It was a memorable evening of June 26, 2009. Seventeen journalists participated in a unique expedition organised by Nokia to launch their latest product, N97 in Bangladesh. Objective of the expedition to take in the scenic beauty of the rich and natural bounty called Sylhet and glide through a series of competitions, games and activities using the advanced and user-friendly features of the new Nokia N97.
All 17 of us thrilled and excited journalists made our journey towards Zakaria Resort, Sylhet not knowing what to expect and completely unaware of how much more enriched we were going to return from this voyage.
True to its slogan 'Connecting People', The representatives of Nokia tried in every way possible to get us all 'connected' through dialogues, discussions and ice-breaking sessions. Moreover, before getting us started with all the competitions, as if they had read our minds, they reassured us that they would not just dump us with an N97 and leave us on our own to figure our or way through.
At first, they gave us a hands-on demonstration on the usability and special features of the N97 so that we knew exactly how to operate it when needed. In addition, after dividing us into groups, they provided each group with a Nokia representative provide first-hand guidance in operating the device, just in case.
Competitions were numerous and thrilling, with treasure hunts, mathematical quizzes and even dance competitions.
In one of the challenges, groups had to open a Facebook account each using the Internet on N 97. With its easy and fast connection to Internet, the winning team did it in no time! During the boat racing competitions, many of us used the N97's cool 5 mega pixels and Carl ZeissTessar lens camera to take high quality and perfect shots of the exotic locations right from a fast moving boat! These we later uploaded on our Facebook accounts to show our friends what a great time we were having and all this we did instantly using our N97s.
Throughout the journey, many of us ardent fans of Micheal Jackson used the High Speed Wireless Internet service provided by N97 to keep in touch with the latest news about the King of Pop.
We just couldn't get enough of all the wonderful features that this set had to offer! Its QWERTY keyboard and touch screen, along with its 3.5 inch sliding display made its operation a piece of cake. Its home screen, which can be personalized with desired widgets allows users to keep their favorite social networks, news sites and other pages on the home screen so that the user can connect by a simple touch.
Other features include high quality video output on a 16:9 widescreen, 3.5 mm jack headphones and built-in stereo speakers for a great audio experience. Its digital music player supports playlist editing, equalizer and categorised access to the user's music collection. We exploited this feature to the fullest by listening to our favorite mp3s during the journey. And of course, storage of music is of no concern. With its storage capacity of up to 48GB - 32 GB and on-board memory expandable to 16GB by micro SDmemory card slot, you can store all the songs and even movies that you want!
What's more, its WLAN IEEE 802.11b/g and UPnP support, Micro-USB connector, Hi-Speed USB 2.0, 3.5mm stereo headphone plug and TV-out support (PAL/NTSC), Bluetooth wireless technology 2.0 with A2DP stereo audio, enhanced data rates (EDR) and GPS receiver with support for assisted GPS (A-GPS) Nokia N 97 is a perfect traveler's choice, as it's always ready for use on-the-go.
The expedition ended with a musical performance by a band and one of the participants and we were left with a feeling of the highest ecstasy, having completed such a thrilling and hi-tech adventure.