This review is based on a pre-sales unit with early firmware version which doesn't represent the intended final quality and functionality to be offered by retail units.

10 years, 10 Communicators...

It's hard to believe but it's been 10 years since the first Nokia Communicator was announced in 1997. The E90 is the eleventh Communicator model, following the 9000, 9000i, 9110, 9110i, 9210, 9210i, 9290, 9500, 9300 and 9300i.

Nokia Communicator users and fans got used to always having to wait several years for a new model and always being slightly disappointed by the lack of some important features and reduced performance of new models compared to e.g. S60 smartphones announced/released at the same time. The 9210, the first Symbian OS based Communicator released in 2001, came with no GPRS and no Bluetooth, even though simple Nokia phones had both. 9210i and 9290 haven't changed much and we had to wait 3 years for the 9500 which finally delivered Bluetooth and GPRS/EDGE but (in 2004/2005!) still no UMTS, low-res camera and slow(ish) 150 MHz processor, compared to 220 MHz clocks of S60 smartphones (e.g. the 6630) announced at the same time... The 9300 and the 9300i provided improved WLAN connectivity but still the same processing speed and no UMTS support...

History often repeats itself.... but NOT THIS TIME! The E90 has everything you could dream of and provides the fastest processor currently used in Symbian OS smartphones and the largest operating memory (RAM) capacity ever used in a Symbian OS based device. Yes, it's true, Nokia has finally created a Communicator that it as fast as other high-end Symbian OS devices and as powerful (and MORE functional) than high-end PocketPC Phone Edition devices! Read on.

PART I: HARDWARE

The look

The E90 weighs 210 g. The size? Perfect combination: the same width as the 9500 (57 mm) and the same height (132 mm) and depth (20 mm) as the 9300/9300i. It's large enough to provide space for its really huge screen and superb keyboard but small enough not to be called a brick. Think of it as of a slightly wider 9300(i). The only parameter that remains on the 'hardcore' side is the weight - 210 g - but hey, it's a high-end PDA and not a toy.

How does it look? Shortly speaking, it's SUPERB. It's very professional and extremely stylish at the same time. It's all black with shiny silver frame surrounding the display and the black keypad, silver rocker key and (chromium or nickel plated) large and very solid metal hinges. Forget about those weak and easily breakable plastic hinges known from earlier models! And it's not just the hinges - the whole device is very well built using high quality materials. I haven't experienced any squeaking sounds or weak/loose parts.

The E90 doesn't seem to be supporting the exchangeable Xpress covers, however it is possible that different colour variants of the device will be available. The unit I have now is all black while the one I've seen previously was silver outside and black inside. Time will tell.

The external screen's resolution is QVGA (240x320 pixels, 16 million colors) and the physical dimensions are 30x40 mm. For the first time ever, the external screen is not a simple "cover UI" providing access to a very limited set of telephony-related functions but now it's fully functional, providing access to all functions and applications of the device! It means that on the external screen you can not only access all your data and run all system applications (e.g. Calendar, Web browser, Messaging) but also all installed 3rd party applications. There are absolutely no restrictions, the external display simply gives you access to EVERYTHING you get on the large screen inside. Switching between the screens couldn't be simpler: open the lid and the application you worked with on the small screen becomes visible on the large screen, and vice versa. The user interface is fully scalable and all applications and UI elements adjust themselves to different screen sizes and proportions fully automatically and almost imperceptibly. My dreams have just came true! It's also worth mentioning that the screen is bright and the pixels are very small providing high picture quality.

The external phone keypad has large rectangular keys, very slightly convex in the centre. They are much better than 9500's shaky and irregularily shaped keys but IMHO slightly worse than 9300/9300i keypad having larger keys and more space between them. But overall it's a good keypad with decent tactile feedback. The Zero key has the wireless internet symbol (long press activates web), hash key quickly activates the silent profile.

Right below the screen there are two soft keys, menu and "C" buttons, the usual Green/Red Send and End buttons and a 5-way rocker in the centre. The 5-way rocker button consists of a square(ish) silver frame and a large black central button. It's very convenient to use, definitely much better than on previous Communicators and also much better than joysticks found on most of S60 smartphones.

The Power button located right above the external display is used to switch profiles and to turn the device on and off. Unlike in previous Communicators, now the Power key turns on/off BOTH parts! If you want to only switch off the phone and keep the PDA active, select the "Offline" profile instead (you can still enable Bluetooth and WLAN in the Offline mode).

The back side of the E90 is mostly occupied by the battery cover. The battery is the new 1500 mAh BP-4L providing 5 hours of talk time and up to 14 days of standby. It's worth mentioning that unlike in 9500, you don't need any special techniques or tools to remove the cover and the battery; now they can be removed quickly and easily. Above the battery cover there is a 3.2 Megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash, and two stereo speakers.

