What's better than the sleek and crowd favorite Nokia N97? Easy! - The smaller, more compact and sophisticated Nokia N97 mini. With a few nicks and downsizing, the N97 mini dutifully performs the same functions as its brother model. From the 5MP camera with Carl Zeiss lens, Geotagging, WiFi, Bluetooth, to the Full Qwerty keyboard, the N97 mini packs it all with a mere weight of 138g weight, 12g lighter than the Nokia N97.

Look, Design, Feel .....................7/10

Identical to the N97, the N97 mini is designed with the same sliding feature, accelerometer, and Qwerty keyboard, minus the D-pad, which is replaced with arrow keys. With the same reflective S60 touchscreen, but a tad lightweight and comes in a standard dark color, the N97 mini would seem more impressive. Surely users can live without the camera lens cover, and a much smaller 8GB internal memory, compared to the Nokia97 which has a roomy 32GB, and a safety cover to its Carl Zeiss optics.

Nokia N97 mini front part is filled with the 3.2" diameter touchsreen, with 3 hardware keys at the bottom: Menu, Call, and End. Above the screen are the proximity sensor, video-call camera, earpiece, and the ambient light.

The volume and camera keys are on the right side, while the screen lock, speakers, and uncovered microUSB port is are on the left side of the handset.

On top are is the power button and 3.5mm audio jack.

The metallic material on the unit and more color selections (Gold, Cherry Black, Garnet, White) ups the coolness factor of the N97 mini.

Features.....................8/10

Nokia N97 mini runs on Symbian OS, with ARM 11 434 MHz processor. It does basic phone functions like SMS, MMS, Email, and IM. Web surfing is possible thru via GPRS, EDGE, 3G, WiFi and Bluetooth, and it can load Flash Lite 3 sites, Java, Video and Photo Editor, and Document Viewer for MS Word, PDF, Powerpoint, and Excel. The N97 mini features Geotagging, Nokia maps, and Digital compass.

Aside from having a hardware Qwerty keyboard, the handset has a virtual keypad, not Qwerty. Users will be able to adjust to this easily. It's simple and very user-friendly.

The 5MP camera is would seem outdated compared to new handsets on the market which was launched about the same time as the Nokia N97 mini. But However, true to its original brother Nokia N97, the N97 mini also produces the same quality photos with its 5MP Carl Zeiss camera.

The smartphone's video player is supported by Ovi Suite, which converts all video formats to phone compatibility. With a relatively large screen, video streaming is a luxury with the N97 mini.

The FM Radio is very effective. It scans available stations in the area and saves them.

The Music player is simple but functions well. Sorting through album, artist, genre, and tracks, are some of the options.

Connectivity.....................8/10

Nokia N97 mini boasts various means of connectivity. It will issue no problem with regards to getting internet access, sending files, videos or photos, as it has WiFi, GPRS, EDGE and 3G with HSDPA. Most smartphones have an effective streaming speed, and the N97 mini does not disappoint. The web browser supports Flash Lite and Java.

Performance.....................8/10

It seems there is no new feature is added to the Nokia N97 mini, but all the other functions it has works without a glitch. It's a mini N97 after all. The 5MP camera gets the job done. Making calls, SMS, using the video camera or net surfing all perform to at high levels. Phone storage is virtually unlimited. Photo gallery also accommodates a ton depending on selected storage. Music player is at par as far as a probable iTunes replacement. Radio is impressive, with an added feature of automatically grabbing nearby signal frequencies in the area.

Value for Money.....................7/10

A high price for a sleek smartphone seems reasonable! These days, diminishing sizes are a gem as it breeds portability. The all-around multimedia offerings contained in a smaller handset, topped with part metallic casing adds glitter to the user's fancy lifestyle. For all the aspects concerned, the Nokia N97 mini is worth for your buck.

Pros

• Numerous connectivity options, performs with speed

• 5MP camera with Carl Zeiss optics

• Supports Flash Lite and Java websites

• Qwerty keyboard

• Sleek metallic design casing

Cons

• No virtual Qwerty keyboard

• No camera lens cover

• Uses Arrow keys instead of D-pad

• Only 8GB internal memory