Part 2 of our Nokia N97 review and a look at the premium features of the phone as we check out web access and the host of multimedia options on offer.

Ask any one involved in the development team what’s the first word that springs to mind with the Nokia N97 and the likely answer will be ‘Internet’. The N97 promises true mobile internet, not a watered down experience that you often come to find on mobile phones, but is this the case or just harmless marketing spin? The web browser on the N97 will be familiar to anyone who’s used an Nseries phone. Opening the web browsing icon presents users with a selection of shortcuts including favourites and recently viewed pages. Clicking on the option to open a new web page brings up a text box and an on screen alpha numeric keypad to punch in the web address. Open up the QWERTY keyboard and the display switches to landscape. Personally I found using the phone with the QWERTY keyboard the most enjoyable method of web browsing as you are shown more of the web page and can use a combination of keyboard and touchscreen navigation. Once the webpage has loaded up, you can scroll by dragging your finger across the touchscreen or using the four way navigation key. Double tapping on the screen will zoom in or out and tapping on the arrow icon in the bottom right corner opens the tool bar which lets you zoom more comprehensively, open up the options menu or navigate to a new webpage.

While none of this might sound ground breaking, the ease with which it’s all handled is staggering. Web browsing on the N97 is effortless. What’s more, visit a site such as the popular video sharing YouTube and you’ll be impressed to find that the N97 fully supports it with videos played directly on the webpage itself or in full screen once opened in a separate window. BBC iPlayer is also a pre-installed application on the N97 and lets users watch the previous week’s instalments of all of the BBC’s most popular shows from Eastenders to Top Gear. Despite the obvious difference in size between the N97 and a PC or Laptop display, at no point do you feel you’re getting a condensed version. With the N97, mobile internet really is the full internet on the move.

As a member of the Nseries family, the N97 is much more than just a one trick pony and this is definitely evident in the built in camera. The N97 features a 5.0 Megapixel camera with a Carl Zeiss lens, auto focus and an LED flash. Whilst 5.0 Megapixels is no longer as ground breaking as it was, the N97 still manages to impress. Perhaps it’s the excellent display that helps but as soon as you’ve taken a photo, you can instantly see how crisp and clear it is. Images are sharp and the more you zoom the more you understand that 5.0 Megapixels is still more than adequate in a camera phone. Uploading onto a PC is easy and demonstrates further the impressive results. The camera layout is fairly straight forward and takes little time to pick up. On the right side of the phone you have the capture key which is operated by your right hand and the zoom keys which sit comfortably within reach of your left index finger. On the right of the touchscreen display is the tool bar for changing the settings, letting you switch between the video and still camera, change to different scene modes including the excellent Macro mode (as seen in the sample image), set a timer and change the flash settings. Considering it is a single LED Flash rather than dual, the flash is incredibly powerful and helps to illuminate low light conditions with ease so you still get the best out of the camera. Not just a great camera in its own right, the N97 also fuses various other aspects to great effect. Want to share a photo with your friends? Well aside from the usual options of geo-tagging and picture messaging, the N97 allows you to upload it straight onto your Facebook page. The simplicity of it all ensures that users will be taking full advantage come launch day.

The N97 also handles video capture well, though it would have been nice to see some improvement over older Nseries devices, especially in the wake of the i8910 HD with its HD video recording. Still, the N97 records at 30 frames per second in QVGA resolution, delivering video that is free from distortion or choppiness. Playback does look great on the 3.5 inch display, especially with the tilting design, though you do start to see the limitations when using the TV out feature and watching your videos on a bigger screen. After shot editing software includes the ability to add audio clips (paving the way for comedy sound tracks to your home movies), add text, still images, crop videos and merge multiple clips together.

In terms of music, the N97 once again excels. Music can be sorted by Artist, Album, Playlist, Genre and Composer and when you consider that the N97 has a staggering 32GB of onboard memory, you understand the importance of sorting your music in a clear and easily manageable manner. Once you’ve pressed play you the album art (if your music has this feature) and the usual selection of play, pause and skip options. The N97 comes bundled with a set of headphones that provide excellent sound quality and reassuringly, if you want to share your music with a wider audience the N97′s built in speakers are more than up to the job. Louder isn’t always better and thankfully the N97 matches high volume with equally high sound quality providing excellent levels of Bass and little interference. In the music options the N97 also features a shortcut to the Nokia Music store giving you access to all the latest hits and an ever growing back catalogue that can be purchased and downloaded straight onto the phone itself.

Tune in tomorrow for the final installment of our Nokia N97 review to see what we really thought of one of the most hyped phones in mobile history.