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Wow I just said “Giant” and “Mini” in the same sentence.
But awkward Titles aside, we’ve had the Nokia N97 Mini for about a month now here at ZCJ.
Is it worth it ? Is it better than the Original N97 ? Why bother buying it ?
Read on for our review.
When the Nokia N97 Mini was announced, admittedly the first reaction we had was general confusion. Why would anyone need ANOTHER N97 variant ? Wasnt the Original N97 buggy enough ? Blah blah blah negativity.
Sadly for the N97 Mini, that’s the atmosphere it was released in. People thought the Original N97 was buggy, suffered low ram and low phone memory problems, and anything associated with it would be just as bad.
But the N97 Mini can honestly be considered a totally different phone, that just happens to look similar to the Original N97. The Build Quality is much better, the Phone Memory’s now at 250Mb, and the Resistive touchscreen has been tweaked to be more responsive. Not to mention it actually shipped with decent, stable firmware. Plus the keyboard’s slightly different too.
To read more on the differences between both devices, do check out our Nokia N97 vs Nokia N97 Mini Comparison Post.
Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, lets check out a couple specs of the Nokia N97 Mini, shall we ?
Here are a couple of the features that the N97 Mini boasts :
Phew. That’s not bad is it ? And that’s just a few. You can read the full list of features on the Nokia N97 Mini Product Page.
The N97 Mini lives up to it’s name by measuring 113 x 52.5 x 14.2 mm and weighs about 138 g. We’ve compared it to the Nokia E72 and Nokia E75 and it’s still a pretty decent size.
That means it’s pretty much a decent size, fits into your pocket easily, and feels great in your hand.
Even in Keyboard-slide-out mode, the N97 Mini feels comfortable, although you’ll have to use both hands to use it properly in this mode.
The Build Quality on the N97 Mini is WAY better than the Original N97. I’d even say, it makes the Original N97 feel a bit cheap. There’s a lot more metal used in the N97 Mini, which is the reason it feels more premium and more solid.
Firmware:
It’s worth nothing, the N97 Mini in this review, is on firmware version 10.0.020 which was the latest at the time of this post. Features might be added or improved in later versions.
First Impressions :
We’d also like to recommend reading our First Impressions of the Nokia N97 Mini, so that you know how or if our opinions changed from then to now.
On with the pictures !
Front View :
Slider Closed :
The Front view is where you can notice the subtle design changes between the N97 Mini and the Original N97.
The Touchscreen is pretty responsive (for a resistive touch device). Its way more sensitive than the Nokia 5800 and Original N97 but still nowhere as good as a capacitive touch device.
The screen is nice and bright. But admittedly, not so great in direct sunlight.
On top of the screen you have “NOKIA” written in bold, and to the left of it “N97“. We also have the sensors and Earpiece.
On the left side, we have the proximity sensor, which shuts off the touch screen when you place the N97 Mini near your ear during a call, so that your ear doesnt try to make any calls of its own.
In the center we have the Earpiece. The Earpiece volume is fine and we’ve had no problems with it at all. Same for Network reception.
On the right side we have the Front Facing VGA camera for Video Calls, etc. You also have a light sensor here, which dims or brightens the keyboard lights, etc to keep it eligible. Both work pretty well, no complaints here.
While at the bottom you have the new slanted menu button (now common with Nseries devices) and the Red and Green Call keys. Worth noting, is that the Calling keys are also touch sensitive.
The Menu button also pulsates in a very not-distracting manner.
The N97 Mini’s Menu button is permeable (unlike the Original N97), so it has light passing through it.
As you can see you can change the “Breathing and Notification Light” options if you wish.
An occasional Pulse just to show that the device is switched on, two pulses every minute for a new Text Message, Email, Missed call, etc. You can set this option up in the Settings Menu.
You can also select which events to be notified for.
We found the notification light to be pretty useful in letting us know the device was switched on (since the screen turns off when not in use), and alerting us to new messages and emails, so we wouldnt suggest turning it off. But hey if it bugs you, you have the option.
Slider Open :
With the Original N97, people were so impressed with the touchscreen, that they were totally blown away when they found out that it slided out to show a full Qwerty keyboard. Same with the Mini.
The N97 Mini also has the “Long Press button to get Symbol” feature that was initially missing on the Original N97.
We found the N97 Mini’s keyboard to be pretty good. No complaints really. Keys are well spaced out and have good feedback to them. Maybe they could have been a little raised at their tips, but nothing really bad about the keyboard.
Now we know what you’re thinking. “But the Spacebar is on the right side of the keyboard!“. Admittedly, using the N97’s keyboard does take some getting used to. Especially if you’re used to another Qwerty device like the E71 or E75 before.
