Reviewed by Michal Jerz - My-Symbian.com
INTRODUCTION
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!
PART II: SOFTWARE
The history and the presence
The E90 is the third milestone in Communicators' internal software history. And this time it finally has a very
clear and unrestricted future ahead as it is now part of the Nokia's most popular software platform used by hundreds of
millions of people worldwide.
The first four Communicator models available between
1997 and 2001 (the 9000, 9000i, 9110, 9110i) were based on GEOS operating system - one of the first GUI based operating
systems, running on top of DOS on Intel x86 processors. GEOS became known already in '80s when it was released for Commodore
64/128 computers.
The 9210, released in 2001, was not only the first
Communicator based on Symbian OS, but also the first Symbian OS smartphone (if we don't count the Sony Ericsson R380, which
wasn't an 'open' device as it didn't support 3rd party software and it never became too popular). The 9210 and all models
following it (9210i, 9290, 9500, 9300 and 9300i) were based on Symbian OS v6 and then v7 and the Series 80 platform derived
from Symbian's Crystal user interface. Switching from GEOS to Symbian OS meant no backward compatibility and almost no
software available for 'early adopters' of the 9210. Fortunately, the situation has changed over the years and Series 80 Communicators users can now take advantage of hundreds of poweful third party applications.
As mentioned above, the E90 is another huge leap in
the 10-year history of Nokia Communicators. It is no longer Series 80 based but instead it utilizes the S60 3.1 (3rd Edition
Feature Pack 1) platform running on top of Symbian OS 9.2. Why is that?
Symbian OS 9 and above introduce many fundamental
changes including new kernel, new compiler, new optimized binary format, modified file system structure, new, much tighter
security system and so on. This all means: no backward compatibility with pre-9 OS versions. So even if Nokia wanted too keep
the Series 80 platform for the Communicator range, they would have to create a new edition of the platform based on Symbian
OS 9.x which would involve a lot of work and funds but it would still mean no backward compatibility with old S80-based
Communicator models! The only way to retain compatibility would be to stay with old, pre-v9 Symbian OS version, which would
make absolutely no sense as it would mean no access to the latest mobile technologies, or simply no space for any progress.
So instead of heading for the blind alley, Nokia decided to switch to the S60 (formerly called Series 60) platform, installed
in hundreds of millions of smartphones and supported by thousands of experienced developers.
The E90, the first S60 3rd Edition based Communicator,
unlike the 9210 in the past, doesn't force those who upgrade from the previous models to patiently wait for software to start
appearing. While in case of the 9210 it took some time for Series 80 compatible software to start coming out, the E90 is
fully compatible with existing S60 3rd Edition software! Buy the new
Communicator, bring it home, configure Internet or WLAN connection and simply start browsing the software catalog and downloading whatever you want. And the popularity of S60 based smartphones
guarantees that quality software will keep coming faster and faster.
Is the S60 platform better than the old Series 80
platform when it comes to functionality, ease of use, features? Well, as usual, some things are better while some other
things are worse. For instance, it is next to impossible to highlight a text in the current edition of the web browser. But
hey, the browser itself is so much better and faster... Overall, there are much more advantages than disadvantages, and it's
an open system so even if some features are missing you'll be surely able to add them using 3rd party
solutions.
So how does the new S60 UI look like?
As described in the Hardware part, the E90 has two
fully functional screens. Both provide access to all system applications and functions and switching between them is fully
automatic as you open or close the cover. The external display shows the UI and system applications just as they look on any
other S60 3rd Edition smartphone. The internal screen, thanks to its high resolution and wide proportions, provides an
EXTENDED view in which many applications show additional information, more functions or simply more content at once. You can
think of this view as of a mixture of S60 UI and the good old Series 80 UI.
On this page you can find a series of screenshots of
both the large and the small screen. They are shown in no particular order, just to illustrate how the UI looks like in
different views and with different themes.
For example, the default view of the Phonebook
application on the small external screen shows only a list of your contacts (first and last name + a small thumbnail on the
title bar) as on all S60 smartphones. If you want to see details of a contact, you have to click his/her name, which will
open a new screen with full contact information. On the large screen, however, the view is much more advanced and it closely
resembles the the look of Contacts application of Series 80 Communicators - the screen is divided into two parts: the list of
contacts on the left and contact details preview window on the right. So on the large screen you don't have to click on
contact name and open a separate screen to see contact details, you see both the list and the details of a highlighted
contact at once. The same rule applies to many other applications, including Calendar (week or month or to-do view on the
left, list of entries on the right), Messaging (list of accounts/folders on the left, their contents on the right), File
manager (folders tree on the left, folder contents on the right), Media gallery (list of multimedia files on the left, quick
preview on the right) and so on. So if you are one of those who were afraid that S60-based Communicator would mean simpler
and primitive UI compared to the Series 80 platform, don't worry - only the external UI is the same as on other S60 devices
while the internal UI is considerably extended.
