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 To make it even more interesting I would mention the fact that Nokia 9210 Communicator was already out-of-date at the time of its launching: it lacked GPRS support – a function which has been essential for the mobile communication for years.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.