The bottom part of the phone contains the USB Mini-B slot (USB 2.0 Full Speed, no USB charging), charger connector and audio connector (2.5 mm jack). Right below the connectors there is a MicroSD memory card slot (with hotswap support) protected with a cover with spring mechanism. On the right side of the phone there is an infrared port and two buttons: recorder button and camera button.

OK, let's open the lid and take a look at the heart of the Communicator - the internal screen and the full QWERTY keyboard. And that's what you'll love the most about the E90! With the resolution of 800x352 pixels (24-bit, 16,7 million colors) and physical dimensions of 90x40 mm (over 10 cm diagonally) it's one of the largest screens you can find on a smartphone. Even though 800x352 is less pixels than 640x480 (VGA), the wide proportions make the E90 screen much better for web browsing and editing documents than what you experience on Windows Mobile VGA displays.

E90's screen is not touch sensitive but it doesn't have to be as the S60 platform used in the E90 is optimized for keyboard control. Communicators have always had large, wide displays optimized for web browsing, messaging and word processing, but the one in the E90 is a true monster. You'll love the size, sharpness and clarity it provides. Working with it is a pleasure, even in direct sunlight, thanks to its anti-reflective coating.

On both sides of the internal screen there are buttons. On the left side you can find the usual Send/End buttons used to start/receive/reject/end phone calls. On the right side of the screen there are two soft buttons serving the same purpose as two function buttons located under the external screen and below the screen of any S60-based smartphone. On the left side, above the Send/End buttons, there is a secondary low-res (QCIF) video camera for video calls.

Opening the cover has two "stops": at about 90 degrees and fully flat at 180 degrees, but the cover can be set at any angle you wish and it'll stay in the chosen position thanks to the solid all-metal hinges. I usually set it to about 110 degrees for writing or open it fully flat for reading or playing games. As the lower part of the E90 is much heavier than the cover, you can safely set the lid at any angle and it won't overturn the device.

Only good words can be said about the keyboard. It has the same height as the keyboard of the 9500 and the same width as the keyboard of the 9300(i). And, just like with the dimensions of the device, it's a PERFECT combination. What's more, in contrast to 9500's and 9300's flat keys, the keys in the E90 are slightly convex and shaped in the way that makes you clearly feel where each key begins or ends. Additionally, the main part of the keyboard with letters and digits is slightly elevated. The Enter key is very large and almost square - you just can't miss it.

The tactile feedback of the QWERTY keyboard is VERY GOOD, much better than of any older Communicator. And the keyboard is finally BACKLIT! The backlight can be easily switched on or off using the "Bulb" key (the same key when pressed with Chr lets you control screen brightness). The keyboard also contains the S60 Multimedia key and provides shortcuts (working with Chr key) to Bluetooth on/off, Infrared, Multimedia volume and call volume control and Profiles.

The internal keyboard has the same beatiful and professional look as the entire device: it's all black with white letters and blue symbols and the QWERTY part is separated from the Application shortcut buttons (Desk, Contacts, Messaging, Web, Notes, Calendar, configurable My Own button and the S60 Menu button) with an elegant shiny silver stripe. The internal 5-way rocker key is also shiny silver frame with large black central button. I must say that both the internal and the external rocker key are THE BEST controllers of all Communicators. They are stable, precise, sensitive (but not too sensitive like the joystick in the 9300) and very convenient to use, with the central button clearly separated from the 4-way frame surrounding it. Both rockers provide very good tactile feedback and very clearly perceptible clicks. It's very important, especially that the E90 keyboard doesn't include arrow keys, which means that the rocker is the only controller.

What's inside?

The E90 is not just a great looking device with big screen and superb keyboard. It's first of all one of the most advanced mobile devices ever made, providing high processing power and supporting almost all modern mobile technologies. Forget about those unbearable delays (white screens) when launching applications on the 9500; finding a contact no longer takes 40 seconds; data transfers are no longer limited to EDGE speeds...

The E90 is powered by the modern TI OMAP2420 processor (ARM11 architecture) running at 330 MHz. It's the same processor you can find on the Nokia N93, the N95 or the powerful N800 Internet Tablet. And it's really fast! GLBenchmark shows almost identical CPU performance results for the E90 and the N95 (CPU Float Performance 893 vs. 894, CPU Integer Performance 3615 vs. 3617), even though the E90 used for the test was a proto unit with early unoptimized firmware, which means that final results may be even better. The E90 seems to be noticeably slower than the N95 when it comes to graphic tests but even that may seriously improve in the final firmware as the hardware is basically the same.