The E90 does not have the pull down menu system known
from the Series 80 plaform. There is also no CBA panel (four soft buttons on the right side of the screen present in all
previous Communicators). Instead, like all S60 smartphones, the E90 has two soft buttons (located under the external display
and on the right side of the internal screen) serving as shortcuts to applications, function buttons, or menu buttons,
depending on application/view and context. Yes, two is less than four so die-hard fans of previous Communicator models may
feel a little bit disappointed that now some functions may require two clicks instead of just one but it is a matter of
getting used to and I wouldn't say that it compromises functionality in a serious degree. The soft buttons open a menu that
pops up in the centre of the display; they can have sub-menus and further sub-items.
The E90 also has the usual green/red Send/End buttons
used to start/end/accept/reject phone calls - they're located below the external screen and on the left side of the internal
screen. The green Send button only works when there's something to dial - a number keyed in on the standby screen, a contact
selected in the Phonebook application, a number highlighted in a document, etc. On the standby screen, if no number is
entered, the Send key opens the Call log with recently dialled numbers list. The Send key can also be used to quickly invoke
the "Send as..." menu whenever it is appropriate. In all other cases the Send button is not active. The red End button,
besides ending or rejecting calls, quickly switches you to the standby screen from any other view or application, without
closing them.
The internal screen has two status bars: the one on
top shows signal level indicator, GSM network name, different status icons: WLAN network in range, unread messages, Bluetooth
on/active, etc., and the current function of the upper soft button. The lower status bar shows battery level indicator,
current profile name, clock, and the current function of the lower soft key. The lower status bar is also used by some
applications to show tabs, e.g. the Contacts application shows two tabs letting you quickly switch between the list of
contacts and the list of contact groups. Depending on application, some other information, icons or UI elements may be
additionally shown on either or both of the bars, for instance multipage documents display information about the current page
and the total number of pages.
Active standby, Menu, Folders
Instead of Series 80's Desk, the E90 features the
S60's standard "Active standby" screen. It looks basically the same on both screens and the only difference is the number of
visible shortcut icons: 6 on the external screen and 8 on the internal screen. The Active standby screen may also be
configured to display notifications about the following events: missed calls, new email, new SMS/MMS and new voice message
and about calendar events and to-dos for today. You can also enable WLAN scanning to report discovered or connected WLAN
networks on the standby screen. The new "Active Notes" application located in the Office folder lets you create short notes
which can be made visible (and quickly accessible) from the Active standby screen. Both soft buttons can be assigned to most
frequently used applications or functions. So I think it's fair to say that E90's Active standby screen should not make
previous Communicators' Desk screen users disappointed....
Just like the Desk was replaced by the Active
standby, the Extras screen has been replaced by the standard S60 Menu. It's where you can find all system and 3rd party
applications, divided into folders. You can create your own folders, rename existing folders (including the standard ones),
move applications between folders, and quickly uninstall 3rd party software (just press the Backspace/delete key and confirm
the displayed requester). There are even two kinds of folder and application icon sets available: still icons optimized for
menu speed and animated icons for those who like such things :-) Third party applications installed by you go by default to
the "Installed" folder but you can move them to any other folder of your choice or to the main menu. Isn't it much more
flexible than in the old "Commies"?
Personalisation
Just like any other S60 smartphone, the E90 is fully
skinnable. What's more, it is also fully compatible with existing S60 themes (though some of them, not scalable and not
prepared with the internal screen's resolution in mind, may look ugly). With themes, you may radically change the look of
most of UI elements: title/status bars, window backgrounds, color palette, font and font color, ringtones, the look of
battery/network indicators, the look of the digital and analog clock shown on the Active standby screen, etc. You can also
customize screen wallpapers, screen saver (Flash animations are supported) and the way the main Menu works (grid, list, V-
Wheel, Horse shoe wheel).
System applications
This, unfortunately, will be the most incomplete part
in this edition of the review. The tested unit was an early build from December 2006 and many applications were still either
a work-in-progress or even missing. Several newer firmware versions have been released since then and many things have most
probably changed already now but for technical reasons I wasn't able to update the tested unit yet. As soon as I get access
to a final unit or new firmware, I will update this part with detailed description of all important system applications, so
please expect a "part II" of this review in a near future. For the time being, I will only mention the most important things
and general observations. Please, feel free to ask detailed questions on our our Discussion
forums and I will do my best to answer them.
