2 weeks with the N97 Mini

So a few weeks ago I realised that my trusty Nokia N95 was on its way out. I love that phone but I had to think about a new one and luckily my dilemma coincided with my 30th birthday so my mother said “pick a phone and I’ll get it for you” (Thanks Mum!).

I have thus far resisted the iphone – not sure why really and its odd seeing as I’m a mac user and a mac fan. I think its touch screen putting me off. Also, I had concerns about the camera – my N95 camera is so good and I take a lot of photos and print a lot of photos so the camera is important to me.

I decided I had 3 options the Nokia N97Mini, the iphone (3G or 4 if it EVER arrives!) or the HTC Desire.

My next move was good ‘ol reliable twitter where I asked if anyone had an experience of these phones or an opinion on which one I should get.

Cue Nokia’s excellent PR machine!

@WOMworldNokia instantly tweeted me offering me a trial of any Nokia phone to help me make up my mind – genius! Did apple tweet me? No HTC? No – but Nokia did, instantly awakening my loyalty to a brand that had served me well in the past and was prepared to work for my loyalty.

Its a very clever scheme – they lend you a phone for 2 weeks and you do their online PR for them! From looking at the WOMworld site I gather they pick people who are active on social media or who blog actively (ok, ok I know I’m more the former!). The agreement I signed with them to borrow the phone stated

“We like loud mouths so post as much as you like – good and bad. Get involved in conversation and have your say based on first-hand experiences. Be sure to let your fellow forum members and blog readers know what you think. WOM World / Nokia always likes to read your posts!

Online conversations that you generate, and are involved in, as part of the programme will help us to better understand the opinions and issues that exist. This insight is pivotal in helping shape future products, initiatives and approaches”

Clever eh?  If you look at the WOMworld site you can see me on their map as one of the trial users…

So what did I think of the phone?

Well I preface this review with a health warning – I’ve been really busy and I didn’t even look at the instruction booklet.  I just charged it, stuck in my sim and off I went!

I’m still not mad about touch screen – I had to bash the N97 Mini screen and I couldn’t see it in the daylight on a sunny day.  I also don’t like the ‘live content’ feature as unless I had it on offline mode it connected to 3G automatically and cost me a fortune.  I had a quick check to see if I could set it to only connect when I’m at my home wifi network but I couldn’t see an option – again, I didn’t read the instructions!

The camera is not great at all – not a patch on the N95 camera. Its about the same quality as an iphone camera.

The OVI maps feature is good – I like that and I don’t have Satnav so its handy.

Texting is a little awkward as you need to flip open the keyboard and often hit other buttons in the process – I sent a few blank texts in the beginning.  On the plus side – there’s no way one could text while driving should one be so inclined to break the law in that manner…

There’s a better charger then on the last generation of Nokia mobiles – more sturdy and less likely to snap off (we’ve been through a few in this house)

I didn’t use any apps – nor did I feel compelled to – they’re not really as much of a feature as they are on iphones.

So in conclusion, the phone was, for want of a better word…meh (functional but nothing special)

But the PR execution was excellent!

I still haven’t made up my mind which phone to get but my loyalty to Nokia as a brand is bolstered by this clever PR scheme.