But after a month of using the N97 Mini I can confirm, you’ll definitely get used to the keyboard, and be typing out letters as fast as …well..as fast as you could on a phone’s Qwerty keyboard. You’ll find that the spacebar is actually placed at a very smart location. I cant speak for lefties, but if you’re right handed, your right thumb occupies the space over the spacebar button naturally, and you’ll find yourself getting used to it, really fast.
You can read more about this and Messaging on the N97 Mini, on our Typing on the Nokia N97 Mini post.
It’s also worth mentioning that once you slide out the keyboard, the entire screen of the N97 Mini changes to landscape to suit the orientation of the device.
The Back of the N97 Mini in Slider-open mode has “Nokia N97 Mini” and “Designed in Finland” proudly shown off on the hinge.
As you might have already noticed, in slider open mode, the N97 Mini’s screen also gets nicely propped up at a roughly 30 degree angle for optimal viewing.
Thanks to Nokia’s new formfactor thats used on the device, and the strong alloy hinge that holds the screen up. Other than the hinge, the only real thing connecting the top touchscreen with the Lower keyboard part of the N97 Mini, is the Flexi-cable hidden deep inside.
As you can see in the video above, the “Slider” is very snappy. No wobbles or gaps at all when closed or open.
Unlike the E75, the N97 Mini doesnt allow you to automatically open an application or play a tone when you open or close the Slider.
Back View :
The Back of the N97 Mini contains a Steel Back Panel that locks in sturdy with the back. It’s a bit of a fingerprint magnet, but nothing too bad.
The N97 Mini also has it’s 5 Megapixel Carl Zeiss Camera here with a Dual LED Flash. No camera protector unfortch.
The camera is your standard Nseries spec today (which is a good thing), and we’ve gotten some pretty good results out of it.
The Carl Zeiss lens really helps, and 5 Megapixels will be more than enough for many people. The Dual LED Flash isnt great (though not as good as the one on the N86) and we would have liked to see a Xenon Flash, but it’s not too bad.
For more on this, do check out our Nokia N97 Mini Camera Samples (Images and Video) post.
Underneath the Back Panel, the N97 Mini has a slot for a MicroSD card. Mind you, its not under the battery, so you wont need to switch your device off to use it, and with 8GB of memory onboard, you might not need more. But it’s there anyway, and its in an awkward location.
Also under the back panel, is the 1200 mAh BL-4D Battery. Battery life is pretty okay on the N97 Mini. It wont blow you away, but it will get you through the day. We’ve managed to keep it going just barely about a day with Heavy usage (Screen on Full Brightness, Constant Wifi, GPS, etc), and also seen it stretch to about 28 hours on very light usage. Not too bad, and a bit better than the Original N97. We’d still advice charging it every night though.
Top View :
The top of the device is pretty minimalistic, housing the standard 3.5mm Audio Jack and the Power button.
The 3.5mm jack works with all standard headphones and line in cables, as expected. The N97 Mini also supports Tv-Out via the 3.5mm audio jack, but does not ship with the required cable, unlike Nseries devices before it (and like the N86 and Original N97). Nokia’s idea of lowering costs perhaps.
Bottom View :
Nothing to see here. Shoo !
Left View :
The Left side of the N97 Mini has its stereo speakers at either end. The speakers themselves are pretty loud. They’re a notch below the 5800 and N96 in loudness but definitely louder than the N95, N82 or any Eseries device. About the same as the Original N97.
At the center is the (very appreciated) Sliding Keylock switch, which turns the whole screen of the N97 Mini off to prevent any accidental keypresses, say if the N97 Mini is in your pocket, etc etc.
Towards the left side, there’s the MicroUSB port. This port is used to charge the N97 Mini, as well as to transfer Data to it using the supplied Nokia USB connectivity cable.
Its worth noting that Charging via USB connected to a Computer takes much longer than Charging via the supplied USB Charger that comes with the N97 Mini.
There’s also a nice little tiny white charging light next to the microUSB port. It lights up while the device is charging, and turns off once its completely charged.
Right View :
From left to right, we have the dedicated Camera button, and the Volume increase and decrease keys (which double as Zoom in and out keys in camera mode).
The Camera button has good feedback and we had no problems with it at all. Same for the volume keys.
The Box :
Just like the Original N97, the Nokia N97 Mini box has a completely new design scheme to it, compared to Nokia Devices in the past.
For a more detailed look at what the retail package ships with, please check out our Nokia N97 Mini Unboxing post.
