Nokia N90 (Camera review)

Nokia N90 camera review: Exceeding the expectations

The new Nokia N90 mobile phone prides on a two megapixel camera equipped with Carl Zeiss optics. Besides, it has a wide array of camera controls and picture settings. Is the new Nokia N90 the best photo mobile? This article includes a direct comparison between pictures taken with Nokia N90 and pictures taken with the excellent Canon G6 digital camera.

Official photos of Nokia N90

Just days ago you had the chance to read our review of the Nokia N90. Can we still speak about this model as of a mobile phone? It is a multifunctional device, which serves not only as a phone, but also as a communicator, a MP3 player, a digital camera and a video camera.

Disappointment did not last much

When I was writing the review about Nokia N90, I got seriously disappointed by its built-in camera. Everything just spoke in its favor: the optics with Carl Zeiss hallmark, the sensor with two megapixels, incl. previous experience with the 6630 and 6681 camera models. We all expected Nokia N90 to be one of the best photo mobiles ever. So imagine how great my disappointment was when I found out that auto-focusing takes three long seconds, pictures are often blurred and finally, text shots can be considered nothing else but a plain shame. To be honest, at first I tended to think that the fault was rather mine for all pictures advertised in Nokia N90 official presentation look brilliant.

Eventually, things found their places. By mistake, Nokia had provided us with a phone, whose camera was not the final one. So we were immediately given a new phone, whose tests left no doubts and made all editors in our office claim in one voice: “This camera is really good!”. That is why we decided to prepare a separate review of the camera of N90, in which we offer you a lot more sample photos.

Nokia N90 displays all its beauty

How should I hold this?

Nokia N90 has a special construction – it features a rotating display and camera. It offers two hold positions for taking pictures – one is in the same style as if you are holding a video camera, the other one is the classic photographic camera position. In the first case, the main high-quality display plays the role of a viewfinder. It shows 262K colors in a resolution of the incredible 352 × 416 pixels. The device is controlled by the joystick, mounted on the right side of the phone. The joystick itself is manipulated by user’s right thumb. The shutter button is situated just above the joystick. Moreover, you can even press the rotating camera downwards by using your thumb. To use the menu, use your left hand and press the two buttons placed next to the display.

Holding the phone to take a picture

If you prefer to take pictures in the same way as with a common compact camera, you will need to close the phone. You need to turn the camera part crosswise; the small outer display serves as a viewfinder. It is active, displays 65K and offers a resolution of 128 × 128 pixels. The entire control process is done by the joystick on the top edge of the phone. Right next to the joystick is the shutter button. Unlike standard photo cameras, here the control is managed from the opposite side with one’s left thumb. This is a bit unusual, but needs just a while to get used to. The inconvenience of this handhold is that the rotating part of the camera needs to be turned by the lower end – its mechanism does not allow a full rotation of 360°; if you try to rotate it along the top, the camera part gets stuck into the stop, which results in the camera lens looking upwards without a possibility for further rotation.

The camera control application starts automatically once one of the described positions has been set. Besides, you won’t even find an option that allows manual activation of the camera, because it is simply unnecessary.

The camera of Nokia N90 is mounted in the rotating interlink of the phone.

Always prepared

Even though the standard camera handhold does not offer a perfectly comfortable viewfinder, the photographic process is much faster. A single turn of the camera part is enough for the camera to start running. When you turn back the camera part to its original position, he camera keeps on being active for about 3 seconds and then turns off automatically.

The viewfinder is dominated by a focusing white square. The state icons are shown on the upper margin of the display. They provide details on the currently activated scenic mode, the number of pictures the free memory space allows for, or the charge level of the accumulator. In the bottom end of the display you will see the flash setting indicator, the digital zoom indicator as well as an icon that reminds you that a press on the joystick will take you into the main menu. To start focusing, just press the shutter release button about half its way down. In a moment or so the focusing square will turn green, which is a signal for you to press full the release button.

Camera’s viewfinder • when you switch options quickly with the joystick the active flash setting gets shortly viewed in the from of a text legend (the relevant icon never disappears)

The capture of a certain scene, including the focusing process, takes approximately two seconds. The average time we measured was 2.14 sec. If you are fast enough and manage to give an immediate confirmation, you may succeed to take another picture in two more second, or if we have to be punctual, in 2.33 sec. From a stand-by mode a picture could be taken in less than three seconds. Beside the time for focusing and saving the picture into the memory you need to also take in account the time necessary for the camera part to turn and for the relevant application to get started. After a short training we managed to achieve an average time of 2.61 sec.

Just like with a real camera

When you hold the phone in a camera mode, the camera application is activated by the joystick placed on the top side of the phone only. By moving it forwards and backwards you roll in the menu, viewing this way the options for activating the diode flash – automatic, constantly on, off, red eye reduction. By moving it to the right the scanned scene gets zoomed in, by moving the joystick to the left it gets zoomed out. Instead of this, I would have rather preferred exposure compensation for the zoom is digital only, so not really usable.

The joystick that serves the camera control is situated on the right side of the phone, right next to the release button

A press on the joystick takes you into the menu. By moving it forwards/backwards you navigate the menu. A move to the right or to the left is used for selecting a choice, which is then confirmed by another press on the joystick. The first option in the menu is the one that allows you to choose the right scenic mode – automatic, macro, night mode, sport, portrait, landscape mode and user mode. The automatic mode works very well. In this aspect, the sport mode is quite practical for it “forces” a shorter exposure time on the camera. In all other cases the mode setting is done automatically according to the conditions defined by the relevant scene – incl. the macro mode.

Camera’s main menu • mode selection

On the second place in the menu is the flip over option. The picture appears on the display upside down. This mode is quite good for making self portraits. More from the menu: the self-timer delay, which has values of 2 and 10 seconds. The option for setting the exposure compensation is offered on the forth place.

When you make portraits you need to turn the view upside down • setting the exposure compensation

The picture size options are the last to come. There are three possible resolution modes to choose from (2 MP – 1600 × 1200 pixels, 0.5 MP – 800 × 600 pixels, 0.3 MP – 640 × 480 pixels). You can also choose, whether pictures should be saved into the phone or on the memory card. Also available is the option for a short view of the picture just after it has been taken.

Setting the self-release function • more setting options

You will need both your hands

When you hold the phone in the way typical for standard cameras, the number of curious glances around you will surely multiply. In this position the phone looks rather futuristic; its ergonomics are excellent. Use your right hand to hold the phone firmly and your thumb to control both the joystick and the shutter release button. The latter two buttons are easy to manipulate. The joystick sometimes slides away when fingers are sweaty. You will hardly ever use your left hand here. Perhaps, only when you want to view ready pictures or set a certain function.

Context keys above the display (next to the display, when you take pictures)

The viewfinder is brilliant; it really can compete with any viewfinder of a digital camera. In the left margin of the bottom line there is a legend of the relevant function of the context key that lies next to the display. Beside this, here you will find information about the number of pictures still possible to take as well as details on the state of the accumulator. In the top line there is a legend of the second context key. At the opposite end of the line information on which mode is currently activated is provided- the static picture scan or the video mode. The state icons appear in the column in the right margin of the display. In its right bottom corner, out of the mentioned column, there is an icon indicating the resolution that is being used.

Camera’s viewfinder • when the zoom gets activated a scale appears in the right column

When shooting, a white square appears in the middle of the display. When you focus, it does not turn green. The focusing process is indicated by a blinking icon in the column on the right. Blinking stops when the focusing is over. If it changes from green to grey, it means focusing has not been successful. Unfortunately, during the focusing process the exposure parameters are not blocked.

Both the flash and the zoom functions are controlled by the joystick as well. A press on the joystick opens the photographic functions menu – inside the menu you will find various scenic modes as well as flash and exposure settings. These functions include the same setting options like in the horizontal handhold mode. Two more options have been added though – white color balance and color effects. In the first case you can choose out of four types of light (sunny, cloudy, bulb light, luminescent light), or leave on the automatic mode. In the other one you are offered sepia, black & white or inverse picture scan.

Camera’s main menu • photo settings o mode selection

What I don not like about the exposure compensation is that the view-through it offers at the scene that is just being scanned is much too small. I would rather have the setting controlled by joystick as well as a full viewfinder, but apparently, I am not lucky… I would have also appreciated an option that would let me leave the menu by moving the joystick to the left. Not having it, however, I am forced to use my left hand to press the upper context button next to the display.

Photo settings – so bad that the view-through at the picture is so small

Taking photos is not the end of the game

The bottom context key opens camera’s main menu. The switch to video mode option is the first to appear. Further on, you can view all pictures in the gallery, go to the settings of the camera functions as well as activate the sequence shooting option. In this mode it is possible to record a series of as much as 6 pictures in a full resolution. The main menu also contains a reference to the self-timer option.

Picture gallery • view at a selected picture • beside other options, pictures can also be sent

The setting menu allows you to make a resolution or memory setting. You can also set the camera to display the picture after it has been taken or save it into the album. The album is nothing but a file in the picture gallery. Of course, you are free to create as many albums as you like. They will help you put all your pictures in the desirable order.

Filing a picture into the album • album list • viewing the album (the view is identical to the one in the gallery, in this particular album there is only one picture)

Not only can you place pictures into albums. The camera allows you to carry on far more daring things. Nokia N90 offers an easy-to-use picture editor, which is really good if you consider the fact that it is basically a mobile phone we are talking about. Selected picture can be cropped, resampled or turned upside down. You can give it a frame, decorated it with an animated picture (clip-art) or with text. A nice surprise is the option for setting the font size, color and incline angle. To your wish you can also modify the brightness and the contrast in the pictures as well as apply color effects or the so called Comics effect, which turns the photo into a drawing. Well, I have kept the best of it all for the end, and here it comes…If you remain disappointed by the flash option for red eyes reduction, the editor offers you another option to eliminate the red eye effect. The editor comes especially handy when you send MMS.

Function menu of the picture editor • graphics selection • selecting font color

Picture modification with better graphics and text • applying Comics effect • applying inverse color filter

When the pictures start moving

You will surely agree that this camera would have not been a modern one if it was not equipped to shoot video. Nokia N90 shoots videos in MP4 format in a resolution of 352 × 288 pixels. The length of the video record depends on the size of the memory available. A lower resolution or the 3GP format that allows the pictures to be sent in a MMS is also available.

Viewfinder in video mode • video setting options

The viewfinder in the video mode is the same like the one in the camera mode. Logically, the info about the number of the remaining pictures gets replaced by details about the remaining time. In the down right corner an icon of the video resolution and format is displayed. In the upper left corner you will see a sign saying that you have activated the video mode. Zoom can be used during the shooting process too.

Video camera’s main menu • mode selection • video options

The menu has been somewhat reduced. When you shoot a video, you can choose between two scenic modes – a normal and a night one. Further on, you can balance the white color as well as apply color effects. From the main menu you can enter the gallery or go to the video settings, where you can choose a format, turn off the sound recoding or select memory in order to save your record.

I have made several sample records, whose quality was surprisingly high. Recording was good and the final video was completely fluent. Well, you can find this out yourselves:

• Video 1 – new tram (MP4, 351 kB) (zip file)

• Video 2 – old tram (MP4, 482 kB) (zip file)

• Video 3 – ambulance (MP4, 1.9 MB) (zip file)

• Video 4 – crossroads whirl (MP4, 2.4 MB) (zip file)

• Video 5 – lower resolution and 3GP format (3GP, 125 kB)

Let us now stop these endless explanations and present you the next two chapters, in which I am offering you a big amount of sample photos in full resolution as well as comparable photos taken with a classic camera – Canon G6.

All sample photos are presented in a full resolution of 1600 × 1200 pixels; the files sizes are about 300-500 KB. EXIF information is also available. For those, who do not want to download such big data packs, I have prepared a smaller format in a resolution of 800 × 600 pixels too. They are easy to recognize for their previews on the page are also smaller. What you need to do is decide, whether you like to view the full resolution picture or rather the reduced one and then click on the bigger or the smaller picture on the page.

To have you appreciate the camera of Nokia N90, I added comparable pictures, taken with Canon G6 (of course in 2MP resolution captured by the camera’s 7 MP sensor), to some of the pictures taken with N90. I took the same photos both with Canon G6 and Nokia N90. I used the auto exposure as a working mode for Canon G6.

City tour

One can hardly rebuke something in the following photos. One of the weak places of Nokia N90 is the red color, as best shown by the comparison between the picture of the red car taken with N90 and the same picture taken with Canon. You can also notice the limited dynamic range (overexposed clouds) of Nokia N90, because of the much smaller sensor.

A walk in the park

Note the visible barrel distortion in the picture of the information board. Anyway, you can see a similar result from the wide end of almost every digital camera.

The purple fringing (or chromatic aberrations) in the following pictures, where the trees meet the sky, is significant. In fact, in this high contrast scene neither N90, nor Canon managed to successfully set the right exposure degree. For this reason we used a negative exposure compensation.

The following photos present well the different ways, in which the two cameras see various colors. Canon’s pictures reflect reality more precisely. Nokia, however, did not do badly at all, either.

Two types of digital zoom

The camera is equipped with a digital zoom of two modes. At the beginning of the zoom-in process, missing pixels get gradually added. If you continue to zoom in the picture, however, at a certain moment it gets cut out and gets displayed in a smaller format (central picture). Then pixels keep on being added till another cutout is done. In the end, you get a 20 times zoom and a VGA picture of very poor quality (the very right one).

Macro

As you can see from the picture with flowers, Nokia focuses on the center of the scanned scene, while Canon chose to focus on the closest flower. The rest of the pictures show that N90 is very good at taking pictures from a closer distance.

Color effects

For the creative photographers…

Exposure compensation

Even though we already wrote about the exposure compensation several times, I would like to mention it here once again, with the help of the following pictures. The first photo was taken in automatic mode, in the second one I took off a grade, and in the third photo two grades were taken off. As visible, the sky is no more that bright and at the same time, the trees are reasonably dark – just like they should be. In the last picture I made the contrary step – I added a degree, just for the comparison.

Test patterns and text

Although the test pattern shows a significant degree of softness, lines are clear enough. As for the text shots, Nokia took them really well.

White color balance

The following pictures were taken under bulb light. In the first one, the white balance is automatic; in the second one we used the bulb light mode of the white balance; in the third picture the sunny day mode was applied.

Flash in action

The diode flash proved to be quite efficient. The first picture below was taken without a flash and as you can see, it is really dark. The second picture was taken from a distance of about 1 meter and on the third the distance between the little bear and the mobile camera is about 2 meters.

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Carl Zeiss did not fail

In the description of the camera of Nokia N90 in my review of the phone I put a certain dose of careful criticism (perhaps, you remember the paragraph entitled as “Did Carl Zeiss fail?”). As if I knew, that something was wrong. But as you can see today, Nokia N90 belongs to the absolute top 10 chart of all photo mobiles. At present, N90’s only and most dangerous competitor is Sony Ericsson K750/W800. Which one is better? The answer will be here soon…

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_n90-review-45p4.php

Nokia N90 (2)

Nokia N90 review: The great mobile revolution

The best display on the market; 2 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics; Symbian OS; multimedia player; memory card slot; voice recognition; Bluetooth EDGE; 3G network support … And all this in just a single phone – the futuristic clamshell Nokia N90.

Nokia N90 in the official pictures

Key features

• Top-class main display
• Big high-quality outer display
• 2 megapixel rotating camera with autofocus and Carl Zeiss optics
• Slot for the RS-MMC memory cards (3V and 1.8V)
• Active stand-by mode (Today)
• Stereo MP3 player

Main disadvantages

• Bigger size and weight
• Long starting lags
• Worse battery durability
• Dictaphone manages one-minute records only
• No vibration

When Nokia presented its first models of the elite N series in April this year, they took many people’s breath away. The idea of the Finish manufacturer about this series is to offer mobiles that feature top class-technologies and to provide this way the best possible equipment in a mobile device. As a result of these efforts the new models N91, N90 and N70 were brought to the world. All three models are equipped with the operation system Symbian Series 60 and feature an exceptional variety of functions.

Nokia N91

The first one constitutes the very top of this Series. The main lure of this device is the built-in hard disk with a capacity of 4 GB. Most of all, this phone is meant to serve music fans. However, it also offers a 2 megapixel camera and a serious amount of functions. The phone has a classic construction with a slide cover keypad, but it is marked by a notably bigger weight and size. On the lowest step of the virtual evaluative ladder is situated the N70 model. Its design could hardly impress most mobile users, but at least, it fits into the weight and size category of most current smart phones. Its target customer group is the one of the most pretentious users, who need a phone combining both work and fun.

Nokia N70

The futuristic clamshell N90 stands on a step lower than the N91 model. There is no doubt that it will be welcome with excitement by all fans of digital photography. Beside the standard extended functional menu, it also offers a 2 megapixel camera, whose optics pride on the hallmark of Carl Zeiss, the manufacturer, whose optic equipment and lenses made him famous all over the world. Of course, here you will find a memory card slot and also one of the finest displays ever. This last model is the first one to hit the market, so it also was the first to undergo our severe tests.

Nokia N90 displays all its beauty

We are testing the final version of the phone with firmware V2.0527.2.3 RM-42 (from June 7th, 2005)

Update August 1st: In fact two phones were tested – both with final firmware and in retail package, both phones with no vibration. Let’s see if this will end the vibration saga in the opinion section.

A solid piece of phone

Nokia N90 is the second Nokia smart phone, which has a clamshell type construction. The first one was the 6260 model, known for its square body and metal covers. 6260 used to be criticised for its enormous weight and slightly bigger size. In this aspect, however, the new model scores even worse. It weighs the shocking 173 grams, due to which Nokia N90 overruns even big communicators like Sony Ericsson P910i (155 g), for example, or even Nokia 9300 (167 g). As for the size, this mobile is a real “fatty boy”. It is 112 mm long, 51 mm wide and 24 mm high.

Equipment had to be fit somewhere…

Due to its bigger size and weight, N90 is not another small pocket toy anymore. I did not stand this stone in my pocket for a long time and soon it was travelling into my bag. Even though the phone feels quite comfortable in one’s hand, the place, from which one’s pointing finger usually backs up the phone, is now occupied by the bulgy bed of the camera. As a result, the phone is likely to overweight forwards.

Unpacking – beside everything else, the box hides a software CD and a data cable

Is this still a clamshell?

Apparently, Nokia engineers felt like letting out the ghost from the bottle when they were working on N90. It has two joints instead of the standard one, opening this way space for a tiny cuboid, on which the camera was mounted. In addition, the camera works on the principle of rotating – if the lens looks to the left, you can turn the camera part to the right up to an angle of 180° or to the left in an angle of 135°. Unfortunately, a full 360° rotation is not possible. Every 90° the camera runs into a lock, which prevents it from possible unwilling rotation.

Is this a phone at all?

The main display rotates as well. It does so from its standard position to the right only, up to an angle of a little bit over 90°. The display stops in two arresting positions: its basic position and at the end of its rotating move to the right. In addition, there are four locks in the main joints of the phone, which determine the four basic positions of the whole mobile:

1. Phone is closed – both main parts are closed, the camera is aligned to them, which makes the phone look as a cuboid. The camera lens can look to both sides.

2. Camera mode – both main parts are closed, the camera part deflects in such way that the lens can look to the side opposite to the side the outer display looks at. The outer display also serves as a viewfinder of the camera. The camera application is managed through the control buttons placed on the top edge of the device. It starts automatically once the lens part is even slightly turned. The display can also be used as a mirror for self-portraits, provided you direct the camera to the opposite side.

3. Phone is open – main parts are fully open, the camera part gets into a crosswise position (it allows rotating, which does not make the camera application start running automatically). The main control elements here are the main keypad and the main display. All functions of the phone are freely approachable.

4. Camera mode – the top part of the phone gets opened up to a position, in which it contains a right angle together with the bottom part. The main display turns by 90°, the camera lens get set to look to the side, which is opposite to the one the main display looks at. The display itself fulfils the functions of a viewfinder. Having been even slightly turned, the camera application automatically starts running. This mode also allows you to activate the video recording application or view the picture gallery. The main keypad is non-active. The right hand controls both the joystick and the release button on the sideway of the phone, whilst the left hand controls the buttons above the display. This mode is also used for video conversations in 3G networks.

Holding the phone in a the camera mode

The quality of the construction is superb. Rotating parts smoothly bottom into their resting positions. The moment of locking is accompanied by a muffle click. Everything moves effortlessly, contra reactions are light. Moving parts show no signs of contra will. Even though all mentioned details should be considered relevant and expected from any mobile of such a class and price, Nokia deserves our congratulations. My only uncertainty was awakened by the creaks given out by the cover of the phone’s bottom part in the area around the keypad. On the other side, they are not constantly present, but come out under stronger pressure only.

The joint often resembles a brain-teaser

Manipulations with the phone (AVI, DivX 5.2, 2.8 MB)

Patience pays dividends

Laid on a table Nokia N90 effuses dignity. It has the form of a cuboid and looks very impressive thanks to its bigger parameters. No experiments have been done in terms of materials. Plastics have been used everywhere. There are two color shades in the game – a silver one and a dark grey, nearly black one. All plastic surfaces are matt, so fingerprints are not visible at all, except on the glossy frame around the outer display. This frame, featuring manufacturer’s logo, makes the display look optically bigger. Both the display and its frame are mounted into a dark plastic plate, which is surrounded by silver plastics – as you can see, extravagance has been totally abandoned.

No experiments in terms of materials, forms or colors – is it Nokia at all?

The same design dominates in the camera part. On its upper side is situated the switch on/off button of the device, next to which is the tiny slot of the loud speaker. The dark plastic surface continues on to the back side of the phone, where it creates the removable part of the back cover. The margins are silver. Although the cover is extremely thin it holds firmly on its place. Under it you will find a lithium-ion accumulator of 760 mAh, which is expected to guarantee durability of up to three hours of phone calls and 300 hours of a stand-by mode.

