Nokia N90 User Test

By gonzo.pete on Sunday, December 18th, 2005 comments

The N series is without a doubt the flagship range of Nokia phones and this is obvious from the amount of features crammed into these new handsets. Nokia certainly has been busy and with each of the N series adding a little more to the game, we can be sure of some exciting developments in the coming months.

Contents

So with the handset you get your battery, handsfree/stereo headphones, USB sync cable, 64 MB DV RS-MMC, wrist strap, cleaning cloth and software. You also get a handy little charging cable adapter. The N90 utilises a smaller power cable so an adapter is included to allow connection of the older universal Nokia cable. You also get the obligatory bundle of instruction manuals and a quick start guide.

The Look

The first thing that struck me when handling the phone was the size of the unit closed. Its about the size of the 7610 when in the folded position. At first this was a little off putting but after handling the phone It became apparent that it felt more comfortable to hold.

When open it allowed a more natural speaking position with the mic directly below your mouth. The build quality is excellent and the handset feels solid and robust. The N90 has many moving joints to allow comfortable use of the camera. Both segments of the phone articulate from the camera/speaker housing as well as the screen turning through a little over 90 degrees. The camera itself can also be swung to face the user for self portraits and when in the closed position for video calling.

Closed Position

You would think with this amount of moving parts its begging to be broken but the solid design is very reassuring and with normal use you shouldn’t have any problems.

The Spec

• 256k Colours Main Screen
• 65k Colours External Screen
• RS-MMC Slot
• Class 10 GPRS
• 2 MP Camera/1600x1200pixels/Carl Zeiss Optics/Video/Flash
• MP3/AAC/MPEG4 Player
• Bluetooth
• 3G 384 kbps
• Stand by time up to 290 hours
• Talk time up to 3 hours
• 112x51x24mm
• 173 grams

Quick Start

The N90 is very easy to get fired up ready to go. The Sim card slot does away with the old plastic swivel clip, you just slide the card into the slot and voila. Another great benefit is the rs-mmc card incorporates hot swap so no more removing the battery to get to your memory card. The card slides into a very secure cubby hole to the side of the phone.
The on screen options are colourful and bold and the navigational key makes menu selection a doddle. The keypads design is much the same as most of Nokia’s recent handsets and I think they’ve found a winning combination and decided to stick with it.
A little bonus is the addition of the joystick on the side of the phone. This means when in camera mode you can quickly scroll through the options without going back into phone mode.

In Practice

The N90 has all the usual refinements with a few extras. For instance Real Player now has a full Screen mode. The camera options have been expanded with options to adjust exposure value, colour tone and flash performance. I might add the flash really works on this phone and is not merely a gimmicky selling point.
The camera mode is automatically enabled whenever the screen is turned through 90 degrees or when shut if the camera module is turned out of its normal position. Whilst intuitive the phone can sometimes get confused and display the wrong screen. This is only a minor glitch and is easily rectified.
With camera mode enabled it feels as if your holding a digital camcorder. The viewing position is comfortable and natural.
Listening to MP3’s on this phones speaker is a joy. I cannot praise the speaker enough. The sound is rich and loud with deep base and crisp treble. If music is your forte then you won’t be disappointed.
The actual phone features are pretty standard and I suspect the majority of this phones power has been given over to the camera and its 3G capabilities. Battery stand-by time is great and you almost forget what the low battery alert sounds like.
One last nice touch i found minutes before packing the phone up to send back was the voice recognition features. You don't even have to pre-record samples for the phone to recognise, it simply works out which contact you want, albeit a little hit and miss , then confirms back to you in a Stephen Hawking-esque voice.

Conclusion

Overall I am very impressed with this phone. I like the size and feel of it. The camera quality is amazing. Download your photo’s to a PC and you’ll get impressive, viable pictures. With a 2MP camera and 3G capabilities this phone should last you longer than the 12 months between upgrades.

Picture Quality

Indoor/Zero Zoom/No Flash

Indoor/Zero Zoom/Flash Enable

Outdoor/Zero Zoom/No Flash

The three Pictures on the right demonstrate the picure quality when uploaded to PC.Please note pictures have been slightly reduced in size and quality to enable display on Gadgetspy.

WE LIKE

Solid & Robust Build
Camera Options & Quality
Comfortable User Positions
Battery Life
LoudSpeaker Quality

WE DISLIKE

Difficult To Open with one hand
SIM free price
Some might consider It bulky in the pocket

In my honest opinion you will be hard pushed to fault this phone.
One major disadvantage, however is the price. A quick look on ebay will see a sim free N90 selling for £400-£500. Currently putting this phone out of reach for most Pay-As-You-Go customers.

A quick scan of the contract prices will see the N90 available for £free-£249 depending on network and tariff. Much more appealing I think you’ll agree.