The Nokia N97 was this summer’s blockbuster handset, the cool form factor, touchscreen display and Ovi App Store integration set many pulses racing in the sunshine.
However, not everyone thought the N97 was cute enough to fit in the pocket on a daily basis, evoking memories of slightly bulky Nokia ‘Communicator’ devices that business folk did their spreadsheets with in the back of their chauffeur-driven towncars.
Well, the Finnish manufacturer has listened, and brought out a phone that trims the size and the price of the N97, but takes a little bit off the specs too – the (imaginatively titled) Nokia N97 Mini.
Lighter in weight and in features, the N97 Mini is down to a svelte 138g from the 150g original, lowers the memory available to 8GB from a massive 32GB (still able to be supplemented with a microSD card), and the screen is a shade smaller at 3.2″. The usual great features remain in terms of connectivity, with Wi-Fi, 3G HSDPA, a 3.5mm socket and the active widgets homepage making a reappearance.
The form factor remains the same, so the sliding QWERTY keyboard is still present and correct, as is the 5 megapixel Carl Zeiss camera, albeit without a lens cover. So if you are looking for a sawn-off multimedia powerhouse, you can do little wrong by opting for the N97 Mini. The space saved by shaving off some centimetres here and there definitely makes the N97 Mini look a little more attractive the second time around, despite losing a bit ‘upstairs’.
There has not been any word of a Nokia N97 Mini release date other then Q4 2009, but there is word that this will have a knock-on effect on the price of existing Nokia N97 deals…