Nokia Debuts N97 Touch Screen Mobile Phone Packed With Features

By: Rob Adams
Staff Writer
Published: Dec 3, 2008

The Nokia N97 features a three-and-a-half inch touch screen with slide-out keyboard. The new mobile phone includes a higher resolution of five megapixels. The camera phone runs on the Windows Mobile platform.

Nokia Corp on Tuesday unveiled the new N97 mobile phone. The phone has a large 3.5" touch screen display with a full QWERTY keyboard. It is the first debut of a Nokia touch screen smart phone which comes with a $693 price tag.

The N97 has integrated A-GPS sensors and an electronic compass. The mobile device can automatically update social networking sites with real-time information. For instance, the phone has a "status" indicator that can update and share a location with others including photos and videos.

"This is a world where you will have the power to tailor and personalize your Internet how and when you like, to make your day-to-day life easier and more fulfilling," President and CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said in a statement.

Nokia N97 includes new Ovi services. Ovi is a free service which allows people to synchronize their PCs with their mobile. It also provides access to pre-planned routes and favorite destinations. The phone will also include Nokia Maps in the coming months.

Ovi mail is also interesting as it provides both e-mail and instant messaging. Nokia Messaging will give users access to existing email and instant messaging accounts from Yahoo Mail and Yahoo Messenger, Windows Live Hotmail, Gmail and Google Talk, and AOL Mail.

The device also has a higher resolution display than others. It sports five megapixels and runs on Microsoft Corp's Windows Mobile platform.