When we last compared Nokia N97 with the iPhone 3G, the 3GS was unheard off. With just rumors of an iPhone Nano coming up & many shortcomings in the existing iPhone’s standard feature sets, N97 looked like a clear winner. However to spoil Nokia’s fun at the very last moment, Apple pulled out the much expected iPhone 3G upgrade at WWDC 09. The iPhone 3G-Speed (3GS). While the N97 hardware specs are still somewhat superior to the iPhone 3GS, Apple plays a catchup with its iPhone 3.0 OS and its unique UI and multi-touch experience.
Apple now has a cut, copy, paste; MMS, Sms forwarding, Bluetooth AD2P etc in the new iPhone OS 3.0, also borrowing some iPod features like VoiceOver and Shake to change music. Media is one place where the iPhone 3G S is inherently strong with App Store also adds some cool apps and games. However N97 leads with some openness like USB mass storage, standard MicroUSB dock etc.
iPhone 3GS gets a 32GB version that does little to compete with the N97 that offers 32GB internal and 16GB additional memory space via Micro SDHC cards. Moreover the N97 is priced such that a unlocked version of iPhone 3GS 32GB will cost more than the Nokia N 97.
On the Design front the iPhone 3GS sticks to its 3.5″ multi-touch screen and own screen keyboard, where as Nokia goes with a Xperia style sliding QWERTY. N97′ physical keyboard is certainly an edge compared to the on screen iPhone keyboard.
Nokia N97 surprises me with the same GPU as the iPhone 3GS supporting OPENGL ES 2.0! However the N97 is said to be powered by a 434 MHz processor and 128MB ram compared to the rumored 600Mhz 833 Mhz processor on the iPhone 3GS coupled with 256MB ram. Both devices have a 30fps video recording but N97 obviously takes a lead with its 5MP lens and DVD quality (HD 16:9 video recording). Stills would also be of a better resolution. However the clarity that the 2MP iPhone camera provided certainly assures us of good output. Here is a demo image shown by Apple. (Not defending iPhone here, N97 has a better cam!). I’m not too sure if many noticed this; Nokia has a video and photo editor in the N97 already!
N97 also brings the Ovi Store integrated, but the quality of apps are far from what we have seen on the App Store. For some reason the Ovi store has failed to make a buzz as strong as the iTunes App Store. Probably some fart apps or some developer controversies would help Nokia here 
. However given the hardware capabilities of the N97, we should see some good apps. But I doubt if Nokia looks to pitch this as a media / gaming device (or at least it fails to attract that charm); rather its a business smart-phone.
I can see a clear difference in the marketing strategies here. The catch is that Nokia cleverly announced the N97 in late 2008 i.e. full 6 months in advance. Whereas Apple announced the iPhone 3GS just 2 weeks before launch (allowing dozens of rumors, speculations and boiling expectations). Both these approaches have their own benefits but somehow the situation is now such that the N97 and iPhone 3GS go on sale almost together (with the Palm Pre already making a bang). This helps Apple sustain the hype and convert it to sales, whereas for the NokiaN97 sounds like a old model, reviewed / previewed extensively.
Symbian OS vs iPhone OS is a very interesting debate. Many arguments such as ease of software development, stability, swiftness, capabilities (multitasking) etc are raised; the only point I would make is: iPhone OS is certainly much more WWW ready and ahead of its time in web usage. Everything is designed keeping in mind that today people live on the Internet. Clicking a photography and emailing the same to myself is a breeze on the iPhone compared to my E61i which isn’t that Internet ready. Configuring a new email account, emailing pictures, web browsing etc are something that makes the iPhone stand out for an Internet user. Catching up in this regard would be a challenge for the N97. While Nokia is pitching the N97 as a Internet device, I really want to see how well have the structured the Symbian OS to handle these simple tasks. Update: 3GS has been confirmed to have YouTube upload integrated and we believe video editing would also be present and video trimming is also present. Having the functionality is not the point here, but integrating it effectively is the key. iPhone OS scores really well here. Youtube already reports a 400% jump in mobile video uploads – thanks to the new iPhone Video!
