By now, everyone must be aware of the Nokia N97. It’s a beast of a phone that really does look the canine’s conkers. However, the N97 might not be the only version of the, er, N97 that we see before the end of the year.
According to IntoMobile, a rumour’s popped up online that Vodafone are going to be getting the Nokia N97 Mini later in the year. And that’s damnably intriguing, because no such phone’s ever been hinted at, let alone officially announced…
It all started on the Vodafone Ireland forums, the Irish version of the forums where our very own blog reader Lee spotted the post about Vodafone maybe getting the iPhone. Over in Ireland, the blog post from a moderator called “Ev” said:
“Vodafone Ireland will not be launching the N97 but will be launching the N97 Mini later this year. Due to the N97 Mini’s competitive pricing, we feel that it will appeal to a wider segment of consumers.
Another operator has exclusivity on the Palm Pre so we are not able stock it.
I can say that we are going to Launch the N97 mini as mentioned above and the Storm 2 though.”
I say again, no-one I know of in the industry has even heard of a Nokia N97 Mini, so this one’s caught us all a bit blindsided. However, as always happens in these cases, the plot has thickened to the point where it’s now a proper Louisiana gumbo. Y’see, IntoMobile then got on Twitter and sent a message to Vodafone Ireland, asking about it, and got a reply saying that the info was in fact confirmed, and to feel free to ask questions about it on their forums. Cue lots of excitement.
And then, the original post by “Ev” got pulled.
Cue lots of head-scratching…
So, what is going on? Is there a completely-unheard-of-so-far Nokia N97 Mini on the way? Or have people inside Vodafone Ireland been on the Guinness since 2003? The answer to the second question is almost certainly yes, according to one of my Irish friends, who reminded me that they were the nation who came up with the song “F@!k you, I’m drunk“, and In Bruges, one of the funniest films I’ve ever seen. Ireland’s also the origin of two of the funniest comedians in the world, Dylan Moran and Dara O’Briain, so it’s hardly surprising I love ‘em so much (Quite apart from the fact I’m instant putty in the hands of any lady with an Irish accent).
If they’re right about the Nokia N97 Mini, I may love ‘em all just a little bit more.
More news as it happens! And be sure to subscribe now to get all the latest action from the world of mobile phones!
June 19th, 2009 at 4:09 am
Someone on the same thread (well the uk one about the iphone from vodafone mod claire, think you mean the n97 thing was from ireland?) phoned up to cancel saying he was going to o2 for an iphone and vodafone told them they’d have the iphone by mid july.
Again vodafone just dodged it stating they didnt know why, i think july might be a bit early and think we have to wait for jobs to come back to apple yet and possibly september when the ipod update is due and when the pre situation pans out.
Point being is vodafone are a pain in the a*** about confirming stuff or not and they’ve got that many different answers by that many different staff at the minute. They’ll be an N97 maxi soon no doubt according to them! They put a notice up on the day of WWDC staying they arent getting the iphone in foreseeable future.
Not meaning to hijack any blog post about the iphone (altho i cant help it i want one so bad… just not on o2 – plus it was a quiet day for iphone news lol) but i would have thought apple would have learned a lesson about limiting their market – the mac is a prime example i suppose.
One thing that gets me with o2 recently is that they keep saying they cant have seperate rules for iphone customers as apposed to customers with any other handsets. Their argument of course is for uprade prices but i have noticed they are happy to treat those customers different in terms of insurance (the cheapest avail for iphone with them is a tenna a month- ouch) and tariffs are completely different too.
Techmarkus just out of interest what network are you on?
I saw the bbc do a comparison of the iphone and N97 the other day, like the way you can touch type a text on the n97 like a normal keypad ie on numbers 1-9 altho it still doesnt look as nice but after seeing it in action it was more appealing then i thought before.
June 19th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
Aye, I always go for a phone with a QWERTY keyboard for that very reason, that’s why I’ve got an X1 at the mo.
And I’m on Orange, dude.
June 19th, 2009 at 8:36 pm
i was with orange 6 years they’d me my preferred network gutted no iphone for them
i posted the n97 mini thing on the iphone thread and said no palm pre and vodafone shut it down i think your on the mark there
June 22nd, 2009 at 1:09 pm
Hmmm, now THAT is very telling…
Keep your eyes peeled and let us know any further developments, dude!