FreshPhoneNews.com

The Nokia N97 has been out for about a month now and any early adopter would probably have his/her shiny new gadget by now. So the time seems ripe for someone to boost sales by making the oh so conventional price-cut. And that someone would be Amazon.com. the online retailer has dropped the price of the N97 to $599.99 with free shipping. It’s still not an everybody-get-in-there kind of price point, but at least it makes room for more folks who want the N97. Also, Amazon.com dropped the price of the N79 to $300 lining it up with the 5800XM and E71, and the N85 is currently listed at $330. The handsets are all unlocked and you can rock your SIM card of choice on any of them.

via

Ok folks, the Nokia N97 firmware update that we’d told you about is so here. Well the roll out has begun and it will gradually reach all and sundry. The much needed 11.0.021 update seems to be taking a swipe a good number of issues that the N97 had been plagued with. The firmware should be available in most regions and if you can’t get it OTA, out Nokia Software Updater to work. As for what specific improvements you should expect to see, keep reading;

1. USB detection error fix
2. PC does not detect N97 or USB charging connection not detected.
3. Widget
4. Home screen online/offline widget crash fix
5. Fix for “Alphabetical and Number input are mixed in facebook until end key is pressed.
6. Widget UI improvement – New facebook widget fixes a problem of Home Screen background visible on soft-key area.
7. Browser fixes to improve widgets stability.
8. MfE related fixes
9. Partial fix for Messaging/calendar entry lost.

10.  Mail for exchange calendar entry synchronization error fix.

11.  UI transition error fixes (Portrait <-> landscape transition, there is a home screen corruption.)

12.  UI transition (Slowness and bad effects)

13.  Slow Touch UI response

14.  Picture of the device lock appears half of the screen when transitioning the UI sometimes

15.  Landscape: in some cases the soft buttons on touch (right hand) show the Home Screen in background (install maps.google.com)

16.  Photos thumbnail performance and stability improvements

17.  Device performance deteriorates when lots of content in the device – especially photos

18.  Partial fix no display backlight illumination when unlocking lock-key – CAP Genius reported already

19.  New version of Accueweather to improve the “Connection error” situation

20.  Device reset when browsing with high speed packet access (for Malaysia)

21.  “Browser soft key UI doesn’t work after putting Chinese character with qwerty keyboard”

22.  Java fixes (TCK, Pre-install app disappearing, *#7370#*)

23.  Operator fixes (CMCC, Hutchson and Telefonica, Vodafone)

24.  Ovi store client now embedded in the core image

Say hello to the Nokia N97 firmware update. The firmware version was recently updated on Nokia’s RDS service, and the Nokia N97 got similar treatment. According to Nokia Conversations’ Twitter account, “N97 SW 1.1 (11.x.021)” came out July 1st, in time to make Americans really appreciate the country’s birthday. Of course the firmware update won’t get rid of the off-centre space button, utterly ridiculous. But at least software bugs will be resolved. Now it may be a while before all regions/product codes get their update, so be patient. If you have the update up and kicking, let us know what you think.

Nokia is tuning into the U.S. market’s tendency to look kindly on all those who give buyers greater bang for their buck. Among the most recent of these smart moves was a three hour sale the Finnish company held, that offered discounts as mouth watering as 15%-50%. And the handsets on sale were;

• N97 – $594
• E75 – $265
• E71 – $295
• 5800 XpressMusic – $299
• N85 – $320
• N95 8GB – $378
• E63 – $167
• E66 – $245
• N79 – $279

These were of course brand new unlocked handsets, so congratulations to those who managed to get their hands on them. Let’s hope Nokia holds the next event like this for a little longer.

via

The forum moderator for Vodafone is likely to be unemployed and sacked from the moderator throne. Having just made some startling new announcements regarding what’s to be featured in the Vodafone line up regarding the new Nokia releases. The first of the revelations say that Vodafone will not be carrying the new Nokia N97 because it is priced so high. Wonder if Nokia can hear this? Hello out there? Nokia, Your N97 is priced too high! What’s interesting is that the Mod goes on to say that Vodafone will be taking on the Nokia N97 mini for its competitive pricing. Here that one Nokia? Competitive pricing. The mod goes on to say that Vodafone will offer the BlackBerry Storm 2 later this year. And in the end he bid farewell with the news that due to some exclusivity with a competitor deal Vodafone will not be carrying the Palm Pre. Of course this will all be classified under “rumor” and we will begin searching the rivers and seas for anything dumped recently in a big plastic bag.