The N97 as a individual model appeals more to Nokia’s existing base of communicator fans. The E90 is good but at a little over the price of a E90 you can now grab a N 97 which has a similar full QWERTY keyboard coupled with a touchscreen.
Having used the Nokia N97 keyboard, I need to say this that – NOKIA has SCREWED up big time. Firstly the keyboard layout is not consistent with its previous E90 and 9000 series communicators, its highly frustrating using the keyboard – and getting used to the same would be a real pain. Add to that the small size of the Qwerty, the space could have been used much better. Though I am not a big fan of onscreen keyboards, but Nokia needed to do better here to beat the iPhone onscreen qwerty.
While hardware is matched in the table below the real competition between the two handsets would be the Software stability and performance. Apple obviously takes a lead here with the icing on the cake called the App Store 
.
Where the iPhone 3G S leads N97
- Ram (256MB vs N97’s 128MB)
- Processor (600Mhz vs 434Mhz)
- Multitouch with capacitive touchscreen
- 3G HSDPA speed (7.2Mbps)
- Media (VoiceOver, Shake to change music, iTunes)
- App Store Apps
- Design, Structure / Weight (135gms vs 150gms of N97)
Where N97 wins against iPhone 3GS
- Camera / Video Recording / Flash Light
- Memory (max support)
- Connectivity – MicroSD, MicroUSB, Usb Mass Storage, Bluetooth File Transfer
- FM Radio
- Handwriting Recognition
- Multitasking on Symbian (for the same reason this is a negative aswell (IMO) as background apps make the OS slow)
- Pricing
Even points, not conclusive
- Graphics Chip (PowerVR SGX)
- Digital Compass
- accelerometer and proximity sensor
Specifications Fight – iPhone 3GS vs N97
| Feature | iPhone 3GS | Nokia N97 |
| Network | 2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 3G Network HSDPA 850 / 1900 / 2100 | 2G: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 3G: HSDPA 900 / 1900 / 2100 |
| OS | iPhone OS 3.0 | S60 5th Edition v9.4 |
| Display | TFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors 320 x 480 pixels, 3.5 inches | 3.5 inch TFT, 16:9 Widescreen 640×360 pixels (16 million colours) |
| Camera | 3.15 MP, 2048×1536 pixels, autofocus Video recording | 5 Megapixel – Carl Zeiss with Autofocus Dual LED flash & video light |
| EDGE | yes | Yes – Class 32 |
| Internet Browser | HTML (Safari) | WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML, RSS feeds |
| Messaging | SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email | SMS, MMS, Email, Push Email, IM |
| FM | no | Stereo FM radio with RDS FM transmitter |
| HSDPA Speed | 7.2 Mbps | 3.6Mbps |
| Battery | Standard battery, Li-Ion | 1500 mAh (5-7 hrs talk time) Music playback upto 37 hours Standby over 400 hours |
| Colours | Black, White | White, Brown |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, Bluetooth 2.1 AD2P, Bluetooth P2P games AGPS | WiFi b/g Bluetooth 2.0 AD2P A-GPS |
| Memory | 16GB or 32GB (Internal) | 32GB onboard + MicroSDHC (upto 16GB) Total Capacity: 48GB |
| Weight | 135 g | 150 grams |
| Others |
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iPhone / iPod touch downloads
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Are the rumours about a new iPhone Nano in September true? And is this what it will look like?
http://www.t3.com/news/t3-creates-the-iphone-nano?=38960
still the nokia n97 looks better than iphone 3gs apart from processor but nokia has announced specifications long back is iphone receltly still it is rumored specification so i had decided to go nokia n97 when it is available in india
And of course the icing on the cake is that you can choose whether you want N97 unlocked or subsidized by an operator. That’s a huge plus in my book. Try buying an iPhone completely unlocked (not tied to any operator’s network).
Thnx johan it good advice to me try apple phone in future
Thanks Man. For me N97 is the winner.
I have not heard about this phone as it’s not available for US market, but none the less it’s way better then the Storm or the Pre. You did forget to mention the price. Nokia is twice the price and not twice the phone that the 3gs is. Also 50% of iPhone appeal is in all the apps available. I’ll stick to iPhone.
Well impressed with N97 and bought one. I already used different Nokia mobiles as well as iphone 3g(with os2.0).But not very happy about the performance of N97 over iphone 3G. Iphone is having good touch screen, even its faster than N97 in multimedia application. If u open same size snap in iphone as well as N97 then u will find iphone is faster than n97. Nokia need alots of improvement on touch screen as well as processor/ application speed. And work hard on Application, games development.
iPhone in no way is cheaper than the Nokia n97. The n97 is 600 bucks compared to the iPhone 3GS – $300.00 plus a minimum 2 year contract at 70 bucks a month for TEXTING and INTERNET alone (unlimited) 70 x 24 = $1680.00 on services alone. vs 20-40 dollars on the Nokia… Btw i didn’t include the phone plan with the iphone.
pfffffffffffffffffff iphone really suckssssssss
its obvious that the nokia n97 beats the hell of the iphone
plus , this is the second iphone version (3GS) and still it has a lot of specifications missing infront of the N97 that has only ONE VERSION
so nokia wins the battle
so…. wich one u guys think it
nokia n97 or iphone?
As others said, Nokia N97 steal the show. I had Iphone 3gs and its one of the worst phone I ever used, thank god i returned the iphone back to at&t. Now I got the N97, Its the best except the symbian os otherwise n97 is perfectly 10 out 0f 10 but still i give 9 out 10 to nokia.
A couple of corrections for the benefit of iPhone. The iPhone does have video out in NTSC/PAL – the quality is superb and DVDs converted to iPhone friendly format when output to a large TV look as good as the DVD themselves. Also, the iPhone offers podcasts – people tend to forget the awesome podcasts that are in iPhone friendly format and cannot be viewed by some phones. Also having iTunes on the phone is awesome so you can download podcasts when not connected to your computer.
I like iPhone 3Gs.I think iPhone 3G S leads N97.
I have recently started work for a mobile phone insurance company. I didnt really like the original iPhone as the specs werent that great to me. I had an ipod and a camera already, however the new 3GS iPhone became very appealing where I almost got one when they came out, however were out of stock..
Since working in this insurance company, approx 80% of phone claims are iPhones due to people dropping them by accident (and lets face it, we all have dropped our phone some time or another). As the iPhone screen is made of glass, the smallest of a drop onto a hard surface and the screen cracks and smashes like a windscreen.
So unless you have fantastic reflexes or have insurance to cover your iPhone and are happy to be without a phone while it gets fixed or replaced (if replaced it can take weeks or almost months for replacements due to stock levels) I would opt for the N97. The specs arent much different and as much as I would love the “Shazzam” app. Lets face it, its all a gimmic and at the end of the day, if I can make calls on it, send sms/mms, check my facebook and occasionally use a map app to find my way around, its all I need really.
I’ve got iphone 3gs and my mates got N97
Both good fones
iphone has no flash well not happy
N97 is a brick fone , a bit slow and touch screen is not that good
So they are same shit
I had the iphone 3gs but had dropped it and it’s no longer. So I got a N97, and as you’d expect from Nokia, the build quality on the phone is second to none. I feel like I can drop this thing and its resistive screen won’t shatter the way it did with the iphone. I will say that the iphone is second to none when it comes to ease of user, user experience, and fast performance. The N97 takes a little more getting used to and is a bit slower, but once you get the hang of it it really is a joy to use. I just love the keyboard as well. I’ve never been a big fan of resistive touchscreens (until I dropped my iphone), and while the iphone’s capacitive screen is undoubtedly easier to use, I find the screen on the N97 very responsive and I can’t really complain. Nokia now just really need to ensure that they fix the bugs with the upcoming firmware update in October, then I’ll be completely happy with the N97.
Both are great phones, the N97 does it for me, a tactile keyboard (if you want) a far superior camera importantly a carl zeiss lense and 5MP and a lense with a cover!. Phone voice quality is better to. The iPhone is cool but the practical features of N97 are what really stands out, and lets not forget I/O USB!! over ITunes and day this feature alone for me is a winner. My 2 cents
I really don’t understand why Nokia is compared to iphone? Nokia was suppose to be ahead of this American shit, they were in mobile phone business many years before this guys come to market. I don’t know what happened these nordic people who own this company. You bloody stop eating cheese, go and fight back, i like Nokia….
Well, I have an N97, while my brother has iphone 3G. And my dad just got an iPhone 3GS for my sister 2 days ago, but it’s not been touched so far apart from me. Since my sister isn’t in the country, we are bringing thebphone there when we visit her. I’ve compared the phones, and I think an N97 beats iPhone 3G/3GS anytime. An iPhone is super hard to type. ( I’m experincing it now with my ipod ) and de N97 is more practical phone. So what if it loses some stuff to iPhone? Don’t forget it also wins against iPhone on alot of things too! For me it’s N97!
I think iPhone 3gs is better I use iPhone 3g n changing to 3gs I have tired n97 n 5800 I m only 13so I like gaming n lot of apps to buy n I browse more in iPhone then my laptop lol
N97 is for assholes and poor people…iPhones are for rockers!iPhones win!I have one and its better people who drop it are just irresponsible…and everything is better!Even the website said that Apple wins!
I was joking about the assholes and poor people N97 rocks!but Iphone rocks more but N97 great but iphone is the phone i prefer
hiii frnds. .
m want to bye a very gud phone. . bt m in bit a confusion between iphone3gs n N97… i want to knw tht is there a big difference in touch senssation of 3gs & n97??? means touchpad of n97 is very poor then 3gs??? plz fast tell me….
because i want it in few days….
and also tell me in rating of touchpad between 3gs & n97. . . how much marks got by n97 & 3gs in touchpad out of 10????
the iphone is for midgets and gays and the N97 is for the intelligent. The device takes a while to get used to, but one you know your way thru- you’d find OPENNESS wins over ease of use. It doesn’t require special connectors to connect to your PC, it supports standrd memory cards, and it doesnt require itunes. You have full access to the devices filesystem, and you can use its 32GB plus 16GB memory for mass storage and moving files between computers.Someone here claimed iphone’s better because it supports podcasting… well,go to the ‘applications’ folder, N97 supports podcasting as well. The slow processor is a gay point, as long as you’re not trying 3D games. The lack of memory, however, is a good argument…i believe nokia will introduce virtual memory support in a future firmware release to overcome this. The iPhone, on the other hand, with its 256 mb ram, doesn’t multitask- gay indeed… Inability to use linux doesn’t make linux a bad OS, the same is true for symbian. And by the way, i was of course kidding in the “midgets and gays” part… chill
I am using n 97 but it is having many problems with for the time being it is getting repaired in nokia care centre but i am not happy with the sevice of nokia and working of n97
El iphone es el mejor, solo por mencionarles unas caracteristicas que van a dejar chato al n97,
1.- Puedo conectar mi iphone directamente al televisor con un cable no original de apple, para poder ver videos, peliculas fotos e incluso los juegos.
2.-Puedo saber la clave de los modems inalambricos con la aplicacion iwep (para saber las claves de mis vecinos)
3.-El gps es gratis y lo detecta rapido, tengo todos los mapas de mundo gracias a offline maps y aparte la brujula digital es de gran utilidad cosa que no tiene la basura de n97.
4.-Para tomar fotos venden el lente telescopico que viene con una funda que intregra flash (tragatela n97)
5.- Puedes conectar a sound dock Bose que ofrece sonido de gran calidad, y lo puedes conectar a un stereo de carro, ademas de facil manejo.
6.-La pantalla se raya mas facil en el n97.
7.- El iphone tiene un diseno elegante y el n97 parece gameboy de nintendo descontinuado de tan grueso, en un futuro cercano quiza los podamos usar para poner topes en las calles.
8.-El teclado del n97 esta de sobra y antiestetico, ya que ni funciones de copiar,pegar, cortar tiene y el iphone si las tiene, en su elegante teclado digital.
