It was a major gripe we had with the Nokia N97’s web browsing experience; scrolling on pages compared with the likes of the iPhone was a tedious and rather annoying affair. Nokia has now released a firmware update set to rectify this. Firmware version 20.0.019; this update brings kinetic scrolling not only to web browsing but as a system wide implementation. Nokia already included this technology on some of it’s Symbian handsets, the 5530 XpressMusic in particular, so it was only a matter of time before the N97 got the technology it so desperately needed.

Along with the scrolling fix, the update also sees a tweaked version of Ovi Maps, Ovi Maps 3.1 which boasts 3 dimensional maps, while Nokia Email, Ovi Contacts and Ovi Store are all integrated in the core system image. Apparently, along with all this added functionality, the Nokia N97 is reported (by Nokia themselves) to benefit from increased memory and battery performance as well as improved image and video stability.

This update brings everything that the Nokia N97 should have been originally, and is available now from the manufacturer’s website. Lets hope Nokia don’t drop the ball again with the long awaited N900. Keep an eye on the blog for all things mobile.

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N97 gets kinetic scrolling, as promised!