Another deal comes to us from Dell, but this time, it’s the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic at $224.99 + Free Shipping after $30 off Coupon Code: 9K78JTP99FW1FP. This deal will expire on 10/14. All you need to do is go to Dell Small Business and look for item #: A2489032 and use the coupon code above.

By now we know that the Nokia N97 support page is up, indicating that N97 has begun shipping. In typical Nokia tradition, this should make the N97 available in about 2-3 weeks. In some cases it will even pop-up in some random town much earlier than this.

But what’s ahead? If Nokia’s latest press release  is to be believed, we can expect a few extras for the N97. It says that: “The beauty of this Nokia device is that taking it out of the box is just the beginning. As with any computer, people can constantly improve and refresh their Nokia N97 with new features, functions and fixes so they can do even more with the device.” We can safely bet that they are talking about the familiar firmware upgrade that fixes bugs, improves performance and adds new features. Nothing new there.

But the press release goes on saying that: “An exciting roadmap of new features and functions is planned to roll out in the second half of 2009.” Are they talking about new features and services for all devices or something specifically for the N97? Considering the fact that it was a N97 press release it looks like Nokia could be planning some new features and functions for the N97. Apparently these won’t ship with the device, but should roll out in the second half of 2009 as some kind of a “feature pack.”

All of this makes sense as Nokia has been actively updating their devices with firmware updates and even using alternative ways to do this, just look at the recent Flash lite 3.1 update for the 5800 XpressMusic. This could just be taking it to the next level! One reason for the release in the second half of 2009 could be that they were already pushing the N97 towards a strict deadline and bringing these updates at a later time would help them meet this deadline.

But the question question is: what new features could they add to the N97?

Confirmed: An entire set of new features are coming for the N97, including built-in Skype integration. We’ve also received information about built-in support for several social networks.

Yesterday I talked about Badaboom, the video encoder that uses your Nvidia graphics card to encode your video at an accelerated speed. It does it much faster than then traditional method of using the CPU. Only problem is that you do need a Nvidia CUDA card and of course the program isn’t free. Up till now our all-time favorite has been SUPER, but It’s impossible to get a a playable VGA-quality video on the 5800 XM using that program.

Our new favorite is called Videora Nokia Converter and it’s free! There are versions for the N95, N96, N97 and 5800 XpressMusic, although after choosing the 5800 XM version it included presets for the aforementioned Nokia devices. Best part of this program is that it’s able to produce VGA (640X480) video that’s playable on the 5800 XpressMusic. My search for a good video encoder has led me to different programs that simply couldn’t  output a 640×480 video that the  5800XM could play. It’s only when I lower the quality to QVGA do I get a playable result. For this reason Videora Nokia Converter is quite unique. Playing video at full VGA quality adds that last bit of quality that is certainly vissible when compared to QVGA video (320×240). Give it a try and let me know what you think.

What’s your favorite video encoder to get your video on your Nokia device?

As a Music device the 5800 performs brilliantly and 5th edition’s iteration of the S60 UI is surprisingly easy to understand and navigate, same thing can be expected for the soon-to-be-released N97. One thing that stands out though is the scrolling bar and the lack of scrolling arrows. On the 5800 XpressMusic, the scrolling bar is this thin bar placed at the edge of the screen: perfect for the included Plectrum or Stylus, but sadly isn’t as finger friendly.

Just as the on-screen keyboard can be switched to accommodate the input method, so should their be an option to change the scrolling bar to accommodate the good ol’ fingers. A wider scroll bar would not only help making scrolling a lot easier, but also alleviate the feeling of having to touch a very thin bar placed close to the screen’s edge. Another thing missing  are scrolling arrows. Let’s take the Music Player as an example. Here, I sometimes like to use the scrolling bar to scroll through the various artist or songs, but with a library that consists of thousands of songs, a slight movement on the scrolling bar will have you flying through your list.  Sure, you could always use the search function, but that beats the purpose of being able quickly browsing through your songs and finding something that you like. The scrolling bar is handy to quickly go through songs at speed, while arrows keys make it more easy narrow down your choice.

Would a wider scrolling bar and scrolling arrows make navigating the 5800’s menu much easier?

As we’ve come to expect, Mobile-review review Nokia’s latest and greatest a bit ahead of the actual release and in typical Mobile-review fashion, the review is long and detailed, revealing some pretty interesting facts about the N97.

Here are a few interesting little details on the N97:

-Being microSDHC, the N97 supports 32GB cards right out of the box, no firmware updates necessary

-The N97 will include a USB-drive-shaped stylus (a bit more manly than the red plectrum, that many confuse with a hart)

-It will be available in White and Dark Brown (And not Black as I originally thought)

-The hinge is made of plastic and not metal.

-The N97 is able to charge via USB and has a light indicator next to the USB port to indicate that it’s charging.

-Just like the 5800 XpressMusic, the N97 has the faster 5Mb/s transfer speed via USB

-The N97 uses a dedicated sound processor

-The audio quality on the N97 is better than the 5800 XpressMusic and compares favorably to the N91, the benchmark when it comes to audio quality

-The N97 similar to the 5800 XpressMusic will have a Standby breathing light and Notification light

-The White colored N97 will have a keyboard with White and Blue backlit key, the brown version has Orange and Blue colors.

-Last but not least, the Nokia 5900 is confirmed and should launch by the end of year.