i was tempted to get this too but i went for the 3GS..

2 of my cousins just got this phone is hk.. and they are just 16... lol

^I just turned 15 and I've been through a ton of phones, age isn't an issue. Money, and where you get it from, maybe :P

Damn, that keyboard looks crazyy... hate how big the phone is though. White looks really clean ^^

Not a huge fan of the interface, but the thing with all keyboard slider phones is the size, and judging from the OP's response, it might not be a winner in that department? :S

lol if you've used japanese phones you'd be used to it ; especially 903sh : P
but keyboard is the problem here. the navi-pad is on the left.. and theres only 3 rows. which means you have to use the symbol button for everything, and the space bar is puny.

how'd u manage that? got a US CC?? i tried ordering it too but the billing addy was US only and i couldn't call them so got my cousin to order it instead

nope. I called in and told them the billing address was canadian. Nokia itself doesn't handle the billing, it's some third party company.

Well one of the reasons I think why the navipad is on the left is to imitate a game joystick pad as its for the n gage system

rogers getting this phone?

oh shit, maybe next time i guess.. did u just call the 1-888 #? i kept getting a busy signal when i tried so i thought the 888 number didnt apply in canada

OK that's it, I need to jump on this now.

damn, now i will have to wait until they can get Chinese on that N97 then. :(

Response? What response? All he did was post pictures and say the phone is big, but its a good phone for emails
The amount of pictures > amount of text

Right when I saw who the OP was, I knew what to expect..Next time a thread like this is made I should give points just for being a huge fail

I'll quote HongKongG here..

"Hurry up! Fucking hell."

After discount was $4900 HKD?
Was it a cash discount ? Cuz if so a $588 discount is freaking sweet lol

soooooooooooooooooooooooo are we getting a review?

So I "test drove" one today

1st the keyboard isn't as great as blackberry's qwerty or any other qwerty i've used (tytn tytn II, f700, e71) the figgin space is far right so I have to used the right thumb to use space. and the navigation is on the far left... just weird to me as I'm 100% use to navigation (d-pad) on the right.

2nd)
Build quality, is sadly not great. The one I got is from Nokia USA. The slider isn't as bas as original N95's warble, but its about the N95-3 Nam (finland made) versions. It just feels loose and can be shifted side to side. In my Tytn II (this is properly one of the phones I got that is the same style) the hinge is very strong and it feels like it can slide in and out with no problems, in the N97 it just feels cheap, maybe the plastic?

3) interface
reminds me of a lot of the 5800 very usable but damn it why does it lag! Maybe being 1st gen it'll be like the N95. Needs a couple of firmware update before it gets better. But DAMN! It reminds me of my bb Bold. Basically that slight lag every now and then

4) Good stuff
Camera's very nice, LED flash isn't the best but if you want a next gen camera phone get the N86 supposely a lot better cause of the variable F-stop.

Very Crisp screen, super nice.... watching vids very good tho it doesn't support divX out of the box... needs 3rd party software.

Speakers are Beautiful! just like the N95 has real "depth" sound, the 3.5mm jack is real nice. Sound quality is EXCELLENT, if you get some nice headphones. The ones that comes in the box are pretty crappy....

I'll be hopefully test driving mine soon. Probably will take some time to adjust to the qwerty on the n97? I had to on the BB Bold qwerty, coming from normal t9.. and I'm sure full touch qwerty takes time too right.

http://www.n97geeks.com/ Anyone else see the stress tests against the n97? I cringed a little lol. Hope the build quality is fine..

http://thesymbianblog.com/2009/06/25...0021-hits-rda/

New v11.0.021 firmware coming out soon. Should be addressing the lag problems.

sorry guys for late update.. i have 3 meetings and 2 trainings on this phone for the last 2 days. sorry...

i had use the phone for 3 days now, overall i think the phone is bit too heavy and kinda big to put it in your pocket. and touch screen is not that much of the different of the 5800XM. Keyboard.... well, didn't really use that type sms or emails.. maybe is still new, is kinda stiff.. hard to press and not getting to use to it to type on it.

THE BAD:
- SHORT BATTERY LIFE only last for 1 1/2day. ( i had wifi and bt off and screen are the MAX dim)
- CHARGERS. due to nokia and se and other brand are changing all the chargers to micro-usb. i need to get myself a new car chargers for this phone
- the answer and end call button are VERY hard to press. because is heatted sensors. and sometime it doesn't respon when i call.
- Touch screen when answer the call. when incoming call in, is like iphone that you slide to answer. sometimes the phone doesn't respon when u slide.
- rotate screen, if you had put the phone on AUTOMATIC rotation, you will freeze the phone after u keep rotating for like 10 times
- 32GB. this is kinda stupid. but i never found myself have 32GB of things to put in
- Sliders, i had one of my co-workers broke the slider already due to slide it too fast... cause him $1000hkd to repair it .. LOL

THE GOOD:
- New Widget screen, maybe is only for HK versions cause it had all the newspaper widgets and weather and AAstock update instantly
- Stays on 3.5G always ( depends on your service provider ), it is faster to connect the internet than any other nokia's i had use
- FACEBOOK, cause it was pre-loaded, can upload photo as well
- FAST. comparing the speed from 5800XM, the boot up time and web processing are faster then any nokia.
- VERY LOUD, well i can say is depend on the ringtone, but to test build-in ringtone are super loud, especially the alarm.
- OVI store, is kinda like itunes shop and Market on Android. can download FREE or PAID programs. most of them are free.
- USER FRIENDLY. is really straight and forward that how you can go to settings, changing options and connection access point
- WIFI. the old nokia's with wifi always got cut off if you sitting here the router and connection speed are not stable. but for this one, i never get disconnected when i use wifi
- GPS, download google map and nokia map, WITH OUT AGPS, i locaated myself in a city where i never can see the sky ( Downtown Area ) within 30 sec.

that's all i can said about this phone, sorry my bad on english if i did make any mistakes or typo. is worth it for the price that i got $4664 HKD. but if u are going to buy it retail price for 5400hkd. it should think about it. cause the features inside are same as 5800XM but just have extra OVI store and widgets.

Hmm, crappy slider build and short battery life?
No thanks

^ i dont know how you guys consider good battery life, i used mine for facebook and reading newspaper, and like 20 calls a day. around 7 mins per call. 60 sms. and 30 mins of music... and that's it i have to charge it again, and from empty to full.. took me 3 hrs

is that good? i dont know.... my blackberry battery wont even last a day ..

PS: you know which slider i am talking about right? the 3 pieces of plastic and hold the phone up.. he broke the one inside and almost fell the screen on the ground..

To me, the slider feels solid and strong. They keyboard kayout is going to take some time to get used to though.
The build quality feels really nice, no creaks or anything.

The only real gripes i have with it right now is the way you scroll through the menus; its counter intuitive. Rather than the flicking the screen to scroll, you have to "pull" the menu down to scroll. Another thing that bugs me alot is the double tapping in the menus. In order to confirm a selection, you have to tap twice on the icon. Its a PITA.
There should be a SMS widget but there isnt.

u found it fast?
i found it slow....

I find it fast as well, it doesnt seem to hang or lag. Boot time is surprisingly fast compared to S60v3. The transition from portrait to landscape and vice versa is quick too.

lol i kinda forgot this phone had 32gb of memory on it before you mentioned it
i think i might just buy this phone and use it as my mp3 player along with my 8gb micro sd :P

Just out of curiosity..other than the person who bought his phone in HK, where did the rest of you get your phone, or plan to get your phone (N97)? and how much $$$?
Thanks.