9.- El iphone puede ser rastreado cuando te lo roben (algun naco con su Nokia)
10.- Acelerometro incluido, Sensores de Acercamiento, Sensores de Luz, Brujula, jejejejejejeje
Tragate todo eso N97
Y sin mecionar las miles de aplicaciones, ojo todas completamente gratis gracias al jailbreak que le permite modificar a la versiones mas nuevas de sistemas operativos y themes que sin duda no lo iguala la gran y recontra ultra V E R G A D A de N97
let me tell you more about iphone 3gs and n97 ,there is the sensitivity gap iphone is lot sensitive and it can be managed easily…. but n97 is far away less sensitive… 3gs has lot of apps and games etc over 45000 including nfs undercover,gangstar (gta) etc and n97 has very less and boring with no graphics…. and the worst thing about n97 is it hangs and has lot of bugs boring… but it has a good camera thats solve i think iphone is far better
the iphone and its ease of use is designed so that anyone, or the general public can use it.It’s essentially a toy, it has no real competition against the n97 for being a “smartphone”. beacuse realistically, ppl who buy iphones only use it for pointless apps that they’d only use once. The only real benefit of an iphone is of it’s smoothness and quick reactions, but then again, it has nothing thats why it can run smooth, whereas nokia just needs to up the anti with its ram and processor. Because n97 is a the one of the leading business phones, and it is not a toy. And then again, since when did phones have to be “exciting” for games etc. I can do that simply on my psp, my n97 is for calling and organising tasks, iphone is just meh “oh look i have this cool app” at least with my n97 i know i paid for a quality built smartfone and not a toy.
I am using NOKIA N97
I am totally satisfied with it javascript:SJB_appendSmiley(‘:twisted:’)
And i had used iphone 3gs of my brother
And i was not satisfied with itjavascript:SJB_appendSmiley(‘:evil:’)
Nokia is bettery then the iphone. iphone is good, but not as good as the nokia n97. GO NOKIA
I am also selling nokia phone on ebay. go to (esamarsaad) and you will see ?
Well it looks like that i am going to buy nokia n97 more people like it and besides i hate to have what others have and in north america many have iphone 3gs because they to f@ckin lazy to buy of the internet.
nokia n97 is a bit spendier but definitely a great phone! got mine from gsmallover.com which is a very reliable site as well. i’d definitely recommend both
iPhone wins on its OS, it’s impressively fast, snappy, sleek software and hardware. It’s non multitasking ability isn’t really a problem. Since the switch between apps is very seamless. Besides; browser, ipod, text, emails, phone and basically all pre-installed apps runs on the background. The only thing bothers me is the youtube; i can’t buffer it on background. Since the internet in my country’s kinda suckish, i have to leave the phone for a while for the video to finifh loading. But N97, once you got over with its relatively slow, unsightly, buggy UI you’d be impressed with its capability.
iphones are ok if you like apple tunes controlling your specs and apple have crippled blue tooth so you cant intereact with other non apple units outside apple smacks of microsoft restrictions to me
I AM HAPYY TO HAVE NOKIA N97 THE BEST PHONE
I could not choose.. So I bought both of them.. Hoping to get 4g n nokia n8. Thank God i am rich :p
nokia n97 wins the battle
I have both. The N97, for some time now. The iPhone 3GS is a newer addition. I may be biased towards the older machine I’ve been using (since I’m a little more comfortable with it), but for now, I’d say the Nokia is winning in the stop-light drag race.
N97’s Pluses:-
* Ease of use.
* Interoperability.
* Physical keyboard.
* Fabulous camera (with flash).
iPhone’s Pluses:-
* Form factor.
* UI.
* Touch-screen capabilities.
* Internet browsing.
And for those of you who’re going on about ‘openness’ when it comes to Apple vs. Nokia…the solution is simple. Jailbreak the former, and hack the latter. And sit back and enjoy the top-class individual capabilities of each phone, while BOTH the corporate titans froth and foam at the mouth for you ‘infringing upon’ their ‘intellectual copyrights’.
Cheers.