The legend promises high quality pictures with the camera • switch off button and speaker slot

Next to the accumulator is situated the slot for the SIM card, which is possible to remove without having to ease off the accumulator. This feature appears intentional since the phone is able to work offline, with the phone part of the device not being functional. In this mode, the SIM card can be easily replaced without the necessity of switching off the phone – very convenient indeed, considering the fact that starting the phone takes almost an entire minute! Believe me that this minute may seem endless, if you need to work with the phone urgently. Once started, the phone reacts immediately, even if full of contact names and active applications in the background. Of course, the bigger the number of those applications, the slower the speed. The picture gallery is the other application that makes the phone “breathe heavily”, especially when it is completely full.

Back side • cover lock • view at what is hidden behind the back cover

For the moment, I am totally disappointed by the durability of this Nokia model. Understandably, during the preparation of the current review the phone was extremely loaded with various functions and processes. Very few mobiles survive more than two days with a single charging if used under similar circumstances. Unfortunately, Nokia N90 did not make it even for an entire day. Even though the battery state indicator kept showing no signs of instability, at a certain moment of the falling evening it suddenly displayed a low battery alert and a moment or so afterwards the phone turned off. Anyway, it is not the time for final evaluations yet. The phone is going to be tested in our office for several more days, so we will keep on checking its right durability characteristics.

Keypad made for male hands

The inside of the mobile is also dominated by plastics in the darker shade of the grey. The display, decorated with a thin glossy frame, is enchased in the upper area of the moving part of the phone. Above it is the receiver, placed between two buttons. Engraved below it is the famous logo of the manufacturer.

The camera makes the phone stay in an inclined position when placed on a horizontal surface • two buttons mounted above the display

Most of the spacey bottom part of the display is occupied by the keypad. The manufacturer evidently had no reason to be thrifty on space as all keys are big enough even for the usually larger male fingers. Below the bottom key line and the bottom edge of the phone there is quite a notable distance, which prevents the thumb from crumbling, and helps it comfortably lie on the surface.

Keypad is huge • as are also the keys themselves • at the bottom there is a gum strip, which guarantees soft bottoming of the phone’s upper part

The main control element is the round navigation key with four active ways. Its centre is reserved for the confirming button, which is slightly elevated and therefore shows a little bit unsure reaction when pressed. Presses on each individual way are sure. All presses are confirmed by a muffle click. In order to look optically bigger and more impressive, the main control component is silver, whilst the confirm button is white.

Main control button

The round navigation key is surrounded by functional buttons, which are already obligatory- two context keys – the red and green ones plus the enter menu key and the key serving the options of text entering and deleting. The functional part passes smoothly into the numeric part and thus complicates touch orientation a little bit.

Keypad detail

The numeric part of the phone constitutes of huge keys, organized in a block. The touch orientation among the different keys is guaranteed by phone’s bevelled edges and the lower bedding of the middle key column. Pressing is low and is accompanied by the already typical click that could have been a bit more muffle.

In my opinion, the plastic elaboration of the keys seems much too cheap in relation to the exclusivity and the price of this Nokia model. Another disturbing factor for me was the size of the keypad. On one hand, it supposes easier writing for users with bigger fingers. On the other hand, however, it tires the thumb if the writing process takes longer. The keypad background light is white, even and strong enough. It gets activated only in case of insufficient light conditions. The latter are checked and evaluated by a sensor, mounted under the display.

Backlight is very good; it gets activated if necessary only

Let’s look at it from aside

The side parts of the device are silver colored. The Pop-Port system connector has been given an unusual place, on the left side of the phone. It is accompanied by the thin jack for the charger. The very same jack was used in the 6101 clamshell. Unlike the current chargers, the connector of Nokia N90 is extremely thin. To charge the phone with an older charger, use the adapter, which is available in the delivery package.

Phone’s left side • system connector is secured by a cap… • …that you will almost immediately lose • charger and adapter for older model types

The bottom part of the phone is even. The only element here is the tiny microphone slot together with the eyelet for interlacing a strip, placed at the edge of the mobile’s bottom. The phone is delivered together with a nice leather strip. The right side is the most interesting. Here you will find a tiny door, which secures the memory card slot, as well as a five-way joystick, accompanied by a bulgy button, which starts the camera mode. The important role of this joystick gets visible in the camera mode, where it controls the menu. It is stable and easy to use.

Phone’s right side • the joystick, which controls the camera, is situated on the right side

The door of the memory card slot is closed… • …and open • eyelet for interlacing a strip • leather strip and cloth delivered together with the mobile

One of the sides of the camera part of the device is plain. On the other one there is a glass that secures the camera lens. It has a serrated silver frame. Next to it is the strong flash diode.

The best display in a mobile ever

The quality of the displays of all current Symbian Nokia models is very good. Yet, some critics have already raised voices, according to which the 176 × 208 pixels resolution is insufficient. On a surface of 35 × 41 mm a single square centimetre fit in 2551 pixels. Some modern phones are equipped with displays, featuring almost twice as many pixels on a square cm. The new Nokia 6230i (4807 pixels), Panasonic VS3 (5020 pixels) or Sagem MY X-8 (5020 pixels) are only a few examples. The praised display of the new Sony Ericsson K750 has 3709 pixels on a sq. cm.

The main display of Nokia N90 keeps the original size of the displays of all previous Nokia models with Symbian. The difference lies in its resolution, which is four times higher! Yes, there is no mistake. This phone uses a grid of 352 × 416 pixels on a tiny surface of 35 × 41 mm, which means that it displays the unbelievable 10204 pixels on a square cm! If you also add the amount of 262K, the picture you get is almost ideal

The picture can hardly show the incredible quality of the display

When you start Nokia N90 your excitement may be cold showered. Apparently, the animated introduction logo with two shaking hands has not been optimized to display the characteristics of the new display, so everything looks just like it did before. Once the user environment has appeared, however, one can do nothing but stare with astonishment. Font and icons are perfectly clear, photographs look as if printed on glossy paper, individual pixels are impossible to recognize without using a magnifying glass. The only defect I ran into was the slightly yellowish nuance of the white color, which is however impossible to observe in normal use. In addition, you will have to do with somewhat poorer readability, when the display is positioned under direct daylight.

What once used to be the main display of the high-class 6230 model is an additional outer display in the new Nokia N90

The outer display is identical to the main displays of most of the models of Series 40. It is active, offers a 128 × 128 pixels resolution on a square surface of 27 × 27 mm and is able to display 65K colors. As it is an outer or supplemental display, the parameters quoted above are respectable. But if you work some time with the inside display and then switch to the outer one, your will see the difference. The problem is that compared to the inner display this one looks much too common and “boring”.

Sample view at the outer display (stand-by mode, ringing, displaying information, waiting for a voice order, camera mode in a horizontal handhold)

If not active, the outer display is showing the time in big inverse numbers. It is very easy to read, even without backlighting. When there are missed events, they are symbolized by tiny icons. When the display gets activated (for example, when you close the phone, press the joystick etc. …), the stand-by mode starts running. It displays details about the current date, time, the name of the mobile operator, the network intensity state, the charge level of the accumulator, and of course, it shows the icons alerting missed events. To view those events, simply use the joystick. There is no need to open the phone.

Compatibility of the new environment

The changes made in the display resolution carry along the question of how these changes can be dealt with by the current version of the Symbian system and the applications available for Symbian Series 60. At first glance, everything seems much quite the same. The user’s environment has been left unchanged. Only the picture features better colors and displays more details.

In order to find more, I installed one of the most favourite applications among users – FExplorer – and sat down waiting. The icon of this program looks ugly and edgy in comparison to the rest of the icons. The same holds true for the icons and the font inside the program. Nonetheless, it works without problems, which is still the most important thing. The majority of the programs work well too. Graphic motives are also compatible. Icons and pictures adjusted to lower resolution declass the quality of the display. To my disappointment, the phone has only one graphic theme, which is moreover utterly basic, with white background.

Note:

I am sure every attentive reader has recognized most of the programs mentioned in the previous paragraph. So which are the programs that have difficulties cooperating with the new environment? Display screenshot programs. After several hours of searching, testing and consulting I did not find a program that would save the entire display of Nokia N90 onto a picture. All standard readers managed to save a mere quarter of the display, this is a picture in the resolution that is typical for the displays of the current Symbian phones.

A quarter of Nokia N90’s display

As any good review is expected to contain pictures of the display of the relevant phone, after having tested about 12 screen readers I moved on to searching for a program that would allow the control of the phone from a computer, because such programs transfer the mobile’s display onto the screen of the computer, from where pictures can be easily acquired. My success was however far from full. As I expected, the only program that was able to work this task out (Image Expo), was only available in its trial version; so it marked the final picture with a hologram and kept functioning for a very limited period of time. As the price of this program was $ 99.95 and I had not time to lose, eventually I was forced to grab a camera and take photos of N90’s display in the old-fashioned way.

Speak out loud!

Even with different resolution display, Symbian Series 60 remains the same in respect to user’s environment and functions. What is notable is the modification in the design – font is smoothed, 3D menu icons are well elaborated… The owners of older Symbian phones will probably find the Active stand-by mode quite interesting. The main display shows an overview of the most recent issues from the calendar or the number of non-executed tasks. Here, you will also find temporary files of the most frequently used applications.

Main display with the Active stand-by mode on • missed calls and messages alert

But for Nokia 6681’s owners this function is not new; they already have it in their mobiles. I just like to remind you that you can deactivate the Active stand-by mode. If you do so, the standard picture, clock and state icons on the display will keep their places.

Applications and functions menu

The main menu consists of 9 icons, whose tags get open rolling vertically. Icons can be filtered and organized into folders. The phone offers a line-like configuration as well.

Environment is possible to change according to graphic motives

A piece of news is the voice control option. Not because older Nokia models lacked it, but because Nokia N90 is able to recognize orders, which were not entered prior into the phone. You just need to press and hold the camera release button, situated on the right side of the phone, and speak out your wish simultaneously. This way you can also change profiles, activate Bluetooth or the mailbox, or dial voice mail number. What a pity that the phone does not allow more types of orders.

You can replay your voice orders

This technology has been also used in the phonebook. As a result, each saved name is automatically given a voice nomination too. When a name is pronounced in the same way, in which it was saved in the phone book, the priority number assigned to it is automatically dialled (i.e. mobile number, landline number, etc.). In every such dial up the phone confirms your choice by reading out the name of the called person. Initially, its electronic voice may evoke a smile on your face, but very soon this smile will turn into anger when you find that dialling a number this way is virtually almost impossible. It is obvious that this function is not “elaborated” well enough yet and is therefore virtually useless.

Phone calls: pure excellence

No matter how packed with various multimedia functions Nokia N90 is, it is first and most of all a mobile phone with brilliant phone equipment. It works in GSM networks at 900, 1800 and 1900 MHz and even in third generation networks like WCDMA 2100, which allow video conversations.

The sound coming from the earphones is good, but yet standard. Remarkably clear are the bass elements in the sound of the loud speaker. On the other hand, the sound of the middle and higher tones seemed to me somehow garbled. But as a whole, N90’s volume characteristics – the most important for any mobile phone – are brilliant. No resonance or creaky sounds were detected.

Ringing is supported by polyphonic melodies or any MP3 or AAC files. You can modify it using different ringing profiles. The fastest way to activate these is to use the switch off button. In addition, the menu offers a keypad lock option, extraction of the memory card or an offline mode option. By activating the latter you turn off the part communication with the GSM network as well as its assigned functions, but the phone remains available for common work.

The phone searches the address book by both name and surname • inserting a new entry

The phone book is a multi-item one. It uses the shared memory of the phone, which amounts to 31 MB. 500 names without pictures use up to 200 KB, so you should not worry about possible lack of space. Pictures are one of altogether 30 fields that can be assigned to each name. As for special ringing melodies, they can only be assigned to groups, around which all contacts are organized. Filters are a matter of course.

No news in messages

Compared to the 6681 model Nokia N90 has undergone no modifications in respect to messages. SMS writing can be fastened by activating the T9 dictionary. The SMS editor has remained unchanged. It provides information about the number of used so far messages as well as the number of characters still left in the current message. SMS are not limited by a certain number, but by the capacity of the free shared memory.

Messages menu • writing SMS • creating MMS

The MMS editor has remained unchanged. You can send messages as big as 300 KB. No modifications have been made in the email client either. It downloads message headers, reduces the size of the downloaded emails, sets a regular mailbox check etc. A matter of course is work with attachments. The email client manages POP3, IMAP4 and SMTP protocols.

Downloading emails • received mails overview • viewing emails

Opening a picture attachment and a Word document

The Push to talk function is not present in the current Nokia N90 firmware. However, you can download it free directly from Nokia N90 support page.

Excellent companion not only in the office

As usual, all organizing functions are accurately elaborated. The calendar is very well organized and offers a month, a week and a day view as well as the option for inserting three types of events – a meeting, a note and an anniversary. These events are more than enough for quick and successful work. If there were more of them, they might cause confusion.

Month, week and day view at the calendar

The Nokia N90 has both a task and note applications. Among the extra functions you will also find a measure converter. Some of the most interesting applications here are Quicksheet, Quickword and Quickpoint, all three of which help you browse documents created in Microsoft Office. Everything works smoothly. As the relevant application opens automatically, attachments and emails can be viewed immediately. Reading PDF documents is also possible.

Notes • tasks • dictaphone • extra applications menu for viewing documents

Unfortunately, two of the traditional Symbian variances have not been corrected. The first one is the alarm clock, which lacks the repetition option; the other one is the dictaphone, which allows only one-minute long records.

As the operational system is open, you can always download any necessary additional applications. The phone uses Java applications, whose speed results are worth our attention. Nokia scored 1862 points in the JBenchmark 1.0 test and 97 points in the JBenchmark 2.0 test. In comparison to other Symbian Nokia models, such results appear quite miserable. Obviously, this low score is caused by the higher resolution of the display.

In the extra applications menu you will also find the beloved Lifeblog program. Each new Nokia N90 owner obtains an activating code for this software in order to be able to use its full version free of charge.

Did Carl Zeiss fail?

Update: Please read the separate Nokia N90 camera review. The review you are reading now is based on the old version of the firmware, so some of the negative notes in this section are not valid any more.

The camera is one of the strongest lures in Nokia N90. The main reason is that its optic qualities are guaranteed by the name of Carl Zeiss – the top-class manufacturer of lenses and optical equipment. The optics along with the camera’s sensor with 2 megapixel resolution constitute an extraordinary combination.

Setting the phone in a shooting position (AVI, DivX 5.2, 1.8 MB)

Nokia did not hesitate, but supported N90’s high quality equipment by appropriate high quality applications. Its camera may even be appreciated by experienced photographers, because of the options for manual adjustments. The phone offers 7 scenic modes. The white color balance can be adjusted according to the type of the surrounding light. There is also an option for exposure compensation as well as an option for choosing the relevant color shade of the picture.

Camera’s viewfinder • camera’s menu

The camera has a self timer and continuous shooting option. Pictures can be taken in three different sizes – 1600 × 1200 pixels, 800 × 600 pixels or 640 × 480 pixels. In the menu you will find a digital zoom, which works in a combination with crops and interpolations. After the first several focusing steps the resolution remains unchanged, but if you go on, picture becomes smaller and smaller till it gets displayed in VGA resolution, which is interpolated further on. This way the digital zoom is 20x. In practice, however, the result of such zoom will be nothing but a loss of quality.

Camera functions selection • mode selection • other settings

The camera focuses automatically. The first picture result may horrify you for it is much smudged. To focus the scene you will have to half-press the release button several times till the focus indicator turns green. The pity is that this process takes sometimes three long seconds. If you are impatient, your photo is likely to get out of focus.

Sample pictures (Full 2MP resolution, 300-500 KB each):

When light conditions are acceptable, the camera takes very good photos. Yet, we can hardly speak of exceptional performance for it has already been a while since Sony Ericsson K750i – the brilliant 2 megapixel photo mobile – was launched on the market. This is also where the surprise caused by certain minuses of N90′ camera functions rise from. The most notable disadvantage is related to scenes scanned at a short distance – although the camera has a macro function, it is not able to focus such scenes well. If focusing comes out well, there is a notable “softness” in the result. The same problem is visible in photos taken from a bigger distance, although not to such a great extent. On the other hand, the lack of noise and the excellent color rendition are admirable.

The phone shoots videos in MP4 format in a 352 × 288 pixels resolution. In addition, it is possible to set a lower, standard resolution as well as a 3GP format. All taken picture and shot videos are gathered in a rotating gallery. When you view pictures, their previews roll around the display. While rotating, you can select the one you wish to send or possibly view across the entire display. Although effective, this solution is somewhat slow. The reason is in the high resolution of the pictures, due to which they take longer to display.

Viewing the gallery in the open phone mode… • … and in the camera mode

Entertainment does not mean camera only

Beside the camera, the phone offers entertainment in the form of a multimedia files player. It is the old good Real Player. It plays MP3 and AAC formats and plenty of other sound and video formats. If you take into account the equipment of old Nokia Symbian phones, the stereophonic sound of the new model will definitely please you. You should not worry about running across memory space difficulties. Beside the inner memory of 31 MB, you are also provided a memory card slot of the RS-MMC type. It works at both 1.8V and 3.0V, and is therefore compatible with all kinds of RS-MMC memory cards. Supplied with the phone is a card of 64 MB.

Multimedia player Real Player

Along with the phone comes a pair of standard earphones, which are the same as the earphones of Nokia 6681, 6630 and many other models. Due to the built-in microphone they can be used as a light handsfree set too. They are plugged into the system connector. The sound quality is identical to the one of other Nokia models. I mean, it is reasonable and fully sufficient for travel needs. Regrettably, N90 does not have a radio.

Delivered earphones

If you stop enjoying taking pictures or listening to music, enter the game world. Nokia N90 has two preinstalled games – the old good snake in a modern version and a card game, but according to your wish you can always install a huge amount of additional higher-quality games thanks to Symbian.

Data transfers

Data communication is best supported by WCDMA 3G network. Nokia N90 can also send data through the packet technology GPRS as well as through the much faster EDGE with both of them being of Class 10. Communication with the closest environment is guaranteed by Bluetooth or by a USB cable, which is a part of the phone’s delivery package. N90 does not have infrared port.

In the delivery box you will also find a CD with the latest version of PC Suite. Once again, everything is the same. Connecting the phone to the computer is an instant operation, which can be managed by everybody – incl. complete beginners – thanks to the attached detailed user’s guide. The process of synchronization with Outlook is fast and smooth. I even used the phone as a modem through both cable and Bluetooth connection for a little while. As I had expected, it ran smoothly. What I am not able to estimate yet is what the connection stability may be, if the connection lasts longer.

CD installer is quite impressive

Nokia PC Suite – no changes • synchronizing with computer

Another function to be found in the phone is called Data Transfers. It allows mass transfers of records from the phonebook and the calendar as well as creating a gallery between two Symbian phones connected through Bluetooth, which is quite a practical extra function.

N90 offers a web/WAP browser. It is relatively good quality. It manages even some relatively complicated pages. N90 also offers the tried out Opera in case that you are not satisfied with the standard browser.

Browsing web pages in a standard browser… • … and in Opera browser

For those adoring beauty

Nokia’s idea has proved to be successful. The new N90 model is a remarkable phone. Although it is very expensive, it will definitely gain fans in a short time. Even more important than the adored 2 megapixel camera is the main display. We expect that it will soon appear in other new models with Symbian operational system. The most notable disadvantages of N90 are its size and weight. Beside the price, these two characteristics may stop many people from buying the phone. Yet, there are many aspects in which they fade in front of N90’s excellent construction and rich equipment.

The phone is expected to appear in most of the shops in Europe in mid August, the latest. Its price is estimated at about 670 euros. For the moment, Nokia’s strategy in respect to prices is not clear. We do not know whether it is planning to keep them high within the N series as it did with its luxurious stylish phones. We suppose, however, that their price will be gradually falling for what is considered to be high-class equipment today is going to be a common standard in a few years. In the case of Nokia N90, however, this process will probably take longer.

Basic package contains:

• Phone Nokia N90
• Battery BL-5B
• Charger + adapter for older types
• Stereophonic earphones with a microphone
• Memory card RS-MMC 64 MB (+adapter for MMC size)
• Strip
• Cleaning cloth for the display
• Data cable
• CD with software
• Manual

For our reviews we shoot, download and prepare much more pictures then finally appear in the article. They can be interesting for some of you therefore we offer all of them in one place: photo gallery.

Nokia N90 photos

Photos of the main display

Photos of the outer display

Screenshots of the installation CD

Screenshots from Nokia PC Suite

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_n90-review-44p6.php

Nokia N90

Let’s start at the very outside. A quick word about the N90’s packaging, which is something that is not normally mentioned. It’s gorgeous. The phone itself is on display in the blister pack, with all the features that Nokia are proud of highlighted on the rear of the box. There’s a twin opening feature, and it makes the first few moments of the ‘user experience’ very nice.

The first thing that strikes you about the N90 once it’s in your hand is the sheer size of the unit. Sure it packs a lot into the frame, but compared to the svelte forms of some of the ‘budget’ phones you can get on contract for free nowadays, the N90 better have something to back up its bulk. Luckily, it does. The big selling point of the N90 is that it’s a camera phone. Now I know that this term has been thrown about a lot in the last few years, but the N90 is probably the first device to really live up to the promise.

The optics are the most prominent feature of this focus on being a camera (and yes, the pun was intended). With Carl Zeiss optics in the phone and being mentioned in every advert and press release, Nokia are rightly making a big thing of this. What’s great, from an end user point of view, is that all the powered auto-focus equipment operates without any user interaction – that’s why it’s called Auto-focus – and the resulting pictures are some of the best from a ‘phone’.

