And I thought it was just me. James Burland's written an eloquent rant about how he keeps wanting to go back to his trusty Nokia N93, which still outperforms allcomers on the video recording front (stereo sound, optical zoom). With photo and video capture being critical to many people's phone use these days, is he right to criticise Nokia's direction? Although agreeing with him in a way, I'd also point to GPS, larger screens and 3.5mm audio output as modern boons.
Read on in the full article.
The N93 definitely is excellent as a video recording device, not just because of the hardware but the layout too. It's one of the very few phones that you can twist into a camcorder shape so that you can hold it comfortably while viewing the screen from the front or the back. The Gary Oldman advert demonstrated this quite well as he films himself right at the end.
The reason the N93 didn't have any direct follow-ups is possibly because Nokia tried to sell the N93/N93i to a video-making niche and then found the niche to be too small.
It may also be that serious video makers still prefer using separates, while less serious video makers prefer converged devices like the N95.
Certainly the N93's biggest handicap was its huge size as a phone, and anything which takes away from that primary function is bound to risk destroying sales.
the other boon of modern phones is they fit in your pocket.
Is the N93 cam THAT much better?
also its major downfall was that no operators picked it up
that equals instant product death.
"What we've gained:
1.8 million pixels
0.4 inches of screen size
Geotagging
A decent flash, either xenon or double led, depending on the preferences"
The anemic N93 flash cripples the device's use as a cameraphone.
Something else: excellent build quality. I just couldn't get over the shonkiness of the N95 having got used to an N93. Yes it's big, and the twisty bits are odd, but crikey the thing is solid, and the keypad is fantastic.
The only place I could go from the N93 was the E90. I lost a little camera quality, but I maintained the big easy keypad (outside) and great build quality. I also gained a lot more - bigger screen and querty keyboard and fantastic battery life, which was my only real beef with the N93.
yes steve. You placed it right at top. But the point here is, even if you love it, even if it has got a better video capturing system, would you trade off your n 95 8 gig for it?
Chances are rather remote if i take the liberty to assume.
There always was something special about that transformer form factor. The N93 was definitely a head of its time. I guess there just wasn't enough main stream interest to keep it going.... I think we may see some of the feature comes back in phones based on the next generation chip sets though....
@ashu: What an interesting question. Actually, yes, I *would* take the N93, *if* I was guaranteed problem-free hardware for 2 years. One of the most off-putting things about the N93 was that the form factor seemed inherently fragile and hard to repair (I talked to a service centre manager). But reliability aside, the N93 was always a pleasure to use. The only thing I'd really miss from today's N95 8GB is built-in GPS. And this is easy to add via Bluetooth etc.
The N93 is far too bulky. This will probably always be a problem affecting optical zoom in phones. Even some of the clever folding optics are going to have to fight for space with all the other functions packed into a converged device.
I like the 'never browsed web for more than 30 minutes' comment. THIRTY MINUTES?!! I go in, get the information I want and then come out. Average less than one minute. Applies to my desktop internet use too. Thirty minutes on any phone sounds like self torture to me.
I am really interested in getting a N93 for video and photo use when I am traveling.
Obviously in video it is the best but what about photos? I realise it doesn't have a xenon flash but what about the picture quality? Megapixels don't really matter to me I am more interesting in picture quality. It's either the the N93 or the N82.... Does one of them work with more networks?
What's the difference between the N93 and the N93i? Which one should i look for?
thanks!
There always was something special about that transformer form factor. The N93 was definitely a head of its time. I guess there just wasn't enough main stream interest to keep it going....
Looking back at Nokia's E3 2006 website, I very strongly suspect the N93 was also meant to be a gaming phone: it has a PERFECT layout for phone gaming, with all the buttons and d-pad laid out horizontally and the 2.4 inch screen at the top also horizontally. And, perhaps rather tellingly, the N93 was the first Nokia to have TV Out and a graphics acceleration chip, both of which are potentially very useful for gaming.
The new N-Gage platform was first discussed as launching in mid-2006, which was roughly when the N93 did launch, so they might well have planned the N93 as the flagship device of the new N-Gage.
Unfortunately delay after delay put the platform back until mid-2008, by which time the N93 was two years old and nowhere near as cutting edge. Ironically the new "flagship", the N81, was also similarly let down by delays and no longer a new model by the time N-Gage launched.
Obviously in video it is the best but what about photos? I realise it doesn't have a xenon flash but what about the picture quality? Megapixels don't really matter to me I am more interesting in picture quality. It's either the the N93 or the N82.... Does one of them work with more networks?What's the difference between the N93 and the N93i? Which one should i look for?
You might want to take a look at Steve's articles on these topics:
http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/reviews/item/Nokia_N93.php
http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/reviews/item/Nokia_N93i.php
For what it's worth, as I understand it the N82 is the best still cameraphone so far, at least from Nokia. You would find it much easier to buy an N82 than an N93, as the N93 is no longer on sale in most countries whereas the N82 is on sale practically everywhere.
The N93 is far too bulky
It's very bulky as a phone, but very small as a camcorder.
Whether it's too big depends on how you classify the device, which is open to question because it's actually both kinds of device.
In the real world though it seems most people classify anything with telephony as a phone, and will judge it on those terms, so the N93 did indeed seem too bulky to most people.
Biggest problem with the N93 was it's appearance when closed. Picture it sat on a carphone warehouse shelf alongside its competition from SE and Samsung, by comparison, it looked huge and dated when closed, it wasn't until you picked it up and opened it that the wow factor kicked in and it started to make sense. But with it's price tag, most people wouldn't give it the first chance it desperately needed.
