Well, it's been about 12 hours now since the word of the Nokia N97 was officially released at Nokia World 2008 in Barcelona. Many of the mobile vocal have had a chance to air their initial thoughts about the new device (scheduled for release sometime in 2009, likely Q2). See for example the following bloggers first comments:

• James Whatley and the Whatley POV - James rips on the device in typical Whatley fashion, however, he does finally admit that you'll need to get in the line behind him for this one!
• Darla Mack says "well done Nokia"
• Rafe Blandford (AAS), The Nokia N97 Launches Last, But Launches Well
• Symbian Guru -  Nokia’s “Big” Announcement Is Phenomenal: N97 Rocks Nokia’s World!
• MIR - the Complete FAQ etc...

So, what are my initial thoughts about the N97? Well, given I haven't had my hands on one yet I can offer up some thoughts from a distance...
 
 I'm likely most excited about the whopping 32 GB of internal flash memory... oh, and you can also expand that with another 16GB via MicroSD card. The integrated GPS accompanied by a bonus inclusion of a magnetometer means that some exciting location-aware applications will eventually support this device. Speaking of mobile LBS apps, the addition of the new Nokia Maps 3 with turn-by-turn directions, friendly walking directions, satellite imagery and more mean that there's no need for any N97 user to also have to pay for an additional PND service and device in the vehicle. I'm also excited about hearing that the N97 is being tied to the concept of 'social location' ie. sharing content that your capturing and creating with others via your social networks, all tied to your location as well... this is indeed what people want.
 
 Other items that get me excited about the N97 include:
 - full slide out QWERTY keyboard... ever since using a Nokia e71 I've been hooked on the QWERTY... this is great to see.
 - sports S60 5... this would be my first look at an S60 5 device.
 - shutter lens on the camera... I haven't seen this since the original N95 but I know loads of people, including yours truly, will appreciate the return of this to the design (small things can make a big difference)
 - Touch UI... to date I'm simply not a fan of the iPod although the option of having touch navigation is awesome... having another way to navigate around the device is a real treat. I've seen loads of "traditional media" touting touch as "THE finally here" capability of this device, however, I don't see it that way. It's going to be great to have that capability but its definitely not THE main selling point.
  - the HUGE screen, similar to the Communicator (see Nokia E90) will make web browsing, watching video and mobile TV a real treat, not to mention all that real estate when working via mobile on office applications.
 - full integration with the Ovi service... this has been promised and is something I've been waiting for, perhaps this will be the device that actually delivers a great experience along with Ovi... we can only hope!
 
 Potential pitfalls:
 - size.. indeed it is a bit large
 - price and availability... unfortunately for us in the USA we get late access to all these cool devices and none of the carriers offer them so forget about a subsidized N97

 

 

 

 

 Like many of the other bloggers and writers mentioned above, I've been a long-time power user of the Nokia N95 (8GB) and so the N97 is a natural next step for those of us looking to "upgrade". I'm currently testing an N96 and while its a very cool, powerful device, I simply don't see it as the next-generation device for the N95 user... that's where the N97 will come into play.
 
 So what's the big selling point for the N97? In my mind, this one is the complete package. This will no doubt be THE always connected, converged, multi-media computer and mobile companion that the typical S60 power user will crave... hopefully the large size (3.5" screen - 640 x 360) means that it will fit in my pocket!
 
 In short, I'm already in line for this one (provided that we'll actually see it come to market here in the U.S) so James Darla, Rafe, Ricky and others... get behind me man ;0)
 
For more on the N97 See this Nokia video introducing the N97 here