But what gets people most about the N90 isn’t the fancy lens, but the fact that it is a transformer. While you might be giggling at visions of little toy cars turning into robots, you’re pretty close with the N90. Spinning the camera barrel while closed gives you something very close to a regular camera. Flip up the screen and you can switch to ‘handheld’ mode, which is primarily for video but also works as a good full screen camera mode as well. Finally whip everything back into place and you have a fully featured flip phone.

It makes for a very tactile phone, one that you are more than happy to lift out and just open and close all the time. I find myself idly spinning the camera barrel around. What I did find was a problem with the design when trying to put it into my trouser pockets. If I put the phone in with the camera barrel going in first, it spins round a touch and this makes it really awkward to get in the pocket. Invariably it would be lifted out and turned over 180 degrees. The second problem is the battery cover. I’m glad I’m not alone in this – it’s virtually impossible to get off the device due to the incredibly tight fit. Once it was open, I resorted to a tiny tab of sticky tape to make sure I could get back into it again while reviewing it. It might not be as much of a concern to people using it as their only phone, but it lets down the overall “first few minutes” experience.

Taking Pictures

Being a camera phone, you’d expect the N90 to deliver some good pictures. Running from 640×480 up to 1600×1200 the pictures are leaps ahead of what we had from the first generation camera phones. The N90’s Carl Zeiss lenses are an improvement over the plastic lenses you’re used to. Of course that lens technology is improving as well, and the N70 can give the N90 a good run in terms of picture quality (with average subjects and landscapes), but there’s a clear winner when comparing shots from these two phones. Compared to a regular digital camera, the N90 still feels a little bit lacking, but the performance is definitely in the “more than good enough” category.

What’s more interesting for me is the totally closed ‘transformer’ mode for taking pictures, because at that point there’s no indication that you have a phone. The outside display turns into a viewfinder, with a button on the top of the long spine to take pictures and a secondary cursor for you to move around the menu system. I’ve handed this to people to take pictures and they’ve had no problem working out what to do. It’s only when it rings and I open the clamshell that they do a double take.

The other main addition to the N90 over a regular camera phone is the auto-focus in the lens system. This makes very small adjustments to the lens distance, and thus to the focusing of your pictures. As mentioned, all this is invisible to the end-user. You really notice it on macro shots, where you are taking very close up pictures, and the benefits get less and less as your subject gets further and further away. The lens system has resulted in one lost feature from the device, the vibrate function for calls and messages. The official answer is that ‘this would cause too much internal vibration and damage the lens system’, although this really doesn’t ring true to me.

The second mode is primarily designed for video capturing, but it’s actually more ergonomic on the controls to take pictures in this mode as well, placing the cursor and camera buttons just by your thumb in a natural grip. You also have access to the two traditional Series 60 soft keys next to the screen. It’s worth pointing out that someone’s head is screwed on straight at Nokia, because the soft keys are actually duplicated. One set above the screen for this camera mode, and a second set above the number pad (below the screen on the bottom half of the clamshell) in flip open mode.

The video camera functionality is definitely one of the strengths of the N90. The 352 by 288, 15 frames per second output is quite acceptable for ad-hoc home movies, with pixellation only apparent when blown up on a large screen and with the frame rate only being a problem when panning around quickly. Everyone knows what you can do with your camera, but if you take the N90 and then look at something like the Video iPod, you’ll see that the N90 is a perfect (and cheap) tool to create a video suitable for delivery over iTunes to the iPod. And this alone makes the N90 a tempting phone to carry for bloggers, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see a major news event captured on this smartphone featured on the news in 2006.

A final note on the construction. Nokia aren’t known for their flip phones, and the USA (as opposed to Europe) generally prefers this form factor. Nokia’s PR knows this and the N90 is getting a huge push in advertising in the USA because of this. This might be the first Nokia smartphone to break the US market. It’s also likely to be the first phone that I break. Because of the size of the unit, and all the transformer modes, it’s fallen out of my hands three times in the last month. It’s probably just me, but there may be a worry that with all the moving parts and modes where bits stick out, one bad fall and the N90 will be a Nokia jigsaw.

Onto The Phone

Okay, for the mobile phone geeks, this is Series 60 version 2 feature pack 3, running Symbian OS 8.1a.

What everyone is going to notice in phone mode is the high-resolution screen. Rather than the old Series 60 standard of 176×208 pixels, the N90 has a 256K colour screen that runs at 352×416 pixels. That’s exactly double the number of pixels in each direction. So for (built-in and third party) applications that aren’t ‘screen size aware’ Nokia simply double up the pixels on the screen in a compatibility mode where each theoretical pixel is actually a group of 2×2 pixels, thus replicating the original 176×208 sized screen.

These extra pixels are used to good effect in the presentation of the built-in user interface elements. We have smoother looking fonts for buttons and in the menus. Having more pixels in the same physical dimensions as previous screens makes it much easier to read from the screen, and less of a strain if you use the phone for extended periods (think web browsing or ebook reading).

What we don’t have in the majority of applications is any sensible use of the extra space. My biggest problem in the messaging applications is that a paltry maximum of three messages can be seen at any one time. Which is fine for SMS, but when you have an email address that even picks up a little bit of spam, the interface gets incredibly cumbersome when scrolling through messages. It’s unfortunate that some of the key applications that come with the N90 don’t really make more use of the high resolution screen. Opera is probably the biggest let-down here, as their small screen rendering could do wonders with the 352 pixel width screen.

Where you do notice the extra pixels is naturally in the multimedia applications. The new Gallery application shows a ribbon of all your pictures and videos in a scrolling thumbnail mode. Those looking for the original menu style strip, it’s still there, so relax. Each thumbnail is generated when an entry is first shown on the screen, and this can lead to a delay when looking at new pictures as each thumbnail is generated. When you first move to a picture in the ribbon, you’re seeing a zoom on the thumbnail, not the image. It’s only when you click again do you get to the real, high definition image. Although initial thumbnail generation is slow, if you give the smartphone time to build them up, you’ll find Gallery more fully stocked and faster the next time you use it.

Let’s not forget that the N90 is also a standard Series 60 device as well, which means there’s a huge range of built in applications that have been slowly polished over the years, and now they all take account of the high-resolution screen (to some degree). The Calendar application is now genuinely useable for a full day’s worth of appointments. Notes and To-Do list, while benefiting from the better presentation, are still woefully lacking in any tools (such as category support) to make them as useful as their counterparts on other PDA and smartphone platforms.

There’s an Adobe PDF viewer application (useful for those attachments you’ll be sent by the office) and the Quickoffice suite that provides you with a Microsoft Office compatible word processor and spreadsheet application, along with a PowerPoint slide viewer. These are welcome additions and extend the functionality of Symbian OS – we’ve looked at them previously – but again it would be nice to see these running in full screen resolution and not just compatibility mode.

Finally, one quick note about the Data Transfer application that copies Contacts, Calendar and Gallery data between two Series 60 phones via Bluetooth. Providing this makes upgrading between devices incredibly easy for the end user, and ends the absolute reliance on PC Suite that previous upgrades would have needed. Speaking of PC Suite (which we’ll look at in more depth in a later review), it’s now generally pretty stable and easy to use. Whereas before it was always perceived as a rather geeky solution (“Why would you want to plug your phone into your PC?”), it’s now well targeted and rather useful for the end-user.

Summary

The N90, right now, is probably the most feature-packed Series 60 smartphone, and it will remain that way until the recently announced devices for the first half of 2006 make an appearance in the retail channels. It really does show how far the cameraphone/smartphone genre has come in the last few years. It’s also a call to developers to make sure that they’re following recommended practice when designing applications, i.e. that they’re not hard coding interfaces to use a specific screen size. The N90 is the first phone to break out of the standard form factor in terms of screen resolution and fonts available. This is a challenge going forward for developers, Nokia and Symbian, but it’s easily surmounted with good communication.

To sum up, the N90 is Nokia’s first true cameraphone to focus on the camera, and it’s all the better for it. Yes, the unit has a number of quirks in the design, but the software, the operation and general polish of Series 60 continues, and makes the N90 the high-end phone of the moment in both Nokia’s N range and in terms of smartphones in general. It might be marketed with the camera as its killer feature, but with Series 60 it covers all the bases, and covers them well. Right now, there’s no solid reason to not look very, very seriously at the N90.

Source : http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/reviews/item/Nokia_N90.php

Nokia 9500 (2)

Nokia 9500 review: Communication expert

We have been waiting for the new Nokia Communicator for three and a half years. And here it is – being just launched, fulfilling all our expectations. This communicator has everything it is supposed to have. It supports EDGE, Bluetooth and even Wi-Fi. For its exceptional features the new Nokia 9500 definitely deserves a detailed review.

Key features

• Fully functional keyboard
• Big detailed display
• 80 MB built-in memory, support for additional memory with MultiMediaCard (MMC)
• Wi-Fi, EDGE and Bluetooth support
• Data profiles can be sorted out according one’s priorities
• Progressive web browser
• Office applications supporting the most frequently used formats
• Comfortably compatible with computer
• A very effective calendar and address book
• Integrated camera

Main drawbacks

• Size and weigh, square design
• Some of you may miss the touchscreen display
• A certain software instability

Nowadays with all the manufacturers offering dozens of new phones it seems almost unbelievable that Nokia comes out with its new communicator after three and a half years selling the old model only. To make it even more interesting I would mention the fact that Nokia 9210 Communicator was already out-of-date at the time of its launching: it lacked GPRS support – a function which has been essential for the mobile communication for years.

Fortunately Nokia has not followed the same line when preparing the new 9500 model. This time we are talking about an absolutely packed up device, which does not lack a single essential communication function. Although the lack of support for a third generation net may be a disadvantage in some countries, we could stay calm.

Nokia in the stand, which is a part of the standard delivery

Although we could accuse Nokia of launching the new communicator with a notable delay, we should also thunder at its competitors. In fact, so far none of them has offered a device, which would be able to compete with the communicator. None of the devices already existing is to combine a telephone, a pocket computer with a fully functional and easy-to-use keyboard, communication functions and office applications in one body. Never mind all the rebukes the old communicator was a device of an extraordinary quality. Therefore probably Nokia did not feel in a hurry when developing the successor.

The less beautiful the design, the smarter the device

I suppose some of our readers will not agree with my opinion stated in the previous paragraph. There are devices as the communicator Treo or the Sony Ericsson P series smartphones, the computers MDA and DataPhone as well as an army of smart phones – they would say. Well, the truth is that these devices are of a little bit different category, never mind the fact that they stay closely behind Nokia.

Who is the communicator for?

Nokia 9500 Communicator is meant to be used mainly for work. People often buy smart phones as an entertaining toy. With the communicator, this aspect seems hard to imagine. It is relatively boring. You will find only work application in it as well as other programs, which are possible to install, but they all seem to be of a strongly serious character.

The keyboard brings about a higher level of productivity

A typical user is a person, who would like to effectively organize their time, staying in distant contact with the headquarters (office). It is evident that the communicator cannot offer its users the same comfort as a notebook can. By compromising in ergonomics Nokia has managed to offer a pocketsize device. Nevertheless, you can effectively work with e-mails, office documents and Internet applications.

The communicator has always belonged to the class of the most expensive mobile devices. Times have changed and therefore it will not be necessary to pay 1300 euros as we used to three years ago. Nevertheless the Communicator is not for everybody. It is going to cost around 800 euros. The first pieces appeared on the market one week ago at a prices slightely higher than this. It is possible though that the potential buyers will not all manage to get their communicator for a limited number will be offered.

That is how the predecessor Nokia 9210i Communicator looked like.

Is it worth switching from the old communicator to the new one? It absolutely is. We have hardly ever been so categorical when recommending a new device but Nokia has come out with an essential innovation.

It is not about design

To say the truth I have not really come to like the new Nokia outlook. But in this particular case it does not seem to be a relevant detail. The 9500 model has not been made to be looked at, but to work with. Neither is a problem its extreme dimensions 148 x 57 x 24, which will allow you put it into your front pocket at maximum. There is no way to wear it in a trousers’ pocket. Buying a belt case may solve the problem with the size though.

The weigh parameters follow the size ones: nowadays a mobile device of 230 grams is not an ordinary thing to see (According to different but also official information it weighs only 222 grams.) Nevertheless the new communicator is still lighter than its older brother. The 9210 Model had dimensions of 158 x 56 x 27 and weighed 244 grams.

Comparing the new communicator with a payment card and the smart Nokia 7610

Even though I do not remember the reason Nokia phones caught the nickname “bricks”, I must say that this pejorative expression suits the new communicator just perfectly. It is a square and you will have to take a very careful look at it in order to notice that the desks are not fully parallel and the edges are not straight.

Nokia has tried to break up the square impression by designing a little different front cover. It has three asymmetrical platforms, each of a different color. The cover, which is exchangeable, is going to be offered in a dark and light version as an extra to the standard two-color one. It sits perfectly and does not creak at all. Unfortunately the cover surface is dark and glossy, which makes every fingerprint obvious. A light cover may help in such case for smudges are not so easy to notice.

So far perfectly firm

As well as all older communicators the new one could be used as a telephone when closed. In order to get to the big display and the full-functional keypad it is necessary to open it. The first innovation could be seen right away – with the 9500 model one can make phone calls just like with any usual mobile phone; the old model had to be put to the ear with its opposite side, i.e. with the display turned outside. Moreover the phone is tri-band.

One of the disadvantages of the old communicator was the joint connecting its two parts. Not to undo it, but I have to stress the fact that the new model’s joint does not creak at all. One of my colleagues was surprised to find out that it is relatively elastic and can be taken down nearly to the keyboard level by a slight pressure only. I guess the purpose of this constructional solution is to prevent the joint from getting out of its socket. A strip with contacts connects both parts of the communicator. The touched up stability deserves an honorable mention as well. Nokia does not outbalance as easily as it used to.

Nokia 9210 used to creak a lot when fold open. Let’s hope we will not have that difficulty with the new communicator.

Close once again: let us call

Nokia 9500’s front side looks like and also behaves like a usual phone of Series 40. It has a small asymmetrically placed display – just the same as in Nokia 6230. It is an active matrix with 65 thousand colors. It is good quality and allows a background picture setup. There is a huge keyboard with classic managing panels below the display. You will find a four-way scroll key with confirming functions as well as operating keys. The keyboard is good quality but unfortunately any fingerprint left on its surface can be paid heed – the situation with the display is the same.

Cover display • background lights • details of the cover display

When closed the phone disposes of limited number of functions. The small key in the right upper corner starts the communicator. It also elects the ringer profiles. When closed you can use the communicator for calling, searching in the address book (by consecutive writing). Nokia 9500 does not offer a T9 dictionary. That is why when writing messages you would do better if you open the communicator and use the big keyboard. Only received SMS and a list of the e-mails are possible to view. To read the message bodies it is once again necessary to move to the internal display. (Correction – Actually you can use the outer display to read, write and send SMS also.)

With Nokia fold closed you will also manage to view the lists of all dialed, received and missed calls, operate with the SIM Toolkit and do basic settings as well as work with the integrated camera., whose resolution is a standard one: 640 x 480 pixels. I am not going to describe the camera in details for it does not bring anything new.

Photos taken with Nokia 9500

When used as a phone the communicator has a strong tendency to wear out. That is why I would recommend using a handsfree set when working in the office for example. A cable one is to be found in the delivery packet, a Bluetooth one has to be bought additionally. The sound coming from the headphones is average – just opposite to the perfect sound performed by the loud handsfree set activated by fold open the communicator.

The communicator is sold with extras as a data cable and handsfree

I will not talk about the phoning process any longer, so I would like to mention the fact that the communicator does not have vibration. The rest of the operations though meet the usual requirements for a modern mobile phone, including the usage of MP3 files as ringtone.

What is to be seen on the cover display?

Main display • three items from the main menu

Address book • name details • writing a message • user’s menu

Ringer profiles • menu color set-ups • camera • camera setup fotoaparátu

Battery and accessories

There are no buttons on the sides of the phone. Behind the small front platform under the grating there is a hidden loudspeaker. At the bottom a Pop-Port connector and the battery charger socket are placed. On the backside you will find the camera lens and the battery cover. The latter is very difficult to open, but much more important is its stability.

Loudspeaker grating • Pop-Port, in a narrow stripe just above is the infrared port, a little upper is the exchangeable cover lock • camera’s lens • back cover lock

The enormous battery has a capacity of 1300 mAh. Its duration depends to a great extent on whether the communicator’s Wi-Fi is active or not. When activated Nokia is officially given 240 hours, after switching off up to 300 hours. My first tests with the communicator have shown though that it cannot manage for more than two days, sometimes only one without a recharge.

Communicator without a back cover

Before placing the SIM card into the socket it is necessary to take the battery out. The slot for the memory card is located separately. It fits in MMC cards of the usual size, which can be hot swapped while the communicator is on. At the beginning the communicator is going to be sold without a memory card, but in a short period a model with a card enclosed should appear on the market.

You will reach to the SIM card after taking the battery away only • the memory card is also accessible when the phone is on

There are two aerials installed in Nokia 9500. One is on the backside next to the camera; the other one is placed sideways. I spent a long time looking for infrared port, but did not manage to find it and had to look it up in the manual – so the narrow black stripe above the system connector – that is it!

A few words regarding the keyboard

Starting the communicator is a 2-step process. After inserting the battery the inner part gets started immediately and the internal display lights up. The booting does not start straight away though. It is necessary to wait for approximately one minute. Pressing the button on the front area can turn on the telephone itself. After being started Nokia recognizes the mobile operator and automatically sets up multimedia transfers and GPRS networks, which is quite comfortable.

A switch for the phone part

I am opening the communicator and I can see a fully functional keyboard spread all over its bottom part. In contrast to the last model, whose keys were separated, this time the keyboard is compact. It has evidently been touched up: the keys do not move sideways, when pressed they are more reliable. A colleague drew my attention to the fact that he did not really feel comfortable with the key of the old communicator being placed in the form of a nut – not as on a computer’s keyboard, where the rows fit together. The key order in the new model is just the same as in the old one. I do not really mind that fact, but I would rather mention it for it could be a problem for some users.

Some details about the interior keyboard

Having on mind the keyboard size it is quite evident that the ten-finger writing system is just not possible. Holding the communicator in your hands, you would do best if writing with your thumbs only. If it is placed on a desk you may use any two fingers of each hand. The keyboard is one of the main pluses of the communicator. Anyone of you who needs a mobile device for more complicated activities than just viewing data will definitely appreciate it. There is no problem working with e-mail. I even used to write articles on the old communicator.

A hand laid on the communicator objectively shows that the ten-finger writing system just cannot work

The keys are almost perfectly oblong. Most of them are 10 × 8 mm size. Some are bigger – for example the spacebar and Enter keys. In the right down corner there is an eight-way scroll key which helps you go through the lists, use the Web browser and operate with the pointer. By pressing it you confirm the choice made. The keyboard is a standard one up to several exceptions. I had to get used to the dot and comma keys located on the left of the spacebar.

A detail of the scroll operating button

Beside the three rows with letter keys and a row with number keys the keyboard also has several operation keys. Shift and Caps Lock manage the capital letters. Ctrl together with other key elect functions, Ctrl also serves for activating different applications or writing special characters. By using suitable shortcuts you will easily control Bluetooth, Infrared port, synchronizing, display’s background lights etc. When writing capital letters it is not necessary to constantly press the shift key. The communicator counts with the following character having to be a capital one as well.

In the upper row there are also narrow keys for quick choice of the basic applications. The left side key will get you to the main display, from where it is just a quick step to Telephone, Messages, Internet, Contacts, Documents and Calendar. The right side key is used for setting up the start of a chosen application.

A touchscreen display? Not necessary!

Four more keys can be found on the right side of the display. As a tradition, the display is not a touchscreen one. Keys change functions depending on the particular situation. For example, within the message files there are three options: Open file, Write a message and Close. One of the options is always underlined, which means that pressing Enter is all you have to do in order to activate it.

Operating keys on the display side • no backlight

Pocket computers’ users cannot imagine a life without a touchscreen display, which is the only possible way of operating control the pocket computers are capable of. Regarding the new communicator I have to stress the fact that the absence of a touchscreen display is a much smaller problem than it may seem at first sight. Managing applications with a pen would not be really comfortable. A tap on the display may easily outbalance the communicator; figures displayed are so fine that an absolutely exact hand is necessary; instead of pressing a key you would have to grab a pen… isn’t it all just too many movements in vain since pressing a single key is all you have to do? As a result it is obvious that one has to know the shortcut combinations, which are explained in the manual as well as in the PDF document on the CD enclosed.

Sometimes four keys along the display are just not enough and a different one is required for setting the voice volume

There is no doubt that the best solution for Nokia would be offering both a touch display and keypad managed operations. If I had to choose one option only though, I would definitely go for the keyboard. Except for other pluses working with it is faster. When using the Internet browser an indicator controlled by the round button appears and here you could probably feel the absence of a touchscreen.

The display itself is very good quality – with parameters as following: 110 × 35 mm and a 640 × 200 pixels resolution. If we count the number of pixels per unit (density) the new Nokia communicator climbs up among the best mobile phones, next to Sony Ericsson S700, for example. 65K colors can be viewed on the TFT display.

Careful with the head, things fall now and then

Nokia 9500 Communicator uses the Symbian operating system version 7.0S with a Series 80 platform. Graphic characteristics have been upgraded, but I would rather not describe the exact differences for it has been a long time since I last used the 9210 model and I do not dare comparing.

Within each application there are three views; a sample of the main screen.

The Desktop with icons is a turning point: it may consist of either references to documents and applications or files containing other items. It is possible to “stick” a note to the desktop and have important information just in front of your eyes. I really appreciate this option.

