Nokia E90
Communicator
Rating:
Features
Without a doubt the most striking
feature of this phone is that it is 3G compatible, and also
supports HSDPA, which provides for a fast Internet connection.
This is the first Communicator to provide these features.
Connecting using a 3G network, we were able to stream YouTube
clips without a problem.
The E90 Communicator features a 3.2-megapixel camera with
both flash and autofocus. The camera worked well, and the
plentiful memory available on the E90 Communicator means that
vast numbers of photos or videos could be stored. The E90 also
features a number of internal photo editing options including
white balance, exposure, contrast, sharpness, and a number of
colour options such as black and white photographs, sepia or
negative. The flash worked moderately well in dimly lit rooms
at night, although the smaller flash probably wouldn't stack
up in very low-light conditions. The auto focus was reasonably
quick and produced crisp images. The E90 can also capture
videos, and has a camera on the internal interface for video
calling.
The voice recorder, with quick access key on the outside,
functions with the same capacity as a mid-range digital voice
recorder. While it made high-quality recordings at short
range, the small microphone didn't pick up voice well during
meetings.
The messaging application supports POP3 and IMAP e-mail as
well as SMS and MMS messages. We tried the Nokia PC suite
phone integration software and found it easy to use and highly
functional. One expedient feature in the was the messaging
options available via the software, which meant that we could
rapidly receive and respond to phone messages on the PC while
continuing to work. The phone also includes a message-to-voice
reading option, but the shortcut described in the manual to
read messages didn't seem to exist in our phone.
The E90 includes Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR, and we
had no problem utilising any of these features, for either
Internet connections or file transfer.
The E90 includes a true GPS system, which is (potentially)
an exciting feature. However, despite our repeated efforts in
multiple outdoor locations throughout Sydney (CBD, eastern and
western suburbs), we were unable to get the E90 to lock on to
a GPS satellite. This made the maps function completely
useless, as the phone was unable to find our location.
Our E90 came with a 512MB microSD card (which can be
expanded up to 4GB).
Performance
The E90 comes with an impressive
128MB of phone memory, which mean no menu lag and no problem
running multiple applications. We found opening PDFs, watching
movie clips and running office applications to be a snappy
process.
Battery life is excellent on this phone. Nokia claims up to
5.8 hours talk time and up to 14 days standby time. We used
the phone moderately for six days without having to charge it,
which suggests that Nokia's figures are correct.
The Nokia E90 Communicator has an impressive range of
features. The large amount of internal memory available on the
phone as well as strong computing performance means it would
works well as a smartphone or travelling business device.
Coupled with a fast Internet via Wi-Fi or 3G with HSDPA, this
phone is a great productivity tool. The PC suite software is
intuitive and provides a range or useful options.
The stiff buttons and possibly flaky GPS are two minor
drawbacks of the E90, and unless you plan to utilise the
myriad of features on this phone, it may not be worth its
price.
Want more? Check out our review on the HTC Touch Dual |
