14 DAY TRIAL // Espoo-based Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia announced last week a second, smaller version of its high-end Nokia N97 device, dubbed Nokia N97 mini, which is now listed on Vodafone UK's website. Compared to the original device, the N97 mini features a slimmer body and an improved home screen, though packing inside a 3.2-inch touch-enabled display, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a 5-megapixel camera, and 8GB of internal storage space.
According to Vodafone's pre-registration page for the Nokia N97 mini, the launch date for the device has been set for October, which means that it shouldn't be too long before the company announces something officially. No details on the pricing of the device have been yet unveiled, but we'll probably learn that the carrier has it for free upon the signing of a contract agreement with a certain minimum monthly plan.
Until more pieces of information on the phone's availability and pricing emerge, we should mention that the specs of Nokia N97 also show Carl Zeiss lens and LED flash coming with its camera, as well as a microSD memory card slot that enables users to expand the available storage space, not to mention built-in GPS receiver, WiFi connectivity, FM radio, Bluetooth, MP3 player, mobile TV capabilities, and more.
The phone's elder brother, Nokia N97, has proved a rather attractive device on the market, and Nokia reportedly managed to sell more than 2 million units since the handset's launch, about three months ago. Nokia hasn't announced what carriers would have the N97 mini, and Vodafone becomes the first one that seems to add the phone to its offering. All that remains to be seen from now on is when the Nokia N97 mini becomes available for purchase and under which conditions. The phone can be seen on Vodafone's site here.