Frequently Bought Together
Technical Details
- Unlocked quad-band GSM cell phone compatible with 850/900/1800/1900 frequencies and US/International 3G compatibility via 850/900/1900/2100 UMTS/HSDPA plus GPRS/EDGE capabilities
- Smaller version of N97 with 3.2-inch touch-enabled screen and flip-out QWERTY keyboard; GPS with free Ovi Maps navigation; Nokia Navigation Accessory Kit
- 5-megapixel camera/camcorder with Carl Zeiss optics; Wi-Fi networking; Bluetooth stereo music; 8 GB internal memory; expandable via microSD (up to 16 GB)
- Up to 7.17 hours of GSM talk time (4 hours on 3G networks), up to 320 hours (13-plus days) of standby time
- What's in the Box: Handset, Nokia Navigation Accessory Kit (mobile charger, mobile holder, holder easy mount), rechargeable battery, charger, connectivity cable, wired headset, cleaning cloth, quick start guide
Product Details
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Product Description
Amazon.com
Designed for the needs of Internet-savvy mobile phone users who are also conscious of style, the Nokia N97 Mini takes everything that was great about its full-sized N97 predecessor and shrinks its size by almost a half-ounce, and shaves its thin profile by 12 percent. Like it's bigger sibling, the N97 Mini includes a full QWERTY keyboard that flips open at an angle for optimal viewing, as well as a touch-enabled 3.2-inch display for easy navigation through the phone's customizable home screen.
With integrated GPS sensor and the newest edition of Ovi Maps (full version pre-loaded on this phone or available as a free download from nokia.com/maps), you'll enjoy all essential car and pedestrian navigation features, and the ability to use navigation features even when not connected to a cellular network--great for extending battery life and saving on international roaming charges. Features include turn-by-turn voice guidance, over 6,000 3D landmarks in over 200 cities for quick recognition of the landscape around you, access to Lonely Planet travel guides, and detailed maps for over 180 countries (see more details below). You'll also be able to keep moving in the right direction with the integrated electronic compass.
Unlocked Phone
This unlocked cell phone can be used with a GSM network service provider, and it offers quad-band connectivity (850/900/1800/1900 MHz). It does not come with a SIM card, and it requires that you provide a SIM card for usage with your selected service provider. This phone comes with a full manufacturer's warranty.
With the new Ovi Maps for mobile you get for free:
 The N97 Mini's face slides open at an ergonomic angle for easy viewing while typing on the full QWERTY keyboard. |
 Capture high-resolution photos and DVD-quality video using the 5-megapixel digital camera. |
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And the N97 Mini comes with a Nokia Navigation Accessory Kit, which includes a mobile charger and Nokia mobile holder with easy mount that enables you to mount the N97 Mini to your dash or window.
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The N97 Mini includes 8 GB of on-board storage and is expandable via optional microSD memory cards (up to 16 GB in size). It also includes integrated Wi-Fi connectivity (802.11b/g) for accessing open networks at work, home, and on the road from a variety of wireless hotspots. You'll also be able to connect to a wide choice of peripherals--including stereo headphones--using the Bluetooth 2.0 with Enahnced Data Rate (EDR) capabilities.
The 5-megapixel camera offers high-quality Carl Zeiss optics, 16:9 and DVD-quality video capture, and support for services like Share on Ovi for immediate sharing over HSDPA and WLAN. Other features include an easily customizable home screen, access to both personal and corporate e-mail, Quickoffice document viewers, TV-out capability for displaying photos and videos on external televisions, stereo FM radio, USB 2.0 connectivity, and up to 7.17 hours of GSM talk time (4 hours when using 3G networks).
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This unlocked cell phone can be used with a GSM network service provider, and it offers quad-band connectivity (850/900/1800/1900 MHz). It does not come with a SIM card, and it requires that you provide a SIM card for usage with your selected service provider. This phone comes with a full manufacturer's warranty.
Additionally, this phone can be paired with 850/1900 MHz UMTS/HSDPA 3G networks in the United States (as well as 900/2100 MHz 3G networks found around the world, including in Europe and Asia). When paired with a compatible 3G network, you'll enjoy a high-speed connection offering a variety of feature-rich wireless services--from data connectivity to your office to multimedia streaming, and take advantage of simultaneous voice and data services. In areas not served by a 3G network, you'll continue to receive data service via the EDGE network (depending on network compatibility).
Note that the downloading of maps, games, music, and videos, and uploading of images and videos, involves transferring large amounts of data. Your service provider may charge for the data transmission, and the availability of particular services and features may vary by carrier.
Key Features
- Fast 3G connectivity via 850/900/1900/2100 MHz bands (HSDPA)
- Quad-band GSM connectivity for global voice roaming
- Gorgeously colorful 3.2-inch touch-enabled display with 640 x 360-pixel resolution and support for up to 16.7 million colors. The resistive touch screen includes haptic feedback so you know when you've pressed a key or onscreen menu, brightness control, an ambient light detector, and an orientation sensor that effortlessly switches from portrait to landscape viewing.
- Personalize your home screen with widgets that bring live feeds from social networks, news agencies, and weather services. Add bookmarks and contact shortcuts to your home screen so that your favorite Web pages and friends are just a tap away.
- Full QWERTY keyboard flips open from the left side, and the display pivots to up to a 35-degree angle for easier reading of the screen while you're typing.
 See larger image. |
- Integrated GPS receiver with free Ovi Maps enables you to find your route quickly and easily, whether walking or driving. Use the Walk pedestrian navigation to find your way, or the voice-guided Drive navigation to find the best route. (Learn more)
- Built-in compass keeps you pointing in the right direction and the map adapts to point the same way you do
- 5-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics with up to 14x digital zoom, dual LED flash, auto-focus, and Cover Flow viewing of photos with finger motions.