After all the raptures over hardware, let's start
from some disappointments about software. Please note, however, that they may be a result of the early firmware and things
may look entirely different when the E90 starts shipping...
First of all, and that's one of the most frequently
asked questions, there is no trace of fax support. It's not there and it seems it won't be there. And it's probably what I
don't like the most about the E90. All Communicators in the past had fax support and it has always been one of the integral
parts of the Communicator range and the reason why I have never bought a landline fax machine. Right, I use it rarely, but I
do. Please, bring it back Nokia...
Another thing missing in the E90 compared to old
Communicators is no scheduled sending of messages. Standard automatic email retrieval options are also quite restricted as
all you can choose is weekdays and period between two hours or time interval. The Phonebook application is very similar to
the Series 80 version, however the Contact search function is extremely simple, only supporting first and last name fields
(it's the "Quick search" type function looking for results as you type letters). However, the E90 includes Nokia's Search
application that provides all-device global search and quickly locates the searched string in Messages, Emails, Calendar
entries, To-dos, Notest, Contacts (all fields) and contents of files. Assign the Search app to the MyOwn or Multimedia key
and you can have instant access to the powerful search function with just one button press.
The Calendar has no colors, icons, templates or
things like that, at least in its current form. However it is going to support attachments and will be equipped with a plugin
for 3rd party email solutions. It'll be also possible to add meeting requests to Calendar. No matter what the final version
will offer, AquaCalendar and Papyrus work fine on the E90 so you can
still go for them if you need something more powerful.
CallLogs application contains Call register
(Dialled/Missed/Received calls lists), Call timers, and GPRS counters. Again, I can't locate any changes compared to standard
S60 CallLogs found on other S60 smartphones so it seems that it is the same, at least in its current state. Call log length
can be set to 1, 10 or 30 days, or disabled.
The last complaint is the lack of timed profiles, and
now we can cheer up and start talking about what's on the good side.
And it's first of all rich multimedia capabilities.
While the Real Player application hasn't changed much, the device is now much more powerful and for the first time in the
history of Communicators the full screen video playback is really smooth and fully usable. The playback of a video clip
recorded with E90's camera (MP4, VGA 640x480 pixels, 25 frames per second, AAC 96 kHz mono sound, total bitrate of about 2800
kbps) was absolutely smooth. So was a sample MP4 movie of 400x240 pixels (1800 kbps bitrate).
It is worth mentioning that, like in case of previous
Communicators, the internal screen is much wider than standard video content, e.g. downloadable video clips. The proportions
of the large display are approximately 2,3:1, which is very similar to the proportions of widescreen movies (2,35:1) and
after transcoding they can fill the entire screen. However, in case of the most common 4:3 and 16:9 content, as the picture
has to fit on the screen's height, the video only takes part of the internal screen, with black unused bars on both sides.
This is unavoidable, unless you want to stretch your videos which will result in ugly distortion. The image below shows how
4:3 and 16:9 videos look on E90's internal screen. As mentioned, widescreen 2,35:1 movies, if properly transcoded, can fill
it almost entirely.
In contrast to the internal screen, the small
external screen is 4:3 so in case of 4:3 videos (e.g. video clips recorded with E90 camera) it'll provide full screen
playback with 100% coverage. 16:9 and widescreen movies will be shown with the same black bars on the top and bottom as in
case of 4:3 TV sets.
The Camera application lets you take pictures (up to
3.2 MPix) and record movies (up to 640x480 pixels, 25 fps). It has predefined Scene modes (e.g. Close up, Portrait,
Landscape, Sport, Night and User defined), White balance settings (Auto, Sunny, Cloudy, Incandescent, Fluorescent), Colour
tone settings (Normal, Sepia, Black&White, Vivid, Negative), Flash settings (Auto, On, Off, Red eyes reduction), Self
timer, Sequence mode and Exposure compensation setting. Camera is accessible from both screens.
What I especially like about the Camera application
is that, in addition to the automatic mode, it also lets you manually choose the ISO speed (light sensitivity) of the camera
sensor. This lets you control noise levels of your pictures. For example, when shooting in low light conditions without the
flash light, to keep short exposure times in order to avoid blur, the automatic setting would always choose high ISO
sensitivity resulting in much increased noise. However, if the phone is put on something stable and you're taking pictures of
an object that doesn't move, you may manually set lower ISO speed to greatly reduce the amount of noise.
The Music application is the standard Music player
found on most S60 smartphones. It features a Music Library letting you organize your music collection by artists, albums,
playlists, genres and composers. The Equalizer lets you choose from predefined settings (None, Bass booster, Classic, Jazz,
Pop, Rock) or create your own.
