I see this question getting thrown around an awful lot. The N97 is stirring up quite a hype, so its only natural that people will ask "How much?" The truth is, we honestly don't know. At least not until it hits our stores or Nokia announces a price. This however has not stopped bloggers from speculating.

I've spent quite a bit of time trawling through blogs and found lots of different price points from various sources, though one thing they all had in common was they are all expecting the N97 to be expensive. My guess is that the N97 is going to cost roughly £500 - £600 sim free. If this number makes you cry, then remember getting it on contract is going to be a hell of a lot cheaper. A spokesman from a major UK operator was quoted saying "It’s definitely true that the N97 is not as expensive as it was initially. But it was eye watering before. It’s still going to be difficult to get a decent price"

This still doesn't give us much to go on and we still have no price point for the N97 on contract. It's going to vary from operator to operator and as usual, the larger the monthly package, the cheaper the phone and cheaper still if you take out a 24 month contract vs a 12. 

I bet you'll be able to pick it up on an 18 month contract with £35+ tariff for under £100. Though keep in mind it's going to be in high demand and there are going to be enough people, who are likely pay whatever the stores are asking. This will make it more difficult to get a bargain but give it a couple of months and you'll be able to pick one up for free, as usually is the case.

A couple of days ago we put the N97 vs 5800 and today it's the turn of the almighty iPhone. Once again, it's difficult to do a true head-to-head as we don't have both handsets. So for now, it's mainly based on theory and announced specs of the N97.

We've trawled through other blogs and most of the N97 vs iPhone comparisons we've found have been somewhat biased, mostly coming from other N97 fan sites, the specs compared were very selective, in the N97's favor. Now we're already big fans of the N97, but we want to keep these head-to-heads fair, well as fair as we can without having the N97 in our hands.

So lets see how some of the main "hardware" specs of the N97 compare with the iPhone 3G. Firmware of course can change. I don't agree with those blogs who opted to use "SMS forwarding" as a spec comparison, especially as it's likely to come in iPhone 3.0 firmware.

 

Looking at the specs, we can see the N97 excels in a couple of main areas, the most obvious being the camera. Not only is it more than double the resolution, but it features a duel LED and autofocus as well as capable of recording video at 30FPS. Another notable advantage of the N97 is it's staggering storage capacity, which we believe can be up to 64GB with the aid of a 32GB microSD card. 

The iPhone though, features a capacitive rather than resistive screen, which allows for multi touch gestures and a more accurate "touch". But looking beyond the specs, the iPhone excels in a number of area's. The first being the app store, it's incredible, never has it been so easy to download mobile content and the developer support is unrivaled. And let's not look past the fact the iPhone is a brilliant gaming device in it's own right. Sure Nokia will have the OVI store which is set to attempt to replicate Apples success, but whether they manage or not, is yet to be seen.

Lets also keep in mind that the N97 is set for a June release, and by our estimates a new generation iPhone is due, which could really shake things up. As I keep saying, the real test won't come until I have an N97 in my hands. 

Nokia, accept this as an official invitation to send us an N97 to test drive! 

So we already have the rumored N97 release date of the 26th June, which is great news. But recent rumors suggest that the N97 might not be coming to o2 or Orange in the UK.

Certain sources suggest that o2 and Orange have stated they've not accepted the N97 due to the fact that it comes pre-installed with Skype. The concern is, that Skype's VOIP feature will lead to loss in revenue from contracts. People may opt for a lower monthly line rental with less free minutes and use Skype more often.

Would you use Skype to replace your free minutes?. I use Skype to call my Skype contacts. I have Skype on my E71 and use it to call my Skype contacts on the move. I only tend to use Skype to call my overseas friends or colleagues, which I'd never use my network for anyway. Imagine the costs?!

An O2 spokesperson was quoted as saying “We have made no announcement yet on whether will stock this handset, we are currently working with Nokia to understand their Skype service and the business model around it.”

Personally, I believe this is just in negotiation which will come out with a win-win result. First of all, I can't imagine o2 or Orange not support such a flagship Nokia handset, it would cause many network ports. Secondly I can't imagine Nokia not meeting the needs of 2 major UK operators and missing out on sales and potentially damage their relationship. Lets face it, all it would take from Nokia is for the firmware to be tweaked. Skype could be removed or alternatively utilise a Wifi only version of Skype similar to the one seen on the iPhone.

Both the Nokia 5800 and the Nokia N97 ultilise the new Series 60 5th edition operating system, which is intended for touch screen handsets. So we felt it would be an ideal first head-to-head. We're also aware there are tons of people with one question on their lips "5800 or wait for the N97?". We're not sure we're in a position to answer that yet as we've not had a chance to play with the N97, but we'll do our best.

The 5800 was first to be released, it was also Nokia's first attempt at a touch screen phone. The N97 is yet to hit our shores and still no official release date.

As I've said, we don't yet have access to both phones and so this comparison isn't nearly as accurate or comprehensive as we'd like. We can't compare build quality, functionality and other vital aspects of the handsets. But we can at least take a look at the specs and point out any notable advantages of either handset. Perhaps even help you decide whether it's worth waiting for the N97 or to just rush out and get a 5800 today.

Looking at the specifications, there's some significant differences between the two phones. The N97 has had 4 notable upgrades, 1. the screen size, 2. camera, 3. slide out QWERTY keyboard and 4. internal memory. The N97's 32GB of memory is staggering and double that of even Apple's largest Iphone. The 5800 only comes equipped with 81MB of internal storage, though Nokia have made up for that by supplying an 8GB MicroSD card with the handset. We were a little disappointed to see, that despite the camera upgrade, Nokia haven't included a Xenon flash, though dual LED isn't too shabby. We're really looking forward to test driving the slide out keyboard on the N97!

The Nokia 5800 is slightly smaller and lighter in weight. But nothing significant. Probably due to the Nokia N97's bigger screen. We're hoping that once we get our mitts on the N97, we're going to discover it's build quality is superior to that of the 5800, which isn't a notch on Apples iPhone.

Overall both handsets feature an impressive array of features, such as Wifi, GPS, Bluetooth, Email, MMS etc but the N97 has the edge with it's improved features and upgraded hardware. Aesthetically, the N97 kicks ass and looks so much better than the 5500, though perhaps that's a little too subjective.

 So, should you wait for the N97? At N97 geeks, we're all holding out for the N97, we honestly think it will be worth the wait.