A note on the desktop • a file with other shortcuts

I do not complain about the communicator’s speed. Certain applications would start immediately, others need time. The Web browser is a different chapter itself for it opens pages very slowly. As a whole, the communicator does not make you wait.

Nearly every program has its menu, which appears by pressing a key.

In contrast to time, reliability seems to be one of the communicator’s minuses. I tested it with the Firmware V 04.44(01). Within several days I received about ten error statements, applications got unresponsive and I was almost to start taking out the battery. The main difficulties were caused by the Web browser, which would regularly malfunction when connecting to T-Mobile’s Wi-Fi page.

Error!

Nokia 9500 Communicator has 80 MB built-in memory, there is no problem enlarging it by installing a memory card. Nokia has not given out any information about RAM capacity.

Communicator comes from the word communicate

The communication skills of the old Nokia 9210 meet their limits when dialing HSCSD data transfers. The communicator connectivity with a computer is possible thanks to a serial cable or through infrared port. The new model has come to show something better. Not only is the cable suitable for USB port; the offer is bigger:

• GPRS class 10 (max. 53,6 kb/s)
• EDGE class 10 (max 236,8 kb/s)
• Wi-Fi, IEEE 802,11b (max. 11 MB/s)
• Bluetooth

It is no use describing GPRPS and EDGE. I would just once again stress the possibility to automatically set up the data profiles in accordance with SIM card operator. It is a really comfortable solution. Bluetooth connectivity is mandatory nowadays for the class.

Wi-Fi in a mobile device is a different story, a really rare option for a mobile phone. It is easy to get connected to a commercial network as well as to a non-secured access point. I had to fight with the WEP security system for a little while, but I conquered it finally. Beside the applications mentioned the 802.1x and WPA safeguards may be used.

Wi-Fi network • information about signal quality

Connecting to Wi-Fi in T-Mobile network

I consider Wi-Fi connectivity one of the most important innovations in the new communicator. Even though I first had the impression that the prepared smaller model 9300 would not lack it, now I can see what a huge advantage it is.

An application, which searches for accessible Wi-Fi networks, has been also created. It can be bought additionally.

With Nokia 9500 it is also possible to set up the priorities for each data profile. Before connecting to Internet it consecutively tries to find out which networks are accessible and prefers the Wi-Fi to the more expensive GPRS for example. It does exactly what you have set up.

Setting up data profiles’ priorities

The communicator though seems to behave in a clever way only when the Web browser is being used. I used to criticize Nokia at first for it requires a permanent data profile setup in the e-mail account. Yet I found out that the communicator has another very important plus: when setting up an e-mail account it is also possible to work with priorities and add an according address of the SMTP server to each of them. In return, if I want to send a message I cannot use the same server when connected to ADSL and Wi-Fi on one hand and GPRS of the mobile operator on the other.

Setup of several data profiles in the e-mail account: if the first one is not possible to use, the communicator gets connected to another one etc.

Email: just brilliant

The most important communication skill is probably email. The electronic mail browser is united with the text messages, MMS and synchronized emails. Each one of the above mentioned services has its own independent subsection – just like the email accounts.

Main message menu • just like anywhere else here you could set the font size

One of the accounts is set as default. Yet if you list the emails with accounts, you could write messages through them. In the configuration options you will find everything you might need. You can choose between POP3/IMAP4 servers and use SMTP for the outgoing messages. What seems to be missing is the regular email check in given intervals.

Open folder with selected email account

You can choose whether to work with messages as a whole or titles only, set size limits for an email, which has to be downloaded. You can also set the format you need the message to be written in (HTML, text), the sending method, a signature. You can use a secure connection. Nokia 9500 works with attachments both ways, it has no difficulties viewing messages in HTML format. On the other hand it also knows how to format the text, you are just writing.

A maximized text email viewed on the internal display • email in HTML format

Yet working with emails is not limited to protocols POP3/IMAP4. Messages can get into the communicator themselves. Therefore Nokia has announced that all Series 80 devices – the 9500 model is one of them – are going to support the Blackberry technology. T-Mobile is planning to offer this technology to its company clients.

Nokia 9500 also offers work with fax. I have to confess though that I have not tried this application.

The communicator deals with text and multimedia messages in a way similar to the usual mobile phones. Not to forget though – the full functional keyboard, Communicator’s great advantage.

Creating a multimedia message

Internet: what to compare with?

I have already mentioned the Web browser several times. I am not fully satisfied with the speed some pages are opened with. Even though the communicator has the capacity to view any web page you will have to wait until it manages the more complicated ones. On the other side I must admit I have been comparing the communicator with a fully functional computer browser, which is an idea that would never occur to me if I had a smartphone in my hand. The 9500 model is a device of a completely different category.

Internet bookmarks

Nokia 9500 uses the Opera browser. It is a label you won’t find anywhere. Opera has been integrated into communicator’s system and it behaves as a standard internal application of the manufacturer. It supports HTML, XTHML, WML. Flash is also supported – or more precisely its non-archived graphics.

The interior display after entering into the Web browser • the communicator is able to manage flash graphics

Pages are possible to view in an enlarged window. By the way, this function can be applied to nearly all applications. There is a special option, which allows the page to be viewed on the cover display. The browser can also view images in several windows at the same time.

Opening a full screen browser

Yet the communicator lacks the touchscreen display, so it has been necessary to find a solution how to help the user navigate in the page. The eight-way scroll key controls the pointer. By pressing the scroll key you would click on a link. Once you have got to the window’s edge, Nokia knows you probably need to scroll. The same function can be started by holding Ctrl and pressing the scroll key into the direction.

An example of how the communicator managed to view several web pages.

Office

A mobile device whose main aim is to make user’s work easier has to unconditionally support Microsoft Office applications. I did not pamper the communicator providing tests in relatively complicated Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents. To make it absolutely real I sent the testing files into the communicator via email.

Text editor

I tested Nokia by using Oskar press news with a massive graphic heading. I also added a table and a few pictures to the document. Its final size climbed up to 255 kB.

At the beginning it takes Nokia approximately 20 seconds to switch the document to its internal format. Then I find out the graphical heading has gone. Its letters were white so now with the background being white nothing can be seen. Even though paragraph formatting seems to be problematic for long gaps appeared in several parts of the text, as a whole the rest of the text is readable. The Bold and the Italics did very well as well as the inserted pictures. The table opens in a reference format; by clicking on it it opens in a new window. As a result the document has passed the test for it is readable enough.

Conversion • Word document on the communicator’s display

The table appears in the preview • a click makes it bigger

Picture inserted

Now I am going to create a new document on Nokia 9500, send it to the computer and try to open it in the desktop Word. I appreciate the fact that the editor gives me various possibilities when setting the font size – I am not limited to three levels as it happens in other applications. I have applied fonts and copied a sentence using the Box. I have tested italic, bold, a different font and size; I have inserted a table, a picture and a graph. And finally I have sent the whole document via email straight from the text editor.

But what is going on? Word on the PC denies opening the file. That is because I have forgotten to apply the option SAVE AS and select a Microsoft Word format. Yet finally not even does this tip help me. Even though I have spent several hours playing with various export options, I have not come to a solution.

Update 08 Dec 2004: The Word and Excel incompatibility was in fact a problem with the Czech version of Windows XP SP2. The users with other versions of Windows should have no such problems.

Spreadsheet editor

I am opening a spreadsheet with reviews and evaluations of the communicators. It has several pages, various types of formatting and long figures. I have to once again wait for the conversion to get accomplished, which takes about five minutes this time. Well, the file was more than 500 kB…The table finally comes out, but it is obvious that the communicator is overwhelmed. I have overdone this test and I am happy Nokia has not frozen completely. I manage to close the file at least.

I am trying a smaller document now. Nokia is reading it much faster. Again I can freely change its size. A relatively big table is getting opened on the internal display. The image is equivalent and communicator keeps the original formatting. After a detailed inspection though I notice that the converter has used values instead of the complicated functions; the table has lost some of its value and has practically become a statistic document without structure.

A relatively big number of cells can be viewed on the internal display

I created a table with a function in the communicator and saved it in Excel. I failed to open it in Microsoft Excel on the computer though.

Saving the table in a different format

Presentation

I gave up the origin idea to send the communicator a 2 MB presentation from PowerPoint. I did it with a smaller and simpler file. The communicator did not manage to open it though. At least I was successful with opening a document created in Nokia in a PC program for the first time.

Application for creating a presentation

To sum up: Nokia reads documents in Word and Excel. Yet files created in the communicator were not possible to open on PC, which is strange because the old communicator used to manage this task without a problem. Anyway I am going to do more testing with transferring documents between the communicator and the PC.

Organizing time

Time organizing applications in the communicator are among the most important ones as well. They rely on data synchronizing with the computer. I was glad to find out that Nokia uses the same version of the program package PC Suit for a all its new products – shall they be common mobile phones, smartphones or the communicator in this particular case. So I came to the computer, connected it to Nokia through Bluetooth , started PC Sync, set up synchronizing parameters for the first time and just in few seconds I had all contacts, the complete calendar, all tasks and emails transferred to the communicator. Unfortunately notes do not get synchronized and it is not possible to exactly map each file.

Note: The 9500 model disposes of an application Data transfer, which allows transferring data from the old communicator into the new one.

A basic part of the organization process is the clock and the alarm clock. The latter has a repeated sound; it is multiple and can be named. World time set is a part of this application as well.

Clock and alarm clock

The clock is followed by a calendar in a combination with a to-do list. The calendar is just brilliant. It synchronizes not only appointment’s name, but also notes, alarm notice and other important details. Data can be browsed from different points of view. Moreover this particular application opens really quickly – all you have to do is press a key and you see your tasks right away.

A basic view • Agenda • Task detail

Everyday view • Yearly view

Weekly view • Weekly planning view

Anniversary • Task list

The address book is just as good as the calendar. It is detailed, fast and allows a quick look up by consecutive writing of the names’ first letter. Again you could synchronize whatever you would like to.

The address book with contacts (on the left) is different from the telephone one, but they both use the same database.

Name detail • dialing a telephone number

The call records are very detailed

Multimedia

Never mind the fact that Nokia 9500 is a work-orientated device, it also has several options, which could be called entertaining. The first one is the MP3 player. Even though Nokia delivers the communicator with only a simple handsfree set with one headphone, it is also possible to connect stereo headphones to the Pop-Port. You could find them in the Nokia 6630 (HDS-3 model) package. Besides MP3 Nokia also supports sound formats as AMR, WAV, MIDI, AAC and AWB. They all could be used for ringer sounds, especially the MIDI format with 24-voice polyphony.

Music player

One of the applications is the video. There is a RealPlayer installed in the communicator. It plays not only stream videos but also 3GP and MP4 formats. Therefore you may easily record a film on the memory card and play it on Nokia afterwards. Unfortunately the comfort when watching a video is limited by the size of the display.

Playing video

Others

Nokia 9500 is a quite complicated device compared to the mobile phones we usually test. I would rather not write about further details for I might start communicating with myself and probably few more long-term readers. I feel I have already come to the limits of a reasonable text size, so I need to be brief. I will just go through the menu and figure out if I have not forgotten to mention something important.

File manager: it will help you orientate in documents, pictures and other files. It is one of the most important applications.

File manager

Calculator: It has two versions – a desk calculator and a professional one. It manages more tasks than the common mobile phones do.

Desk calculator • professional calculator

Images: pictures and other images browser. It is not very fast. Moreover images cannot make use of the whole desktop for the display is narrow.

Image browser

Dictaphone: the duration of the message recorded depends only on the capacity of free memory. One can choose between telephone’s memory and the memory card. The record can be saved in either AMR or WAV format.

Dictaphone

Backup: application, which serves for backing up data onto the memory card or optionally for data restoring.

Backup

Data transfer: a program, which synchronizes data between two mobile devices, by using Bluetooth for example. I tried to test it but unfortunately I was not successful.

Modem: the communicator can be used as an external modem when connecting the computer to Internet

Control panel: it serves for setting up the communicator. There are a big number of folders which lead to several dozens of files. I will mention just one: HP printer choice for setting direct printing.

Communicator is to be set up exactly here – in the control panel

We should not forget that communicator uses the open Symbian operating system. That is why it is not a problem to additionally install other applications. Some of them could be found on the CD. I tested some of the programs originally made for the old 9210 model and they worked very well. Anyway we still cannot be definitely positive about the compatibility. The communicator also supports Java J2ME in two separate versions: MIDO 2.0 and Personal Profile 1.0.

Installing a program: where to place the shortcut? • Application world time setting already accomplished

I have not said a word about Nokia’s data security system. As expected, you can lock the communicator by using a password. It activates itself after some time inactivity. The communicator also has an absolutely unique option: it is possible to lock it from a distance. The only thing you have to do is send Nokia a SMS with particular text and it gets locked. You would also receive a confirming message about it in the phone you have sent the SMS from.

The next communicator – not earlier than the year 2008?

It is a pity we have had to wait for the new communicator a long time. All decisions regarding the new devices are in the manufacturers’ hands though. Nokia 9500 Communicator has fulfilled our expectations. It is a brilliant mobile device, which will make its users happy and their life more comfortable. Most of all I would like to praise Communicator’s communication strengths. In contrast to the old model, which was falling behind, the new Nokia offers – except for 3G – practically everything one would like to have.

What about competition? If we leave notebooks apart, the devices, which come closest to Nokia, are the MDA communicators and DataPhone. Sony Ericsson P910 seems to be a dangerous competitor as well. Nevertheless Nokia 9500 Communicator will be your best choice provided you need a high-quality keyboard and something more than just external accessories.

During the first quarter of the year 2005 another competitor will conquer the market and that is the Nokia 9300 Communicator. It has a more catch-the-eye design and is smaller than Nokia 9500. Compared to its “big brother” it will not be equipped with Wi-Fi and a digital camera, but it will be cheaper.

Standard delivery package

• Communicator
• Battery
• Synchronizing stand
• USB cable
• Handsfree set
• Charger
• Memory Card (depends on the model)
• CD with software and information
• User’s guidebook and other documents

For our reviews we shoot, download and prepare much more pictures then finally appear in the article. They can be interesting for some of you therefore we offer all of them in one place: photo gallery.

Nokia 9500 photos

Secondary display

Pictures taken with the built-in camera

Main display

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_9500-review-21p7.php

Nokia 9500

The Consummate Communicator

As with some of the top-end Pocket PCs released recently, calling the Nokia 9500 a PDA really is stretching the term to its limits. Rather, think of the 9500 as the old Psion ‘everything you need’ concept taken to its absolute extreme. Within the keyboard clamshell form factor, there’s (nearly) all the old Psion software plus the latest connectivity and multimedia technology, not to mention a large and bright 640 pixel wide screen and oodles of RAM and flash memory.

There’s still plenty of the old ‘Communicator’ (remember the 9210?) in here, especially in terms of software, with the 9500 still running Nokia’s Series 80, keyboard-driven interface on top of (the later) Symbian OS 7.0. Series 80 has been given a face lift (it’s now officially at v2), but many of your old legacy 9210 favourites should still work happily, which will especially please companies with bespoke applications. In particular OPL programs will all run unchanged. The Communicator, is at heart, a serious device for serious people, and this is borne out in the software catalogue over the last four years.

The 9210 in turn, of course, was heavily based on the operating system and application suite inherited from Psion Software, which became part of Symbian. In practice this makes the 9500 a very good current-day match for any Psion owners finally giving up with 1990s palmtop hardware and looking for something more recent.

By omitting the external aerial and moving the speaker round to the ‘normal’ side, Nokia has managed to slim down the Communicator significantly, being 10mm shorter and 22g lighter (though note that the new 9300 is even smaller, albeit with some compromises). There’s not much you can do on the cover phone, other than taking calls, reading text messages, looking up contacts and taking photos, but most of your time will be spent inside the clamshell anyway.

The 9500’s display is quite a bit brighter than the 9210’s, and sharper to boot. Even in bright sunlight the display is still readable, where the old 9210 one would be almost totally black.

The Communicator keyboard has been improved, with no gaps between each key, a more positive action and individual cursor keys (in addition to the navigator control). The only downside is the smaller size, reducing even good typists to using two fingers (or thumbs) and requiring fairly firm keypresses if you want to avoid missed letters. There’s also a ‘My Own’ button instead of  ‘Extras’, which you can assign to an application of your choice, with all your utilities and third party applications now appearing in nested folders underneath the new, much more comprehensive ‘Desk’. This reorganisation makes a lot of sense, integrating favourite documents, notes and applications into one seamless hierarchy.

Quantum leaps

Memory was a huge problem on the 9210, and both RAM and internal flash disk space have taken a quantum leap, to 32MB and 80MB respectively. And with the standard applications now in ROM, most of that 80MB is yours to do what you like with, a veritable revelation for anyone used to making do with the paltry 4MB internal disk on the original 9210.

Some reviewers have commented on the 9500’s slow processor and sluggish performance, but take these reports with a pinch of salt. Firstly, the processor is deliberately kept at 150MHz, in order to extend battery life, one of the most important parameters when actually using the Communicator. Secondly, these reviewers just don’t know how to use a real multi-tasking computer – they keeping hitting all the ‘Exit’ buttons in applications. The whole point of Symbian OS is that applications can be left running and switched back to instantaneously! (Phew, it was good to get that off my chest). As with the Psion palmtops of old, it’s very easy to keep over a dozen programs running at any one time, switching to them as needed either with the menu-based program list or using their original icons or shortcuts. The three second wait while an application is started for the first time is a minor inconvenience; used properly, having to wait for 9500 applications to start should be a rare thing.

Connecting to the world

As befits any top-end smartphone these days, there’s now full support for Bluetooth, GPRS and EDGE wireless data, plus Wi-Fi for extra connectivity within the office (or at a ‘hot spot’). Although I haven’t had 100% success rate with commercial hotspots (due to their often complex sign-up pages), it’s very easy in most towns to simply move around until you’re within range of someone’s ‘Open’ Wi-Fi network and then piggy-back onto this using the 9500’s ‘Easy WLAN’ system. I hadn’t expected to make much use of Wi-Fi, not having it in the office, but whenever I’m waiting while out and about, it’s great to spot the little ‘W’ icon in the status area and realise that I effectively have free wireless broadband to keep me interested.

The 9500’s Internet software is well specified, with the already good rebranded version of Opera coupled with super-fast Wi-Fi, and even including working (well, some of the time) Flash and Real content players. For sensible sites, designed by someone who knows what they are doing, the 9500’s browser is superb. Sadly, so many sites these days seem filled with javascript and layout bloat and are never tested on dial-up connections or mobile GPRS users with standard VGA width screens. But that’s a rant for another day… In the meantime, vote with your feet by avoiding such sites.

Messaging is a capable email system, much the same as on the 9210, and it’s easy to stay in touch with your POP3 or IMAP4 mailboxes without incurring heavy GPRS costs. I found that setting messages to download if they were less than 5KB worked out perfectly, with most genuine emails fitting into this category and with viruses and large attachments being kept at bay. My own (freeware) Automail helps automate retrieval so that I never have to wait while email is collected. The biggest niggle is the speed of opening and closing messages, typically around two to three seconds (with firmware 5.22), which gets a little wearing.

There’s a standard VGA camera on the 9500’s rear, for taking spur of the moment snaps, although you can only take photos with the 9500 closed, using the outside display as the viewfinder. This arrangement is fairly logical and works well, although spoilt slightly by the wobbly cover phone navigator, meaning that you’ll sometimes find yourself in the wrong camera mode. In addition to standard VGA snaps, the 9500’s camera surprises by including a gimmicky 2X digital zoom, a thumbnail ‘portrait’ mode (just right for Contacts inclusion) and a working but ultra-pixellated 176 by 144 pixel video mode. Picture quality of standard VGA photos is better than those taken on my Sony Ericsson P900 (and a WHOLE lot better than those taken on the Treo 600 and other old Series 60 smartphones I’ve tried) and I’ve done some fairly respectable prints from 9500-taken photos.

It’s no match for modern megapixel cameras though, consider the 9500’s VGA capability as a convenience thing only. With some companies banning camera phones on security grounds, it’s interesting to see the arrival this year of the camera-less 9300.

Capable software

Office compatibility has been boosted with Presentations, for editing existing Powerpoint slide shows and creating new ones. With a Bluetooth adapter for your projector, you can (in theory) even run a presentation from your Communicator. The 9210’s capable Word and Sheet applications are largely unchanged, although there are the usual concerns about some document structure and formatting being lost in a round-trip scenario from and to the desktop. Native (Symbian) Word and Sheet files are handled speedily, but on-device conversion to and from Microsoft Word and Excel can be quite slow. In addition, Word (now called ‘Documents’, for some reason) is missing its Spell Checker and Thesaurus, presumably due to licensing issues, a crying shame. In the initial firmware (4.44), there were some compatibility issues with Office under Windows Service Pack 2, but these are now sorted out.

There’s no database in the software suite, which is a shame considering how useful Data was on the old Psion Series 3 and Series 5 palmtops, but at least Yellow have now come to the rescue with their YData.

File manager is unchanged and is in many ways one of the stars of the 9500 software suite. Just as on the old Psion (EPOC) palmtops, you can group files by theme in as simple or as complicated a folder hierarchy as you like. Essentially, any file can go anywhere. A recipe for potential disaster for newcomers but a tremendously welcome feature for anyone with ‘power user’ ambitions. Just as on a Psion, it’s quite possible to run a mobile office from the Nokia 9500, handling projects and their associated documents with ease.

Calendar and Contacts are almost unchanged from the 9210 and are both very usable, with a few quibbles about font sizes used and the screen layout. Importantly, notes are now fully integrated into Calendar entries, so no more having to attach EPOC document files, as on the Psion and 9210. Although Calendar synchronisation worked fairly well in both Psion and 9210, it’s now even more solid, thanks to the use of SyncML, and the new notes system doesn’t feel quite so ‘out on a limb’. Interestingly, the built-in To-do system can function both for traditional tasks and ad-hoc notes, in the same manner as Jotter on the Psion (though the Find function is well and truly bugged).

