Nokia E90 Communicator Preview
Rafe looks at the Nokia E90 Communicator. A legend reborn? Undoubtedly feature packed and technically impressive - but is there still a market for the qwerty clamshell form factor?
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 (800x352 pixels) internal screen with full QWERTY keyboard.
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.
This dual S60 functionality sounds simple, but it makes a big difference to the user experience and is one of the best features of the device. Traditionally, using a QWERTY keyboard form factor device meant sacrificing some of the speed and ease of use that comes with number keypads. With the E90 you can use whichever form factor is most appropriate. If you are sitting on a train then the clamshell open mode is going to work best, but if you're walking along the street the closed mode will be easier to use. The clamshell form factor allows for a bigger keyboard although in the case of the E90 I'm not sure whether this is used to its full potential.
The QWERTY keyboard is good in comparison to most thumb keyboards, however for most people is likely to remain strictly 'hunt and peck' when on a desk, and a thumb keyboard when held. There is simply not enough space to touch type and the keys themselves do not help as they feel quite solid. The E90, in my opinion, almost matches the Nokia 9500 and will give the fastest input speeds of any modern (S60) Nokia device, but I would estimate it is only going to be 20-30% faster than input of the E61i. Keyboard feel and performance in such devices, beyond a certain point, is subjective and a full assessment will have to wait for final hardware and real world usage.
The E90 runs S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1 on Symbian 9.2. This brings UI enhancements and onboard application updates. One of the improved applications is Web, which now support both WAP and Web pages from a single application, has rearranged menus and a handy pop up toolbar. The E90, thanks to its wide internal screen, shows off the power of the S60 browser brilliantly. The 800 pixel wide screen allows the majority of sites to be displayed clearly without any shrinkage and the E90's powerful processor and fast connectivity options means web pages load quickly, a marked contrast from earlier Communicator models. New to Feature Pack 1 is support for Flash Lite in the browser which means some flash content is now accessible (e.g. navigation elements) although most video content (such as that found on YouTube) will probably not work. Unfortunately, the implementation could be better, an extra two clicks is required to activate any Flash content.
The standard S60 applications are present. This includes the PIM applications, which is one area where some users may find the E90 under-powered compared. The most obvious example is the lack of (Outlook) category support. How much of an impact this has depends entirely on the user. We (Rafe and Steve) happily use the standard Calendar on other S60 phones and for us the functionality is fine. Power PIM users, especially those coming from earlier PDAs and Series 80 devices, may be disappointed. The Messaging application is clearly an important part of the E90 proposition and support for Nokia's impressive Intellisyc software; Blackberry, and Microsoft Exchange Active-sync should keep most users happy. There is room for improvement here too, better support for HTML email is one area that should be addressed.
Also present are a number of extra applications that were trialed on earlier devices and are now becoming standard across the S60 range. These include the Team application for coordinating communication within a team, the WLAN Wizard/Locator for easy WiFi usage and Search for on device global search. The latter of these is particular welcome and was an omission from earlier models. File opening, editing and viewing capabilities are provided via a number of applications, including the extremely capable Quickoffice Suite (found here as version 3, in full editing mode for Word, Excel and PowerPoint files), Adobe's PDF Viewer (Nokia should use faster Pdf+ instead!) and Epocware's Zip Manager.
In clamshell mode, many of the application views have been modified to take advantage of the extra screen real estate. In most instances, the left hand portion of the screen remains the same as when running in QVGA resolution, while the right hand portion is used to display extra information. This saves at least one UI interaction as it is often no longer necessary to click through to the next view. For example, in the week view of Calendar the right hand side of the screen displays the contents of the Calendar for that day, while in Messaging the contents of the current Inbox or Folder is shown. Despite these optimised views, the original UI path is maintained so as not to upset users familiar with S60. Overall, good use is made of the extra space, although I'm sure there is room for improvement before the retail release. This use of screen real estate is best illustrated in the screenshots below.
A side effect of running S60 is that is there are now only two right-of-screen command keys (the softkeys). On the Series 80-powered 9500 there were four command keys and a menu key. While the loss of the two additional command keys is a shame the major impact comes from the loss of the menu, especially as there is no access to the menu from the keyboard. In effect all command functions go through the uppersoft key and inevitably this means it will take longer to access some functionality. One mitigating factor is that the famed S60 ease of use means that the centre of the D-Pad is often mapped to commands such as Open etc. Without long term usage it is unclear how big an impact this will have - as with many devices, real world experience may paint a different picture than first impressions. This issue will certainly be noticed by ex-Series 80 users, and this single point of entry for commands together with a shortage of keyboard shortcuts (though this will hopefully be corrected in later software, and it's worth noting that standard text editing shortcuts like ctrl-A, ctrl-C DO work) is likely to be the biggest complaint from users upgrading from the 9300 or 9500. The problem is a result of running S60 on a device for which the UI is not optimised. S60 may be an excellent platform for one handed phone-type devices, but with the E90 moving towards laptop-like usage, at least in clamshell mode, problems are inevitable. The use of hardware application shortcut buttons (Desk, messaging, Contacts, etc.) along the top of the keyboard helps a certain amount and there are software tweaks that could help too. It is also worth noting that a large proportion of day to day S60 usage happens without using the menu.
The Communicator range has always put business first and leisure second. The E90 retains a business focus but it is also a powerful multimedia beast. The audio capabilities are impressive - there are stereo speakers which produce excellent output (at least the equal of the Nokia N95); an FM Radio is included, and there is a 2.5mm audio jack for wired audio and Bluetooth for wireless audio. The on board music player (WMA, MP3 and AAC) is the most recent revision of the S60 Music Player; it can be controlled from the directional controls in either mode. Video playback is provided by RealPlayer as usual and includes support for the H.264 MP4 video codec; in playback, video is smooth and looks fantastic on the internal screen. The 2.5mm jack includes composite TV support and final E90s should ship with a proper TV out cable.
The camera is also well specified at 3.2 megapixels; crucially, it also has auto focus, which will allow for sharper and cleaner looking photos and video capture at full VGA resolution is also supported. Subjective tests indicate the E90's camera will produce similar results to the Nokia N73 in still mode and to that of the N95 in video mode. