mobil phone: Nokia N97 vs Nokia N96

02 January 2009 - before the expected deluge of new features in the upcoming trade shows in the first quarter of 2009, let's take a quick look at Nokia N97 December, and compare it to the previous N96 device.

Only the Nokia N97 is a touch screen device. The N97 is about an inch longer than the N96, and is heavier than 25 grams. Other than that, the devices are quite similar, except that the N97 slides open to another level as the keyboard while the N96 simply slips on the same plane as the keyboard.

Both devices are quad-band capable, and work very well on the GSM 850/900/1800/1900 bands. The N97 is also capable of working on WCDMA 900 / 1900 / 2100 bands. Both are HSDPA capable and the N96 also supports UMTS.

The N97 is the larger screen of 3.5 inches with a resolution of 640 x 360 pixels, while the N96 is the smallest 2.8-inch screen rated at 240 x 320 pixels. Both screens are 16 million color TFT screen.


Internals

Both the N96 and N97 are series 60-type Symbian. They both support Java and WAP, and come with built-in browsers.

GPS and Nokia Maps are included in both devices. Of course, we already know that the N97 has an internal capacity of 32 GB while the N96 capped at 16 GB of internal storage, which incidentally is the same as the Apple iPhone 3G.

Both devices are Bluetooth capable, but only the N96 supports infrared. EDGE, 3G and GPRS are supported and both devices are compatible with Wi-Fi 802.11b / g networks.


Camera / Radio

Both the Nokia N97 and N96 come with a camera of 5 megapixels that for all practical purposes, seems to be the same camera except for some differences with the specifications pixels resolution. In other words, the height and width are different only by a fraction, but not enough to change the specification.

Both devices come with flash, night mode and auto focus and both also take video at 30 frames per second.

Drums

The Nokia N97 is expected to have a battery of 1500 mAh while the N96 is specified with a battery of 950 mAh.

Current Price

The N96 is retailed at an estimated price of RM 2500 until the N97 is sold at an estimated selling price of 550 euros (about RM 2,600) before taxes or subsidies.

Significant differences

The Nokia N97 has a bigger screen and more storage than the Nokia N96. Therefore, the larger battery of N97 in May will not lead to longer waiting for it serves to reason that the larger screen consumes more energy than smaller. Of course, there are a variety of other factors, but buyers are advised to not take the ratings of the battery at nominal value.