If the iPhone 3G left you a bit disappointed and drooping at the cheeks, then cheer up. After all, the iPhone wasn’t the only good thing coming this June. There are phones and phones and phones. And handsets. And a definite pick-me-up should come in the fact that Nokia’s N97 was out this June. It’s definitely pricey, but everyone who has managed to keep their job and pay the mortgage through the economic crunch deserves to indulge and spoil themselves a little. (I mean put the kids’ braces off a month or two). The N97 is S60 5th edition with QWERTY, side sliding 640×360 pixel touchscreen, 5 mega pixels in camera and 32 GB in memory.  Available at Nokia Flagship stores. Anyone up for burning a hole in their wallets?

It’s raining Handsets….Amen. June is here and as sure as April showers bring May flowers (or allergies), June brings us Handset galore. And one of the most exciting little pieces being introduced to society is none other than the Nokia N97. Bound to cost an arm and a leg, it’s the first Nokia Nseries phone that supports a touch screen and S60 5th edition OS. What’s more it turns out that the pre shipping rumors are coming true, with people placing pre-shipping orders on Amazon.com and receiving confirmation mails promising the cell being shipped by dates like June 15th. So logically Nokia should be shipping them out before that 2nd week of June. All this seems to point to the possibility that we get the goodies before our European friends. But on the upside they have the new Nokia N97 support pages to pacify them while we play with or new and expensive new toys.

A new rumor that brings with it a new shipping date for the Nokia N97 places the handset in North America on June 2nd. While the N97 NAM had been previously expected in the July, the screenshot you see above is from the website of a major North American distributor and touts a June 2nd arrival of the N97 NAM. This could make sense since Vodafone UK is also listing the N97 for release in June, and why wouldn’t Nokia want it’s very expensive handset out in the US before the heavily carrier subsidized smartphones such as the new iPhone and Pre come out to hoard user love.

via

Nokia USA almost had us believing they knew their customers. While Symbian fans over at the US have not been at all pleased with the high and mighty $700 price tag the N97has been carrying all over the globe, it seemed that for the US, the Finnish manufacturer decided to add some incentive. Hence up went an offer to give a free Bluetooth Headset with Nokia N97 pre orders. Entering in the promotional code CARTP409N gave Americans the option to pre-order the flagship slider for $454.35 and get a BH-703 Bluetooth headset as well. But this was short lived, within a few hours, the coupon code eliminated the free headset option and the discount was reduced to a laughable 10%, which brings the price down to $629.10. Lame. If you had been among the few who ordered while the earlier offer was up, you could either get Nokia to honor the obligation, or just cancel. Looks like US enthusiasts aren’t getting lucky on this one.

via 

Sure the Nokia N97 is a handset to die for, the flagship device which is the first from the Finnish company to feature the S60 5th edition, but the choke factor is the price tag that somehow manages to be huge no matter where the handset pops up. As of late, the N97 has popped up on TIM’s website and the price tag is a walloping € 599! That’s roughly $800 USD…and that too from a carrier! Granted that TIM is a bit loony when it comes to pricing handsets, for example the N96 sells for €599 too. But one does wonder what on earth is the N97 cost to partners, for TIM to charge such a high price. We’d like to believe they just love to suck the money from their subscribers…but even Espansys UK has listed the unlocked N97 for £669.99 ($980 USD)…insanity!

via