Multimedia and extras

Music Player is excellent and now supports MP3, WAV, RealAudio, MIDI and AAC file formats, although you’ll have to use the dedicated Nokia HDS-3 wired stereo headset to listen to these properly as there’s no standard headphone jack. Music tracks are queued up by folder, an elegant system that works well for me. The only downside of using the 9500 as your MP3 player is that there’s currently no access to Music Player from the cover phone, so you have to open the clamshell to adjust volume or change albums/folders.

On the video side, RealPlayer can handle standard 176 by 144 pixel 3GP video files, produced by Nokia’s own free Multimedia Converter 2.0. This is all well and good, although if you want to experiment with DVD and meatier video content you’re better off with SmartMovie or Makayama‘s suite

Although the OPL programming language is still not built in, it’s an easy and free addition and significantly enhances the 9500’s use for mobile professionals. Need a tool? Why not create it to order? It’s quite practical to create applications on the Communicator itself, as in the good ol’ days of Psion, and it’s great to tap away, developing in odd moments of downtime while out and about.

Other Extras which are supplied (in ROM or on CD or on the 9500 support web site) include a handy units converter, ZIP manager, Images (a basic picture browser and editor), Acrobat Reader, the Bounce puzzle game, a golf game and a selection of data conversion and synchronization tools.

Ghost of PsiWin almost banished

As the first post-PsiWin desktop suite from Symbian, PC Suite for the 9210 was a little flaky in places, with dodgy synchronisation and slow (115kbps) serial connection speeds. PC Suite for the 9500 benefits hugely from a proper 1Mbps (or thereabouts) USB interface and sync routines rewritten to use SyncML from the ground-up. Although a connection to your PC takes a few seconds to get properly established, it’s very reliable after that. And, just as with PsiWin and the older Communicator PC Suite, there’s the welcome ability to browse your handheld’s raw files and folders (although not \System) from the comfort of Windows Explorer. The backup system now works well (make sure you’ve got the very latest PC Suite version!), although if you’ve got a large MMC (512MB or above) you’ll want to stick to backing up the internal disk, handling the MMC separately in a dedicated card reader, purely for speed reasons!

Verdict

After a year of more or less day in, day out use, the 9500’s still looking pretty good. The tensioner in the hinge which helps this to stay stiff snapped a couple of months ago, but the screen still stays where it’s put and there are no other issues with the hardware. It’s only been dropped once (the Covertec slide-in case, now discontinued, showing the weakness of its magnetic catches). Probably my biggest disappointment has been with the platform itself, with third party developers not flocking to Series 80 (despite its similarity to the well-supported Series 60) in the numbers we’d all hoped. Good games, in particular, are few and far between, but maybe this just reflects the business focus of Series 80 yet again.

The 9500 won’t appeal to the typical smartphone user, it’s true. It’s too big and there’s simply too much here to confuse the novice. For them, there are a wealth of Series 60 smartphones, some now with stereo audio and matching Bluetooth qwerty keyboard. And with a heck of a lot more games. But for the ex-Psioneer, for the professional on the move, for the OPL hobbyist, and indeed anyone else who fancies a real keyboard and serious applications, this is the consummate communicator.

Source : http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/reviews/item/Long_term_test_of_the_Nokia_9500_Communicator1.php

Nokia 9300

Putting the Nokia 9300 next to its larger brother, the 9500, is somewhat shocking. The latter looks positively gargantuan by comparison. And, this time last year, we were all looking forward to the 9500 itself being smaller and sleeker than its predecessor, the 9210i. All of which goes to emphasise just how small the 9300 is, considering what it can do.

The 9500 is well known, of course, the ‘ultimate’ Nokia Communicator, with VGA width screen, proper leyboard, cutting edge comms and the full-on EPOC/Symbian multitasking application experience. But size is everything and the 9300 was Nokia’s attempt to see how small they could make the same device, to get it down to the sort of dimensions that wouldn’t cause people to stop and stare in the street. But what exactly did Nokia have to compromise in order to get the 9300 to its sleek silver 13cm form? And, should you be in the market, which should you buy? How does the 9300 perform in real life?

Let’s assume you’re already familiar with Series 80, Symbian OS and the Nokia 9500. We’ll start with what’s different. Apart from size, the most obvious change is the lack of a camera on the underside. Nokia claim that its target users were concerned about security, with many companies banning camera phones. This doesn’t seem unreasonable, although going from a device with a camera to one without does mean a little head scratching now and then and a memo to self to ‘bring digital camera along next time’. No doubt missing out the camera was also a factor in being able to slim the case down.

The other big change, compared to its bigger brother, was the absence of Wi-Fi. This one’s been debated and debated, and Nokia are (according to the FCC) about to release a 9300i, with Wi-Fi, so perhaps its omission on the 9300 was a mistake after all. As with a camera, you either need Wi-Fi or you don’t – for a business user, Wi-Fi can be incredibly handy for connecting up at broadband speeds to office and commercial networks, in which case hold onto your cash for the upcoming model. In the meantime, the lack of Wi-Fi in the 9300 means one less thing draining the device’s battery.

Speaking of which, battery capacity in the 9300’s BP-6M cell is 970mAh, a good 30% lower than that in the 9500 but then the size and weight are lower as well, fitting in with the overall 9300 concept. With no camera or Wi-Fi, battery life is pretty exceptional, with the 9300 easily lasting several busy business days on a single charge. With light use, you could easily go a week without recharging, making it good for keeping in touch on trips away.

And so to the logistics: the screen, the keyboard. The screen hinge is pretty tight and the display can be positioned at any angle, even beyond 180 degrees, flat on the desk. This extra flexibility is tremendously welcome and makes the 9300 more useable in awkward situations (e.g. on public transport). Despite having the full 640 pixels of width, I did find the screen’s smaller size (compared to the 9500) a bit of a problem and found I would hold the 9300 closer to my face than the 9500. It’s churlish to complain too much though, as this sort of display would have seemed a miracle only three years ago.

The keyboard’s similarly reduced in size, at only just over 8cm from the middle of the ‘q’ to the middle of ‘p’, although it’s not so much the size that makes typing tricky but the tiny key travel. You need quite a bit of pressure to push each key down and then it only travels a fraction of a millimetre, making it sometimes hard to detect when a keypress has been made or not. At least each key is domed, for accurate location, and there’s a good sized Enter key. On the review unit, the two rubber ridges on the 9300’s bottom weren’t accurately aligned and there was an annoying wobble when typing.

The joystick is very low profile, almost sculpted into the main keyboard. A marvel of engineering but really, really tricky to use accurately. You do get used to it with practice, but it reminded me of those red ‘nubs’ in the middle of old IBM laptops, a not entirely positive association.

A final hardware difference I noted was the infrared port, now strangely and inexplicably positioned beneath the keyboard on the front of the clamshell, meaning that you have to turn the unit through 180 degrees every time you want to beam something to someone.

In terms of software, the 9300 is 99.9% identical to the 9500, meaning that all the tips, training material and third party software for the 9500 will be equally applicable. From the perspective of someone coming new to Series 80, whether they call this Nokia a ‘communicator’ or ‘smartphone’, the functionality is unmatched by any other device. Sure, there are a few quirks here and there (mainly in the area of absolute Office compatibility), but being able to run 20 (yes, I said twenty) applications at the same time and switch between them in a fraction of a second is something that leaves the competition in the dust.

For most people though, it won’t be the applications, OS and multitasking that impresses them (and their friends and colleagues), it’ll be opening up the clamshell of what looks like a normal phone and revealing what is virtually a mini-laptop. The 9300 has plenty of the ‘wow’ factor.

Choosing between the 9300 and the larger 9500 is a classic case of choosing which is the best fit for your lifestyle. The one is small, sleek but fiddlier to use. The other is larger and an obvious ‘brick’ but has a keyboard on which you can type properly, a larger screen… and Wi-Fi. It remains to be seen whether Nokia will retain the ‘classic’ 9300 with the arrival of the Wi-Fi-enabled 9300i. Certainly the ‘i’ model will put the cat among the pigeons and let you select a Series 80 device based purely on form factor and ergonomics rather than comms functionality.

Source : http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/reviews/item/Long_term_test_of_the_Nokia_9300_smartphone.php

Sony Ericsson P990 (2)

Sony Ericsson P990 review: A coveted smartphone

Highly awaited as it is, Sony Ericsson P990 is going to be the flagship of the Sony Ericsson product line. Equipped with every possible current connectivity features, an autofocus 2 megapixel camera, a second video calls camera, a conventional keypad and a QWERTY keyboard, Memory Stick slot, FM radio with RDS, the latest Symbian 9.1 OS, and last, but not least with a large 2.76″ TFT touchscreen with a QVGA (240×320 pixels) resolution it surely made the news for many impatiently waiting fans when it finally hit the market. The handset has a lot to offer, our job is to see if it’s got what it takes to become a bestseller among the sophisticated smartphones which are now offered on the mobile market.

Sony Ericsson P990 official photos

Main advantages

• Autofocus 2 megapixel camera with macro mode and LED flash
• Memory stick Duo/PRO Duo memory card slot (hot-swap)
• Walkman MP3 player and stereo FM radio with RDS
• 3G support with video calls, GPRS and HSCSD
• Wi-Fi 812.11b support
• Touchpad TFT display with a QVGA (240×320 pixels) resolution
• Stereo Bluetooth 2.0, Infrared port and USB 2.0 support
• Conventional keypad on a removable flip along with a QWERTY keyboard
• Internal 128MB flash memory and 64MB RAM
• Symbian 9.1 OS with the UIQ 3.0 user interface

Main disadvantages

• Incompatible with older Symbian UIQ applications
• No EDGE support
• Records video with a QVGA 320×240 pixels resolution
• Display not very legible under direct sun light
• User interface is not always user-friendly

Traditional competitors of the Sony Ericsson P-series smartphones are the Nokia Communicators such 9300 and 9500. Some Windows Mobile-based devices however such as the HTC TyTN (a.k.a. Qtek 9600) which has been previewed on GSMArena.com not while ago are also really strong contenders for the communicator class title. Windows mobile devices have begun to earn their own place in the hearts of the smartphone fans and in some cases they offer even better functionality over the similar Symbian-based devices. Lately the Nokia Symbian S60 smartphones are also becoming a strong competition – one of the rivals of the Sony Ericsson handset would most definitely be Nokia E70 which we reviewed not long ago and. It doesn’t have a touchscreen, but it comes equipped with a great folding QWERTY keypad and on functional level and pure speed it comes to equal terms with P990.

As is the case right now, both the latest versions of the Symbian S60 UI and the Symbian UIQ 3.0 have a limited amount of third-party software available. That is of course expected to change in the course of this year, but nevertheless it is a fact that must be noted because it is one of the most crucial aspects when making a buying decision. And that may definitely tip the scales in favor of the Windows Mobile OS for PocketPC which traditionally has a wide fan base supplying it with tons of software – both free and paid.

We were very excited when we got the opportunity to make a review of the eagerly awaited Sony Ericsson smartphone P990. It turned out though that the test handset is obviously a rather early prototype since we experienced frequent crashes in various situations and applications. Nevertheless, we decided to go on with the review since we realized how interesting a material like that would be to the fans of the P-series smartphones all over the world. We would mention the bugs we encountered while using the phone but we have a good deal of confidence that these would be fixed in the final version.

The version we tested

The retail package would most probably include a USB cable, a Desk Stand, a stereo headset, a spare stylus, a flip replacement cover, and a 64MB Memory Stick PRO Duo card. There is also going to be a special screwdriver which will be used for removing the flip. Of course, as with any other cellphone, the contents of the retail package remain strictly market and country dependant.

Some of the P990 retail package contents

The desk stand that also comes with the retail package is rather convenient since it can be used to make video calls with the phone sitting on your desk. At the same time the desk stand is connected to the computer USB port and not only charges the battery but serves for synchronization purposes.

P990 desk stand

Sony Ericsson would be offered in three market-orientated versions: the standard P990i for Europe, Middle East, the Americas, and Latin Asia which would be also available with a Russian numeric keypad; the P990a for North and Latin America and working in the GSM 850MHz band; the P990i Chinese for Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore; and finally, the P990c for China. The first two models would offer Latin characters handwriting recognition only, while the last two would have Chinese keypads and support for Chinese handwriting recognition.

A P-series design

The Sony Ericsson P990 retains the classic looks of its forerunners P800, P900 and P910. The smartphone measures 114 x 57 x 21 mm without the flip and has a thickness of 26 mm with the flip. It weighs 155 g with the flip which is almost the same as the one of the previous models. Its main difference with the Sony Ericsson P910 is that the QWERTY keypad is located on the body itself and not on the inside of the removable flip.

The P-series evolution

Speaking about the flip, removing it is simple enough with the special screwdriver. Just remove the back cover, unscrew the two holding screws and the flip is detached. Next thing you need is just to put the special cover to hide the joint.

Removing the flip

The central place in the body is taken by the large 2.76″ (41 x 56 mm) display. Below it is the QWERTY keyboard which is covered by the flip with the numeric keypad. Above the display you can easily see the eye of the frontal VGA video call camera. Next to it, right in the dead center is the in-call speaker aperture and on its right there is a LED which blinks to alert you on various events and while a certain connectivity feature is turned on.

Sony Ericsson P990 front: keypad, keyboard, frontal VGA video call camera

The left side of the phone incorporates a Music player shortcut key, the traditional Jog Dial, a hardware BACK key and a hardware keylock sliding key. Sliding it down locks the keypad no matter whether the flip is opened or closed. After your slide the button returns to its position by itself.

A nice feature is that the Music player shortcut key function can be customized to the user’s needs – up to certain limits, of course. It can be set to turn on the Music player, to automatically start playing the last track or turn on the FM radio. An interesting change is that the Jog Dial can no longer be used in 5 directions as in Sony Ericsson P910. Now the only available directions are scroll up, scroll down and press. We think that the 5-way Jog Dial was a great navigation tool and stripping it of two of its functions would most surely disappoint many people that are already used to it.

Sony Ericsson P990 left side: music button, Jog Dial, BACK key, keylock

On the top of the smartphone we find the Infrared port covered by a dark plastic strip. The head of the stylus is also seen in that position. It sits inside the smartphone’s body as usual and is easily put in or pulled out. Once put in it sits firmly in place and there is no risk of losing it.

Sony Ericsson P990 top: Infrared port, stylus head

The right side of the phone houses the Opera web browser shortcut key, the camera shortcut key and the Memory Stick Duo slot cover. The Web browser key function can also be customized similarly to the Music player shortcut key – it can be set to open the Web browser, the Main menu, the Media player, the Sound recorder, the Task manager, or the Video phone application. When the flip is closed, pressing the camera shortcut keys turns on the LED on the back which otherwise serves as camera flash. It’s a convenient solution since you can use the LED as a flashlight. Since the Opera web browser works only in fullscreen mode you need to have the flip opened in order for the Web browser shortcut key to work. As opposed to all new Sony Ericsson models which leave the factory with the new M2 Memory Stick slot, this time the manufacturer has allowed the users to use the more popular Memory Stick Duo cards.

Sony Ericsson P990 right side: camera key, browser key, memory card slot

The bottom part of the smartphone features the regular Fast port used by Sony Ericsson and the microphone aperture.

Sony Ericsson P990 bottom: Fast port, microphone aperture

Flipping the phone on its back reveals the rotating camera lens cover, the external antenna slot cap, the handset’s loudspeaker and the LED flash. There is a transparent rubber strip in the bottom part of the backside. When the handset is put lying on a table, the strip makes it impossible for it to slide on the table surface.

Sony Ericsson P990 back: camera lens cover, non-slip rubber strip

The camera cover is opened by a circular slide. The cover itself is nothing new and is used in other Sony Ericsson mobiles. Opening the slider turns on the camera automatically – much like on the Sony Ericsson K750 and Sony Ericsson K800 which had a different design cover though.

Sony Ericsson P990 camera cover: opened and closed

As we already said, the stylus is hidden in a hole on the upper back of the phone and is easily accessible when you turn the phone around.

Taking the stylus out

The battery cover on the back is readily opened with a slide. Sony Ericsson is equipped with a Li-Polymer Sony Ericsson BST-34 battery with a capacity of 1120 mAh.

Removing the battery cover

According to the manufacturer, the battery should supply the smartphone with enough power for up to 400 h standby in GSM networks and up to 300 h if 3G networks. The total video call time supported by the battery is 1 h and 40 min, while in regular calls it should last up to 9 hours in GSM networks and up to 3 hours in 3G networks. Furthermore, when using or editing emails with the backlighting turned on or when listening to music using the headset, the battery should last up to 9 hours. Unfortunately, we couldn’t test the phone’s battery life since we used the phone heavily during our tests and thus the battery life we experienced was not indicative for the real-life performance of the phone. But judging on our experience we might say that when using the phone normally, taking the occasional pictures with the camera and using the Wi-Fi for an hour per day, the smartphone won’t last more than full 2 days.

Flipping it

The numeric keypad features a 5-way navigation D-pad, two soft keys and the traditional BACK and C keys. Writing a message with it is relatively easy since the keys are large enough and nicely spaced. All the keys are somewhat unevenly lit in light blue. The mechanism of the flip operates nicely and there is no problem to open it even while holding the phone in one hand. Opening it reveals the QWERTY keyboard with tiny plastic keys. The keys themselves have again light blue backlighting and although they are rather small they are easily used even with big fingers. Each key has two characters assigned to it – one letter and one special symbol such as a bracket, a hyphen, a slash, a question mark, an exclamation mark, currency symbols. The top row of the keys has the numbers as alternative symbols. All the special symbols and the numeric symbols are typed by holding the ALT key pressed in the same time. The keyboard also has a SPACEBAR, which activates the phone application when pressed longer. There are also two arrow keys and a CAPS LOCK key. The DEL and BACKSPACE functions share one key, as well as the OK and ENTER keys. There is no BACK key, but you can use the back key on the left side of the phone for that purpose. It is easily pressed with your index or middle finger while holding the phone in hand.

Sony Ericsson P990 numeric keypad and QWERTY keyboard

Impressive display

The display of the Sony Ericsson P990 is 2.67″ TFT touchscreen with a QVGA (240×320 pixels) resolution, supporting 262K colors. That resolution is greater than the one of the previous Sony Ericsson P900 and P910 models which was 208×320 pixels. When the flip is closed though, the resolution of the visible portion of the screen is changed to 240×256 pixels. That however is reflected in the quality of the menu graphics – their edges become more jagged due to the downsampling. When the flip is closed the touchscreen functionality gets turned off and you can operate with the handset as you would with any other regular mobile phone. There was one problem we experienced with the touchscreen and it concerned an obvious lack of calibration. The display touch reception was slightly offset to the right so instead of pressing directly on a virtual OK button for example you had to press slightly to the right in order for the phone to accept the command. Unfortunately, the phone lacked any option for calibration the screen which is seen on PocketPC devices based on Windows Mobile.

Sony Ericsson P990 display: flip closed and flip opened

The second half of a smart-phone

After all, even a smartphone is a half “phone” so handling calls is equally important as any other feature. During calls we saw no problems with P990 – the sound during calls was clear and loud enough. The network signal was always full which is just what one might expect in urban areas with nice network coverage. A bit of a unique feature is the so-called Business telephony which practically means that you can use your P990 on a corporate telephone network via a Corporate switch PABX (Private Automatic Branch Exchange), equipped with a mobile extension port.

When the flip is closed dialing a number is simple as with any other mobile phone. When the flip is opened or off though you should make use of the integrated phone application in order to dial a contact using the touchscreen display. The virtual keys are nicely set apart so that you can press the numbers with your thumb without any mistake even if you have large fingers.

Dialing a number with flip closed • dialing with flip opened • calling Dexter

As far as the performance of the loudspeaker is concerned, we are far from impressed. The sound lacked any bass frequencies at all and the loudest ring volume of the handset proved more than insufficient in noisy streets.

UIQ interface inside out

The phone’s interface is UIQ 3.0 which is a customizable pen-based user interface for media-rich mobile phones that is based on the Symbian OS 9.1 OS. The previous UIQ 2.0 and 2.1 versions supported flip-open mode only. UIQ 3.0 provides a user interface for flip-closed use as while still supporting flip-open input. The flip-open UI and the new flip-closed alternative are built on the same code base.

So the smartphone’s interface essentially works in two modes – one when the flip closed and another one with the flip opened. The flip-closed mode actually gives you limited access to the device’s functions. Not all menus are available and basically you are limited to using the handset as a general mobile phone only. With the flip-closed the touchcreen functionality of the display disappears. But opening the flip magically transforms it into full-function communication machine. This is the reason why all of our screenshots would picture the flip-opened mode. There are only few exceptions and they are used mainly to underline the difference between the two versions.

A nice thing is that the smartphone has a dedicated Flight mode which can be turned on seamlessly without even turning the phone off. Even if you have to turn it off for some reason, there is an option that the phone asks you whether you want to start it directly into Flight mode. An added feature is that in Flight mode you can turn the Wi-Fi functionality on and make use of an airplane onboard hot-spot if there is one.

The standby screen of course has two views. In the flip-closed mode you can use the navigation D-pad in order to invoke user-preset shortcuts. Of course, the flip-opened mode is much more interesting. In this mode a shortcuts bar appears in the bottom of the screen. The items can be selected both with the stylus and your finger since the graphic icons are large enough. The shortcuts bar allows access to the events/shortcuts menu, the main menu, the phone application and the recent calls log.

