Nokia N97 versus HTC Touch Pro 2

Nokia's highly anticipated N97 smartphone was finally released this month, having been pipped to the post by the similar Touch Pro 2 from HTC.

If the idea of a large touch screen with a full slide out Qwerty keyboard and a kick-up display appeals to you, then this review will help you decide which one deserves your hard earned cash.

The N97 runs Symbian 60 fifth edition and the Touch Pro 2 runs Windows Mobile 6.1 so, if you have any strong aversion or preference to either operating system, this is probably going to be a very short review.

As with most mobiles with slide out keyboards, both are fairly bulky and, although the N97 is only fractionally smaller than the Touch Pro2, the latter looks and feels a lot bigger. But its screen seems significantly bigger despite only having a 0.1in bigger surface area. The N97 also weighs a little less than the Touch Pro 2, coming in at around 150g versus 180g.

Display
Both handsets use resistive touch screens, and navigation is not as smooth as on the Apple iPhone or HTC Hero, both of which use a capacitive touch screen.

Although both displays are nice and clear with vibrant colours, the Touch Pro 2 wins out in the resolution stakes with a 800 x 480 pixel display compared to the 640 x 360 in the N97. While most of the time you probably won't notice the difference, it does become apparent when browsing full web pages and viewing video.

Both screens tilt up when the keyboard is slid out, but the HTC is hinged meaning that the angle can be adjusted (or just left flat), while the N97's tilting screen is part of the slide out mechanism.

Keyboard
The keyboards probably represent one of the biggest differences between the two phones. Nokia has gone for a three-row layout and a dedicated navigation pad, which means that, although the keys are spaced out nicely, the space bar ends up on the right hand side and all numbers and punctuation have to be accessed through two key presses. The way the keys are raised makes it feel more like an old ATM machine where each key requires a forceful push, which slows down typing speed.

HTC, on the other hand, has opted for a full five row keyboard and four cursor keys for navigation. Although the keyboard looks more crowded, the keys are large and have a good tactile feel, making typing easy and speedy. In fact, this is one of the best mobile phone keyboards we've ever used. The only problem is that, if the screen is tilted up, the number row can be slightly tricky to get to.