- Capture DVD-quality videos (640 x 480; VGA) in a widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio at 30 frames per second (fps). Other features include MPEG4/3GPP formats, up to a 90-minute clip length, video stabilization, scene settings, and video light.
- Upload your photos and videos to Ovi Share and share them online with friends and family.
- Secondary camera on front for video calls (QCIF resolution)
- 8 GB internal memory
- Memory expansion via microSD card slot with support for optional cards up to 16 GB in size.
- Wi-Fi networking (802.11b/g) for accessing home and corporate networks as well as hotspots while on the go.
- Bluetooth connectivity (version 2.1) includes profiles for communication headset, hands-free car kits, and the A2DP Bluetooth profile--enabling you to wirelessly stream your music to a pair of compatible Bluetooth stereo headphones or speaker dock. If your laptop is Bluetooth enabled, you can connect wirelessly and enjoy dial-up networking (DUN profile); note that additional charges may be applicable.
- SMS and MMS messaging
- View Web pages on the large 16:9 widescreen display (HTML and JavaScript support, Flash Lite 3.0 and Flash video support).
- Organizer tools including calendar, to-do list, notes, clock, converter, and voice recorder
- Airplane mode allows you to listen to music while the cellular connectivity is turned off
- Supports e-mail accounts from more than a thousand ISPs (SMTP, IMAP4, POP3), as well as Gmail, Yahoo! mail, and Hotmail. People who use Microsoft Exchange at work can access their email using the Mail for Exchange mobile email client, which comes pre-loaded (an Exchange email account is required and your Exchange Administrator must have enabled your account for synchronization).
- Document viewer compatible with attachments like Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and PDF files.
- Digital audio player compatible with MP3, WMA, AAC, eAAC, and eAAC+ formats. Control your music with just a touch by adding the media player widget to the home screen.
- Stereo FM radio with RDS capabilities
Vital Statistics
The Nokia N97 Mini weighs 4.87 ounces and measures 4.45 x 2.07 x 0.56 inches. Its 1200 mAh lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 7.17 hours of GSM talk time (4 hours on 3G networks), and up to 320 hours (13+ days) of standby time. It runs on the 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS/EDGE frequencies, plus 850/900/1900/2100 3G networks (HSDPA).
What's in the Box
Nokia N97 Mini handset, Nokia Navigation Accessory Kit (mobile charger DC-6, mobile holder CR-117, holder easy mount HH-20), rechargeable battery (BL-4D), charger (AC-10U), connectivity cable (CA-101), wired headset (AD-54, HS-45), cleaning cloth, quick start guide
Learn More
Free Worldwide Walk and Drive Navigation
Nokia now offers its Ovi Maps Walk and Drive navigation application free across the globe. Drivers receive turn-by-turn voice guidance including lane assistance, traffic information (in 10 countries including the U.S.), and safety camera and speed warnings, while pedestrians will be guided on shortcuts through parks and pedestrian-only zones in over 100 cities across the globe. And unlike other mobile navigation mapping solutions, Ovi Maps works offline--no cellular service is required.
 Driving directions. |
 3D landmarks. |
 Lonely Planet guide. |
 Real-time weather. |
- Maps for over 180 countries and free map updates
- Drive and Walk navigation available in over 70 countries with real-time voice guidance
- My Position enables you to find your current location easier and faster than ever.
- New one box search for quicker access to finding places and addresses.
- Save your favorite places and routes, then synchronize them with your Ovi account over the air.
- Car navigation with voice and visual instructions, lane assistance and speed limit information. Now also with text-to-speech voice guidance.
- Pedestrian navigation with routing through pedestrian zones and shortcuts, pathways through parks and buildings, stairways and plazas. Now with text-to-speech voice guidance.
- Get real-time weather information including a 5-day forecast, for your current or any location found via search.
- Lonely Planet and Michelin offer you dynamic access to the best and most relevant editorial travel content for over 1000 destinations. Find thousands of listings for sights, restaurants, hotels, shops, nightlife, and more. Look these places up on the map and get to them with Walk and Drive navigation.
- Discover the events happening near your location on the map or any place found via search.
- Share your location on Facebook--where you are, what you are up to, and finish with a photo.
No Hidden Costs
The new version of Ovi Maps comes with all the maps and high-end, car grade navigation features you need for free, and is yours to keep for the life of the smartphone. No additional licenses are needed for extra countries, regions, or services like traffic information and city guides. Data charges from network operators may apply.
Voice Guidance and Traffic Information
Turn-by-turn, voice guided navigation comes free for both drivers and pedestrians. For drivers this includes lane assistance, traffic information, safety camera, and speed warnings. For pedestrians, this includes shortcuts through parks and pedestrian-only zones for over 100 cities around the world, as well as 6,000 3D landmarks in over 200 cities to help you find exactly where you are.
Unique Hybrid Technology
Ovi Maps is built on an advanced technology called hybrid vector maps. Vector maps are high quality but less data intensive and allow you to continue to navigate even if you lose your network connection. This means that maps downloaded or updated across a network connection are about half the size of bulky bitmaps used by other mobile map providers. The hybrid technology ensures that, unlike other providers, any downloaded map data is stored on the device for future use.
No Network Connection Required When Navigating
Avoid expensive, battery-draining network connections with Nokia's unique hybrid technology. Maps can be pre-loaded on to your Nokia smartphone so you can set Ovi Maps to offline mode, saving battery power, and the navigation system will still work. This is particularly useful for those worried about data connection costs when travelling abroad, or when you are travelling through areas with little or no network coverage.
