Ewan tells how he relies on the Nokia 9500 Communicator for email, telephony, blogging and just about everything else while travelling the world. Does the Communicator live up to its name and what tips can he pass on for others?
Read on in the full article.
The whole point of a communicator is to stay in touch, but it�s not your main machine.
I am not sure I agree. While I am probably in the minority, I have used a Psion 5, then 5MX, then Series 7, netBook, 9290 and finally a 9500 as my main machine, disconnected from my PC (when I had one). For many years, I had no PC mothership to dock to.
Each generation has made it easier and easier to function without a PC. The keyboards have gotten worse while other items have gotten better. Web was little more than bragging rights on the netBook and is sort-of usable on some sites with the 9500. Ironically, AAS (this site) is horrid on the 9500. Interestingly, google.com autodetects my browser and automatically delivers a very nice and snappy WAP version.
E-mail (via a POP or IMAP server) is completely usable now. Calendar has gotten worse, but it was so good on the netBook that the degraded version on the 9500 is still fantastic.
The 9500 camera stinks (compared to digital cameras) but blows away the (lack of) camera on the netBook and my old Motorola phone.
All told, the keyboard line of EPOC devices (starting back with the Psion Series 5) has systematically improved at a radical pace. Already some people with low-end laptop uses can replace the laptop with a 9500. Each new generation of communicators will continue to displace more and more of the laptop market, eventually relegating laptops to a small niche market.
Brilliant moves and forward thinking on the part of Nokia.