The S60 V5 Touch UI, Menu and HomeScreen :
The N97 Mini uses the S60 V5 OS (also called Symbian^1) that’s seen on newer Nokia Touch devices like the Original N97, 5800, 5530, etc. The Symbian OS is pretty mature (but admittedly looks dated) and has a bunch of standard features like Multitasking, Copy-Paste, etc. However this is an Nseries Iteration of the OS, so there are some extras that you wont see on non-Nseries Touch devices.
One of them is the new Widget-ised Homescreen on Nseries Touch devices.
This is what you’ll probably see when you first boot up your N97 Mini. You can basically turn that^ into this :
For more on this, do check out our post on The Nokia N97 Mini and it’s Widgetised Homescreen.
The N97 Mini uses the new Nokia Ovi Icons, which are pretty nice I guess.
Of course, just like in the E75 (which also uses Ovi Icons), there are instances here where an Icon is actually a folder, and you’d have no idea when you first use the phone. Eventually you do get used to it, but the first couple of times, you might not even know that a particular icon was actually a folder full of other icons. I’m pretty used to it now, having been though a couple devices using the Ovi Icons.
S60 V5 on touch devices, admitted does look a bit dated compared to the other Touch OS’s around. The N97 Mini is a particular case since it has no Theme Effects at all (off by default) save for one effect when you swipe the Homescreen.
Otherwise operations around the Menu are pretty fast. It might take a while to load a folder full of stuff though. For example, the Applications folder, which comes filled with apps, might take a whole second or two to load.
Thankfully, the N97 Mini has Kinetic scrolling so scrolling though that list of applications, or anything, isnt an annoying operation. Just touch and slide to see it move.
Of course there’s still a scrollbar there, incase you want to move to the bottom of the list faster..
But S60 V5 is still a solid OS and has a number of advantages to it, which is why I still prefer it to other Touch Operating systems.
The N97 Mini also has a “Software update” app that alerts you to new updates for apps or software features on your device (if you start the app up and let it check for updates).
Definitely useful.
This is similar to the Firmware-over-the-air (FOTA) feature of the N97 Mini, that allows you to update its firmware to a newer version if present, wireless using WiFi.
Memory :
Ah this is one thing the N97 Mini handles pretty well. Memory. The Original N97 might have had 32Gb of memory and all that, but egads it had virtually no phone memory. Which was a problem.
Thankfully the N97 Mini has about 250Mb of Internal memory to play around with. Lots of legroom, so you dont have to worry about running low on phone memory.
That being said, the N97 Mini has about the same Ram as the Original N97 (about 40mb at startup) which means you cant really have too many applications open at the same time. Not too much Multitasking on this one.
Ovi Store :
The N97 Mini ships with an Ovi Store Client built in, so that you can start using it to download app right from the start.
The Ovi Store works like you’d expect it to. Nothing really new here.
There’s a ton of free and paid content for the N97 Mini, with new content being added almost every week or so. There’s useful apps like the Nokia Photo Browser and Shazaam, to completely useless “fun” random apps like the Spin-the-bottle app or the Duck-call app.
Internet Browsing :
The N97 Mini uses the latest S60 Browser which has several improvements under the hood, is faster, and has an automatic Fullscreen mode that works pretty well.
It isnt mind-blowing but it gets the job done. For more on this, do check out our Web Browsing on the Nokia N97 Mini post.
Contacts :
Contacts on the N97 Mini are pretty much your standard affair. Nothing new here really. Here’s a video to show you more about it :
Calender :
The N97 Mini’s S60 v5 OS uses a version of the Eseries Calendar app thats been optimised for touch. All the usual bells and whistles that you’re used to in the Calendar app in S60v3 are in there.
And of course you can change the default Calendar month view to by week, etc :
Make new entries for Meetings, ToDo lists, etc.
And change the main Calendar options.
Like I said, all the usual Bells and Whistles.
Music :
The Music Player application on the N97 Mini is your standard Nokia S60 affair. Nothing new in the software aspect. There’s even an FM radio, Podcasting Client and Sound Recorder if anyone was wondering. No FM Transmitter or Internet radio though, unfortunately.
For more about this, do check out our post on Music on the Nokia N97 Mini.
The Gallery :
The N97 Mini has a separate Image Gallery called “Photos” and a separate video gallery called “Videos and TV”. About freakkin time ?
The Image Gallery sorts your pictures by Captured (by the N97 Mini’s camera), by Months, Albums, Tags, Downloads and Share Online. Curiously absent is an “All” section. Any Images you transfer to the N97 Mini, or get from other friends via Bluetooth, etc are stored in the “Downloads” section.