The Documents/Sheet/Presentations suite known from
older Communicators and S60 3.0 smartphones (e.g. E61) has been replaced by QuickOffice. However, all I can say at this time
is that viewing documents works OK. I wasn't able to check any editing options as the unit I tested only had the simpler
QuickOffice viewer version. The final E90, however, is said to be equipped with full QuickOffice suite including the editors.
Downloadable version of QuickOffice 4.0 for S60 3rd Edition is already available, so if you want
to check how document edition will look like on the E90 just download it and give it a try on any available S60 3rd Edition
phone.
The Clock supports multiple recurring alarms as well
as simple one time only alarms. The "World" tab lets you create a custom list of cities showing their local
times.
The Web browser is the same application as found in
the remaining S60 3.1 smartphones. It is very fast and easy to use with the semi-transparent Mini-Map. E90's wide screen
makes web browsing a pleasure. As mentioned above, the only concern is that it is next to impossible to highlight and copy
any text from a web page...
Push email and PIM solutions supported by the E90
include Nokia Intellisync Wireless Email, Blackberry Connect, Mail for Exchange and Visto Mobile. Security options include
secure storage, device lock, remote lock, memory card lock and OMA DRM 2.0. Wireless LAN security are WEP, 802.1x, WPA and
WPA2.
The E90 supports OTI firmware update which means that
it'll be possible to update it via Internet at home.
As I mentioned, for detailed information about all
system applications in their final shape, please stay tuned for the update of this review in the near
future.
Performance, stability, compatibility
It is much to early to judge the stability and
performance based on the early firmware build I had access to. It is definitely still a work in progress, with the final
optimization and clean up still ahead of it. However, already now I can say that compatibility with existing S60 3rd Edition software is very high and all programs I tried simply worked. And
it's certainly a very good news for all future users. You can also clearly feel that the performance of the device is on par
with the remaining high-end S60 3rd Edition smartphones like e.g. the powerful Nokia N95. I ran GLBenchmark on both N95 and E90 and the CPU speed results are almost
identical. The graphic tests are noticeably slower on the E90 but the N95 was a final build while the E90 was an early
unoptimized prototype, so improvement is expected.
Summary
Undobtedly, the E90 is the most powerful Nokia
Communicator ever created. Two fully functional screens and one of them of the fantastic 800x352 resolution, not only UMTS
but also a 3.6 Mbps HSDPA connectivity, quadband GSM, built-in GPS receiver, fast and powerful OMAP2420 processor running at
330 MHz, 128 MB of RAM memory with almost 80 MB available for the user and providing true and unlimited multitasking, very
good 3.2 MPix camera with autofocus providing both great still pictures and TV-quality VGA resolution (640x480 pixels, 25
frames per second) videos, superb keyboard with perfectly shaped keys and very good tactile feedback, high quality materials
and superb build quality, USB 2.0 and Bluetooth connectivity, stereo audio with A2DP support for stereo streaming over
Bluetooth, good standby and talk times, very good size and tolerable weight, elegant and stylish design.... quite a lot of
powerful features for a single device. Of course, one might complain about lack of 8 GB Microdrive like in the HTC Athena
(weighing 360 g), no triband WCDMA providing worlwide UMTS support, 2.5" jack instead of the 3.5" one, no WLAN A support,
etc., etc., etc. Some people are never happy. What I feel, however, is that the E90 is a truly poweful mobile device,
definitely one of the most powerful PDA-phones ever created. What I miss the most is no fax support and I hope that it'll be
added before the device starts shipping. Other than that - a great successor to the 9500/9300(i) family and the flagship
Symbian OS device.
What I liked:
- powerful ARM11-based TI OMAP2420 processor
running at 330 MHz
- 128 MB of operating memory (RAM), about 80 MB available, providing unlimited multitasking
- HSDPA 3.6 Mbps, UMTS, EDGE
- built-in GPS receiver
- fantastic 800x352 pixels internal screen
- fully functional 240x320 external display
- superb keyboard
- quadband 850/900/1800/1900 GSM, 2100 WCDMA
- Wireless LAN 802.11 b/g 54 Mbps
- Bluetooth 2.0
- A2DP profile for stereo audio over Bluetooth
- USB 2.0 Full speed via USB Mini-B connector
- 3.2 MPix camera with autofocus
- TV-quality video recording @ VGA resolution and 25 frames per second
- great build quality, elegant design, good size and weight
- compatibility with existing S60 3rd Edition software.
What I didn't like:
- no fax support!
- some functions missing or too simplified compared to previous Communicator models (scheduled SMS sending,
Contacts search, Calendar, office suite, timed profiles)
- Nokia please do something with the camera shutter release button so that it is more
stable.
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