Flip-closed main screen • flip-opened main screen • Activity menu • Shortcuts menu

An interesting addition to the standby screen in flip-opened mode is the menu we like to call the Start menu because it has a rather similar position as the START button on Windows. It gives you access to the most important items or actions you may need or like to do – like for example turn on connectivity options such as Bluetooth, Infrared, WLAN, or it allows you to make a new call, add a new contact or put down some appointments and notes. Further more it gives you access to the dual time zone clock and allows you to control the volume level for different events centrally. We are very pleased with this menu since allows quick access to the most vital functions of a smartphone.

The so-called Start menu with its options

When setting up a wallpaper in order to freshen up your main screen you have to bear in mind that there are two different wallpapers for the two interface modes. So you should pick up two different wallpapers to match the resolution of the screen according to the flip state. A nice thing though is that there are numerous wallpapers that come preinstalled with the phone which in fact have two versions – one for the flip-opened mode and one for the flip-closed mode. It’s a very nice thing to see form Sony Ericsson. Not only the wallpapers are very nice, but what is more you can always be sure that you would have that wallpaper that caught your eye on both your display modes.

Choosing a wallpaper for different states • the two display modes

The main menu of the Sony Ericsson P990 again has dual view according to the flip mode you are working in. Further more, it allows you several different views such as icons grid with or without text as well as a list view.

Main menu in flip-closed mode • main menu in flip-opened mode: icons view and list view

The smartphone interface can be customized through various graphic themes. Several of them come preinstalled while many more should be available online once the phone becomes publicly available.

Some of the preinstalled graphic themes

Unlimited contacts

The Sony Ericsson offers an extensive phonebook designed to suit everybody’s needs. There is virtually no limitation in the number of contacts that it can store. You can choose to filter your contacts by groups; by the location they are saved at or separate them into individual folders that later on you can use for calls management. The default filter applied shows the contacts saved in the phone’s memory. Generally speaking searching through your contacts is almost impossible without the stylus.

Contacts list • applying list filters • a contact’s options • filtering calls

The details that you can save for a given contact are abundant and include several numbers and email addresses, job title, office and home postal addresses, voice commands for the individual phone numbers of the contact and finally you can associate a ringtone and a picture to the specific contact. There is a field to enter the contact’s birthday, but unfortunately it doesn’t get transferred to the Calendar. Interestingly enough though, when you enter a birthday in the Calendar the phone allows you associate it to one of your contacts and the date gets saved under the contacts details automatically.

Contact Dexter’s details

You can even add a note for every contact. As usual the font size throughout the most of the smartphone’s interface can be zoomed in. That’s a great feature for people that no longer enjoy full-strength eyesight. Otherwise the smallest of the font sizes is pretty legible.

Adding a sample note for Dexter • available note font sizes

Call management

The Call log lists store all the information about the calls received or made.

Outgoing calls list • a specific call details

Now, when it comes to call management, besides call filtering there are also two nice options. The first one is to set the smartphone to send a SMS with a predefined text whenever you have to reject a call. The second one is to automatically store a callback event in the calendar every time your reject a call. In case you choose that option you can set the how many minutes after the call should the call back event alert you.

Setting up the Reject with SMS option • setting the call back option

All the messages in one Inbox

Usually the messaging department is one of strongest ones in any smartphone. Sony Ericsson P990 doesn’t make any exception to the rule. It offers rich functions combined with several text-input options. Generally speaking, you can enter text with the numeric keypad the usual Multi-Tap way, use the QWERTY keyboard, use a virtual QWERTY keyboard with the stylus or simply write with the stylus on the screen. As regards handwriting recognition, the phone manages very well. The handwriting system used is CICs JotPro. Basically, the way it works, is you write numbers in the upper part of the screen and letters in the lower one. If you feel uncomfortable with it you can always turn on the virtual keyboard which is rather easy to use and offers different layouts. The Sony Ericsson P990 also offers an enhanced version of the T9 dictionary – its thesaurus is expandable – you can add your own words and it can even remember whole messages. You can separately set whether you would like to use the predictive text input method in the flip-closed or the flip-opened mode, or both.

Setting up text input options • setting up predictive text input

The messaging menu combines all messages in one inbox. The supported messages are SMS, EMS, MMS, email, and RSS feeds. The last one is available through a dedicated application. Writing a sms with the plethora of input methods available is rather easy. Furthermore you have a lot of emoticons to express graphically your feelings.

Shared Inbox • using the virtual keypad • SMS emoticons • EMS emoticons

The email client is not really a separate application. It has extensive settings but setting it up to work with your email account is rather easy. It supports the POP3, IMAP and SMTP protocols, as well as SSL and TLS encryption. The P990 also supports Push Email through 3rd party applications from companies such as Extended Systems, Intellisync, JP Mobile, Research In Motion (RIM)/Blackberry, Active Sync, Seven, Smartner and Visto.

Email account settings

Writing an email is simple as writing a standard sms message. Usually the client downloads only the email headers or you can set it up to automatically download the whole messages if they don’t exceed a predefined limit in kilobytes. Adding an attachment is easy as usual – all you have to do is open the corresponding tab in the “new email” editor.

Email inbox • reading an email • writing an email to our friend Dexter

A bunch of files

The Sony Ericsson P990 has 128MB flash memory and 64MB RAM. The amount of storage space for user files is around 80MB, which of course can be expanded by using a Memory Stick.

The smartphone offers a nice file manager which resembles a lot the interface of the file managers of Sony Ericsson non-OS phones. It has two tabs – one showing the folders in the phone’s memory (no system files visible) and another one showing the files and folders on the removable Memory Stick. You can mark multiple files or folders and then copy, move or send them to another device. There is full support for DRM (Digital Rights Management) protection. It can be applied to all types of multimedia content such as audio, video, images and Java midlets.

Browsing folders • folder context menu • Document folder • available space

Browsing through pictures is more convenient through the Picture gallery. It offers almost the same folders & files interface as the file manager but it has some additional options as well as several view settings such as thumbnail view for example and slideshow.

List view • picture context menu • thumbnail view

You can browse the pictures in portrait or landscape mode. You can also set whether you want the pictures in portrait mode to be seen fullscreen. When browsing in landscape mode the fullscreen is the only available option. Furthermore, you can set the smartphone to Auto-rotate your pictures in order to fit your viewing mode.

Portrait mode context menu • fullscreen portrait mode context menu • landscape mode

Of course, you can zoom in the pictures to their original size and even more. When zooming, a mini-map appears which allows you to see which picture area you are looking at.

Checking a picture in portrait mode • zooming in

Checking a picture in landscape mode • zooming in

There is also a Picture Editor application that allows you to crop, rotate, resize, edit and correct images. You can use the editor to edit pictures directly in camera view mode or make corrective adjustment such as red eye removal or improve brightness levels.

The editor also includes fun layers, clip art and tools for drawing on the image using the stylus. Different pen sizes and colors are available, as well as a text tool for formatting and inserting text into the image.

The jukebox

The music player is the same as the one used in the Walkman-branded Sony Ericsson phones. It offers a nice interface and supports playlists with shuffle and loop options while offering rich equalizer presets including the Walkman MegaBass preset. Before creating a playlist, you can have the smartphone refresh the list of available music files.

Music player • equalizer presets • turning on the MegaBass • choosing playing output

The Video Player application offers basic functionality. A nice feature is that you can watch your videos in landscape mode. According to the manufacturer the Sony Ericsson is able to play smoothly videos with VGA resolution, captured at 30 fps which is more than enough to watch a music video or even a movie. Besides the usual mobile formats such as 3GPP, the smartphone supports MP3, AAC+, MPEG-4 and Real Audio 9 and RealMedia formats.

Video Player

FM plus RDS

The stereo FM radio that the P990 is equipped with supports RDS and can store up to 20 radio stations. If the radio station has RDS broadcasts it gets stored in the phone’s memory with its name. The equalizer presets available for the Music layer are available for the FM radio, too.

Tuning in a station without RDS and one with RDS • setting the equalizer

Sharp shooter

The camera used in Sony Ericsson P990 offers autofocus, a LED flash, a dedicated macro mode and image stabilizer for video recording. It’s supposed to produce the same quality pictures as those by Sony Ericsson K750 which has one of the best cameras in the 2 megapixel class. Unfortunately, it seems that the testing unit we’ve got had some issues since the autofocus just didn’t seem to work well over distances longer than several meters. Otherwise the macro shots produce nice and crisp images with great focus.

Using the display as a viewfinder

We won’t comment on the picture quality since we are rather convinced that the final, retail version of the smartphone would have all that fixed. From what we see from the samples from Mobilmania.cz, P990 offers exactly the same picture quality as the popular 2 megapixel Sony Ericsson models – K750, W800, W810… If we get the phone again when it becomes publicly available, we will make an update to this part of our review. For now we would simply offer you some of the better samples.

Sample photos in full resolution – you can see that the close-ups are great, but the normal pictures are out of focus – an issue with our testing unit

Photos resampled to 1024 x 768 resolution

Samples from Mobilmania.cz – you can see that the final version of the product has no problems with the image quality

Otherwise the camera interface reminds a lot the interface of the latest Sony Ericsson phones. It has a rather similar graphics and functions but is completely redesigned. The highest resolution available is 1600×1200 pixels with three quality levels – Economy, Normal and Fine. The camera has a full automatic exposure control but offers nice manual overexposure control accessible from the main viewfinder interface.

As we already mentioned, the autofocus has a dedicated macro mode. You can even turn the autofocus off and use a fixed focal length in case you don’t like the camera focus lag. The camera offers automatic white balance but there are 4 presets you can choose from depending on the environment. There are several color effects you can apply to the pictures and video such as Black & white, Sepia, Solarization and Negative.

Camera viewfinder interface • shoot modes • white balance settings • color effects

The P990 camera can capture video with a maximal resolution of 320×240 pixels at 15 fps which is not much considering that there are mobile phones on the market capable of recording video in VGA resolution – not to mention the Nokia N93 which captures VGA resolution videos at 30 fps while providing full smartphone capabilities. Lower resolutions allows recording at 30 fps. The output files are recorder either in 3GPP or MPEG-4 format. The video capturing is a serious downside for a smartphone intended to be best-of-class such as Sony Ericsson P990. You can choose whether you would like your videos recorded with sound or not and you can limit their length in order to fit them in an MMS. Otherwise the video recording time is limited by the available memory only.

Available resolutions • video length setting

Sony Ericsson P990 video samples

Using the front VGA video calls camera was easy since it offers a rather intuitive interface. A nice thing is that you choose the rear main camera for video calls which practically means that you can show the other call party your surroundings with an ease. The video calls camera also has a dedicated Night mode. Generally speaking, when it comes to video calls, the P990 Video phone application manages well enough.

Video phone context menu

Plug in or log on

When it comes to connecting the smartphone to a computer or other devices you have various options. You can use the integrated Infrared port, a USB cable or the Bluetooth 2.0. Connecting the smartphone to a PC via the Bluetooth worked like a charm. One of the innovations about the Bluetooth capabilities is the support for Bluetooth LAN. Generally, that means that a TCP/IP connection can be established between the P990 and the computer over the Bluetooth serial link (where Bluetooth acts as a serial cable replacement). This solution is normally used for the purposes of Backup/Restore and Sync, but can also be used in a more generic sense like for example route the HTTP traffic of the Opera web browser through the computer internet connection.

It must be noted that the Bluetooth capabilities of the device include also support for the A2DP profile which allows you to use a stereo Bluetooth headset for listening to music.

What is more, the P990 has even VPN support which can be used to hook the smartphone on corporate WLAN networks. Synchronization with the PC or remote server via SyncML also works seamlessly. The user can choose which items should be synchronized and which not.

Remote sync options

Besides Infrared and Bluetooth, the P990 has tri-band GSM/UMTS support (GSM 900/1800/1900) and also supports GPRS for fast data transfers in non-3G enabled networks. EDGE (the so-called E-GPRS) support lacks here. Adding the support for Wi-Fi (WLAN) 802.11b to the equation really makes the P990 a competitive communication device. Searching and logging to available WLAN networks worked seamlessly. It must be noted that searching for WLAN networks frequently has a hard impact on the battery life.

Available WLAN networks

The Sony Ericsson P990 comes equipped with the famous Opera 8.0 Web browser which has made a reputation as one of the best for mobile devices. It supports HTML, XHTML, JavaScript, frames, CSS, and TSL and SSL security protocols. The browser is used with the flip open. Users can quickly and easily switch between portrait and landscape modes as well as change from a normal view with scroll bars to a full screen view. Users can use the Fit-to-screen option to reformat pages to fit inside the screen width and eliminate the need for horizontal scrolling. We are pretty happy with the browser capabilities but it must be noted that the Web browser that comes with the Nokia Symbian smartphones with the S60 3rd edition user interface outperforms it with ease.

Opera web browser: normal view and fullscreen view

Day-to-day management

The Alarms application is nothing special really but it does its job more than satisfactory. You can set a ringtone of your choice as an Alarm sound or you can have a given radio station to wake you.

The functionality of the Calendar application is at a good level. You can choose between monthly, weekly and daily view and 2 time zones. The available events that you can store are Appointment, Reminder, All day event, and Anniversary. The birthday can be recorded as an Anniversary event since those events get repeated automatically through the years.

Calendar: monthly & weekly view • adding an event

As any other Sony Ericsson phones you have two other applications to organize your daily routine – that is the Tasks and Notes applications. The Task one allows you to enter simple events that do not require extensive setups as the ones in the Calendar. The Notes application allows saving short notes as the name itself implies. The interesting thing here is that the notes can be in handwritten form. When using the regular input method, the predictive text input mode is available.

Tasks • handwritten text • notehandwritten drawing • normal note

The P990 also offers a nicely designed Calculator, Unit converter and a Sound Recorder with a recording time only limited by the available memory. Sony Ericsson has decided to leave the MusicDJ application seen on almost all of their mobile phones – it allows you to create polyphonic ringtones within a simple user interface. For an unknown reason the VideoDJ application seen on some of the latest Sony Ericsson mobiles lacks here.

Calculator • Unit converter • Sound recorder • MusicDJ

Maybe this is the most appropriate place to say a few things about the Task Manager which is something of a separate application although fully integrated into the OS. The Task Manager icon is available in the lower right angle of the screen almost throughout the whole smartphone interface. You probably have noticed that on almost all of our screenshots. It can also be opened via the so-called Start menu. Unfortunately, the icon itself is so small that the only way to press it is by using the stylus – unless of course you haven’t assigned the right side Web button as a shortcut key for starting the Task manager.

The Task Manager has two tabs – the first and default one which you see whenever you open the Manager contains shortcuts to the Main Menu and the Activity menu as well as access to the recently us application. The second tab of the Task Manager contains all the currently running applications and allows you to easily terminate them.

Picking the Task Manager from the Start menu • shortcut tab of the Manager

Office applications

Being a business smartphone, the Sony Ericsson comes with several preinstalled specialized office applications. They include the Quickoffice group which is a combined editor for MS Word (Quickword), MS Excel (Quicksheet), and MS PowerPoint (QuickPoint) documents. The Quickoffice group also comes with its own file manager which shows a list of all stored Office documents. There is also the option to filter the list furthermore via the available tabs and show the WORD, EXCEL and POWERPOINT documents separately.

Office applications • QuickOffice file manager: full list • WORD document • EXCEL document

The office applications also include a PDF files viewer called PDF+. In the end it does its job well, but it’s rather slower than the PDF viewer that comes preinstalled with the Nokia E-Series smartphones. As a general rule, viewing a PDF document on any mobile screen is a refined torture which involves a lot of scrolling in all directions.

Viewing PDF files with PDF+

A nice and rather innovative business application is the business card scanner. It allows you to capture a person’s business card with the main camera, scan it and via character recognition insert all the information into a new contact in the phonebook. Furthermore, the business card image is stored as the person’s personal picture that would be shown when you get a call from that contact. Our test with the business cards that we had available proved that the application does a great job and manages to recognize all the types of fonts used. The output is a really detailed contact entry which is ready to be saved in the phonebook.

Business card scanner • scanner output

Truly amazing gaming

The Sony Ericsson P990 comes with two preinstalled games. The first one is the Java-based Tetris-like QuadraPop game seen on many other Sony Ericsson phones. Generally, it’s meant to be played in the flip-closed mode. Unfortunately, obviously due to an OS bug, we couldn’t make it start.

Never mind, the second game is far more interesting not only as gameplay, but also as a technology showcase. The Sony Ericsson is among the few phones that have a true graphics hardware accelerator and the Vijay Singh Pro Golf 2005 game is specially developed by Gameloft in order to show its capabilities. We must admit that it boasts stunning graphics and animation – that is for a mobile phone, of course. It offers seamless shifts between camera angles and your viewpoint shifts at least twice on every stroke, highlighting different parts of the shot.

Vijay Singh Pro Golf 2005

Final words

Well, all we can say is that the Sony Ericsson P990 is an excellent smartphone and if you need one you should definitely consider it when making your buying decision. When all the software bugs are worked out, the end product would be a device which hardly has any serious flaws.

The competing HTC TyTN (a.k.a. Qtek 9600) and the Nokia E70 are rather good choices, too, so make your mind rather carefully when choosing the device that’s right for you.

When considering some of the competing smartphones with QWERTY keyboards, bear in mind that the obvious advantage of P990 – its touchscreen might turn out to be its most obvious drawback in the first days of usage. The Series 60 user interface is usually a lot easier to get used to even for an inexperienced user. The UIQ 3.0 interface would create many inconveniences for a novice. You would have to use the stylus all the time and while it may seem easy, in fact it demands that both your hands are free which may not always be the case. With the flip opened, you can hardly dial a number, for example, without concentrating your whole attention to the smartphone’s screen while many of the functions require that you open the flip in order to use them. So in the end, it’s a bit of trade-off. And where you stand is entirely up to you.

Sony Ericsson P990 camera photos

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_ericsson_p990-review-101p10.php

Sony Ericsson P990

Without a doubt the star of Symbian’s Smartphone Show was the public debut of the Sony Ericsson P990. Running Symbian OS 9.1 and UIQ 3, every part of this phone has been eagerly awaited by Symbian followers the world over. About the only thing that was surprising was the number – most of us were sure it was going to be a P950 or P1000.

Staying with 990 though does seem to back up the fact that this unit is solidly part of the P900 lineage. It’s as close as you can get to a new model without actually hitting the P1000 range of numbers. It’s obviously an evolution, and if you’ve been paying attention, there are really no shocks in the hardware or the specification.

What Can You See

[The pictures on the right show the P990 next to a standard P910i – apologies for the fingerprints all over both, but the P990 in particular had seen 1000s of grubby fingers handle it over the previous four hours!]
Let’s start with the screen. Although physically it’s only a few millimetres away from the tradition 208×320 screens of previous P devices, the pixel dimensions are a standard QVGA 240×320. Stylus control is accurate, even with the increased density of pixels. The extra size is going to allow more information and clearer status bars during use, but it’s not noticeable during use that the extra pixels are cramming in more information – everything is clear and laid out sensibly as before. Of course a lot of that is in the UIQ interface and screen handling. Closing the flip actually changes the UI. Where before we had a hard coded ‘flip closed’ mode, flip closed in UIQ3 is just another UI layer. Because of this, every correctly programmed application will have a flip closed mode with minimal extra effort from the developers.

Steve’s going to have a look at the main changes in UIQ 3 later this week – in short it’s moved forward quite a bit from UIQ 2.1 in the P910i, taking in a lot of user feedback.

Hardware Changes

Not everything has moved forward, though. The number pad flip has moved back to the style of the P900. The P910i had a number of complaints that it was impossible to touch type a phone number or an SMS because of the flat keypad. With the bars returning, function has prevailed over form. It’s nice to see Sony Ericsson doing this, and the respect for the end user is clear.

This respect is something that I really appreciated. Staying with the flip, you can choose to run your phone with the flip, or remove it for a device that looks suspiciously close to a Treo. I’m a big fan of ‘flipping off’ with the P900 and P910i, so the addition of a sliding switch on the left hand edge of the case to activate the screen lock is another welcome tweak to the UI. On the other hand, I know Rafe is much more in favour of using the flip on the P990, as with all the P models.

Physically, the device is only a millimetre or two larger than the P910i, but there is no two-tone colour effect, so it looks like it should be a lot larger. One missing feature is in the jog dial. Rest assured the jog dial is still there, but it no longer has the ‘pull forward, push back’ function. It looks like the power users were familiar with this function, but the average user never knew it existed, or kept hitting it by mistake and wondering what was going on.

What’s New In The Software?

Connectivity-wise, the P990 will connect to your PC with USB, and any Memory Stick will show up as a mass storage device (but not the internal drive). Wi-Fi and 3G are available to get an Internet/data connection, and the GPRS/GSM frequencies are the standard triband of 900/1800 and 1900. A lot of people (including Steve and myself) are happy to see that the infrared port has been retained.

Probably the biggest change is the camera. It’s a full 2 megapixel camera, and it’s incredibly easy to use for two reasons. The first is that switching to the camera is a simple matter of opening the lens cover. At that point you can forget about UIQ as the interface, because you’ll get a full screen viewfinder powered by a display that’s eerily similar to the Sony Cybershot digital camera ranges – a UI that’s already been proven in the field. As well as still pictures at 2 megapixel, you also have video recording at QVGA (320 by 240) resolution.

The other major addition is going to be in music. While the P range devices have always carried the ability to do MP3, the P990 is going to be the most comprehensive music player yet. While not taking the Walkman brand, the SE developed software for that product should be available (in some form) for the P990. One step backwards is lack of support for a standard 2.5mm smartphone stereo headset. Instead, you have to use the supplied Sony Ericsson headset that plugs into the multi-connector on the bottom of the device.

Closing Thoughts

The P990 is obviously going to be the flagship Sony Ericsson smartphone, and for the Symbian OS fans who have come from a PDA background, it fulfils the promise of a world-class PDA in the phone form. The P900 and P910i were almost there, and the P990 has made the final step. With the built-in software for the UIQ platform, plus additions such as Quickoffice and Opera 8, Sony Ericsson look to have a winning device that pushes back a number of barriers, while keeping everything accessible for the end-user. There’s still a lot of (software) work to be done on the device, but when it arrives next year it’s should be very, very high up on the wanted list of smartphone users everywhere.

