I apologize in advance for the long-winded nature of this post, but my excitement bled through my fingers when I was authoring this article. Over the past two weeks, I’ve been given a great opportunity - to trial one of Nokia’s premier devices: The Nokia N97.
On Monday, October 5th, I received a package from a DHL courier. Wrapped inside a tastefully minimalistic black box was a beautiful white Nokia N97 - a device that I’ve been extremely anxious to receive, just waiting to get my hands on since it’s debut earlier this year. The good people over at WomWorld.com (the sponsor) were kind enough to send the white version without me even having to ask – it was the model that truly interested me.
Upon first glance, I found that it was smaller than I had anticipated, thicker sure… but definitely less wide than my current device (an iPhone 3G).
I quickly popped in my sim card and turned the device on. The anticipation was almost at rupturing point now as I waited for the device to power on.
I was immediately presented with a clean, concise home screen; one that I was able to customize quickly with a few apps and a wallpaper of my choice (already this beat the customizability of my iPhone which doesn’t allow you to do more than add or reorder apps). Already I was sure that this device was meant as an alternative to a business-centric smart phone. Even though there are plenty of apps initially installed that help with productivity, the nod towards media was certainly stronger – which is certainly welcome indeed to a fashion blogger!
The 32GB internal memory is enough for a LOT of songs – even more enjoyable with the included wired remote and headphones, with which I could change songs, control the volume and even answer a call. That’s certainly a lot of function for a fashionista constantly connected to their phone! Much to my dismay, I wasn’t able to get my stereo Bluetooth headset to work with the N97 (I traded wired headsets in for music and calls on my stereo Bluetooth Altec Lansing Back Beat 903’s months ago). Music on the device was steady, loud and crisp (both through the headset and multiple speakers on the base of the device). Just think of the fun you could have in-between runway shows or at a meeting, listening to music and answering emails ALL whilst browsing the internet.
Another welcome feature was the ability to run several apps at the same time – a feature that is unfortunately, and inappropriately missing from the iPhone. I could run my twitter client, Gravity, while having my browser open and an email draft running in the background.
The five-megapixel camera took awesome shots… ones that I would usually think were from my old point and shoot rather than a phone’s camera. If I were ever at a moment without my bulkier 12-megapixel camera, shots from this would certainly suffice (for blog or otherwise). You might get a world of perspective of the quality of the pictures from Bryanboy’s blog. He’s been using the device for the past several months and has posted to his blog a range of shots from the N97’s camera.
So, the million-dollar question. Is this phone perfect for a fashion blogger, and if so, would you buy one?
For a blogger? No. It doesn’t have the rich abilities that an iPhone does with Wordpress (my personal choice) or with Typepad.
However, this phone is perfect. Literally… It seemed better at times than my iPhone (the fact that 3G on my regular iPhone sim on the N97 was faster than on my iPhone was slightly bewildering). For a fashion blogger it may not be so simple. The fact that I could enrich the phone with media and connectivity was awesome. I felt as though I had all my social networking relationships just a click away. But at the same time, the apps seem slightly more sophisticated on the iPhone (as does the media player) and the fact that I could do everything I could on the N97 that I can do on my iPhone is a kick in the bucket.
So, would I buy one? Definitely. I’ve been known to carry around more than one cell at the same time and this device seems like a worthy companion… the keyboard is AWESOME and I wish that it were present on my iPhone. The camera is powerful and well placed. The customizability is well thought out.
I’m dreading, dreading, sending this phone back because it’s the end of my trial, especially because the device in the states is about seven-hundred-dollars. But who cares, right? Fashion isn’t always about the bargain.
Images Property: After-a-Fashion.com
Device Trial Courtesy: WomWorld.com