The Image Gallery though is pretty much the same as the one on the Original N97 and 5800. Images are shown by their thumbnails, in a grid pattern.
This is okay if you have a few images. But anything over 30 Images can be a headache to scroll through. Also, for some weird reason, videos are also shown in the Photo Gallery, in different sections.
So much for that distinction eh ?
The Videos and Tv app contains exclusively your Videos.
You can see your last viewed Video, or play any videos right from where you left off. Pretty neat.
Email :
The N97 Mini comes with Nokia Messaging pre-installed which is SO much better than the old default S60 Client.
For more on this, do check out our Email on the Nokia N97 Mini post.
Office :
The N97 Mini has a bunch of Office-related applications on board. These are pretty much good enough solutions for a person on the move.
The QuickOffice application onboard is only a Trial though, but lets you view various Office files like Word Documents, PPTS, Excel SpreadSheets, etc.
GPS & Compass :
Like most of Nokia’s latest Nseries, the N97 Mini also has built in GPS, and ships with the Ovi Maps Application to use it.
For more on this, do check out our GPS and Compass on the Nokia N97 Mini post.
Worth mentioning though, is that after that post was made, Nokia made Navigation completely free on Ovi Maps, which is the Navigation App that the N97 Mini uses.
Accelerometer and Sensors :
The N97 Mini has a built in accelerometer, and hence has a couple apps that make use of this feature. One such app is built in, under the settings menu, under “Sensor settings”.
Here you can choose whether to auto-rotate the display from portrait to landscape and vice-versa depending on the phone’s orientation.
You can also choose to flip your phone over to silence an incoming call or alarm.
Profiles :
The N97 Mini has the same basic Profiles app as S60 devices before it, like the N97 and 5800. Thankfully though, the N97 Mini has Timed Profiles too.
Personalizing your Profile and editing it, is basically the same as the 5800.
All sorts of settings and options for Tones and the Haptic feedback vibration levels, etc.
There’s one important little “improvement” in the N97 Mini’s (and on the Original N97) profile list though that I’d like to point out.
Usually when you’d go into profiles and try to select a ringtone, you’d have to wander through waves of songs and ringtones, as the S60 OS would natively list all the music files on your device in a list, instead of separating your ringtones, videotones and Music files.
With that thought in mind, I thought “Gosh navigating through 8 GB of Music and Video files in the profile settings. Darn that would be insane!”.
Luckily though, thats the improvement on the N97 Mini. When you try to select a ringtone from the profiles menu, it takes you to neatly organised folders, through which you can look around for the ringtone or videotone that you wanted.
Much better than searching through a giant list. I hope all S60 V5 and V3 devices get this little “Improvement” in the future.
Conclusion :
Rating: 
Okay so here’s the thing. The N97 Mini is everything the Original N97 should have been, at launch. Barring it’s low-ish ram, it’s really a great piece of hardware.
If you’re wondering which Symbian Touchscreen-with-hardware-Qwerty device to get, we’d definitely recommend the N97 Mini. Dont even think about the Original N97 anymore.
Build quality is pretty great and the device feels premium. The slider’s nice and snappy, the camera’s pretty good too. The touchscreen is good (for a resistive) and the Full Qwerty keyboard’s great to have. Software wise everything’s about what you’d expect from a Symbian S60^5 device. There arnt any flashy transitions, but everything works well and more importantly, is stable. Phone memory isnt a problem now, at about 250Mb. Battery life isnt too bad either.
So what isnt great about the N97 Mini ? Well, there’s still not much ram to play around with. With just 40Mb-ish at launch, you cant really keep too many apps open in the background. It’s definitely not for a “Power User”. Otherwise it’s hard to find much wrong with the N97 Mini really. It’s just a nice little device to have.
So, worth the price ? Definitely. If you’re considering this phone, we wont stop you.
Here’s a video of our Final Verdict on the Nokia N97 Mini :
Remember if you’d like we also have a Full Nokia N97 Mini Review Playlist on our YouTube Channel, and various pictures from our Review on our Flickr Album.
Clinton is currently based in New Delhi, India and is executive editor for UnleashThePhones. He is responsible for all editorial decisions, and covers all forms of Mobile and mobile-related accessories.
Cj is addicted to caffeine, social media, and technology. Always up for a good conversation, you can reach him through the contact form, his website, on Google Plus 
or on Facebook or Twitter: Follow @clintonjeff
great article very informative, makes desiding more a more informed choice thanks Clinton
The Nokia N97 mini is the nice phone and after this phone review I have more aware for this phone great feature like touch screen,Symbian os and many more.Thanks for the nice stuff.
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