I’m not sure if people are still asking this question or not, but I think some may still be undecided given the vast choice in the smartphone market at the moment. We already have the various Windows Mobile (WinMo) smartphones from HTC (for example, the Touch Pro 2), Samsung (well, soon anyway, with the Omnia 2) and Toshiba’s soon-to-be-released TG01, the Symbians with the N97 and soon-to-be-released-God-willing i8910 HD, Android (HTC Magic, Samsung i7500 Galaxy and HTC Hero) and the iPhone3GS. Even without the soon-to-be-released phones, this segment of the market is already rather crowded. And now that we know that the smartphone segment is a very lucrative one indeed, I’m sure manufacturers will be putting in extra effort to win some market share from competitors, and in an uncertain economy, I think pricing makes a big difference. So it’s natural for people to ask whether a price being charged for a phone with so-and-so specifications is worth it, compared to what the competition is offering.
CNET Asia attempts to answer this question about the Nokia N97, and unsurprisingly, they give a typical “consultant’s answer” – it depends. But they do say this:
Unfortunately, the plus points of the N97 are mostly on paper. In actual use, the interface of the S60 5th edition software is dated, inconsistent and pales in comparison to other snazzier touchscreen operating systems out there. To be fair, the S60 software is a very mature and capable operating system. But because of that, the interface is also shackled by legacy issues.
Click here for the full “explanation”.
Being a N97 user and previously a 5800XM user, the UI is not thaaat bad. The only thing inconsistent about it is the single tap in some places and double tap in others. Yes, the UI is old and yes, its not that snazzy compared to the others out there. But its very usable and not that bad at all.
I am ok with the keyboard but this is a very subjective element.
As for the price, well, you can get it for RM22++ nowadays. I bought mine for the price of RM2270 (before deducting my trade-in, etc). The cheapest HTC Touch Pro 2 I found still costs RM3k. You do the maths. AND it runs on windows mobile, which is not for everybody.
At lot of people have been dissing the N97, but a lot of people love it too. I am not exactly in love with the N97 but I am infatuated with it. As in I really really like it. Big touchscreen and a big keyboard. The closest to this kind of screen and keyboard will be the Touch Pro 2 which is, as I mentioned above, too expensive for me.
As for all the other touchscreen phones out there, none of them has a big qwerty keyboard, except maybe the SE Xperia which is an overpriced piece of junk.. LOL! Oh yeah, and the Android G1, but that one is bulky and ugly. The others come with either big touchscreens but no keyboard, or small touchscreens with small keyboards.
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Da Alpha Dog Reply:
August 4th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
@Jack, and that’s why they say one man’s meat is another man’s poison!
And why CNET Asia ended their post with advice to “try out the phone yourself”. BTW, I saw the HTC Touch Pro 2 selling for RM 2,799 RRP, which means you can now get it for a couple hundred RM off as well? 
Yeah,the G1 is ugly. And heavy. And has poor battery life. But it still has a beautiful screen though. And the QWERTY keyboard is not too bad, although nowadays I seem to be using the virtual keyboard more (too used to it now, through extended usage of the iPhone). Xperia? Ptui!
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X1 really that bad? I think overrall the software part is better then htc. What I really dun like is the built of X1. Sux big time! Anyway is outdated toy :p. For N97, yeah the keyboard can be better and the only thing I dun like is I have to press so manytimez to call a friend under pjonebook. Can’t stand it anymore XD. Finally still iPhone rocks! Now I can type faster on my 3GS then my N97. I tot the qwenty keyboard was very very important but after few days of usage. Still 3GS rocks XD now can save bullet. Guess at least no need to buy new toy for three months :p I want new car :p
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Da Alpha Dog Reply:
August 4th, 2009 at 11:55 pm
@KK, wah, give your old phones to me la, I will take very good care of them! Change phone once every few months? New car? New mistress?
And I’m surprised that you can type faster on the 3GS than the N97!
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no la … now have to try to sell them off
no money to buybuy anymore 
yeah i can type quite fast on iphone 
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Da Alpha Dog Reply:
August 5th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
@KK, lelong, lelong!!!
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Maybe the word prediction on the Iphone helps a lot? My wife got an Ipod touch not long ago and I find that without word prediction, I make quite a few mistakes when typing. Maybe I just have clumsy fingers? Haha!
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Da Alpha Dog Reply:
August 5th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
@Jack, I don’t really use the word prediction, nor does the phone correct my spelling most of the time. I’m accurate in my pecking, I think…hahaha…
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