Finally I got done with the N97 Mini review , there is so much to talk about the phone that a quick review wouldn’t have done he justice to this piece of fine craftsmanship  . As I opened the box  ,  I fell in love with the color , the Garnet /  Copper color is immaculate , it gives the phone a sober outlook with a fun side , you can carry it to your office and to the day out with the kids , the color fits every occasion . Could this be the new black in phone , I don’t know , Nokia changed the color norms on the phone by introducing Grey Steel on E71 , a multitude of colors on E75 , E72 and even the Mica Brown color on E90 so the ‘Garnet’ color on the N97 Mini could again be used on other phones.

On material side , Nokia didn’t slouched , for a phone to act as the mini version of a ‘flagship’ it had to show it’s worth and with abundance of metal such as Garnet Matt coated Stainless Steel to Copper Alloy hinges and ofcourse high quality plastics , the phone gives a feeling of substance in the hand .

On Functionality as I called the E72 , a N Series in E Clothing , Nokia N97 Mini is made by the N Series team with users of E series as their target . The smooth flow of screen to unravel the keyboard which in itself is a marvel of technology .  The key presses are just perfect , those missing the D-Pad , there is always the cursor key pad at the bottom , thus everything is made just perfect whether the keyboard is used to fireoff a tweet on Gravity or writing a whole  business proposal while on the subway with the option to show it up on the larger screen with TV-Out capabilities of Nokia N97 Mini .   

I also had access to a N97 ( Courtesy Nokia Pakistan ) and a Nokia 5800 XM ( Still trying to sell it to my mom for the N95 8GB )  with the size and weight Nokia N97 Mini feels more like a 5800 XM but with the on screen widgets and slide out keyboard it proves itself as a worthy sibling of Nokia N97 .

Although the screen of Nokia N97 Mini is small as compared to Nokia N97 ,  3.2 inches vs 3.5 inches , none the less with the same pixel screen , the screen is much more sharp however Nokia put standard TFT on N97 Mini while Nokia N97 had the translefective TFT making it easier to use in sunlight

When keeping Nokia N97 and Nokia N97 Mini side by side ,  the Mini does looks like the miniature version of N97 with almost the same front layout ,at the bottom are touch sensitive call send and end keys , Diagonal Menu key made of mesh like material as in Nokia N86 8MP not the solid chrome like in N97 .

The screen although smaller in size has the same widget set as in N97 giving both the same familiar user interface of Symbian S60 v5 

On the top of the phone display are the proximity sensor ( to turn off the screen while you hold it against your ear ) Secondary Camera for Video Calling and Ambient Light sensor to adjust the screen brightness according to the surrounding light.  

Unlike N97 which had a metallic NOKIA ‘badge’  on the side   the N97 Mini has NOKIA printed on in the portrait mode right beneath the phone speaker .  This causes a little problem , for N97 it was easy to see from where to slide out the keyboard determining from the location of badge , while in a N97 mini , for a newbie it takes some time to get used too as the phone can be pushed from the hinged side. Took me 24 hrs to get used to it    

The side panels options are same as Nokia N97 with the right side having the screen lock key , micro USB sync charging and Sync port and stereo speakers on the edges . The small visible ridge three quarter way up from bottom is is to open the battery cover.

On the left  side are the Camera Key and Volume Keys . same as in N97 and 5800 Xpress Music

On the bottom of N97 Mini is devoid of anything except the charm /  strap connector

The top has the Power Key and 3.5 inch AV connector to be used both for sound and TV Out.

It’s the back which differentiates the N97 Mini from it’s elder sibling the N97 .

At the back , and what a back the Mini has , unlike the N97 which had a full matt coated plastic back which is to be fully removed to get access to the battery and SIM Card , the N97 MINI’s back  has both sides of premium Granite color premium plastic while the center is the Stainless Steel cover for access to battery compartment ,  SIM Card and MicroSD card .  Also the N97 Mini features the same 5 MP Carl Zeiss camera as on N97 , unlike the N97 , N97 Mini has no lens cover to protect the lens which is left out in the open.   I guess after the problems with the   N97 lens cover scratching the lens , Nokia wants us to be responsible for our own scratches on lens.

Opening the battery cover is fairly simple just pull from the ridge on the side and it comes off.

The battery cover is made of stainless steel and has a small foam strip attached to it to hold the battery firmly in place.

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The main design flaw for N97 mini is inside the battery cover .  In N97 to insert the SIM card , there was a SIM tray which is pulled out and inserted back while N97 mini uses the same concept , in it the SIM tray is a SIM Holder which is a separate piece which has to be removed from the body , SIM Card is inserted at the bottom and then it’s inserted into the phone , the pics below will explain it better  and the video will show you how to do it

The N97 Mini just like the N97 uses the same hinge design on which the Nokia promotional Video Blood Sweat and Tears was made ,  I think it was a good carry forward  , as the hinges does work smoothly and made of Cooper Alloy ( You can see Cu Alloy written on the inside of hinge ) it’s much durable .  The screen gets signal from the same thin transistor film visible when the screen is pushed out . 

The keyboard keys are almost the same as that on N97 sans the D-Pad instead of which N97  Mini now has directional keypad beside the spacebar .  The keys are positioned the same as N97 with Z key coming right below A key .

Upon opening the keyboard , the N97 Mini sits at a flatter angle than the N97 , some may like it as it’s handy when typing while on the move but for some who use it on the desk , it could be cumbersome . For me I liked the rather slant screen

Another design flaw is on the back of the screen where there is a hole supporting the back hinge through which you can see the screen light filtering out , why Nokia didn’t covered it  I have no clue but one thing is for sure it will let dust enter the back of the screen

Overall it’s a beautiful phone with  a much better build than N97’s plastic body , the ,metals and alloy complement the phone and even the color is something different from the norm .  There were no hangups , no out of memory errors the whole time I used ( read abuse ) it .  Not for once it let me down , the camera although needs some improvement ( was not at par as on N97 )  the picture were nice , the screen was responsive ,  the widget screen wisely used to enhance productivity ,  the keyboard was great ( didn’t test the onscreen keyboard) .  I recommend it to everyone looking for a Entertainment centric phone suitable for business .  

If I’ve left out something or you want to know more about the Nokia N97 Mini do leave me message and I’ll get back to you

Nokia Singapore has teamed up with fashion design house RAOUL to create limited edition Nokia N97 RAOUL Edition phones for Singapore $1138 only.

For the fashionistas the limited edition phone will come in a Leather Wrapped RAOUL Box containing

Limited Edition Nokia N97 -  with RAOUL Signature strips at the back 

Calf Skin Leather Pouch

Matching Leather Dangler

The phone will also has builtin FASHION ASIA widget

In addition to the phone you;ll also get RAOUL GOLD Membership with Singapore $ 50 Credit ,

If ordered before 29th Oct , you’ll also get an additional RAOUL S$50 voucher along with S$50 Nokia voucher . 

4 RAOUL Stores and 10 Nokia Singapore Stores are participating in the promotion and phones can be collected on 31st October.( may change )

For preordering a S$100 advance is also required

so after all rebate vouchers the phone will less than S$1000.

I think Nokia has made the right move , with the N97 fiasco , Nokia does need limited editions and other promotional themes to market the followup the N97 Mini .

If successful , Nokia could use the same promotional strategy in other territories especially China where  people always want something unique .