Best Global Coverage
You take your mobile with you wherever you go in the world so, as standard, voice guided navigation for both pedestrians and drivers is available for 74 countries in 46 different languages, and there are maps for over 180 countries. This gives you the best maps with the largest global coverage for free.
Product Description
Following in the footsteps of its bigger, older brother, the Nokia N97 mini sports new homescreen widgets and a host of usability improvements. While the N97 mini still packs 8GB of storage, a 3.2-inch touchscreen, and full QWERTY keyboard into its 14.2mm thin frame, it's also the first Nokia device to offer Lifecasting with Ovi--a new partnership with Facebook that enables users to update their Facebook status directly from the device’s homescreen. It doesn't stop there though, as location details can also be updated, enabling a whole new level of social sharing and communication. The N97 mini is based on the same tilt display design of its N97 big brother, but is built into a smaller body complete with new design touches. With the ability to completely customize the homescreen, users will be able to make their N97 mini truly unique. The 3.2-inch touchscreen opens up a new world of software improvements including flick scrolling, and a range of new experiences including new homescreen widgets. What's more, the software updates are available for existing N97 devices. The Nokia N97 mini works seamlessly with Ovi Store where users can add new applications, widgets, ringtones and other content to their device. It also sports Ovi Maps and comes with integrated A-GPS and compass along with with voice navigation for driving or walking. Over 155,000 points of interest are also available through Lonely Planet guides and restaurants through Michelin Guides
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
82 of 85 people found the following review helpful
By lightstream
Amazon Verified Purchase
January 9 2010: I amended the review to add some details about a couple problems I've had with the phone, slowdowns which lead to lockups and twice it suffered a system crash that leads to wiping out the phone's memory. I devoted a lot of the amended review to a hassle I had with Nokia's customer service. I realize that's unfair and irrelevant to the review of the phone, so I removed it.
Although it says I bought the phone from Amazon I actually bought it direct from Nokia. I canceled the Amazon order when I thought they had the wrong color. I'm sorry that happened because buying it from Amazon would have been a better experience. (another edit: since installing the new firmware, any stability issues the phone had seem to have been solved)
My original review:
The quality of the materials and the fit/finish & construction is the first thing I noticed, taking this out of the box. It has nice surfaces everywhere, a shiny steel bezel on the front and highlights around the bottom section, a matte black (brownish) metal finish on the bottom with a steel battery door and camera lens bezel. The battery door latches securely (and easily) unlike any phone I've ever owned. The phone feels heavy in a high quality way. It fits in your hand in a way that makes it feel much thinner than you would expect from the measurements. The flare at the bottom makes it feel more secure in your hand. The raised lens bezel makes it easy to avoid inadvertently using the camera lens as a finger grip.
so many pros...
-- Touchscreen is very responsive and has kinetic scrolling and it's easy to stop the screen without accidentally launching something.
-- Browser is full screen and looks great. (embedded con - I'm not sure I like the controls that pop up for some basic stuff like "back" or bookmarks. I can't find an easy way to backtrack in sites without bringing up the clunky set of controls.)
-- The 3-row back-lit keyboard is easy to see in dim light, and it looks awesome with the gray and orange illumination. The layout works great for me, I'm already comfortable with how it works and find it much nicer than keyboards with 5 rows of keys.
-- 16 x 9 screen has excellent color and brightness, even outside. Perfect format for watching movies full screen.
-- Has native support for Flash and java so Youtubes and flash based websites look like they should. (does not support Flash 10 - hopping for an update)
-- When you open the keyboard the screen tilts into a good viewing angle, either for typing with your thumbs or setting it on a table. Works great for watching videos, you don't have to prop it up on something.
-- Stereo speakers sound great for speaker phone. (edited to add: the speaker quality continues to impress me. They also work good for listening to the FM radio.) Music sounds outstanding through headphones, it sounds like a high-end MP3 player. Music Player has the best sorting, album art, searching, Playlist creating and ID3Tag editing I've ever seen on a phone - wow.
-- Accelerometer is pretty fast and all menus and screens and all but a few third-party apps have a landscape mode. You have to turn it on, it's off by default. The keyboard forces a landscape mode.
-- This is the most customizable phone I've ever had. Nothing is locked in place, put it wherever it works best for you. I've already downloaded about a dozen themes and love how much you can personalize the appearance of the menus and screens, even the icons.
-- The widgitized home screen is of course just as customizable but has another feature I wasn't expecting. You can swipe your finger across it and hide all the widgets so your phone display is just the wallpaper you chose and the clock at the top. Another swipe brings them back.
-- Call quality and signal strength is very good - what you would expect from Nokia. I'm replacing a Samsung Eternity and this phone is a dramatic contrast, it's so much better.
-- All the phone stuff, voice dial, speed dial, endless contact list with all the fields you could ever need, excellent contact list access/search, full MP3 ringtones, etc. It's all there and implemented very well.
-- It comes loaded with apps, all of which can be removed if you want. Email is available in a couple different ways, a pay push system or free mail client in the messaging bundle. POP3 or IMAP.
-- App stores for Symbian S60 are plentiful and there are loads of free apps and themes as well as ones you pay for.
-- GPS is fast to fix on a location and stays locked on very well. Works much better outside than it does indoors.
-- WiFi was easy to set up with MAC address and WPA security on my home system. It seems a bit flakey about staying connected or the phone deciding which network to use for certain apps, GSM or WiFi. I haven't found the way to configure this yet but I'm sure it's in there somewhere. (edited: a call to nokia support took care of this. There is a way to make it ask which connection to use when launching)
-- Headphone jack has video out and hands-free mic & music controller inside the single 3.5mm plug. A nice set of headphones with mic and music controls is included but no video cable.
