Video: Nokia N97 Dummy – have we overlooked the form factor?

Twin-headed N97 monster (using two gorillapods, standard and SLR version)

Today I picked up a little package sent from Hong Kong. It was a couple of Fake dummy N97; one black one white. Why? Well, I wanted the N97 so badly, this was the only of getting little fix without spending too much on actual N97 clones. This is really a toy version – not even the dummy you will soon find in shops as it’s basically just a shell of the N97 – the buttons don’t move, neither do the unlock switch/volume/shutter/menu.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbfXnvQaPNg]

(Fake/dummy N97 unboxing – check out the 5800 homescreen! haha)

What does work is the slide. Even though it’s a fake dummy phone, playing with it made me realise how I had actually forgot and overlooked how well implemented the QWERTY keyboard and slide are, and how useful this entire combination would be for me as an end user.

The dimensions are identical to a real N97, and side by side, it’s not much bigger than the N82, but then has a 3.5″ touch screen and a whopping great keyboard.  It’s so frikkin practical! No need for an onscreen keyboard to use up all the screen space; if I have to type a relatively long text message, I can see it all in its entirety. But if I need to text one handed, for what ever reason, T9 in portrait mode works well too, as shown in the 5800. It’s nice to have both options.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qz06N_OIfKI]

(this one does seem to be on fast forward, but you get the gist)

While it’s not setting new bars on the imaging front, Nokia have hit the balance extremely well with the list features on this phone (just make sure the price is reasonable!). Although not exactly the traditional or expected flagship, with the focus on user experience, particularly with Ovi, it could just be a recipe for commercial success.

Tags: 5th Edition, DT-22, dummy, Fake, Gorillapod, Imitation, Joby, Keyboard, N82, N97, Nokia, Nokia N97, QWERTY, S60, S60 5TH EDITION, Symbian, Tripod, Video

Category: 5th Edition, Nokia, Nseries, S60, Symbian