Weight: 167 g
Dimensions: 132mm x 51mm x 21mm, 126 cc
Display: Resolution 128 x 128 pixels
Supports up to 65,536 colors
Active TFT color display
Price: $420.35 - $770.97
The Nokia 9300 has the same wide clamshell form factor that can be found in all of the Nokia Communicator handsets. But with dimensions of 133mm x 51mm x 22mm (5.2″ x 2.0″ x .9″), it is 15mm shorter, 6mm narrower, and 2mm thinner than the full sized 9500 model. While still on the long side, the 9300 is suddenly a lot more pocketable than any of the earlier models. Its weight is down, too: 169g (5.96oz) with SIM and MMC card. That makes it a whopping 55g (1.94oz) lighter than the 9500. The 9300 is the first Communicator within range of such devices as the Sony Ericsson P910.
With the cover closed, the Nokia 9300 looks like a run-of-the-mill candy bar phone, albeit a fairly long, thick, and heavy one (5.2 by 2 by 0.8 inches and 5.9 ounces). The all-silver face is appropriately utilitarian for the 9300’s target audience of mobile professionals, and Nokia keeps the design simple with a small power button on the top-right corner, a basic dial-pad layout, Talk and End buttons, two soft keys, and a five-way navigation control just below the 1.7-inch-diagonal, 65,536-color external display. The dial pad features bright white backlighting for use in dark rooms. Our only complaint here is that it’s tough to activate the left or right navigation buttons without hitting the center Select button. And because the phone doesn’t have dedicated volume buttons on the side, you have to pull it away from your face during calls to adjust the sound level with the navigation keys.
The 9300’s clamshell form factor, however, imparts it with some real advantages over devices like the P910. For example, the 9300 has a very normal exterior look to it. There is a 128×128 pixel 65k TFT color display, a d-pad controller, two softkeys, and a large and spacious numeric keypad. You won’t find that on most PDA style phones. All of the exterior buttons and controls worked quite well, and the overall build quality and finish of the device seem to be top notch.
Call quality is mediocre. Calls come in clearly enough, but they do suffer from a sort of haziness, the audio equivalent to a light morning fog, but never did it become garbled or did the calls break up to the point at which I couldn’t hear or understand the person on the other line. The handset is subject to the usual reception issues — valleys and hills cause interference and the random dead spot, creating static and hissing. In my home, the 9300 does get decent reception, which is bizarre, as my personal handset goes haywire in the house. When I used it at home, the 9300 received a moderate, consistent signal, which is better than what I’m used to.
The other reason the 9300 looks both futuristic and very retro at the same time, is that in the intervening four years we’ve seen an update to the Communicator come and go. The Series 90 user interface was designed for a more modern Communicator (with pen input) and it makes the 9300/9500 look and feel very dated.
The only devices available that use Series 90 are the 7700 and 7710 (the latter now available in Asia) and during a period of internal turmoil, Nokia scuttled a Series 90-based QWERTY keyboard communicator on the launch pad, in favor of the 9500. Based on a 640×320 screen, the Series 90 UI makes much better use of space, and right away, as soon as you see the alpha-blended pen input overlay, you know you’re using the “true” successor to the Psion PDA. But late last year Nokia “folded” the Series 90 into the Series 60 platform.
Nor does the 9300 use the space as well as it could. Nokia’s simple “spectacle case” design doesn’t make use of the ingenious sliding hinges that gave Psion keyboards more space. The retro feel is enforced by the amount of space - a good centimeter - to the left of the keyboard. These, presumably, remain Psion patents - and either Psion hasn’t licensed them to Nokia, or Nokia has licensed them and not used them. (Clarification, anyone?). Most irritatingly, the keyboard isn’t backlit.
Key features:
Advanced voice features: handsfree speakerphone, conference calling
Full keyboard and two 65,536-color displays
Messaging options: email with attachments, SMS, and MMS
Office applications: document, spreadsheet, presentations
Organizer: Calendar, Contacts, Tasks with PC synchronization via Nokia PC Suite software
Large memory storage: 80MB built-in memory plus MultiMediaCard (MMC)
High-speed data connectivity with EGPRS (EDGE)
Mobile Internet connectivity
Symbian 7.0S OS (series 80 platform), Java MIDP 2.0 and Personal profile
Wireless connectivity via Bluetooth and Infrared to exchange information with other devices
Pop-Port™ interface for mobile enhancement connectivity
Tri-band (EGSM 900/1800/1900) operation for use in five continents
Email:
Access your own and private email accounts
Support protocols: IMAP4, POP3, APOP, SMTP, MIME, IMAP4-SSL/TLS, POP3-SSL/TLS, SMTP-SSL/TLS, and OMA Data Synchronization
Data Transfer:
EGPRS* Multislot class 10
Data transfer up to 236.8 kbit/s in EDGE networks
GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) Multislot Class 10
Data transfer up to 53.6 kbit/s in GPRS networks
Circuit-Switched Data
HSCSD (High-Speed Circuit-Switched Data)*
Fax Transmission
Imaging:
Possibility to attach portrait images to contacts
Video player: RealVideo, MPEG4, and H.263 formats supported
Applications:
Word processor (Documents), spreadsheet viewer and editor (Sheet), presentation viewer and editor (Presentations)
Compatible with the most common features of Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel (MS Office 97 onwards)
Other applications: Calculator, File Manager, Voice Recorder and Music Player
Text messaging (SMS):
SMS distribution list
Message register
Multimedia messaging (MMS):
Multimedia messaging (MMS) with compatible devices: send and receive messages with text, a sound clip, and an image or a video clip to other compatible devices
Multi-slide presentations as MMS with compatible devices
Delivery reports
Multiple recipients
Scaling
Picture messaging: Send graphics with text to other compatible phones
