Nokia N97 To Challenge iPhone and G1

Nokia revealed its N97 phone, which is meant to compete head-to-head with Apple’s iPhone, and Google’s G1. The N97 has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, 32 GB of storage which is expandable to 48 GB via a 16 GB memory card, a 5 megapixel camera, a GPS with turn-by-turn directions, and a 640×360 16:9 touchscreen.

The one weak area is in the applications. Although the N97 is open to third-party developers, it may have been smarter to do that, plus run a virtual space that allows iPhone and G1 apps to be installed and run on the phone. If you’re going to compete, blow the customer’s, and competition’s, socks off.