-- Camera is excellent from what I can tell, haven't tried the video recorder yet.
you get the idea... I really like this phone. It does everything and does it in a mature way, the OS feels like it's no-nonsense, something made for adults.
Now the cons (including a big one - oops nokia!)
-- limited video codec support. No DiVX. Player is from Real Player. I'm looking for a video player app to replace it - any suggestions would be appreciated.
-- photo viewer doesn't recognize folders. This means all your contacts, album art, phone photos and collections of photos are all in one list, not necessarily sorted in the order you would expect. It's a pain to do anything with photos (my old phone worked the same way). ***I see there are third--party apps that seem to address all the issues.*** <-- this is not true. I was thinking the Resco Photo Viewer took care of this problem but it doesn't. I haven't found anything that does. A Nokia update might be able to address this and also make the photo viewer usable.
-- GPS has an indicator to show it's running but it doesn't show if it's connected to any satellites. (edited: some of the GPS apps have a satellite signal strength indicator on the screen, but this doesn't help when multitasking.)
-- some of the menus and built-in apps like the media player have a bland retro look. A bit of skinning would have helped, smaller boxes, less 3-d shading and touches like that. Simpler would have been nicer. Maybe some different fonts.
-- There's a blinking indicator for unread messages that won't stop flashing. I've marked everything I can find as read but it continues blinking. (solved: messages stored on the SIMM card caused this - thx to the comment that pointed this out)
-- The screen is a little stiff to flip up, but it's spring loaded so once it gets going it flies into place. Getting a fingernail under the back part really helps pop it into place. A small indent back there would have helped.
-- USB connector is uncovered (dust) and is placed on the front so it's a bit awkward using it while plugged in - also the connector is mounted upside down which is mildly irritating.
-- not a con but I haven't figured out where the mic is - so I'm not sure if I'm putting my finger over it.
-- Here's the big one... The bottom of the phone has the camera lens bezel on one side and a flare on the other side to make it sit flat on a flat surface. The space in front of the lens bezel is enough to make it tip when you type on that side of the keyboard. [This is only a problem if you type on the keyboard while it's sitting on a flat surface, like a desk. Most people type with their thumbs while holding the phone so for them it wouldn't be an issue. (edited to add this clarification)]
The original N97, the design this phone was based on, has a lens cover in a shroud that extends to the front of the phone. Leaving the lens cover off the mini created the problem. The designers must have not thought it through (or tested their design) but it clearly is a flaw Nokia needs to correct.
This phone is just too cool to give up on so I used a wooden matchstick to steady it and then realized I could just glue it to the case.
I put a photo of my matchstick mod in the user photo gallery. If anyone else comes up with a solution for the tippy case I'd love to see it, I'm hoping to use the mini for at least a few years. (someone in the comments pointed out that using a case with the phone would also solve the problem.)
My wife found another solution for the "foot" problem. She gave me a package of leather dots that quilters use as a thimble, stuck right on the tip of their finger. These things stick to the case really well and you can pull them off of the case without leaving any mess behind. Two of them stacked together make a perfect height for the foot.
Edited - 03-05-10: I added some photos to the gallery. These are to show the ThimblePad foot in place and also the clarity of the Clarivue screen protector. Plus I added a couple of shots that are just sheer affection for the design of this phone.
Edited May 16, 2010: I upgraded to the new firmware recently and my phone is more stable, the UI is faster, memory is optimized better so multitasking never hiccups and my battery life is outstanding. I'm getting three days on a single charge even with fairly heavy usage. Right now I'm at a bit more than 48 hours since I charged and my battery shows 100%. A week ago after going 72 hours the battery still showed 27% when I plugged it in for the night. Read more ›
Although it says I bought the phone from Amazon I actually bought it direct from Nokia. I canceled the Amazon order when I thought they had the wrong color. I'm sorry that happened because buying it from Amazon would have been a better experience. (another edit: since installing the new firmware, any stability issues the phone had seem to have been solved)
My original review:
The quality of the materials and the fit/finish & construction is the first thing I noticed, taking this out of the box. It has nice surfaces everywhere, a shiny steel bezel on the front and highlights around the bottom section, a matte black (brownish) metal finish on the bottom with a steel battery door and camera lens bezel. The battery door latches securely (and easily) unlike any phone I've ever owned. The phone feels heavy in a high quality way. It fits in your hand in a way that makes it feel much thinner than you would expect from the measurements. The flare at the bottom makes it feel more secure in your hand. The raised lens bezel makes it easy to avoid inadvertently using the camera lens as a finger grip.
so many pros...
-- Touchscreen is very responsive and has kinetic scrolling and it's easy to stop the screen without accidentally launching something.
-- Browser is full screen and looks great. (embedded con - I'm not sure I like the controls that pop up for some basic stuff like "back" or bookmarks. I can't find an easy way to backtrack in sites without bringing up the clunky set of controls.)
-- The 3-row back-lit keyboard is easy to see in dim light, and it looks awesome with the gray and orange illumination. The layout works great for me, I'm already comfortable with how it works and find it much nicer than keyboards with 5 rows of keys.
-- 16 x 9 screen has excellent color and brightness, even outside. Perfect format for watching movies full screen.
-- Has native support for Flash and java so Youtubes and flash based websites look like they should. (does not support Flash 10 - hopping for an update)
-- When you open the keyboard the screen tilts into a good viewing angle, either for typing with your thumbs or setting it on a table. Works great for watching videos, you don't have to prop it up on something.
