Design of N97

Design

The first time I saw Nokia N97 I remembered some of the first HTC's Pocket PCs, launched back in 2006. Of course, the proportions should be kept to a minimum, but still I had a strong feeling of deja vu. First thing that comes to my mind is "heavy" and, yes, I'm talking about weight. Of course, the full QWERTY keyboard takes its toll on the weight of the smarpthone (150g, including battery), but that only strengthens my feeling of deja vu. On the other hand, I was pleasantly surprised to see the new sliding mechanism that N97 features. I'm not sure how resilient that is, as I could only test the phone for two week, but it does feel unusually cool.


As soon as you slide it, the screen turns almost perpendicular on the keyboard, which makes it very easy to read, just like a book. There aren't many external keys around the phone, only the usual stuff that every decent Nokia handset features. Most of the front part is seized by the impressive 3.5-inch touchscreen. Above the display, to the left, there's a secondary videocall camera, which can also be used to take low resolution snapshots. To the right, there's a light ambient sensor and a proximity sensor, detecting when you put your phone to your ear and it shuts off the screen. This one works flawlessly as long as you keep the gadget stuck to your ear.


Below the screen, there's a special metallic key, placed diagonally, that opens the main menu of the phone. There are also the usual Accept and Reject call keys, both looking and functioning like touch keys. On the left side of the device, there is a small microUSB port that can also be used to charge the phone, besides the synchronizing function. The right side features a dual-volume key and a dedicated camera key. The power on/off button has been placed on the top side together with the 3.5mm jack port. The 5-megapixel camera on the back of the device is protected by a plastic lid, which can be slid up or down to open the camera interface.