Nokia N97 mini Hits the Shelves This Week

Espoo, Finland-based mobile phone maker Nokia has announced today that its Nokia N97 mini will become available for purchase as soon as this week. The new mobile phone is a smaller version of the high-end Nokia N97, just as its name suggests. However, the phone comes with about the same functionality as its bigger brother, though in a smaller form factor.

Among the specifications the Nokia N97 mini will come to the market with we can count a tilting 3.2-inch touchscreen display, which is coupled with a QWERTY keyboard and with a fully customizable homescreen. The best part of all is that the handset will have the same software as the Nokia N97. The price tag for this device has been set at EUR 450 before taxes and subsidies, the handset vendor announced.

The already available Nokia N97 has just seen a new firmware update released into the wild for it, software update 2.0. According to Nokia, the new software version can be found on the Nokia Software Update website, yet this is only the standard version of the new solution, which is set to be followed by “a wide range of country and operator versions” during the following weeks. Moreover, the software solution is also expected to come as an over-the-air update.

“In September, 2009, we exceeded 2 million Nokia N97 devices sold, and now introduce the Nokia N97 mini, underscoring the success of the design. We have also listened to consumer feedback about the performance of the device. The Nokia N97 software update 2.0 is a way for us to optimize the device and add new features and functions,” said Jose-Luis Martinez, vice president, Nokia Nseries. “We are also excited about the early feedback that we have received on the Nokia N97 mini, which carries a very similar feature set to the original Nokia N97 and comes in a pocket-friendly size for those out and about.”

More details on the new firmware flavor available for Nokia N97 can be found in our previous post on the matter.