-- Stereo speakers sound great for speaker phone. (edited to add: the speaker quality continues to impress me. They also work good for listening to the FM radio.) Music sounds outstanding through headphones, it sounds like a high-end MP3 player. Music Player has the best sorting, album art, searching, Playlist creating and ID3Tag editing I've ever seen on a phone - wow.
-- Accelerometer is pretty fast and all menus and screens and all but a few third-party apps have a landscape mode. You have to turn it on, it's off by default. The keyboard forces a landscape mode.
-- This is the most customizable phone I've ever had. Nothing is locked in place, put it wherever it works best for you. I've already downloaded about a dozen themes and love how much you can personalize the appearance of the menus and screens, even the icons.
-- The widgitized home screen is of course just as customizable but has another feature I wasn't expecting. You can swipe your finger across it and hide all the widgets so your phone display is just the wallpaper you chose and the clock at the top. Another swipe brings them back.
-- Call quality and signal strength is very good - what you would expect from Nokia. I'm replacing a Samsung Eternity and this phone is a dramatic contrast, it's so much better.
-- All the phone stuff, voice dial, speed dial, endless contact list with all the fields you could ever need, excellent contact list access/search, full MP3 ringtones, etc. It's all there and implemented very well.
-- It comes loaded with apps, all of which can be removed if you want. Email is available in a couple different ways, a pay push system or free mail client in the messaging bundle. POP3 or IMAP.
-- App stores for Symbian S60 are plentiful and there are loads of free apps and themes as well as ones you pay for.
-- GPS is fast to fix on a location and stays locked on very well. Works much better outside than it does indoors.
-- WiFi was easy to set up with MAC address and WPA security on my home system. It seems a bit flakey about staying connected or the phone deciding which network to use for certain apps, GSM or WiFi. I haven't found the way to configure this yet but I'm sure it's in there somewhere. (edited: a call to nokia support took care of this. There is a way to make it ask which connection to use when launching)
-- Headphone jack has video out and hands-free mic & music controller inside the single 3.5mm plug. A nice set of headphones with mic and music controls is included but no video cable.
-- Camera is excellent from what I can tell, haven't tried the video recorder yet.
you get the idea... I really like this phone. It does everything and does it in a mature way, the OS feels like it's no-nonsense, something made for adults.
Now the cons (including a big one - oops nokia!)
-- limited video codec support. No DiVX. Player is from Real Player. I'm looking for a video player app to replace it - any suggestions would be appreciated.
-- photo viewer doesn't recognize folders. This means all your contacts, album art, phone photos and collections of photos are all in one list, not necessarily sorted in the order you would expect. It's a pain to do anything with photos (my old phone worked the same way). ***I see there are third--party apps that seem to address all the issues.*** <-- this is not true. I was thinking the Resco Photo Viewer took care of this problem but it doesn't. I haven't found anything that does. A Nokia update might be able to address this and also make the photo viewer usable.
-- GPS has an indicator to show it's running but it doesn't show if it's connected to any satellites. (edited: some of the GPS apps have a satellite signal strength indicator on the screen, but this doesn't help when multitasking.)
-- some of the menus and built-in apps like the media player have a bland retro look. A bit of skinning would have helped, smaller boxes, less 3-d shading and touches like that. Simpler would have been nicer. Maybe some different fonts.
-- There's a blinking indicator for unread messages that won't stop flashing. I've marked everything I can find as read but it continues blinking. (solved: messages stored on the SIMM card caused this - thx to the comment that pointed this out)
-- The screen is a little stiff to flip up, but it's spring loaded so once it gets going it flies into place. Getting a fingernail under the back part really helps pop it into place. A small indent back there would have helped.
-- USB connector is uncovered (dust) and is placed on the front so it's a bit awkward using it while plugged in - also the connector is mounted upside down which is mildly irritating.
-- not a con but I haven't figured out where the mic is - so I'm not sure if I'm putting my finger over it.
-- Here's the big one... The bottom of the phone has the camera lens bezel on one side and a flare on the other side to make it sit flat on a flat surface. The space in front of the lens bezel is enough to make it tip when you type on that side of the keyboard. [This is only a problem if you type on the keyboard while it's sitting on a flat surface, like a desk. Most people type with their thumbs while holding the phone so for them it wouldn't be an issue. (edited to add this clarification)]
The original N97, the design this phone was based on, has a lens cover in a shroud that extends to the front of the phone. Leaving the lens cover off the mini created the problem. The designers must have not thought it through (or tested their design) but it clearly is a flaw Nokia needs to correct.
This phone is just too cool to give up on so I used a wooden matchstick to steady it and then realized I could just glue it to the case.
I put a photo of my matchstick mod in the user photo gallery. If anyone else comes up with a solution for the tippy case I'd love to see it, I'm hoping to use the mini for at least a few years. (someone in the comments pointed out that using a case with the phone would also solve the problem.)
My wife found another solution for the "foot" problem. She gave me a package of leather dots that quilters use as a thimble, stuck right on the tip of their finger. These things stick to the case really well and you can pull them off of the case without leaving any mess behind. Two of them stacked together make a perfect height for the foot.
Edited - 03-05-10: I added some photos to the gallery. These are to show the ThimblePad foot in place and also the clarity of the Clarivue screen protector. Plus I added a couple of shots that are just sheer affection for the design of this phone.
