N97 Pre-launch Rumours

The Nokia N97 was announced in December 2008, the following is a round-up of pre-launch rumours when this phone was still just Vapour Ware.

There may be a variant or sister model to the widely rumoured Nokia N96 branded as the N97, but there is little details currently available on this. Perhaps the slide and twist model shown in the patent application sketch is the N97, which is likely to be a Nokia N93 successor.

• Engadget - Nokia patent application shows 8 megapixel Nseries
• Unwired View - Nokia imaging slider in the works?

Looking closer at the image it's tough to say whether it says 6 or 8 megapixel, and Unwired View have another image with the top barrel spun 90 degrees, somewhat like an inverted Nokia 5700.

Previously there were also photoshopped pictures of a possible N97 floating around (in late 2006), looking rather like an N73 styled slider phone.

• Mobile Review forum - N97 or photoshop?
• N-Gage Arena Forums - N97 pics and speculation
• NewsMobile - N97 a fake - with the observation that the nickname of N-Gage Arena Forum poster who posted the pictures happens to appear on the side of the images - coincidence? I don't think so

Suggested features (for the photoshop)

• 20 GB internal memory
• dedicated music keys
• 3D stereo speakers
• 5 megapixel camera, flash, AF
• 2.4x optical zoom
• 20x digital zoom
• 15 fps video recording
• 3" screen, 16M colors
• FM Radio
• miniSD slot
• 400+ hour standby time
• 4+ hour talk time
• 24+ hour music playback (earphones)
• 6+ hour music playback (speakers)

The 20 GB implies a hard disk drive, but otherwise the rumoured specs give nothing away, and I prefer my rumour pics fuzzy and out of focus, anything else screams fake...

There are plenty of other Specific Phones in the Series 60, Nokia Eseries, and Nokia Nseries ranges.