Volume: 140 cc
Weight: 210 g
Width: 57 mm
Length: 132 mm
Thickness (max): 20 mm

Display: Inner: Active matrix color display (800 x 352 pixels), 16 million true colors
Outer: Active matrix color display (240 x 320 pixels), 16 million true colors

Price Range: $1094.95 to $1214.20

The E90 is Nokia’s new top end enterprise-focussed device. However, as with the multimedia-focussed N95, Nokia have packed in an impressive number of features. The connectivity options include quad band EGSM, 3G connectivity (WCDMA and HSDPA), WiFi (802.11g), Bluetooth (including stereo audio support), infrared and USB (2.0 full-speed). There is also a 2.5mm audio jack for headsets, a FM Radio, a 3.2 megapixel camera with auto-focus and DVD-quality recording, and an integrated GPS chipset. All this in the standard Communicator clamshell form factor, which this time boasts an external QVGA screen with number keypad and a wide (800×352 pixels) internal screen with full QWERTY keyboard.

The build quality is also excellent for this Nokia. However, the faceplate at the back of the E90 didn’t gel very well at the top where the speakers are, but we’re nitpicking and it could be just our review unit. When we’re using the directional pad, delete and enter buttons on the QWERTY, we can feel its hollowness.
On the outside, the E90 is like any other candy-bar phone. In fact, most of the functions are accessible from the 2-inch screen save for a front-facing camera for 3G video calls. The beauty of the E90 shows up only when we open the clamshell and let it sit on the table like a mini laptop.

The E90 is effectively two phones in one, but with a common data store and computer between them. With the clamshell closed, the E90 is an a fairly standard, if rather large, S60 smartphone. There are the usual control keys and number keypad, and 16 million colour QVGA screen. The external keypad is perfectly usable, although it doesn’t measure up to that found on the N93. The usual S60 applications are present and it is possible to carry out every function of the phone in this mode, from writing emails and watching films to making phone calls. However, opening up the device reveals a decent sized QWERTY keyboard and a gorgeous 800 x 352 pixel screen. The inside also runs S60, albeit with the UI appropriately reconfigured for the screen size. The impressive part is that the phone will switch seamlessly between the two screens and maintain application state. This means you can, for example, beginning to compose a message in closed mode, but decide to continue it using the full keyboard without the need for any user interface intervention. The switch generally takes about a second, although I would expect this to get better nearer the release date.

Setting up the E90 to connect to our Exchange server was also a breeze. We used the Mail for Exchange program which can be downloaded for free from Nokia’s Web site. The application allows us to sync our calendar, contacts and email on our server to the mobile device. There’s also an option to set how often the synchronization should happen, although we left that to manual most of the time. The E90 also supports other popular messaging clients such as RIM’s BlackBerry Connect and Intellisync Wireless Email.
The other component of the Communicator which we were rather impressed with is the LCD. The screen is crystal-clear and text on it appears razor sharp. It also held up well under sunlight and has a wide viewing angle.

Key features:
Browse the Internet and transfer media-rich files via HSDPA (up to 3.6 Mbit/s enabled) and 3G high-speed mobile broadband
Increase mobile productivity with applications for viewing and editing documents
Talk on every continent with quad-band GSM and automatic switching between bands
Access voice and data functions quickly and easily with convenient shortcut keys
Locate meeting venues, restaurants, and places of interest with the integrated GPS
Send images captured with the integrated 3.2 megapixel camera with flash and autofocus

Multimedia:
Video calling
FM radio
Music player (MP3, AAC)
Realplayer (streaming audio, video and MP4 video files)

Browsing:
Web browser (x)HTML
JavaScript 1.3 and 1.5 supported
Flash Lite 2.0 supported

Imaging:
3.2 megapixel camera with flash and autofocus
QCIF camera for video calling

Messaging:
Supports POP3, IMAP4, and SMTP Support for mobile email, including Nokia Intellisync Wireless Email 8. and a variety of third-party email clients: Mail for Exchange 1.5 (delivered via Nokia Downloads! Application), Visto Mobile v5.5, and RIM BlackBerry Connect v2.1
designtimesp=”18928″>View, open, and edit email attachments with Quickoffice (documents, spreadsheets, and presentations), Zip Manager, and Adobe Acrobat Reader
Instant messaging –>
Text-to-speech message reader
MMS and SMS

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 21st, 2008 at 5:01 am and is filed under Full Qwerty Keyboard, Fold, Classic. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.