Bad news: Nokia N97's CPU is only a bit faster than the one used in the 5800 XpressMusic

Nokia N97

Bad news folks. Nokia keeps saving on hardware even in its high-end devices. The soon-to-be-released Nokia N97 will sport the single ARM11 CPU with clock speed at 434 MHz — i.e. no dedicated GPU. And while this is faster than the CPU used in the 5800 XM (369 MHz), it’s still kinda disappointing.

I know there are some folks out there who’ll argue that CPU is not the only component to look for and I somewhat agree with this claim. However, if we look at the upcoming Samsung Omnia HD, we’ll see that the Korean giant has a different (better, I think) approach. For its flagship Symbian handset, Samsung used the ARM Cortex-A8 600 MHz processor (some sites even suggest it’s 800 MHz) and a dedicated 3D graphics accelerator! Don’t tell me it won’t run faster than the N97, cause it MUST!

I do understand having high margins is very lucrative for Nokia, but c’mon. We’re talking about a very high end of the spectrum here. Does Nokia wants to lose its fan boys? Any thoughts?

[Via: SymbianFreak]

About The Author

Dusan Belic

Dusan has been using smartphones since their introduction and is now following the latest trends in the industry. The "convergence" is what he's most excited about, and writing about it is the next logical thing to do. He thinks that using a smartphone is what everyone who cares about their time should do. In addition to his interests in mobile phones, Dusan also loves to experiment with the latest web and mobile 2.0 services. The idea of accessing and managing your information from any device no matter where you are simply amazes him. Whether it's an online to-do list, note taking service or a video sharing social network, he's there to try it out. He admits though, he's still searching for the ultimate web-based organizational tool, which "sings" perfectly with the mobile PIM application. Dusan used to run SymbianWatch.com which later became part of IntoMobile. He lives in Serbia, South-East Europe, from where he edits the site on a daily basis.

The Sandman

FIRST!!!! And upset
Olivier

My next phone will be as full feature as the N97 but will also have a great fluid and good looking user interface. Call it eye candy all you like but all the iPhone tooting people out there should give Nokia a hint that it matters a lot at the high end.

If they pull it off with that ARM 11 cpu, then great but I am starting to think it is going to be an iPhone 3rd gen or a Pre for me after all…..
Venu

Dusan, I kinda agree with you, although nokia phones perform much better than their counter parts with faster chips, I think they are being a bit tight there using such a slow chip in their flagship model. I think this along with lack of any new innovation recently from Nokia (look at the s60 browser which was so advanced when it came out and is still standing there while the whole world has gone miles ahead, not forgetting their touch interface on 5800 which looks like just made to compete with apple rather than a phone thats simpe to use, s40 alltime best OS (nonsmart) for any non touch screen) is finally pushing me to look at Apple/PalmPre/Android handsets. Been a very long time nokia fan though (since 3310). my two cents…
Tekkie

Forget N97, iphone, pre… Omnia HD demolishes them. I don’t know why people haven’t heard about it. Look it up, you WILL be amazed.
Dusan Belic

So the ideal Symbian device would be the OmniaHD with QWERTY keyboard?

Sounds cool, I’m all for it.
Ali

SHOOT! I just pre-ordered this from Nokia and now will have to cancel. I love Nokia phones
but I hate how slow they can be, ever since the Nokia 3650! I’m going to have to do some
serious searching here now to find something as good, but with a faster processor; or wait
until it’s released to see how slow it can really get while using a VPN session with RDC.
Ignaz Moscheles

N96 (DUAL CORE!!!!!) is the slowest unusable piece of junk I have ever purchased. With random restarts to boot. All phones except the iPhone disclose their processor but the iPhone works best. It’s the software stupid. I now own an E71 which works fine and is OK speedwise. I am fine with it but I would love a Symbian phone that works as smoothly as an iPhone. Don’t even try to give me less, Nokia.
jonnybruha

No, they did it because they can make more money by using older, cheaper parts. The newer processors are built to handle faster clock speeds with less battery consumption and features to dynamically regulate how much power is being used. Nokia is just practicing the art of cashing out on their customers like they have with all of their flagships in the past 2 years.
dave woolrich

If the N96 is anything to go I will not be upgrading to the N97. The 96 sounded great when I got it a year ago but it is so slow, crashes constantly and the only way to get it going again is to remove the battery. Utterly disgraceful for Nokia. This was my first Nokia and my last.Don’t let the high spec of the N97 deceive you as I was with the 96. In reality the device does not live up to the hype. If they put such large hard drives into a phone they should have the processor speeds to match or it just hangs. Useles piece of poorly made plastic trash.
zs

I hate slow phones too. The N97 doesn’t have much CPU to boast about. But it’s software is also different. I think the actual hands-on test will be the best judge of real performance. We’ll need someone with a N97 on hand to run some tests for comparison!
Shekhar

Shooot!!!, I have already purchased a new one & now feel so sorry to read all this stuff!
Kontantkort

are you indian ? shit is translated shoot in indian tv.. So thats why i wonder as you dont use correct english.