The N97 has just received some love from Nokia in the form of the v 21.0.045 (v 21.2.045 for some) firmware update, labeled at PR 2.1. This update builds on the improvements brought by the previous v20 (PR 2.0) update and will improve call reliability and provide a better touch scrolling experience. The web browser and music player also get improvements; the new firmware also promises improved image and video stability.

Apart from these changes, expect other under the hood optimizations, bug fixes and a new theme. The update will only …

When Nokia announced that they were going to give away free drive and walk navigation and other premium content for Ovi Maps, the N97 was left out from the list of devices that were supposed to get this. This left many people shocked, wondering why had Nokia done this.
Infact, Nokia almost got bad press for this. They quickly went into damage control mode and made it clear that the original N97 will be getting this free functionality, and soon. January 28 was the date promised, and Nokia has delivered ahead …

Things have been a little hectic for me lately, but that will not stop me for bringing you the N97 Mini unboxing, filmed in Helsinki on the first day of ‘The Way We Live Next 3.0′ event.
The video is divided into two parts, the first is a good old unboxing and the second is a N97 Mini overview and comparison with the N97. If I sound a little tired, it is because of all the interview and demoes that I had earlier in the day. Stay tuned for a lot …

We have just wrapped up the Q&A about the N97’s new 2.0 firmware. We had limited time, so I could unfortunately not get through all the questions that you had asked. With that said, here are the key aspects I’m sure you would like to read about.

Our questions were answered by Frank Zillikens and Catalin Gheorghiu from Nokia. Frank headed up the N97 v20 Firmware, and Catalin works on the Firmware Development Team.

At 17:30 GMT today I and a few other invitees will be attending a Q&A around the N97’s v20 firmware. We will be joined by Nokia representatives Frank Zillikens, the Lead Firmware Developer and Catalin Gheorghiu, a member of the technical team responsible for the recent firmware upgrade.

I’m sure you have questions, so please put them down below and I will try and get an answer for you. Although I doubt questions like, ‘When will v20 be out for my region?’ will get a specific answer. Time is running out.

It is time to fire up the Nokia Software Updater now. The long awaited v20.0.019 firmware for the N97 is now available and I cannot stress the importance of this firmware enough. It will transform the N97 experience and will lead many to say that this was the firmware Nokia should have shipped the device with. The update is currently only available via the Nokia Software Updater and is a 134 MB download. We should also start seeing the over the air rollout soon. The N97 features user data preservation …

The folks at WOM World were kind enough to send me a limited edition Cityman device a few weeks back, the purpose of the Cityman was to act as an anti theft device by taking in the N97 and fooling possibly thieves into thinking that you’re holding a relic. However, for me it had quite the opposite effect and it turned my N97 into the centre of attraction, an enjoyable effect nevertheless.

That being said, the real reason for writing this post was the City Man Competition that Nokia is holding. What is …

The Nokia N97 Mini was today made official during Nokia World ’09’s first keynote. The device closely resembles the N97 design with the exception of a 3.2″ touchscreen, a redesigned keypad (no Navi Pad, but directional arrows), no camera lens cover and 8GB of storage v/s the N97’s 32GB. The Mini is 14.2mm thin and the first Nokia device to sport Lifecasting with Ovi – a service in partnership with the world’s largest social network, Facebook.

Lifecasting enables users to update their Facebook status directly from the device’s …

In what should come as great news to N97 owners, Nokia has started rolling out the v12 firmware. The update is currently not available over the air, but if you fire up the Nokia Software Updater, you should see it.

The update is also visible via the ‘SW Update’ application on the device, but currently it directs you to use the PC to update.  There is not much information given about the firmware apart from ‘Improves phone’s performance and brings you the latest features’.
The N97 features user data preservation, so you can update without …

Its been a while since I have highlighted a few themes here on The Symbian Blog, so I decided it was time to make some amends and here are eight killer themes for your Nokia N97, they should work on other S60 5th Edition devices as well.

As always, my focus has been on finding quality themes that you will not grow out of quickly. I’ve also tried to maintain a nice mix of dark and light themes.