately led to the sad consequences: the mobile unit of Nokia changed owners. Therefore, many are forced to put another system software on the Nokia N97 Mini.

The Android firmware for this gadget has been around for more than a day. But here to put it yourself with the help of special software is problematic. But this will be written separately later in the text.

Application software

Not bad initially was the case with the application software from Nokia N97 Mini. The programs were for almost all occasions. Initially, in addition to the built-in OS programs, the navigation device Nokia Here was also installed on the device, which without problems allowed to lay the necessary route and determine the location of the device. And the navigation could be carried out both with the help of the GPS system (satellites were used) and A-GPS (in this case mobile towers were used).

The firmware for Nokia N97 Mini has been supplemented with integrated music and video players. And on the sound quality, this model was in no way inferior specifically designed for this purpose, "Nokia 5800". It also had a special chip integrated for this. At the time of issue there was no software with the Symbian platform, but now it is no longer supported. Therefore, the owners of this smartphone to increase the functionality of the gadget have to reflash it with the replacement of the system software on "Android."

Firmware update

Concerning the software of this device, the question arose frequently among owners of Nokia N97 Mini: "How to flash this communicator with the updated operating system?". To solve it, you need to do the following:

• Download all available updates from the official website of the manufacturer on your computer.
• We install the program PC Suite from the CD that came with the smartphone. Then update it to the latest available version.
• We launch PC Suite and connect the smartphone to the computer with the help of a complete interface cable.
• Using the software menu, we establish a connection between the PC and the communicator and load the operating system updates. In this case, the mobile phone can reboot several times.

Some more advanced software update specialists use specialized software packages (for example, "Phoenix"). But for a novice user, this step is not entirely justified: many nuances must be taken into account. Also, incorrect installation of the updated system software may cause the device to completely stop running. Therefore, it is not recommended to use special programs for upgrading the "H97 mini" to novice users.

On the other hand, it is the use of such packages that allows you to install the most popular OS "Android" on this smartphone and use a lot of applied software of this platform. But official such firmware does not exist, but there are only the workings of third-party specialists. This operation can only be performed by a well-trained advanced user. Well, another important point: all possible in the future problems with the work of the device lie entirely on the shoulders of the owner, and no one else will be responsible for this.

Interfaces

The wired interface in this device is two. One of them is used to output and receive audio information - it's an audio port. A stereo headset or speakers can be connected to it. The second port is micro-USB. It allows you to connect your device to your computer. The second function is charging the battery.

A set of wireless methods of information transfer in this case is as follows:

• One SIM card slot, which can work in GSM or 3G networks. In the latter case, the transmission speed can reach 3.6 Mbps.
• The transmitter is Wi-Fi, which can only work in the 802.11 b / g standards. Fortunately, all wireless systems are backwards compatible, and connectivity problems should not occur exactly.
• Also in the device is Bluetooth, which is simply indispensable for direct transfer to a similar device of small files.

Price of the device

The mobile phone Nokia N97 Mini was rated by the manufacturer at the start of sales of 450 euros. Flagship model without the prefix "mini" cost 550 euros. These prices clearly indicate that they were premium devices. In this case, changes made to the later model, made her purchase more preferable. Now for such money it is possible to get smart phones of an average level with quite good technical specifications. But at that time these devices from "Nokia" competed with the first model of "iPhone" and representatives of the platform "Android".

With great confidence it can be noted that if the prices for these smartphones were lower, and the work done by the Finnish engineers on the "H97 Mini" was continued, it was Nokia that would now occupy the leading position in the segment of mobile devices with its OS "Symbian" ". But this did not happen, and the legendary Finnish manufacturer switched to the Windows operating system, which ultimately led to the complete disappearance of these branded devices.

Reviews

Users note that this communicator does not have any special shortcomings. Certain complaints were caused only by a mechanical keyboard. But after several months of active use of the device, this problem went away by itself. Well, high cost was justified by the really phenomenal quality of this smartphone.

But the pros of this Finnish development users note much more. The key one is excellent technical characteristics, which even now allow you to install third-party system software on the Nokia N97 Mini. The Android firmware allows you to breathe a second life into this communicator. But this operation is recommended to be entrusted to specialists. An unprepared user in this case can contribute to a complete breakdown of the device by the software part. In the rest, this smartphone will serve its owner for more than a year.

Results

Excellent from the position of technical parameters turned out Mini N97 Nokia. It really does not have weaknesses, and hardware even now allows you to solve most everyday tasks. If we add to this a reasonable pricing policy, then this smartphone could well become a hit of sales at that time. But this did not happen, and the high price of this legendary Finnish gadget led to the fact that the mobile unit of the manufacturer was sold to Microsoft, and all the leading positions were lost.