Nokia N97 coming to the UK on June 19
by Chris Ziegler 
posted Jun 2nd 2009 at 5:22PM
We already know that Nokia is sending N97s far and wide this month, but now we have an exact date for its UK debut. Turns out that the company's Regent Street flagship store in London will get first dibs, hawking unlocked, unbranded N97s to all comers on June 18 for £499 (about $821) -- a princely sum that easily blows past the US MSRP of $699. Vodafone, Orange, T-Mobile, and 3 all follow a week later on June 26, ensuring that the ultra-early adopters will be paying through the nose for a few days before the subsidized sets show up. What the 19th date means for availability in other countries is unclear, but as you can imagine, we'll be pounding on the doors of the US flagships until we get some answers.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
robb @ Jun 2nd 2009 5:59PM
hey can someone please help me with this.
I'm going to Europe next month and I'm thinking about buying a cellphone there, what are the aspects i have to consider?
i know it has to be unlocked and I will use it here with a GSM Sim Card no problem with that.
anything else i should be careful?
any help will be VERY appreciate it
Tor Slettnes @ Jun 3rd 2009 2:49AM
If you mainly want to use the phone in the USA, you want the NAM version, not the one you get in Europe.
The main difference is what UMTS (3G) bands it supports. The International version supports 900/1900/2100 MHz, whereas the NAM (North American) version supports 850/1900/2100 MHz. AT&T Wireless uses 850 and 1900 MHz for their UMTS (3G) coverage, with a trend towards pushing more over on the 850 MHz band. Internationally, 2100 MHz is most common (also in Europe), whereas the 900 MHz has only very recently been added/introduced in some European countries.
Someone mentioned something about "tri-band" and "quad-band" -- those are entirely useless terms these days. They pertain to GSM (2G) frequencies; most, if not all smartphones these days are "quad-band" in this respect. (Again, the issue is that North American networks don't use the standard frequencies deployed internationally).
FWIW, none of these phones will give you 3G coverage with T-Mobile USA - they use an entirely different band, 1700 MHz. Also, they won't work with other U.S. carriers such as Verizon, Sprint, Nextel, US Cellular, Alltel, MetroPCS, etc - since these use different technologies altogether (CMDA, iDEN, etc). So, mainly, the N97 NAM is a phone that's optimized for AT&T.
Billium @ Jun 2nd 2009 6:12PM
My advice would be to buy an unlocked Nokia here in the US. From what I can tell not even counting the exchange rate you will pay less money for it here and still be able to use it in Europe.
robb @ Jun 2nd 2009 6:53PM
sorry what i mean is that i plan to buy one there and use it here.
I'm sorry if i wasn't clear on that one
Temo @ Jun 2nd 2009 6:53PM
Anyone have any coupons I can use for Nokia's website...
va jj @ Jun 2nd 2009 7:38PM
they no longer work and if there are any i'm sure someone will post it here.
tigernate9 @ Jun 2nd 2009 8:23PM
your phone will work on US & European networks if it is tri-band or quad-band. but US 3G bands are 850 & 1900, and Europe is 2100 and something else. So unless you want to be downloading data at snail-rates here in the US, its best you buy a phone with tri-band 3G - which are rare in Europe.
Best bet: buy an unlocked US 3G Nokia on amazon - and it will have 2100 3G that works in Europe.
Alek @ Jun 2nd 2009 8:58PM
I'm going to ITaly next year, is Vodaphone the best choice if I want 3G data as well as voice. I will be staying in Perugia for a festival.
Also I have a Nokia N85, US Version, it should work well with it right?
Gabriel @ Jun 2nd 2009 9:38PM
Anyone hear how the camera button is? On the N96, its damn near impossible to push without screwing up your shot. Hopefully Nokia has fixed this with the n97. My google searches for reviews never seem to turn up anything about the button pressing itself. Thanks
machiblue @ Jun 2nd 2009 11:04PM
Amazon has the N97 for preorder, for $603.99. Significantly less than the Nokia USA price. Amazon also has the E63-2 for $149.99 after $50 rebate.
Justin Berkovi @ Jun 3rd 2009 4:51PM
I remember when the N95 was released - only the die hard tech freaks were hankering for it. Things have changed up so much now. More and more people are aware of the real world functionality of the N97 and now have a choice between this and the iPhone. The N97 may not have the slick UI of the iPhone but in real world use it blows the current iPhone out of the water. The camera is brilliant (iPhone terrible), the screen higher res, the capacity bigger, the input method versatile, the brilliant Nokia MAPS app and car kit integration...I could go on. The iPhone hype has died down and the smoke clears allowing more realistic comparisons to be made between devices.
I think the N97 is going to be a massive hit for Nokia. Whilst the N95 had obvious disadvantages the N97 has an awesome feature set. I can't wait!
Sam @ Jun 12th 2009 10:18PM
Hey Nokia N97 Fans ,
I was wondering im currently in the UK but staying 1hr away from london, i was wondering , what is the best choice for me to do , should i preorder the phone through the nokia website or head for the Nokia london store ( and i dont mind heading for london to get that phone :D i LOVE it hehe ) and there is another question on my mind do you have there regent nokia store will be all out of stock :S and with a line waiting to purchase it that never finishes LoL.
Help me with this guys hehe
Thank you
David @ Jun 17th 2009 10:12AM
I'm confused. Will the Nokia N97 NAM work on 3G networks in Europe? Specifically Sweden?