Edited May 16, 2010: I upgraded to the new firmware recently and my phone is more stable, the UI is faster, memory is optimized better so multitasking never hiccups and my battery life is outstanding. I'm getting three days on a single charge even with fairly heavy usage. Right now I'm at a bit more than 48 hours since I charged and my battery shows 100%. A week ago after going 72 hours the battery still showed 27% when I plugged it in for the night. Read more ›
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful
By R. A. Dumas
Amazon Verified Purchase
I'm a gadget nut, with a particular affinity for Nokia and Symbian, which I find far more robust and user friendly than many of the other options out there. I've used a number of Nokia E-series products, and returned to my E71 again and again - like many people, I think it's one of the best smart phones ever made. Nonetheless, I recently tried the N97 (twice). I returned the first one - it was clearly not ready for prime time. The second time around was better, because the firmware was more evolved; however, the phone was just too big for me, particularly after using the E71.
When the N97 mini became available, I was initially put off by the negative reviews, including those that made it seem like less than the n97, but for about the same cost. I'm glad I ignored those reviews. This is a phenomenal phone, starting with the phone. In my opinion, Nokia is matched only by Blackberry when it comes to signal strength and call quality, and I don't understand why professional reviews just gloss over the phone capability - for me, it's one of the most important features of a phone. The home screen is highly modifiable - something that was a deal killer for me re: iPhone (I don't want to know that I have an email; I want to be able to see the email itself without having to dig down through four menus). The web browser is snappy and excellent. The size is perfect. Build quality far exceeds that of the N97, and is on par with the E71. The touch screen is very responsive - I've read a lot about resistive vs. capacitive; however, I was never comfortable with the iPhone but feel that mini works very well.
If you're on AT&T and are bemoaning the fact that you can't get a decent Android phone, then get this. You'll be happy you did.
All and all, very pleased with the purchase. The only cautionary note is that if you use all of the widgets and leave things on, like greader, facebook, etc., you'll def. run into battery issues. But you would with any phone.
When the N97 mini became available, I was initially put off by the negative reviews, including those that made it seem like less than the n97, but for about the same cost. I'm glad I ignored those reviews. This is a phenomenal phone, starting with the phone. In my opinion, Nokia is matched only by Blackberry when it comes to signal strength and call quality, and I don't understand why professional reviews just gloss over the phone capability - for me, it's one of the most important features of a phone. The home screen is highly modifiable - something that was a deal killer for me re: iPhone (I don't want to know that I have an email; I want to be able to see the email itself without having to dig down through four menus). The web browser is snappy and excellent. The size is perfect. Build quality far exceeds that of the N97, and is on par with the E71. The touch screen is very responsive - I've read a lot about resistive vs. capacitive; however, I was never comfortable with the iPhone but feel that mini works very well.
If you're on AT&T and are bemoaning the fact that you can't get a decent Android phone, then get this. You'll be happy you did.
All and all, very pleased with the purchase. The only cautionary note is that if you use all of the widgets and leave things on, like greader, facebook, etc., you'll def. run into battery issues. But you would with any phone.
31 of 33 people found the following review helpful
By J. York
I have had this phone for a little over a week now and am quite happy with the results so far. Before I begin though, I feel like a few caveats are in order. 1) If you are expecting an Apple iPhone UI experience in terms of simplicity and whistles and bells, you will be disappointed with the OS employed by this smartphone (Symbian S60 5th Edition). 2) You definitely need a data plan to get full use of this phone - preferable through AT&T to take advantage of 3g speed. 3) This phone uses resistive touch screen technology - as such, it is not as sensitive as that used in many commercial touch screen smartphones on the market in the US. If you're coming from that background, you'll find this a little difficult to get used to. That said, if you live in a colder environment, you'll be able to use this phone while wearing gloves.
With that out of the way, here are the impressions I have:
1) This is a well-built phone with nice use of metals and higher quality plastics. It feels great in the hand - solid and compact. There is no creaking whatsoever (you can't even tell straight up that the phone has a keyboard) and the hinge seems durable and well designed - time will tell. On the negative side, I have noticed that there is a little light leak coming from a couple of the keys and the camera key also feels a little stiff.
2) I found the keyboard to be tactile and I was able to adapt to it pretty quickly. There is enough space between the keys to make typing a relatively accurate experience. The space key is slightly offset which may throw some people.
3) The overall feel of the OS is pretty zippy. Coming from a Nokia N95 8gb, I am definitely experiencing a speed increase in menu transitions and application load times.
4) The out-of-the box firmware appears quite stable. I've had the phone for over a week and have not experienced a lock-up yet. My previous phone would crash at least once every couple of days so stability is a key issue for me and this phone (so far) appears to pass muster.
5) The home screen is completely customizable. This is a great feature and gives you virtually one touch access to the things you use the most - be it applications, contacts, music player and a whole range of web widgets (facebook, email, weather)
6) The GPS gets fast locks especially when use the assisted GPS function (allowing the phone to access data from the internet to obtain a quicker GPS fix). The phone also comes preloaded with map data for the US and Canada. For voice navigation you'll need to purchase a license from Nokia. I find their service to be accurate and okay value for money.
7) The camera takes excellent pictures for a phone and is one of the main reasons I bought this phone. I am noticing a slight improvement on the camera module from the N95 even though the specs are virtually the same. I imagine that Nokia have tweaked the camera processing software somewhat. Worth mentioning though is that the quality is never going to be as good as even a rudimentary compact camera - especially in low light conditions. That said, always having a camera on your person for on the fly photography is awesome. It's also great to be able to upload to flickr or facebook upon capturing a photo you want to share.
8) The music player does a nice job and provides rich sound. There is no FM transmitter on this model (unlike the N97 standard) so connecting it to a car stereo will have to be through Bluetooth or wired using the headphone socket (it is a standard 3.5 jack)
9) Connecting to a computer is simple. Nokia provides the OVI suite which helps to sync your calendar, music, photos/videos etc. You can also download new maps and backup your phone data using this software. Unfortunately, you'll need a PC to install it. Using a Mac still allows you to access the phone in mass-memory mode so you can drop down music to the phone manually.