More good news: the E90 has more free RAM memory than any Symbian OS device ever made, if not the most of all smartphones released up to date. The total operating memory (RAM) capacity is 128 MB of which.... almost 80 MB is free! Read: mutitasking at its best, navigation with super-detailed maps, no problems with largest PDF or Word documents, browsing the Web without virtually any restrictions... and even all of them at the same time if you only wish so, and with nice MP3 music in the background. If you have the P990 and your web browser quits every time you try to open Messaging due to lack of free RAM then you can be sure that it's something that will never happen to you with the E90.

While we are at memory, the internal storage memory (disk C:) is about 136 MB, with about 128 MB available for the user. E90 supports hot-swappable MicroSD cards (available with capacities up to 2 GB) and ships with a 512 MB card.

Connectivity, radio

Let's take a look at supported connectivity options. As mentioned earlier, it almost became a tradition that the most modern (and thus the most desired) connectivity technologies were always missing on the previous Communicator models: the 9210 lacked USB, GPRS and Bluetooth (i.e. everything!), the 9500/9300(i) lacked UMTS. The E90, again, is a major breakthrough as it provides all connectivity options you can dream of. It not only supports GPRS/EDGE (Class A, MSC 32) and UMTS but also HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) with transfer speed up to 3.6 Mbps making the E90 a 3.5G device. UMTS/HSDPA support (and the secondary VGA camera) also mean that video calls and IP telephony are finally available for Communicator users.

The E90 is a quad-band GSM (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) and WCDMA 2100 MHz device. It is unknown if a separate American version supporting American UMTS bands will be available at a later date...

The E90 supports WLAN (WiFi) 802.11 b/g (up to 54 Mbps) and UPnP (Universal Plug and Play). Bluetooth 2.0 EDR implementation on the E90 is now faster and includes A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile) support providing compatibility with stereo Bluetooth headsets. USB 2.0 via Mini USB type B port provides mass storage class support for drag and drop desktop functionality.

E90 Communicator is the second Nokia smartphone and the first Communicator equipped with built-in GPS receiver. It is the same GPS as in the N95. Detailed technical specification is unknown but it seems to be SiRF Star III based as it is quite sensitive and keeps working indoors and under heavy foliage. It works with the preinstalled mapping/navigation software: the standard Navigation / Landmark apps found on most S60 phones and the recently announced Smart2go suite. Unfortunately, existing third party S60 3rd Edition mapping/navigation software cannot be used with the built-in GPS as all programs were 'hardcoded' for external Bluetooth receivers and they can't see the internal device. Even the Nokia Java MIDP2 version of Google Maps doesn't have the "Track current location (GPS)" option present in the PocketPC version. It surely won't take long, however, to release E90 compatible versions taking advantage of the internal GPS receiver.

So far so good... now it's time for bad news (at least for some of us): the E90 does NOT support fax. At least the unit I tested did not have any trace of fax support... Obsolete technology one might say. I say: fax has always been the integral part of every Communicator model since 1997. BRING IT BACK NOKIA!

Multimedia

Even though aimed first of all at business users, the E90 provides very rich and powerful multimedia capabilities, making it an attractive choice for people looking for a device which not only allows editing documents or browsing the web but also playing high quality movies and audio files.

As mentioned earlier, the E90 is equipped with stereo speakers (it even has the 3D Ringtones application in ROM), 2.5 mm jack connector for stereo headphones and A2DP profile support for high quality audio streaming over Bluetooth. It also features a loudspeaker mode which activates automatically when you open the cover and switches audio back to the earpiece when you close it.

The Camera on the E90 is a 3.2 Megapixel CMOS with LED flash and autofocus. There is no Carl Zeiss logo on it, but so what? The pictures definitely aren't worse than the ones taken with e.g. Nokia N93. Max supported resolution is 2048x1536, which is enough for prints up to 25x20 cm (10x8"). The shutter release button is located on the lower right side of the device and it works the usual way: press halfway to obtain focus then press it all the way down to take a picture.

The secondary camera (for video calls, QCIF resolution) is located on the inner side of the cover, on the left side of the internal display.

The E90 records video clips in MPEG-4 format with AAC audio (48 kHz mono). Max supported quality is VGA (640x480 pixels), 25 frames per second (PAL). Digital video stabilisation helps reduce unwanted vibrations. Video quality is superb - please see the sample below taking into consideration that it was recorded using a proto device with very early firmware version from mid-December. Things may only get better!

To make the E90 a 100% multimedia computer, Nokia has also included FM radio. Like in all smartphones, it requires connecting the headset to the 2.5 mm jack connector.

Oh, did I mention that the E90 is the first Communicator with vibra alarm? And it's quite strong despite large weight of the device. Hooray!

>>>>>>>>>>> Go to page 2: SOFTWARE >>>>>>>>>>>