Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2009/03/03/n97_price_launch_details/

Nokia N97 price skyrockets

Smartphone's launch date put back too

By James Sherwood

Posted in Personal Tech, 3rd March 2009 16:13 GMT

Nokia’s N97 smartphone will arrive later than previously thought - and cost a fair chunk more, according to one retailer’s website.

Play_N97_pricing_02

Play.com's N97 price and shipping date as of January (left) and its recently updated details (right)

Register Hardware reported in January that Play.com had stated on its website that the N97 – which has a 3.5in, 16:9 widescreen touch-sensitive display and a slide-out Qwerty keyboard underneath – would be released on 31 March for the princely SIM-free of sum £480 ($675/€535).

But the retailer’s now put its shipping date for the phone back until 23 June, while simultaneously upping the price to a whopping £650 ($914/€724).

Heavyweight online handset retailer Expansys mirrors Play.com’s N97 details, naming the same shipment date as Play. Expansys plans to ask £690 ($971/€769) for the phone.

N97_Expansys_pricing

Expansys wants slightly more than Play.com for the N97

However, Nokia devotees over at website NokNok have claimed a “Nokia contact” recently labelled the prices as simply “outrageous”. Whether this means the phone’s SIM-free price will be reduced in the coming weeks remains to be seen.

But what is certain is that the N97 is a feature-packed phone, with on-screen widgets, HSDPA 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity, Assisted GPS and Flash support. It also has a 5Mp camera and 32GB of on-board memory. ®