10) Battery life is pretty good. Ultimately of course it depends on how you use the phone as to how long it lasts. If you're using data heavy widgets and GPS, you're battery will become depleted quite quickly. It easily lasts a full day of average use (couple of calls, 10-15 text messages, an hour of music while browsing the internet on Opera Mini, reviewing some emails from my Gmail account and taking 2 or 3 photos)
11) You can get a whole range of 3rd party apps for this phone - free and paid for. I recommend downloading Opera Mini (an alternative browser), Fring, (a VOIP application which allows connection to the Skype network) and Joikuspot (a app that turns your phone into a wireless hotspot and comes installed on this phone). Nokia's own OVI store can be used for downloading apps but I have not had great experiences with this method - I find their app store to be poorly organized and the access point is slow and klunky. There are other stores out there where apps can be downloaded which provide a better experience in my eyes.
12) As it currently stands, you'll likely have to import a case and screen protector for this phone. I'm sure this will change in the coming months.
All in all, this is a great phone - it is extremely versatile and has coped well thus far with all I've thrown at it. It does lack the wow factor of the iPhone or the n900 in the user interface department but if you can get past that and want a functional, aesthetically pleasing smartphone this is a decent option.
*****EDIT: I have used the phone full-time for around a month now and am in a good position to supplement my review with the following comments regarding features that I have discovered/missed in my original review and bugs that I have encountered with the firmware shipped with the device (namely v. 10.2.020).
13. Voice/phone capabilities: It is testament to this phone's many other features that I neglected to mention the overall voice capabilities of the phone. They are pretty much what you come to expect with Nokia devices in general - I have owned 4 models in my life and each one has provided strong voice functionality. General reception on the phone is excellent, voice comes through nice a clear and I've had no complaints from the other end. One related negative point here though that I would like to add is that the speakers on this phone are not quite as impressive as other devices that I have owned. They just seem a lot less powerful and considerably more tinny. As a consequence, I have limited my speakerphone use to quiet areas.
14. I got a nice case for the phone from PDAIR. It is a leather holder of sorts that houses the phone nice and securely. It doesn't add too much bulk to the phone either. I also got a screen protector from the same supplier.
15. Update on the battery use: Again, I am relatively impressed with the longevity of the battery vs. my personal daily use. I do not use any data heavy widgets but I have activated the push email feature of my email client (Profimail). I typically push my regular non-business email so it's not on the go for 12 hours a day but I receive at least 15 emails/day. This has been added to my regular usage as noted above (namely couple of calls, 10-15 text messages, an hour of music while browsing the internet on Opera Mini and taking 2 or 3 photos). I typically have around 4 bars of battery left when I plug it in to charge again overnight. If I have a day when I really intend to use it heavily, I plug it into my computer at work to give it a little extra juice. One thing I have noticed when doing this is that I am unable to access my music through the device (likely due to the computer recognizing access in mass memory mode (where my music is stored) as opposed to just charging the battery). This is a little inconvenient but maybe there is a workaround that I haven't discovered yet.
16. Firmware bugs: First up, don't be put off by the following remarks: None of them are real deal breakers for me and they will likely be cleaned up in the next firmware update. Being an early adopter of devices, you come to accept that there will be some issues and you just hope that they don't impact regular use too much. This is the case here:
a. I noticed that when you are receiving a call and need to activate the screen using the screen release button on the side you sometimes have to flick the switch several times to get the screen to activate. This can be irritating when you need to get the dialer application up when you are using some automated system (i.e. calling your bank etc.)
b. I noticed that on occasion (and the exact situation that inspires this still undetermined) the phone does lock up for a good few minutes before resolving itself. In the past this has happened when I've had a few 3rd part apps open and then tried to access the music player. I resolve this typically by restarting the phone. Ultimately, this may be due to 3rd party app incompatibility or it may be some sort of firmware issue. If anybody has had a similar experience, I'd be interested to know what your conditions were. Again, this hasn't happened many times and in all probability, a 3rd party app was to blame. I also want to add here that I have never the type of lock up where you need to remove the battery.
c. Memory management: If I could change this device in any way, I would have given it 256mb of ROM as opposed to the 128. That said, I have only encountered memory out errors twice and both were due to trying to access the photo gallery. (As a side note, the photo gallery needs to optimized somewhat, it takes a while to load the images etc. and feels sludgy overall. Read more ›
With that out of the way, here are the impressions I have:
1) This is a well-built phone with nice use of metals and higher quality plastics. It feels great in the hand - solid and compact. There is no creaking whatsoever (you can't even tell straight up that the phone has a keyboard) and the hinge seems durable and well designed - time will tell. On the negative side, I have noticed that there is a little light leak coming from a couple of the keys and the camera key also feels a little stiff.
2) I found the keyboard to be tactile and I was able to adapt to it pretty quickly. There is enough space between the keys to make typing a relatively accurate experience. The space key is slightly offset which may throw some people.
3) The overall feel of the OS is pretty zippy. Coming from a Nokia N95 8gb, I am definitely experiencing a speed increase in menu transitions and application load times.
4) The out-of-the box firmware appears quite stable. I've had the phone for over a week and have not experienced a lock-up yet. My previous phone would crash at least once every couple of days so stability is a key issue for me and this phone (so far) appears to pass muster.