On the otherhand, the N93i was just too late, it's what the N93 cosmetically should have been in the first place. But whilst it wasn't an ugly lump anymore, the N95 release meant it also wasn't cutting edge and so it lost the gadget crown of its predecessor.
I brought my N93 almost specifically for it's web browser, the combination of a decent landscape mode, 3G data and a powerful chipset meant it was the best phone for the job in it's day imho, plus unlike my 6270 at the time, it's internal email client actually worked decently without running up huge data bills. I switched to an N93i almost by chance when a cheap one came my way and these days I use an E90 which is a pretty tough act to improve on without hitting fantasy land style wishlists. Needless to say the E90 is so useable as a miniature web orientated 'laptop' that I had to switch over to T-Mobile to keep my data costs at a sensible level 😊
What's the difference between the N93 and the N93i? Which one should i look for?
N93 has the best keypad i've ever used. Plus it seems really well made (bar the mindless pop port and mini SD covers, what were they thinking when they put those into production on a flagship phone). Mine took a leap from waist height onto the pavement and only left a small gash in the corner of the plastics to show for it, hold the real thing open and the best way to describe it is like the rolls royce of phones, it maybe stupidly huge and have a few questionable details, but it just oozes quality and feel. I must add though, I don't think the stereo recording in video warranted the hype it gets. It's simply not of a good enough quality to be anymore than an added bonus imho.
The N93i's key improvements are a much improved screen (Better contrast and significantly improved color depth) and more pocket friendly dimensions, its a little thinner and shorter than the N93 at the expense of being a touch wider, but it simply sits in the pocket easier. It might sound odd, but it's better balanced than the original too, much of the old N93's weight was on it's screen casing and hinge which really amplified it's bulk when holding it whilst fully open. Appearance wise the N93i doesn't quite have that spectacular grab to it when open, but it's leagues ahead everywhere else, from the facia design and appearance, to the vastly improved tethered covers that actually fit properly.
As mentioned earlier, the lack of a Xenon flash was probably the biggest mistake on both of them, I also found that both suffered from quite distinct barrel distortion when fully zoomed out, certainly more than would be acceptable on a real camera, the original was also maybe a little grainier than I'd have expected, but both did a fine job as far as I was concerned.
Looking back at Nokia's E3 2006 website, I very strongly suspect the N93 was also meant to be a gaming phone
A quirk which prevented the phone from registering multiple button pushes at once pretty much sunk that possibility anyhow. I updated my firmware a couple of times but I never saw it cured, no idea if it ever did get fixed or not. My N93i didn't have the issue and was fine right out of the box thankfully.
It's very bulky as a phone, but very small as a camcorder.
Agreed, it's the same as the E90 for browsing, I can carry it all day long on the motorbike with a tiny lightweight harness, 80% of the capability is fine when I have to deal with 0% of the backache, bulk and even the fear of it simply being flat at an inopportune moment.
Back on track... I'd love to see a proper flagship style upgrade to the old N93, but I'm not sure I could be lured away now that the communicator has 3G at last. VGA display? Xenon flash? Proper implimentation of the self shot mode from that TV advert? Real optics matched with a proper ccd sensor? Yum 😉
Ps that was long winded, sorry!
A quirk which prevented the phone from registering multiple button pushes at once pretty much sunk that possibility anyhow.
That was a firmware problem rather than some innate design flaw, they would definitely have allowed multiple button pushes from day one if the N93 had been launched as a games-oriented device.
I've had absolutely no problem controlling games on the N93, but I did get it about a year after launch so I assume the last firmware update corrected any button problems.
For me personally, the N93 is the best gaming phone I have ever had, and I say that as a writer who has tried a lot of different phones with games. The N93 is far and away better than the N81 for example, though I haven't yet had a chance to compare them with N-Gage games.
I think this is definitely the best form factor for portable button-based gaming, and it's basically the same form factor used by the extremely popular GBA SP and Nintendo DS consoles (though the DS has the added bonus of touch-sensitivity as well of course).
Agreed, it's the same as the E90 for browsing, I can carry it all day long on the motorbike with a tiny lightweight harness, 80% of the capability is fine when I have to deal with 0% of the backache, bulk and even the fear of it simply being flat at an inopportune moment.
Yeah, a very similar case. You show the E90 to people and they say it's a brick, but it's actually an incredible act of miniaturisation when you consider what it can do.
And I found the E90 was actually perfectly usable as a conventional phone, the same for the N93 too. I think people's initial perception of these devices aren't quite accurate, once you actually use them they're practical as phones too. But alas it's the initial perception that gets most people to buy something...
N93.. the Mercedes Benz of the phone world.. 😃
I had the N93i (granted not the original model) for a week before trading it in. The sound quality was appaling through the built-in speaker, and the picture quality less consistant than with the N95. Overall build-quality was however better than the N95, but I still prefer the n95's keypad to the N93i.
The smaller form factor, superbly loud speakers, GPS, HSDPA, higher megapixel camera, 3.mm stereo jack, SDHC compiance, flash lite 3 and easily-changeable housing override the camcorder form factor and optical zoom for me. I find it far quicker to initiate a video recording on the N95 anyway, and it's no worse in quality other than that it cannot be optically zoomed before a recording is started.
N95 for me all the way, i really dont think the N93i is worth considering anymore; but hey that's just my opinion.