Nokia N97 mini: Interesting But Destined to be a Niche Phone for Enthusiasts in the U.S.

Photo courtesy of Nokia

The N97 was announced with high expectations early this year and got good early commentary. However, by the time it arrived in the U.S, it was competing for attention with the Palm Pre and iPhone 3GS. To make matters worse, it didn’t have any affiliated carrier to market it for them and provide a subsidized price. I think it is safe to say that it has disappeared from the radar of most tech news followers. If you look at the most popular cameraphones used for photos submitted to Flickr (Flickr Camera Finder), you’ll find that the second most popular cameraphone after the iPhone is the aging Nokia N95, not the current N97 or even the slightly older N96. The N97 take rate does not appear to be very high (and neither was the N96 apparently). But, that is not stopping from Nokia from trying to find a winning formula.

From Nokia Conversations…

Introducing Nokia N97 mini

The N97 mini has 8GB of flash storage, a 3.2-inch touchscreen, and a QWERTY pull-out keyboard. And, like other Nokia N Series phone, it has an awesome 5 megapixel camera with dual LED flash (video light) and a real glass Carl Zeiss lens. However, like other high-end Nokia N-Series smartphones, it will probably be a niche device for enthusiasts since it will probably not have a U.S. carrier marketing it and has a $640 retail price tag (estimated from 450 Euros).

Join Baratunde Thurston (left), The Onion’s Director of Digital and author of How to Be Black, for an entertaining look at creative social media campaigns in our Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting February 16. Other speakers include Morin Oluwole (Facebook), Tim Devane (bitly), and SocialTimes' writer Devon Glenn.   Register now.