5) The home screen is completely customizable. This is a great feature and gives you virtually one touch access to the things you use the most - be it applications, contacts, music player and a whole range of web widgets (facebook, email, weather)
6) The GPS gets fast locks especially when use the assisted GPS function (allowing the phone to access data from the internet to obtain a quicker GPS fix). The phone also comes preloaded with map data for the US and Canada. For voice navigation you'll need to purchase a license from Nokia. I find their service to be accurate and okay value for money.
7) The camera takes excellent pictures for a phone and is one of the main reasons I bought this phone. I am noticing a slight improvement on the camera module from the N95 even though the specs are virtually the same. I imagine that Nokia have tweaked the camera processing software somewhat. Worth mentioning though is that the quality is never going to be as good as even a rudimentary compact camera - especially in low light conditions. That said, always having a camera on your person for on the fly photography is awesome. It's also great to be able to upload to flickr or facebook upon capturing a photo you want to share.
8) The music player does a nice job and provides rich sound. There is no FM transmitter on this model (unlike the N97 standard) so connecting it to a car stereo will have to be through Bluetooth or wired using the headphone socket (it is a standard 3.5 jack)
9) Connecting to a computer is simple. Nokia provides the OVI suite which helps to sync your calendar, music, photos/videos etc. You can also download new maps and backup your phone data using this software. Unfortunately, you'll need a PC to install it. Using a Mac still allows you to access the phone in mass-memory mode so you can drop down music to the phone manually.
10) Battery life is pretty good. Ultimately of course it depends on how you use the phone as to how long it lasts. If you're using data heavy widgets and GPS, you're battery will become depleted quite quickly. It easily lasts a full day of average use (couple of calls, 10-15 text messages, an hour of music while browsing the internet on Opera Mini, reviewing some emails from my Gmail account and taking 2 or 3 photos)
11) You can get a whole range of 3rd party apps for this phone - free and paid for. I recommend downloading Opera Mini (an alternative browser), Fring, (a VOIP application which allows connection to the Skype network) and Joikuspot (a app that turns your phone into a wireless hotspot and comes installed on this phone). Nokia's own OVI store can be used for downloading apps but I have not had great experiences with this method - I find their app store to be poorly organized and the access point is slow and klunky. There are other stores out there where apps can be downloaded which provide a better experience in my eyes.
12) As it currently stands, you'll likely have to import a case and screen protector for this phone. I'm sure this will change in the coming months.
All in all, this is a great phone - it is extremely versatile and has coped well thus far with all I've thrown at it. It does lack the wow factor of the iPhone or the n900 in the user interface department but if you can get past that and want a functional, aesthetically pleasing smartphone this is a decent option.
*****EDIT: I have used the phone full-time for around a month now and am in a good position to supplement my review with the following comments regarding features that I have discovered/missed in my original review and bugs that I have encountered with the firmware shipped with the device (namely v. 10.2.020).
13. Voice/phone capabilities: It is testament to this phone's many other features that I neglected to mention the overall voice capabilities of the phone. They are pretty much what you come to expect with Nokia devices in general - I have owned 4 models in my life and each one has provided strong voice functionality. General reception on the phone is excellent, voice comes through nice a clear and I've had no complaints from the other end. One related negative point here though that I would like to add is that the speakers on this phone are not quite as impressive as other devices that I have owned. They just seem a lot less powerful and considerably more tinny. As a consequence, I have limited my speakerphone use to quiet areas.
14. I got a nice case for the phone from PDAIR. It is a leather holder of sorts that houses the phone nice and securely. It doesn't add too much bulk to the phone either. I also got a screen protector from the same supplier.
15. Update on the battery use: Again, I am relatively impressed with the longevity of the battery vs. my personal daily use. I do not use any data heavy widgets but I have activated the push email feature of my email client (Profimail). I typically push my regular non-business email so it's not on the go for 12 hours a day but I receive at least 15 emails/day. This has been added to my regular usage as noted above (namely couple of calls, 10-15 text messages, an hour of music while browsing the internet on Opera Mini and taking 2 or 3 photos). I typically have around 4 bars of battery left when I plug it in to charge again overnight. If I have a day when I really intend to use it heavily, I plug it into my computer at work to give it a little extra juice. One thing I have noticed when doing this is that I am unable to access my music through the device (likely due to the computer recognizing access in mass memory mode (where my music is stored) as opposed to just charging the battery). This is a little inconvenient but maybe there is a workaround that I haven't discovered yet.
16. Firmware bugs: First up, don't be put off by the following remarks: None of them are real deal breakers for me and they will likely be cleaned up in the next firmware update. Being an early adopter of devices, you come to accept that there will be some issues and you just hope that they don't impact regular use too much. This is the case here:
a. I noticed that when you are receiving a call and need to activate the screen using the screen release button on the side you sometimes have to flick the switch several times to get the screen to activate. This can be irritating when you need to get the dialer application up when you are using some automated system (i.e. calling your bank etc.)
b. I noticed that on occasion (and the exact situation that inspires this still undetermined) the phone does lock up for a good few minutes before resolving itself. In the past this has happened when I've had a few 3rd part apps open and then tried to access the music player. I resolve this typically by restarting the phone. Ultimately, this may be due to 3rd party app incompatibility or it may be some sort of firmware issue. If anybody has had a similar experience, I'd be interested to know what your conditions were. Again, this hasn't happened many times and in all probability, a 3rd party app was to blame. I also want to add here that I have never the type of lock up where you need to remove the battery.
c. Memory management: If I could change this device in any way, I would have given it 256mb of ROM as opposed to the 128. That said, I have only encountered memory out errors twice and both were due to trying to access the photo gallery. (As a side note, the photo gallery needs to optimized somewhat, it takes a while to load the images etc. and feels sludgy overall. Read more ›
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