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Nokia E90 Communicator review |
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It's hard to believe but it's been 10 years since the first Nokia Communicator was announced in 1997. The E90 is the eleventh Communicator model, following the 9000, 9000i, 9110, 9110i, 9210, 9210i, 9290, 9500, 9300 and 9300i.
Nokia Communicator users and fans got used to always having to wait several years for a new model and always being slightly disappointed by the lack of some important features and reduced performance of new models compared to e.g. S60 smartphones announced/released at the same time.
The 9210, the first Symbian OS based Communicator released in 2001, came with no GPRS and no Bluetooth, even though simple Nokia phones had both. 9210i and 9290 haven't changed much and we had to wait 3 years for the 9500 which finally delivered Bluetooth and GPRS/EDGE but (in 2004/2005!) still no UMTS, low-res camera and slow(ish) 150 MHz processor, compared to 220 MHz clocks of S60 smartphones (e.g. the 6630) announced at the same time...
The 9300 and the 9300i provided improved WLAN connectivity but still the same processing speed and no UMTS support...
History often repeats itself.... but NOT THIS TIME! The E90 has almost everything you could dream of and provides the fastest processor currently used in Symbian OS smartphones and the largest operating memory (RAM) capacity ever used in a Symbian OS based device, with the recently announced UIQ3 based Sony Ericsson P1i being the only smartphone to offer the same amount of RAM. Yes, it's true, Nokia has finally created a Communicator that is as fast as other high-end Symbian OS devices and as powerful (and MORE functional) than high-end PocketPC Phone Edition devices! Read on.
The look
The E90 weighs 210 g. The size? Perfect combination: the same width as the 9500 (57 mm) and the same height (132 mm) and depth (20 mm) as the 9300/9300i. It's large enough to provide space for its really huge screen and superb keyboard but small enough not to be called a brick.
Think of it as of a slightly wider 9300(i). The only parameter that remains on the 'hardcore' side is the weight - 210 g - but hey, it's a high-end PDA and not a toy, and it's still almost twice less than Windows Mobile based devices providing similar functionality, e.g. the HTC Advantage weighing almost 400 g (!).
How does it look? Shortly speaking, it's SUPERB. It's very professional and extremely stylish at the same time.
Depending on colour version, it's dark brown (almost black) or red is with shiny silver frame surrounding the display and black keypad, silver rocker key and (chromium plated) large and very solid metal hinges. Forget about those weak and easily breakable plastic hinges known from earlier models. And it's not just the hinges - the whole device is very well built using high quality materials. I haven't experienced any squeaking sounds or weak/loose parts.
The external screen's resolution is QVGA (240x320 pixels, 16 million colors) and the physical dimensions are 30x40 mm. For the first time ever, the external screen is not just a simple "cover UI" supporting a very limited set of telephony-related functions but now it's fully functional, providing access to all functions and applications of the device.
It means that on the external screen you can not only access all your data and run all system applications (e.g. Calendar, Web browser, Messaging) but also all installed 3rd party applications. There are absolutely no restrictions, the external display simply gives you access to EVERYTHING you get on the large screen inside.
Switching between the screens couldn't be simpler: open the lid and the application you worked with on the small screen becomes visible on the large screen, and vice versa.
There is also a setting that lets you configure the device to always automatically switch to the Activity (standby) screen when you close the lid so that you can quickly dial a number without having to switch to the Activity screen manually. Switching between screens is almost instantaneous - one second or so.
The user interface is fully scalable and all applications and UI elements adjust themselves to different screen sizes and proportions fully automatic and almost imperceptibly. My dreams have just came true! It's also worth mentioning that the screen is bright and pixels are very small providing high picture quality. Using the "Bulb" key on the internal keyboard you can adjust the brightness of the internal screen (4 levels).
The brightness of the external screen can be configured in Settings using a slider (4 levels).
The external phone keypad has large rectangular keys, very slightly convex in the centre. They are much better than 9500's shaky and irregularily shaped keys but IMHO slightly worse than 9300/9300i keypad having larger keys and more space between them.
But overall it's a good keypad with decent tactile feedback. The Zero key has a wireless internet symbol (long press activates Web browser). The hash key lets you quickly switch between the currently enabled and the silent profile. It also serves as the Edit button letting you highlight (using the rocker key) and Copy/Paste text.
On the right side of the external display there is a small light sensor controlling backlight of the phone keypad.
Right below the screen there are two soft keys, menu and "C" buttons, the usual Green/Red Send and End buttons and a 5-way rocker in the centre. The 5-way rocker button consists of a square(ish) silver frame and a large black central button.
It's very convenient to use, definitely much better than on previous Communicators and also much better than joysticks found on most of S60 smartphones.
The Power button located right above the external display is used to switch profiles and to turn the device on and off. Unlike in previous Communicators, now the Power key turns on/off BOTH parts.
If you want to only switch off the GSM radio and keep working with the PDA, select the "Offline" profile instead (you can still enable Bluetooth and WLAN in the Offline mode and the external display will remain fully functional).
The back side of the E90 is mostly occupied by the battery cover. The battery is the new 1500 mAh BP-4L providing 5 hours of talk time and up to 14 days of standby.
And it does its job very well: one hour of Web browsing or GPS navigation on the large screen with max brightness will only consume one bar (out of seven) on the battery indicator. It's worth mentioning that unlike in 9500, you don't need any special techniques or tools to remove the cover and the battery; now they can be removed quickly and easily. The battery cover is made of metal.
Above the battery cover there is a 3.2 Megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash, and two stereo speakers. The camera provides VERY HIGH quality of both still pictures (2048x1536 pixels) and video (VGA, 640x480 pixels @ 30 frames per second). Shortly speaking, you can expect digicam quality of pictures and true TV quality of video clips.
For more details and sample images and videos please check the 'Mutimedia' section of this review.
The bottom part of the phone is occupied by USB Mini-B slot (USB 2.0 Full Speed, no USB charging), charger connector and audio connector (2.5 mm jack).
Even though called A/V connector in some official Nokia press releases, the connector only provides audio output and the E90 does not have TV out, which is a real shame, especially on a device of this kind. Right below the connectors there is a MicroSD memory card slot (with hotswap support) protected with a spring-loaded cover.
On the right side of the phone there is an infrared port and two buttons: Voice dialling/Push-to-Talk button and the camera button.
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