Nokia N97 Receives a Small Firmware Update

The Nokia N97 has seen a fair number of firmware updates since its introduction in June, and today sees the release of yet another. This addresses some lingering bugs from the major v20 firmware, and continues tweaks in memory and application performance.

What's in This Update
Unlike past updates, the change log of v21.0.0045 was leaked a few days before the firmware itself was released. Direct from Nokia's Support Forums we see that this update includes:

• Improved call reliability
• Smooth Touchscreen scrolling 
• Browser improvements 
• Music player improvements 
• Improved image and video stability

While not an extensive list, it does address many of the items that some users have raised since the v20 update a little more than a month ago.

Update Procedures
While this update is similar to other that have been released for the N97 in that it is available via the Nokia Software Updater application (PC Suite and Ovi Suite), it will also soon be available OTA (over-the-air) as well.

However, this update does require a few additional steps compared to some previous updates:

• Making a backup of the device is recommended. Backups can be performed on the device with the File Manager application or by using PC/Ovi Suite on a PC;
• Make sure that the battery is fully charged before performing the update no matter what method (NSU or OTA) is used;
• When restoring from the backup, do not restore the previous device Settings. Doing so may cause conflicts with the newer firmware and older application. Its recommended to re-download and reinstall third party applications versus restoring them from a backup.

Availability
This update is only for the original Nokia N97. The newer N97 Mini is a similar device, but uses a different iteration of the Symbian^1 operating system due to different hardware needs.

Users can download the v21 update via the Nokia Software Updater application now. OTA updates are expected to be rolled out by region and carrier over the coming days/weeks.

For more details about the Nokia N97 update, go to Nokia's website. For more information about this smartphone, read the Brighthand review.

Source: Nokia