Source : http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/reviews/item/30_Minutes_with_the_Sony_Ericsson_P990_.php

Nokia 3230 (2)

Nokia 3230 review: Smartphone for the masses

Nokia 3230 is basically the first smartphone, which could be considered a middle class one. Nevertheless, it has pretty rich functional equipment: it supports EDGE, Bluetooth, Push to talk and has megapixel camera and radio. As usually, we have tested the phone thoroughly and prepared a detailed review for you.

Key benefits

• Quick mobile data: GPRS class 10, EDGE class 5
• 1.3 MP camera
• RS-MMC memory card slot, which is replaceable without having to switch off the phone
• Built-in radio
• Image editor
• Setting Wizard program for quick setting of data transfers, MMS and emails
• High quality construction

Main drawbacks

• Use of MMC card of a standard size not possible
• The keys are sometimes much too rigid
• The voice memo is limited to minute-long records only
• Intermittent problems with the earphones connection

Nokia 3230 is positioned into the “middle class” category. When I was using it, however, I did not notice almost any differences from the mobile phones of a higher class. The main reason is that Nokia 3230 uses the Symbian Series 60 OS, which is nearly identical for most of the mobile phones, offering the same functions every time.

Since any smartphone is able to offer much more options that the usual phones, I consider it rather unnecessary to describe the individual pros and cons of the smart phones here.

Straight off at the beginning, we should probably explain this article’s title. How come that we classify the Nokia 3230, whose initial price starts at almost 400 Euros, as a mass phone, since nowadays it is easily possible to buy a smartphone at half this price? Well, any direct comparing between the new coming phones and the one-year old ones just does not make sense, even if they offer basically the same functional features. If we compare the prices of the mobile phones when first launched on the market, Nokia 3230 turns out to be really the cheapest one. By this moment, not a single smartphone has been introduced at a lower price.

The well known Symbian

Although a initially we expected Nokia 3230 to be equipped with the latest operational system Symbian OS 8.0, our expectations did not come true. The manufacturer has built in it the older the 7.0 version.

For our testing process we used a product with the 3.0505.2 firmware version from February 19th this year, RM-51. When I unpacked the box I was slightly surprised by the absence of a software CD, which Nokia often delivers together with its mobile phones. Not even has the manufacturer mentioned a possible CD in the standard equipment of the phone on Nokia’s official web-site.

Design: does it look familiar?

As I was speculating on how the ideal telephone should look like, various combinations occurred to me. One of them was the following: combination of the design of the newest Sony Ericsson models and the operational system of a classic Symbian. That is exactly what Nokia 3230 comes to offer. Even though I prefer to avoid any possible comparisons with SE, there are certain similarities one cannot overlook – especially as far as the keypad is concerned.

The design of the phone is a success indeed

The phone is going to be offered in two color versions: black and wine red. Looking for replaceable covers, however, turned out to be an effort in vain. The front grill is firmly screwed onto the device. Hence neither the keypad, nor the display can be reached by the user.

Construction: solid

Already the usage of non-replaceable covers comes to suggest that the construction should be good; and it is. The phone is really very compact and solid. During the whole testing period its covers did not utter a single creak when normally used. The very only hint of a creaky sound came out when I was trying to remove the back cover by forcing it. The camera lens has been very well allocated as well. The lens is embedded in the top part of the back cover, so it does not stick out from the phone’s surface by even a millimeter.

A view from the back • a comparison with a card • the card and the battery when removed

I do not recommend you to unnecessarily remove the back cover. The reason is that the phone cracks quite loudly every time it gets opened and I can assure you that within the first few moments this will give you the heebie-jeebies. If it is really inevitable, then let me give you a tip. Press onto the back cover in the area below the camera lens. Just under it there is a hollow, in which the memory card is situated, so the opening goes more smoothly. Yet, do not expect the cover to ease off and open at the very first try.

Inserting the SIM card • memory card slot

After having removed the cover the only thing to be seen are the battery and the memory card slot. In order to place the SIM card into the phone you need to insert it under the above mentioned slot. As for the memory card, it is possible to remove even when the phone is switched on. The device will simply give you a notice that the card is going to be removed and that all applications are going to be closed. However, here is where I ran into problems for the telephone once or twice notified me of the absence of the SIM card and restarted itself.

The battery and the card slot

The battery BL-5B is of the Li-Ion type and has a capacity of 760 mAh. On its surface you can see the reserved hologram of Nokia Company, which is to prove the device originality. If you cannot see it, the battery in front of you is simply not an original Nokia one. According to the official statements given by the manufacturer the battery is to support up to 4 hours of continuous calls and up to 150 hours stand-by.

A rounded cuboid

When I saw the phone in the first official pictures it seemed to me smaller than it is in reality. Anyway, its dimensions – 109 × 49 × 19 mm – are not big at all. As far as the weight is concerned (110 g), however, I was not that satisfied. I just find the phone unnecessarily too heavy. Perhaps that is the tax, which is to be paid for having an excellent construction. Even if that is the case, for this phone I am willing to pay it.

I just can’t help comparing…

On the bottom of the phone is the standard Pop-Port connector. In it you can plug a data cable as well as the Nokia Stereo Headset HDS-3 earphones, which are delivered together with the telephone. Next to it is the outlet for the charger.

Display: pure quality

Nokia 3230 does not offer innovations in the display – just like with the previous phones of the class Series 60. A resolution of 176 × 208 pixels and 65 536 colors are features we are already used to. The backlighting is evenly distributed all over the viewing area. However, it is notably brighter compared to the backlighting of Nokia 7610, for example.

A view of the display

The brightness intensity can be changed within the general options of the display settings. I find the jumps between the intensity levels unnecessarily big though. The three lowest setting modes make the display go out completely. In the same menu you can setup the screensaver. There are two standard screensavers to choose of: Date and Time or Text.

The backlighting intensity is really high

Nokia 3230 takes in an option for graphic themes changing. The theme wraps up the whole phone including the icons and the menus into a different design. When delivered the phone is equipped with four pre-installed graphic themes.

Graphic themes

The keypad: it is tough here

Whereas I extolled the display, the keypad brought the moment of disappointment. Before you master writing with one hand only you will have to first learn how to hold the phone. The keys may be lifted enough above the surface, but they are located much too low, which makes the pressing possible, only provided you bend your thumb considerably. Moreover, the numeric keypad is a bit rigid and it requires quite an effort to handle.

If I claim not to be satisfied with the numeric keypad, then I am twice as much unsatisfied with the functional buttons placed close below the display. The reaction of the buttons for accepting and refusing a call is good, but the rest of the buttons are much too rigid. Every press is accompanied by an audible click. The two functional buttons located below the display serve for setting the start of the program desired.

Keypad details

The main control element of Nokia 3230 is the five-way joystick placed in the middle of the functional buttons. Although I am more of a fan of the direction buttons rather than the joysticks, the 3230 model’s joystick was a pleasant surprise. It is easy to control and works very exactly. When the phone is in a stand-by mode, four actions are steadily attached to the five ways of the joystick. A move to the left starts the writing of a text message; a move to the right opens the built-in calendar. A move upwards opens the Photo-Video application and a press or a move downwards takes you to the address book.

The joystick is just fine

The backlighting is also excellent. It is evenly distributed among all keys and you will hardly find an area, where it is notably brighter.

The keypad backlighting is really good

You can use other two special buttons, in addition to the standard control keys. The switch on/off button and the button for work with ring profiles are traditionally placed on the bottom side of the phone. The latter one is quite rigid, as well. As for the left side of the phone, here you will find the button, which starts the Push to talk function.

Memory: is it enough?

The phone has 6 MB internal storage memory . Even though it is not that little, the other Symbian phones have already made us get used to higher values. Along with the built-in memory the phone also comes with a 32MB memory card. Nokia 3230 uses a memory card of the RS DV MMC type (Reduced Size Dual Voltage MultiMediaCard).

It is generally known that the operational system Symbian is not one of the fastest on the market. The reaction of the keys of the 3230 model after having been pressed is not immediate either. Once again I have the opportunity to compare with Nokia 7610. The new phone seems to be slightly quicker. Its advantage is most notable when starting any of the installed applications. This does not hold true for picture saving though. Saving a picture in a mega pixel resolution takes the phone approximately 5 seconds, which is a relatively long time.

When running a program the phone uses storage memory (RAM). Even though the manufacturer does not give any exact values, according to the AppMan application the RAM is about 9 MB. However, when tested by the JBenchmark application, Nokia 3230 did not perform as well as one might have expected. It gained 2561 points in the 1.0 version, which is somewhere between the performance given by Nokia 6600 and Nokia 7610. It is worth pointing out that during the tests the phone did not jam even once, except for the already mentioned moment, when the memory card was removed. We will have to wait for the final version of the phone though, because the firmware of the one tested still has some smaller drawbacks. In some way or other, Nokia has definitely taken the right direction.

SettingWizard: a no time set up

The SettingWizard program has been slowly becoming a standard part of the equipment of all modern mobile phones. It enables for simplified setting of data transfers, multimedia messages or emails. It is an application, which automatically selects the type of setting according to the operator. Unlike Nokia 6630, in which smaller complications would sometimes occur, no problems arose when setting Nokia 3230. It took me about 10 seconds to start using GPRS, MMS and e-mail through T-Mobile service.

The camera: megapixel

Part of Nokia 3230’s equipment is a built-in camera with an effective resolution of 1.23 megapixels. Thanks to this your pictures could reach a resolution up to 1 280 × 960 pixels. The saving format of the pictures is JPEG.

A view at the camera lens

Another helpful application is the twilight support mode for low light conditions. This time, however, Nokia apparently did not focus on the digital zoom. The approximation here is triple at the most; in my opinion, the jumps between the individual zoom positions are unnecessarily big. After having been taken the photographs are either viewed on the display, or directly saved into the Gallery. The later option leaves the camera ready for further photographing.

The camera viewfinder • local menu • settings

In addition, the phone has a Kodak Mobile Service application. It requires the use of GPRS and enables you to comfortably send your pictures to Kodak Company’s address, where they are printed, put into an envelope and sent back to you by post. In addition to this application the phone also offers a picture editor, which enables for removing the inessential parts of the photograph or converting it into a greeting card, which can be subsequently sent as a multimedia message.

Kodak Mobile Service • picture editor

Sample photos: we did not edit the photographs, but left them in their original resolution. So be sure to expect a little bit bigger files.

Digital zoom

With this phone you can also shoot video records. Their length is limited by the extent of the free memory only. With 32MB card you could record up to a one-hour video. The videos are saved in a 176 × 144 pixels resolution in a H.263 format and have the same color features like the photos.

The video recorder viewfinder • local menu • settings

The videos do not necessary have to stay unchanged. Modifications are possible thanks to the Movie director application, which we already know from the older Nokia models. They offer options for touching up the shot records by adding frame borders, sounds etc. You won’t miss the Video editor program introduced by Nokia 6630 either. It lets you cut the already shot video and add effects or your own music background to it. The final result can subsequently be sent as a MMS using Bluetooth or infrared port.

Movie director • Video editor

The multimedia: mono, unfortunately…

Nokia has also equipped its new model with a FM radio as well as a music files player. The radio plays pretty well in stereo, but that’s where perfectionism gets knocked down: the MP3 player is monophonic only. It is a pity since the 6630 model proved that Nokia knows how to make stereophonic MP3 players.

The earphones delivered with the phone can be used for listening to music as well as a light Hands-free set in the car. They connect to the phone through a Pop-Port connector.

Pop-Port • stereo headset delivered with the phone

Even though the headset is a trivial one, the sound is not that bad. I was most satisfied with the radio sound. Unfortunately, after few minutes of playing its connector started acting up and a monophonic sound began to come out only. As for the stereo signal itself, neither the highs, nor the basses were too loud. The sound appeared to be balanced just right. However, I do not dear speak that positively about the MP3 player’s performance. The quality of the sound of the enclosed Real Media Player is bad indeed. In short, the situation here is very much the same as in the 6260 model.

Apart from the MP3 format the music player also works with AAC, AMR and Real Audio files. As for the video player, it handles not only H.263, but also the 3GP, MP4, MPEG-4 video and Real Video formats. Along with the files saved onto the local storage, the Real Media program plays network streams also.

RealPlayer • playing • local menu • settings

All media are saved into the Gallery file, which is accessible from the menu only. The Gallery itself is divided into further sub-files, according to the multimedia content of the record.

Gallery files

If you feel like using your phone as a voice mailbox, then I will have to disappoint you. Nokia has not learned from the mistakes made in its previous models and thus the voice mailbox won’t take in a record longer than one minute. Along with an unlimited video application, such a drawback is difficult to accept. The recorded results are usually saved into the Gallery. They can be gradually searched in the Sound clips and Digital sounds files in the phone memory. Additionally, it is possible to export the list with the created records to the play list or the list with music pieces.

Audio recorder

Listen with your eyes

It would be a pity not to take a more detailed look at the radio. In the menu it is placed under Visual Radio. Even though it is possible to listen to the radio by using the loud speaker, the latter won’t work unless the earphones are plugged in. The tuning process is driven either automatically according to the signal intensity, or manually, by dialing the frequency of the desired station. The automatic tuning will select a station provided the signal is really intense. If the broadcast gets disturbed even a bit, the phone skips the station and goes on searching.

If you know the name of the station, but you cannot remember its frequency, you can use the list with radio stations, which is easily accessible directly from the application. It is possible to save the station into the list in order to avoid a repeated search once the phone has been restarted. The list contains twenty vacancies altogether. As for the incoming calls, they are easily recognizable for the radio sound deadens and the ring melody starts running through the headset. The same process is initiated when a message has come.

Address book with radio stations • main window • the list • manual tuning

My excellent impression of this application was spoiled by a small error that occurred when I started the Visual Radio and the camera simultaneously. The playing station switched to another one and kept on doing this until I turned off the camera.

The Visual Radio technology enables for receiving not only a sound signal, but also a data flow with various details on the music pieces and their content. The first radio station to work with Nokia Visual Radio was launched in Finland just days ago.

Telephony: typical Symbian

Speaking about telephony functions, no innovations are coming along. All features are the same as in all older Nokia models equipped with a Symbian system.

As usually, the sound of Nokia 3230’s speaker is rather average. Certain noises could also be heard while phoning with a connected handsfree set. While testing the phone’s calling features, I ran into smaller difficulties concerning the conference calls. The telephone would not manage to switch between the calls and would therefore terminate them.

Numbers dialing • address book • contact details

A shared memory is used for saving names in the address book. There is up to 6 MB of memory space. Every name can be accompanied by several different attached items. You can search in the address list by progressively dialling the first letters of the names. The individual names can be differentiated by using special ringing modes. The list is viewed either in a Surname Forename format, or vice versa: Forename Surname.

Messaging

No new developments are to be found among the message options either. There is a T9 dictionary for quick text inserting when writing a SMS, MMS, emails or instant messaging. As for the pictures inserted into the multimedia messages, their size can be automatically reduced to the one suitable for MMS.

Files • creating a SMS • a notice informing about present special characters • MMS editor

The Email box is another recently improved application. It supports the SMTP, POP3 and IMAP4 protocols. When using POP3 it can download just the header of the message; to download the whole text you need to subsequently select it.

Downloaded headers • email body

One of the new functions is the Push to talk function. Thanks to it you can easily communicate with other people through the GPRS packet transfers; the working principle is similar to the walkie-talkie one.

Organizer: nothing has changed

As the text given above indicates, the devices of the Series 60 are quite alike in a number of aspects. The system for time organizing is none of an exception. I did not discover any new developments in the calendar, the task organizer or the notes. To make the list complete let us also mention the calculator, the converter, the clock and the wallet.

Calendar • tasks

Notes • calculator • converter • wallet

Games: Bluetooth party

As a standard, the phone contains three preinstalled games

Agent V: your task in this game is to destroy the parasitic viruses circulating around. The camera lens is used as a means for multidimensional moves.

Rally Pro is a racing game. The task here is to reach the final point within the shortest time possible. This game could be played among more participants through Bluetooth.

Warrior is a classic “shooting game”, where you fly in a rocket through the airspace trying to destroy your enemies. What is a bit odd here is the necessity to turn the display to the right by 90 degrees.

Internet: no problems

Nokia has already launched several models of mobile phones, in which it uses its own browser for WAP,HTML and XHTML pages. The situation with Nokia 3230 is no different. Even though the program appears to be relatively simple, it offers all main features, for example: correct page viewing, basic JavaScript support or a counter of data transferred. The latter, however, gets reset whenever the according page is opened again.

Text version of MobilManie in the internet browser

Communication: any possible way

No matter whether you’d like to communicate with a nearby or distant environment, Nokia 3230 offers you plenty of options to choose of. There are three available methods for local communication: a USB connection, an infrared interface and Bluetooth. By using these options you will easily and – most of all – quickly synchronize contacts, calendar notes or any other items. As for distant synchronization, Nokia’s choice has fallen onto SyncML.

Connection item • Bluetooth • a list of familiar devices • modem options

If you feel like conquering the world, the phone provides you with mobile data transfers. The maximum speed to be reached by using the GPRS technology Class 10 is 80 kbps. As for EDGE, it is Class 5 with a maximum downlink of 118.4 kbps. The odd thing here is that EDGE can be used for downloading only – a limitation, which Nokia mentions on its web site.

I have already mentioned the fact that there is no installing CD delivered together with the new phone. The PC Suite for Nokia, which enables for communication between the mobile phone and a computer, has to be downloaded from the web page of the manufacturer. I did several tests with PC Suite 6.41 and all types of Bluetooth communication ran without a single problem. Where Nokia 7610 would sometimes give me hard times and would deny cooperating, the 3230 would run promptly, showing no signs of complications.

Conclusion: what could we possibly add?

I am satisfied by Nokia 3230 in terms of design. The silver stripe framing the whole front cover is very elegant and does not spoil the overall representative outlook of the phone. Since we are still talking about a middle class phone, it must be pointed out that this model’s functional equipment is considerably above the average standard. One of Nokia 3230’s great advantages is the EDGE technology. The combination of the latter and the built-in operating system is very interesting indeed and will be difficult to resist when looking for the right phone.

At the same time Nokia 3230 gives us plenty of reasons to complain. The tested version turned out to be full of errors; hence Nokia 3230′ overall evaluation will depend to a great extent on the quality of the final version of its software. And since the phone is already in the distributors’ pricelists, its developers may have to quicken their step. The official price is expected to be somewhere below 400 Euros incl. local taxes. I am sure, however, that the phone will be possible to find for less and what is more – its price will be gradually falling.

Competition

Among its own siblings the biggest competitor of Nokia 3230 seems to be Nokia 6600. The 3230 model offers a lot of additional functions, while the 6600 model has the advantage of a relatively price-friendly phone due to its age. Within the same price category two other phones – Nokia 7610 and Nokia 6670 could be forecasted as competitors for they are comparable with Nokia 3230 as far as functional options are concerned.

As for the rest of the competition, a certain alternative choice could be Siemens SX1. Even though its starts to notably grow in age, this is the only present-day smart phone of the Series 60 class, which offers a combination of stereophonic radio and a MP3 player in the same device.

Content of the standard package

• A handset
• A battery BL-5B, Li-Ion 760 mAh
• A standard charger ACP-7 (in particular countries also a travel charger ACP-12)
• Stereophonic earphones Nokia HDS-3
• A memory card of the Reduced Size MultiMediaCard (RS-MMC) type with a capacity of 32 MB
• User’s manuals and further documents

For our reviews we shoot, download and prepare much more pictures then finally appear in the article. They can be interesting for some of you therefore we offer all of them in one place: photo gallery.

Nokia 3230 photos

Nokia 3230 display screenshots

Pictures taken with the built-in camera

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_3230-review-33p7.php

Nokia 7710 (2)

Nokia 7710 review: Is this the right track?

It is the first Nokia phone with a touchscreen display – with a huge display. Running on new version of Symbian OS, the Nokia 7710 has a megapixel camera and extensive multimedia features. We have made a very detailed review.

Benefits

• large and high resolution display
• excellent for browsing the Internet
• quality sound
• great for playing video
• quality organizer functions
• good pictures

Drawbacks

• overall slow system
• stability problems
• yellow cast on the display
• slow searching in the phonebook
• it is not always possible to use it without the stylus
• bad ergonomics in some cases

Nokia 7710 communicator review wasn’t a piece of cake for me. Although I was using the mobile a lot for several days, I was doubtful until the end. Nokia 7710 is brand new type of mobile device and I have to admit we were “fighting” from time to time. On the other hand, I read reactions of the first users, who are basically exhilarated, so I cannot take just my feelings for the evaluation.

Nokia 7710 is a multimedia widescreen smartphone. There is no keypad, just a wide touchscreen display with pen input. This phone is meant for people who I dare to call “pioneers”. With Nokia 7710 they stand right on the start of a platform that can be successful or a flop – that is what makes it so exciting. Nokia 7710 will entertain them; they can play with it, boast with it and have a good feeling of “being the first”.

It is the first smartphone based on Symbian Series 90. It was supposed to be Nokia 7700 initially, but its development was stopped and here they come with a smaller and lighter successor.

More like a game console

For common work, Nokia 7710 is held flatways, like Nokia N-Gage. Only for telephony, it is held as a normal mobile phone. Comparing to mobile phones it is a very big device, 128 x 70 x 19 mm, but compared to smartphones it is about the average. The same stands for the weight of 180 g; it is elephantine for a mobile phone and about normal for a smartphone.

