Vodafone to get N97 Mini?
updated 11:40 am EDT, Wed June 17, 2009
Vodafone N97 Mini Claim
Vodafone Ireland may have divulged some of its future plans today through a post on its forums discussing new smartphones. While denying that Vodafone will get the just-launched N97, a spokesperson does claim that the carrier will get a device known as the "N97 Mini" as well as the better-known BlackBerry Storm sequel. What the N97 Mini would involve isn't known other than "competitive pricing" when compared to the expensive full-size model.
Nokia is known to have at least two other touchscreen smartphones in development, codenamed the Etri and IP08, though both of these may be too high-end to fit the Vodafone description. A small-scale N97 would likely have to have a hardware QWERTY keyboard in a slider rather than a touchscreen-only or fixed QWERTY design.
Separately, the same spokesperson also appears to have indirectly corroborated reports of the Palm Pre for O2 coming due late this year, as customers are told that another carrier's exclusive prevents Vodafone from offering the Pre itself.
