However they're not very keen on it 
.
It sounds as if the reviewer is not very keen on smartphones in general though as he also does not like the Blackberry.
At least the 9290 must be immenant in the USA. Then its up to the markets to decide 
.
Andy
I think the reviewer suffers from lack of exposure. For example, he certainly goe about the long way when describing navigation to a web site. I just have the WWW icon on my desk, launch it and press CTRL+O to type in a web site (which is a darned site less frustrating that writing it in using handwriting recognition or a virtual keyboard).
He probably gets lost without a Start Button and never uses CTRL+C, CTRL+X and CTRL+V!
His comments on the screen are unfounded. I think the 9210 screen is fantastic, the 9290 won't be any worse (and may even be better).
If you look at what he condemned about the 9290, you'll see there's no substance at all.
I e-mailed him to offer some <I>advice</I> on how to use the Communicator properly, especially since it can be confusing if Microsoft is all you've ever known 
What did impress me was that the 9290 is going to appear in Steven Spielgerg's new movie 'Minority Report' (and this is clearly what bothered him). It explains the delay in the release by Nokia and this chap was probably Microsoft's stooge to undo any gains Nokia may receive from such 'cool' exposure (remember everybody wanted the 7110 after The Matrix, even though it wasn't the Matrix phone).
I agree with you. Its a lazy review, he has not tried to use the device properly. However I've given up getting frustrated by such things.
The problem is, he is probably a fairly typical un-technical type of user, and it does highlight some of the barriers that Nokia get mass must overcome in order to acceptance of the device.
Having said that, I would not employ this guy to write technology reviews for my newspaper! I would want someone a little more 'savy'.
i am suprised to read the 3 comments before this all are big lies! especially the 9210 screen when viewed outdoor. the screen when viewed outdoor is one of the worst. i cannot see the screen in normal sunlight here in bangkok. the same happened in peking, hongkong, shianghai and a few other places i traveled last year. i wonder who dare to charleng a testimonial from me - a long time and nonpartial user lof 9110 and 9210 like me? narong.
I suppose that opinions on what's a good screen can vary according to taste and expectation. It's the best screen I've seen, but that doesn't say I've seen every screen (I suppose).
But I don't think his arguments about the cumbersome nature of the web browser stands to scrutiny. He seems to suggest that having sub sections for Internet, Office and Extras is a bad idea?
Just because he'd prefer a start menu that takes him to other submenus (which fill the screen just as much as Office and Internet), he decides it's pish.
He may say "Ah, but you can put PocketPC applications immediately on the Start Menu" and I'd say "Ah, but you can add applications immediately onto the Desk".
He may say "Ah, but you have to scroll the Desk if you put too many applications icons on it" and I'd say "Ah, but you can resize the icons and anyway, the PocketPC comes with too many icons on the start menu anyway and the first thing I used to do was move things around".
It's swings and roundabouts, but when it suits people, they forget that. Over at PocketPC Thoughts, they didn't like anyone comparing the 9210 to Microsoft's Smartphone because, they said, you weren't comparing like with like, yet when they read this article, the first thing they did was compare the 9210 with Microsoft's Smartphone (probably because they reckon that if a man in a suit says something, it's just gotta be true).
Sigh!
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by TANKERx on 2002-05-10 1622 ]</font>