Comparing sizes: with Nokia 6630 • in hand • on a CD

We have a bright variant of the smartphone available. I haven’t found on Nokia web page how many color variants will be available but I have seen some pictures of dark versions. Covers are not replaceable; it is possible to remove just a back shell that is covering a battery. I do not have underlying remarks to the construction of the phone but some reproaches are coming on from the users of the smartphone, considering facing of the covers. I can say that a tested piece is O.K. in this respect.

It is possible to remove back cover

Nokia 7710 is a block with slightly rounded side edges. The display is not placed symmetrically but it is moved a bit right; the left border is bigger than the right one. Holding the phone with both hands the right thumb touches straight the cursor key with confirmation button.

Yellow cast on the display

The display of the phone is really huge, we haven’t seen bigger at any Nokia yet and I don’t even remember any other phone or a smartphone, which can compete with the 7710’s display. The display sizes are 80 x 50 mm, 90 mm diagonally and it feature resolution 640 x 320 pixels. Moreover it is extremely crisp, with 5120 pixels on 1 square cm. Of course it is active and displays 65K colors.

The illumination is not really regular – the display is noticeably darker in the corners and in the right part. Considerable imperfection is the strong yellow cast. It is not so visible on our pictures, because the camera was set on auto white balance, but actually the yellowish display stroked my eye straight after I switched it on for the first time. The graphics and pictures representation is otherwise perfect.

Display looks pretty white on the pictures but that’s thanks to the camera support.
Actually the display is distinctly yellowish.

Generally – the same as other color displays.

As it goes with devices like that, a large display gets dirty very easily. Just touch it to your face during a call or touch it by a finger when you are too lazy to take out the pen. Nokia knows well why they included a rag in the standard package.

Rag for cleaning the display

Confusing keys

Part of the control keys is placed on the side edge. These are keys for calls control (green and red earphone) and a voice recorder key. All keys have also other functions, e.g. call register opening or voice dial activation. Next, still on the side edge, you can find a key that releases the back cover. Removing the cover is quite tricky, the other three keys need to be pressed properly.

Call control keys • back cover lock

Then there is just a main switch button placed on the right side. It is jointed with control of ringing profiles. On the left bottom there we can find a Pop-Port system connector. Here I have one remark for the construction. The connector is protected by a metal case, which is in contact with a plastic cover. If you press it, the plastic slides on metal edge and you can hear an unpleasant sound.

Switch button • Pop-Port connector and slot for charger; the small slot in the corner is the microphone

At the first sight, it seems that keys on the front part are placed completely chaotically. On the left side is positioned the already mentioned cursor key with confirmation button in the middle. Below that there is a key used for roll out the menu of actual application and for shifting among bookmarks in dialogues. The key for going back to the main display is touching it by its corner.

Keys on the left side

A bar with the list of the running applications appears when you hold the key that is used for going back to the desktop. That is the way to switch from one program to another. Applications are usually not running on the background, hence, it is not possible to look somewhere else while waiting for a web page to load.

By holding the key, you can see the list of the running applications

There are three keys on the right side. The functions of two of them are different in various applications; the bottom one is the escape key. The earphone is in the middle. The keys on the front side are not illuminated, contrary to the volume control keys on the upper edge.

Keys on the right side

Normal size card

A big battery appears after removal of the back cover. The battery has different size than any other Nokia phone. It is Li-Pol battery with 1300 mAh capacity. The producer claims that the smartphone with battery like that lasts up to 14 days on standby or max 12 hours of calls. In fact, I had to charge the phone every day during the testing. Charging takes about three hours.

Look under the back cover

There is also a memory card slot under the back cover. This time Nokia has used normal size MMC card, not a reduced size version. The card is exchangeable during phone’s operation; it is necessary to remove back cover first (the phone can recognize the removal). You will get a 128 MB memory card in the package; the smartphone itself features 90 MB internal memory. You cannot insert a SD format memory card in the phone; it just does not fit into the slot. It is necessary to remove the battery to access the SIM card.

Memory card slot and space for a SIM card

The input stylus is hidden in the right front corner of the smartphone. It is a plastic stick with a metal decoration in its upper part. If you lose your stylus, you will find a spare one in the package.

The stylus is hidden in a slot in the corner

Nokia also delivers with the phone a specially constructed black leather case. It protects the smartphone from damage and the display from dirt. It is possible to make calls with the phone in the case if you really try but the sound is not good enough. There are ports in the case for a system connector, for removal of the stylus, for the switch button and three keys for calls control. Unfortunately, it is not possible to hang the case on a belt.

The controls are accessible even if the phone is in the case

A good camera

Besides the embossed Nokia sign on the back of the phone you will find the camera lens. It features 1 MP resolution and you can form your opinion looking at the sample pictures. Comparing the pictures of Nokia 7710, it is obvious they do not belong to the top of the camera phones but on the other hand, it is really not bad. It depends much on the conditions, taken scene and on luck, too.

Nokia 7710 makes better picture from a longer distance than from a shorter; in the latter case, the picture is fuzzy. If you do not need the highest resolution, try middle format 640 x 480 pixels. It makes excellent pictures (see the sample below). The centre of the cursor key is used as a shutter release. Taking pictures is comfortable if you hold the phone in both hands.

Camera lens on the backside

The shooting application can be started only from the menu; there is no key shortcut available. The taken scene is displayed in a small frame in the center. For changing the settings it is necessary to roll out the menu and only 2x zoom is available. The settings menu offers you contrast and brightness adjustment but it is necessary to experiment, as you have to quit the setting dialog to view the result. In addition you can select where the pictures will be saved and to set a picture size in three levels. You can switch off the preview of the picture before saving or set a picture’s name.

Camera environment • picture settings • video recording environment

Sample pictures

With and without zoom

Pictures in 640 x 480 resolution look good

Nokia 7710 can also record a video up to 60 minutes with resolution 176 x 144 pixels in 3GP format.

Picture gallery: with preview on the left, text list on the right

How do we call?

With Nokia 7710, we call as with a normal phone. We hold it in hand “standing”, which means that the receiver is in the top part. Nokia 7710 is generally intended for right-handers who can use keys on the left side together with the pen or holding the pen in the left hand as well. For telephony it is possible to use the delivered headphones or a Bluetooth connected handsfree.

After you turn on the Nokia 7710 it displays the main desktop with many icons of the integrated and later installed items. The user can easily modify the desktop item’s layout: put them on the desktop wherever he wants. The icons need not to stand only for applications; it is possible to assign a shortcut to any file. To avoid the chaos on the desktop, the user can sort icons to various groups and use them for filtering of the display. There are many icons – 44 in my case and I installed just a few programs.

Desktop: huge list of applications and other shortcuts • creating new group of shortcuts

Nokia 7710 supports graphic themes, so called Motifs, which allows you to change a look of the user interface. In the phone that I have available there are two themes and I am sure that others will appear on the Internet. Moreover, Nokia released a Theme Studio tool, which can be used for creating customized graphics.

Darker motif

What can we see on the display

Series 90 display consists of several sections:

• title and the icons panel: on the top
• toolbar: appears in the form of row just in some applications
• command bar: three keys, which take quite a lot of space on the right side of the display
• application’s desktop

It is good that individual bars can be mostly manually switched off and in some application you can even activate a full screen mode. So the application’s desktop can have several resolutions:

• 480 x 218 pixels: all bars are switched on
• 480 x 250 pixels: without a toolbar
• 607 x 218 pixels: with a toolbar but without a command bar
• 607 x 250 pixels: without a tool bar and command bar
• 640 x 320 pixels: full screen mode

Workspace resolution 480 x 218 • 480 x 250 • 607 x 218 pixels

Workspace resolution 607 x 250 o full screen mode 640 x 320 pixels

You can select a size of the font and graphic objects in three levels for most of the programs. You do not have to go to the menu; one of the keys on the right side can do it. Each application remembers its own setting. I personally prefer the most detailed view, where the font is really extremely small.

Three levels of zoom at the desktop

Three levels of zoom in the messages menu

Fingers control

Even that hardware keys can control smartphone’s basic functions, you cannot do without the stylus. The latter is necessary every time when you need to enter characters, it is also necessary to tap on various icons and other items. For example, only the stylus can control buttons in the command bar.

Application for calibration the touchscreen display

It is impossible to connect a Bluetooth keypad; you have to choose from two methods of typing.

The first one is a keypad on the display: when you tap to a text field it displays a drawn keypad – either small or big, it depends on the setting. With the stylus you peck on the letters and put the words together. If you choose the big keypad, it is possible to press the keys by fingers. It could be better: the fingers control would have been very comfortable if the keypad can be stretched over the whole display.

Keypad for typing

Setting of entering the characters • language selection • small version of the keypad

In addition, you can use handwriting recognition: when you tap on a text field, it displays a small frame, where you can write with the pen. Identification is reliable but if a person has a specific handwriting it is possible to learn the smartphone for each letter individually. The frame with the software keypad and with a block for entering the characters can be moved anywhere on the display.

Learning mode

How to write?

From the two methods of writing I used more the second one. The identification method is very reliable; moreover, it is not necessary to wait for representation of every letter. Just write the characters fast one by one and the smartphone will fold them up then. It is sure that you have to be in standstill during writing or typing; it doesn’t work by walking. This is what makes the 7710 a bit unpractical.

Contrary to other touchscreen systems, it differs by way of taping the stylus on the icons. Single tap is the same but a double tap works like with the old Psions. It doesn’t matter on the time duration between two taps. You can tap once and for the second time in five minutes if you want; fast double-tap is not necessary.

Series 90 supports work with clipboard – it is possible to copy, cut and paste items. The clipboard is controlled from the menu.

Running applications cannot be closed in a standard way. There is an applications manager that can do it, but you have to shift to the manager first. The system doesn’t mind that programs remain open; it will close them by itself when more memory is needed.

Ouch, stability!

Nokia 7710 is regrettably quite slow machine. You have to wait until the application is loaded in the memory and the reactions to the user input are not instant. Although I am, in this respect, very tolerant to the smartphones and I do not irritate e.g. at the speed of Nokia 9500, which is often under strong criticism, I suffer a bit with the tested 7710.

I cannot praise the stability also. I had to restart Nokia 7710 several times by removing the battery, because it stopped responding at all. It happened mostly at the Internet browser but also during emails reading.

Symbian Series 90 is a completely new operating system and there are just few applications at this time. It is interesting that sometimes it allows us to install applications designed for smartphones series 80. For example, I installed Agile Messenger for instant messaging to Nokia 7710. On the memory card, you can find several demo versions of programs and games.

“Warning” before running a demo – three times and stop • Agile Messenger in version for smartphones 9300/9500 works also on the 7710

One of the demos: mobile guide

Nokia 7710 supports Java and here are the jBenchmark tests results.

• jBenchmark 1.0: 1107
• jBenchmark 2.0: 53

There are also some games available:

Calling with an excellent sound

With Nokia 7710 the numbers are dialed by tapping on keys shown on the display. You can take out the pen for that or simply use fingers. Initially you have to unlock the keypad and the display by pressing two keys. Each one of them is on one side of the smartphone and you cannot do it by one hand. In addition, you must watch the display as there is no key response. To receive an incoming call just press a key on the side of the phone or tap on the display.

Keypad in basic state • entering a number • fast selection panel

Dialing a number • call progress • missed call and incoming message

I have to praise the quality sound, both of the earphone and of the loud handsfree. That is how it sounds when a big device can take a big speaker.

Really big speaker • grids for sound in the back cover

Phone book uses shared memory; it is not limited by a number of names or items. Synchronization with a PC works just perfect; you can do it just with a normal PC Suite version, without installing any other application. We can look at the contacts in two views: simple, which is used during telephony, and complete, where you can see all items.

Searching can be slow

Searching in the phone book is a bit slower. It works by consecutive writing of initial characters of a name to a field, but it is necessary to wait quite long until the phone filters entire database (I have more than 500 contacts in my phonebook). Sometimes it could be faster to use directly a sliding bar but this way of searching is very sensitive in large lists.

Searching in a simple and in a big phone book

It is great that you can set a template for displaying the contacts. There will be only the items that you need, not a complete structure of the database. Then you can add other fields to each contact. The structure of the phone book is extensive, I am sure it will be sufficient. Every name can be assigned with a picture, which appears during the call, and with a personal ringing tone.

Two details of the contact view • contacts template

Nokia 7710 supports ringing profiles with filtering by groups. The ringing is – thanks to a big speaker – high quality. Besides MID files with 24 voices polyphony, it is possible to use MP3, AMR, WAV, AAC and RealAudio music files. A special profile is available, so you can switch off the phone part and use the device as a pocket computer.

Selection of ringing profiles and their setting

Proper music mobile

Nokia 7710 supports music formats so let’s go to the multimedia applications and firstly to a MP3 player. We can listen to the music with delivered headphones (stereo) and over a loud speaker (mono). The quality of the sound is very good in both cases. I compared identical songs played at Nokia 7710 and at Apple iPod with standard headphones (of course it is not like with Koss Porta Pro) – the phone should play more bass, but the difference is not so big. No doubt, it would play a better sound with normal headphones, but traditionally there is no standard port for that.

I have found that Nokia is coming out with a Pop-Port to 3.5 mm plug adapter. The producer claims that the adapter is compatible only with a new model 6881. I dear to doubt and believe that in this case it will work also with other phones.

Standard headphones

MP3 player environment

It is possible to load playlists from PC to the phone but they cannot be created right in there. Users can listen MP3 files on background; music is muted during a call but once a call is finished the playback is not restored by itself, it should be done manually.

Visual Radio

Nokia 7710 features Visual Radio. This function is based on synchronized transmission of normal FM broadcasting with graphical information via GPRS/EDGE. Therefore, you can easily see on the display what song is actually played or other details, also it is a solution for various competitions etc.

In countries where Visual Radio is not supported Nokia 7710 works as an ordinary radio receiver after you connect the headphones, which work as an antenna. The radio has more “tinny” sound than the MP3 player. You can store twenty stations to the memory. You can also use an Internet service which stores stations to the phone automatically; just choose a city. As with the MP3 player, the radio will not restore automatically after finished call.

Radio doesn’t play without the headphones; not over the handsfree • radio environment

Nokia 7710 is equipped with RealPlayer for playing video. In fullscreen mode it is really a good multimedia experience.

Video records overview • playback in a small window and in fullscreen mode

Nokia will offer an accessory Nokia Streamer SU-22 (not included in the standard package). When connected to Nokia 7710, it allows watching digital TV in chosen countries.

The TV module will be probably plugged to some of the connectors under the back cover

Normal messaging

We are back at boring functions of a mobile phone, namely at messages. Nokia 7710 understands text messages, multimedia messages and emails. Because it is a smartphone, one can install instant messaging application and in some time Push to Talk function.

Inbox (fullscreen mode with a command bar) • folders with messages

One application is managing all messages – I especially mind long time lags; especially when the system releases it from the memory. Text messages editor is clear and it counts down written characters from the beginning. In addition, you can activate delivery reports (for all messages or individually) but the report will appear on the display for couple of seconds, it is not saved anywhere.

Writing a text message

In multimedia messages editor all objects are composed on a page so a text appears beside a picture. You can insert a graphical file, a video from the memory, to add a sketch drawn with the pen, a music file or just captured image.

It’s possible to draw on the touchscreen display • and send the result in an MMS • of course you can insert a picture

Email is not bad but we have seen better

Email browser supports POP3 and IMAP4 protocols, you can work with more accounts at once. Possibilities are quite standard; mailbox handling could be better from ergonomics point of view. I have the same reproach to some other applications: they permanently push me to open the menu and search for necessary command. I would appreciate just a simple icon on the display. Nokia 7710 allows for messages a manual setting of functions assignment to three software buttons on the command bar but you can choose only among four selections without Receive emails function…

Emails overview • you have to go through the menu to download an email

…but you can set an automatic check of emails in remote mailbox or to set an interval (5 minutes minimum), days and time range when it will download emails. You can also select whether you want to download just headers or complete emails with attachments. Additionally, SMTP verification, secure connection and ports settings are available.

Nokia 7710 can read HTML formatted emails and moreover, it keeps their formatting. Of course, it handles sending and receiving attachments.

HMTL formatted email • message with attachments

Email client is not bad but compared to Nokia 9300 and 9500 mail clients, lacks some functionality and usability.

Office applications

Nokia 7710 is equipped with applications, which can handle the most important office documents. There is a text editor, spreadsheet processor, presentations viewer and Acrobat Reader (install on demand). With the text editor and the spreadsheet processor, it is possible to create text documents and tables right in the smartphone, the rest are just viewers without a possibility to edit anything.

I practiced the potential of these programs with several documents with different difficulty level.

Simple text in Word: no remarks. After editing the text in the smartphone, I sent a document to a PC where all changes I made were displayed correctly.

Word document in the smartphone

Simple table in Excel: I opened a file in the smartphone and it looked exactly as in a PC Excel. After editing, I loaded the file to a PC where all changes were shown correctly.

Simple table

More complicated text in Word: it was a news release with a graphical header and advanced formatting. Graphics in header on the 7710 disappeared and I discovered some problems with text alignment on width – there were frequently big spaces between words because the 7710 cannot split. Otherwise, the text was readable without problems.

Graphical header is gone

More complicated table in Excel, including formulas and graphs: In this case the conversion during the file opening took longer. The table looked visually good but only simple formulas were transferred correctly (addition, subtract …). For example, instead of basic function SUMA just a result number appeared. On the other hand, the graphs were looking well.

On the cursor’s place there should be a formula =SUMA() • graphs were transferred correctly

PowerPoint presentation: pictures are displayed correctly. Because Nokia 7710 has different format of display than computers, pictures are either small or too large for the display. Therefore, it is suitable to use widescreen format for presentations at the 7710.

PDF documents: PDF is quite massive format and its viewing is quite uncomfortable, as with other pocket devices. Still it is better, of course, than not to read a PDF file at all.

PDF document: By representation, I would say that Acrobat Reader was originally designed for smartphones 9300/9500 with narrower display

Great for time organization

The Clock application displays two world cities of your selection. You can set several alarms and select a repetition for every one of them: daily, weekly or in weekdays.

Clock and alarm

The calendar has daily, a weekly and monthly view. As with the phonebook, it can be synchronized with a PC and I am pleased with the calendar possibilities. The time organization can be set in respect of subject, location, start, end, reminder, repetition and note. To-do list is another application, but single tasks can be also displayed in the calendar at a relevant date. Nokia 7710 does not contain Notes application.

Monthly and daily view in the calendar • weekly view

Adding a new item to the calendar • new task

A key on the side of the phone controls the voice recorder. Record length is limited by the memory size only; you can set whether to record in AMR or WAV format; recording a call in progress is possible.

Voice recorder

I find the calculator a bit confusing due to its ornamented keys. It ignores priorities of some mathematical operations. The Converter application is doing exactly what you expect it should.

Two looks of the calculator • units converter

To the Internet

Nokia 7710 supports GPRS and EDGE class 10, a connection via HSCSD is possible too. Nokia knows how to add Wi-Fi to its smartphones, but they forget to add it to 7710. The infrared port is also missing. The smartphone includes a hardware modem that connects to a PC via a USB cable or Bluetooth.

Active GPRS connection • transferred data counter

List of data and voice connections • detailed information

Bluetooth handling

Right in the phone there is an Internet browser. This is the place where you will appreciate the advantage of the widescreen display. The web pages are displayed as on the computer; they are not deformed in any way. The rendering of the web pages on full screen is great. However, even if you use the biggest enlargement the font in the browser is still very small.

Browser’s basic page • bookmarks • Mobil Mania text version

The browser is acceptably fast compared to Nokia 9300 and 9500 internet browsers. Sometimes the 7710 decides to strike and gets frozen for a while; I had to take out the battery several times.

Graphical MobilMania in a window • fullscreen CNN

Only in the Internet browser, there is a context menu, which appears after holding the pen on one place. At a hyperlink, it offers for example an option to open it in a new window. It is a pity that this is not available in other applications.

What else?

Now I am just going through all the icons and looking for what I have not mentioned yet.

Files manager: its function is clear but with limited functionality – it doesn’t let you go out of the documents folder

Control panel: smartphone’s settings centre

Search: function for searching in all databases and files in the smartphone. It doesn’t matter where a searched string is located – it searches everywhere.

MobiReader: install on demand reader of e-books. Reading is very comfortable on the large display.

E-book in a window • and in fullscreen

Right or wrong?

The end of the review will be doubtful, just as the beginning. Perhaps we all agree that Nokia 7710 is a pioneer; that there was no similar device before. Other opinions will differ. There are people who adore the touchscreen display with pen input. The 7710 will be an ideal smartphone for them. Users, who are convinced that there is nothing more effective than a key shortcut, should focus on other products, for example smartphones Nokia Series 60. I am one of them.

Besides the phone, you will find in the package a charger, simple stand, headphones, USB cable, MMC memory card, spare stylus, CD and guides

From functions point of view Nokia 7710 is very well equipped. I do not have remarks to its functions and if there are some, they are related more to the control and the ergonomics. I am still telling to myself that maybe I am a fud who just does not see that the future is in the touchscreen display and pen input. That is why I hesitate to point out a definite conclusion.

Simple folding stand

It is sure that the performance of the 7710 could be better. Time lags are appreciable and they can make the work unpleasant. Improving the performance should be the main goal to the next version of the smartphone.

Nokia 7710 is not a smartphone for everybody and Series 90 has, at this time, lower potential than Series 60 and 80. Normal user will not appreciate all the possibilities of the system – it is too sophisticated. That should be the advantage for people that we call “technoids”. They will certainly like Nokia 7710.

For our reviews we shoot, download and prepare much more pictures then finally appear in the article. They can be interesting for some of you therefore we offer all of them in one place: photo gallery.

Nokia 7710 photos

Pictures taken with the built-in camera

Nokia 7710 display screenshots

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_7710-review-31p7.php