The iconic Nokia N97 gets resurrected as a retro-inspired gaming handheld

In context: Few phones generated as much buzz as 2009’s Nokia N97. After all, it was the company’s first true attempt at taking a bite out of the emerging smartphone market. The quirky slider packed a touchscreen, a full QWERTY keyboard, and “cutting-edge” features like 32GB storage and a 5MP camera. While it never quite achieved a smash hit status, it continues to hold a cult following.

Fast forward to today, and a gaming company is trying to rekindle that Nokia nostalgia with a new handheld console. Sugar Cubes has just released the N97 Elite, and yeah, it shares plenty of vibes with the original N97 – only this time, it’s designed for portable gaming.

The sliding mechanism is the star of the show here. Just like the original N97, the Elite’s 4.7-inch display can slide upwards, tilting the screen for a better viewing angle. But instead of revealing a physical keyboard underneath, you get a controller layout with a D-pad and buttons. No analog sticks though, which is a bit of a bummer.

While Sugar Cubes clearly chose the N97 namesake as a nod to the sliding mechanism, we’d argue that the display up top actually resembles the Nokia Lumia 920 more.

The specs also have a bit of a retro vibe, thanks to the Snapdragon 855+ chip from 2019 under the hood. Obviously, it’s no longer a powerhouse, but considering it was a flagship processor with a highly capable GPU in its heyday, it should still have enough muscle to run classic emulators and even some relatively demanding modern games.

Impressively, the chip is paired with a hefty 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage.

Sugar Cubes has been teasing prototypes of the N97 Elite on Chinese social media for months. And if you’re in China, you can actually buy it right now for CNY 1,499 (around $205 USD). It even comes in some slick special edition Gundam and Dragon Ball designs for anime fans.

That said, there’s a catch – early reviews have not been kind. So unless you’re absolutely in love with that N97 styling, this might be one to avoid based on the negative feedback so far.

In a way, it’s almost poetic, considering the N97 Elite is a microcosm of what happened with the original Nokia N97 over a decade ago. That phone generated massive hype as one of Nokia’s first serious touchscreen smartphone efforts. But sadly, its resistive touchscreen, sluggish Symbian OS, and overall performance left a lot to be desired.

As slicker iPhones and Android devices emerged, the N97’s flaws became too glaring to overlook. It marked the beginning of Nokia’s downward spiral in mobile, as the company struggled to keep up with the competition.

Image credit: NITTRX

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