I've been taking a look back and forward at four of the competitors to the Nokia E90. What's it up against in the market for qwerty-keyboarded clamshells? And how does it compare, spec for spec, blow for blow? It's certainly an interesting form factor and one which is apparently increasing in popularity.
Read on in the full article.
Nice comparison. The 9500 was a sort of "Mesiah" in the Communicator world when it came out in early 2005 or so. I like the E90 best, though the Toshiba G910 may prove to be serious competition.
Unregistered wrote:Nice comparison. The 9500 was a sort of "Mesiah" in the Communicator world when it came out in early 2005 or so. I like the E90 best, though the Toshiba G910 may prove to be serious competition.
the toshiba is not a competitor for me, aside from any preference for windows mobile anybody might have. its smaller internal screen, limited external screen, inferior camera and function key-activated number buttons are a real turn-off. it looks no better than the g900 aside from the GPS to me.
I'm really getting into Symbian Software at the moment, finding new and free applications all the time. I come from being a HTC Advantage and TyTn user, and certainly won't be going back to windows mobile in the near future.
'the toshiba is not a competitor for me, aside from any preference for windows mobile anybody might have. its smaller internal screen,'
Careful, the Toshiba internal screen has the best resolution, especially vertical. In your hand it's actually works out well.
I'd still go for Symbian though, if I wanted a big qwerty device. Which I don't.
and what about nokia 9300 ? i think that it was great addition to communicator's series...small, with wi-fi [in 9300i version], good battery - hey, not everybody needs camera 😉
I have a recommendation for the article here. Check out this Sony phone:
http://www.sonyericsson.com/cws/prod...x1?cc=in&lc=en
Steve says that it may not be out till the end of 2008, but I still think its comparable
I'm sorry but those other handsets are an unfunny joke.
You buy a phone this big & you want the biggest keyboard & screen you can cram into it.
Only the Nokias have put in a screen that comes anywhere close to filling the internal lid space.
The only point of all that wasted lid space is to save the manufacturer money.
You haven't compared the real screen estate utilized in clamshell mode. It's a big plus for the E90 and a BIG minus for the new Toshiba, let alone the Asus MS Smartphone, which is plain ridiculous in this respect. (Incidentally, if the new Toshi is as buggy as the predecessor, the G900, I'm absolutely sure it won't be worth even considering for purchase.)
I've posted my (extensive) rants on this to http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/index.php?blog=3&p=2516&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1 if interested.
Unregistered wrote:I'm sorry but those other handsets are an unfunny joke.
You buy a phone this big & you want the biggest keyboard & screen you can cram into it.
Only the Nokias have put in a screen that comes anywhere close to filling the internal lid space.
The only point of all that wasted lid space is to save the manufacturer money.
Exactly - see my above post and my (linked) extensive rants about Windows Mobile devices' not offering an 'uneven' resolution like that of the E90.
malerocks wrote:I have a recommendation for the article here. Check out this Sony phone:http://www.sonyericsson.com/cws/prod...x1?cc=in&lc=en
Steve says that it may not be out till the end of 2008, but I still think its comparable
Yes, it's pretty much comparable - still, the models listed in here will be released in 1-2 months (unlike the X1). They were all showcased at MWC and all in working order, unlike the X1. That is, it's pretty much understandable the comparison doesn't include the X1.
It does seem very strange that LG and Asus thought that having such a small internal screen was such a great idea; it almost doesn't seem worth it...
Unregistered wrote:It does seem very strange that LG and Asus thought that having such a small internal screen was such a great idea; it almost doesn't seem worth it...
I had a look for more than 8 months to make a choice for the a phone with keyboard and camera (good one) and 3g and wifi and big screen and multitasking and small enough to carry every day to work etc (just everything). And I guess not the best choice but the only choice is Nokia E90 ! If you like it or not, I am sorry.
It is pity, I agree, that the price is so high, but the reason is not the phone is so perfect. The reason is there is not on the market a real competitor for this type of phone.
And I guess that's it.
There is no use to speculate about it.
We have to just wait for a real competitor. And in the meantime use the E90 (possibly in the near future with better nokia software and more free software as well)
As a owner of many Nokia phones with keyboards (9500, 9300, 9300i, 9300b, 6822, E70, E61, E61i and E90) for daily usage the E90 keyboard is one of the worst in terms of tactile pressure needed to use the keyboard.
I also have a Sony E M600i and P1i - both of these phones have faster email clients (POP, Exchange and Blackberry) and their little keyboards are actual much superior for heavy email creation on a daily basis. You can almost type faster and your fingers and hands don't hurt at the end of a day!
The Nokia 9300i has a higher performance email (Exchange and Blackberry) software and the keyboard appears to be better for extended usage than the E90. Just think how old the 9300i line is!
The E90 is only marginally better that the 9500 or 9300i handset. The bugs on the E90 are much more significant than those on 9500 or 9300i.
I wish it was different. The E90 could be a much better product with a different keyboard, better software performance and operational characteristics. Don't get me started on the GPS usability in the real world.
I had a 9300 for a couple of months but had to resell it because radio reception was too weak. I find the reception on E90 excellent.
Maybe gsm reception on 9300i is better than on the 9300 ?
Nice chart!
But about the keyboards..
Both keyboards on 9300i and E90 are less than perfect but in each case I�ve learned to live with it. It just takes time.
In the end E90 wins hands down. It�s hardware blows me away. Firmware needs an update that�s for sure. And maybe there aren�t as many shortcuts on E90 but more than I can remember anyway. 😉
...And a neat tweak I found in E90. Open music player> adjust equaliser> now press menu key to multitask> open other media apps and dig the bass! Works with Realplayer, Internet Radio and even emTube. I doubt other commies can do that!
As an early E90 user (after 9210 and 9500 communicators), I would compare it to the Leica: robust, sturdy, away from fast outmoded trends, consistent, comprehensive and versatile. Once you are familiarized to it, when all is said and done, it's a frighteningly efficient tool. Difficult to imitate, as this article demonstrates.
Of course it has drawbacks, but I can live with them.
OK E90 is cool is new is nice and is etc.
But if you ask the real world ! You hear that ! 9500 is better than the E90 !
Because
e90 have a fax ? No
e90 search its phone book by telephone numbers ? No
e90 open a same time two and three page in the internet ? No
e90 have take a specific DNS number or change the dns number ? No
e90 office specifications have 9500 office specifications ? No
e90 keyboard useful as 9500 keyboard ? NO
e90 s60 systems shortcuts have s80 9500 systems shortcuts ? No
e90 have four specific button as 9500 ? No
e90 have two stage direction buttons ? No
e90 return button is intelligent on the internet as the 9500 ? No
e90 help menu is powerfull and usefull as 9500 ? No
e90 have the pull down menu system as 9500 and PC ? No
e90 have esc button as 9500 ? No
what are we talk about
It is my first communicator and I like it a lot. The big screen is great for use of calender, web (mail) etc. Shortcuts are good. Great for taking notes. Super to put appointments in while calling. Great as an outlook companion whith a keyboard that actually is usefull. Allso good for photos and filming on business trips, although not really easy to operate. Maps are still to complicated for practical use.
I know several people who prefer the 9500 as argued above. Would be interesting to see this evaluation with the new models launched in Q1 09
I have a E90 and l love it.The E90 works superbly as a phone. The E90 is, amazingly, (in my opinion) as good a stills camera and camcorder as the N95.
I also miss the escape button (9500 , 9300 , 9210) . But there is a workaround :
> press the red Phone/end key .
This closes the actual application in use , then start the application again , when needed . It's not that elegant but sometimes usefull .
☺ Regards jApi NL