Nokia N97, iPhone 3G S, Nokia N86: All out next week. Which is best?

If you’re in the market for a new phone at the moment, you’re beyond spoiled for choice. No fewer than three major phones debut next week, the Nokia N97, iPhone 3G S and the Nokia N86 cameraphone. Whether by design or not, all are slated for a release on 19 June, meaning a major queue clash outside Nokia and Apple’s flagship London stores (Opposite each other on the same road) is incoming.
But which should you buy? If you’re confused, puzzle no more! We break each phone down for you, what’s hot and what’s not, and which you should buy when the doors open and the stampede dies down.

Nokia N97
Nokia’s sequel to the monstrously powerful N96 somehow manages to cram in even more impressive specs, including 32GB of storage (Expandable to 48GB via a microSD slot) and a full QWERTY keyboard.

Like the N96, the Nokia N97 still packs HSDPA, Wi-Fi, a 5MP camera and GPS (With satnav turn-by-turn ready to go out of the box, unlike the new iPhone 3G S), but the real improvement is the wide ratio 3.5-inch touchscreen and slide up screen which flicks out and moves up into a viewing angle, which looks simple, but is incredibly hard to pull off (Don’t believe us? The HTC Touch Pro2 tries to do the same but wobbles all over the place).

The Nokia N97 comes with Ovi Store preloaded, so you’ll be able to pick up any apps you fancy nice and easy, and unlike with the iPhone, it’s not a walled garden, so you can get your programs from wherever you like online. It’s too early to make a call about the software the Nokia N97 is running otherwise, but physically, it’s one of the most well built phones we’ve ever held. One for big pockets though: all those features take some size fitting in.
Nokia N97 unboxed!

If you were intrigued by the iPhone 3G but couldn’t quite take the plunge, the iPhone 3G S’s hardware combined with the new iPhone OS 3.0 may just have ironed out the final flaws to convince you to make the switch. On the software side, there’s now support for tethering your phone to a laptop, HTTP streaming for better web video, Find My iPhone to track it down when lost, turn by turn allowing for a TomTom iPhone app, and yes, copy and paste. It’s almost the perfect touchscreen phone.

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The only real downside? The iPhone App Store is still the iPhone App Store, meaning any programs you want for your iPhone 3G S still have to go through Apple’s bizarre approval process, and the cost. The only way to get the iPhone 3G S 32GB free on contract is by signing up for O2’s £73.41 a month contract for 2 whole years. If you want it on the cheapest 18 month and £29.38 contract, it’ll cost you £274.23 up front. And don’t get us started on the exorbitant tethering charges. Still, that won’t put off many, so get there very, very early on 19 June to claims yours.
iPhone 3G S: all the official photos

Announced back at Mobile World Congress in February, the Nokia N86 is Nokia’s first 8 megapixel cameraphone, and while it’s late to the party (Samsung and Sony Ericsson are moving on to 12MP), the Carl Zeiss optics should keep quality high. HSDPA and Wi-Fi will let you get on the web at speed, and there’s GPS to guide you around like any self-respecting smartphone should

The downers? The T9 keypad won’t have you pummeling out messages like a true power emailer as the other two phones here will, and the 2.6-inch QVGA screen on the Nokia N86 pales next to the cinema screens installed on the Nokia N97 and iPhone 3G S, so if you’re a fan of mobile movies, the Nokia N86 may not be for you. That said, if you can cope without QWERTY in some form, it’s undoubtedly the best mid-range Nokia Nseries yet.

Nokia N86 hands-on

That’s all of them! Do you know which one you’ll be getting yet? It’s a tough choice, but be sure to place your order online, or get down to Regent Street, London on 19 June to claim yours!

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2. Nokia N97 on sale in over 75 countries
3. Nokia N97 release today in flagship stores
4. Nokia N97 Retail Hands-on: Video Review
5. Iphone 3g Vs Nokia N96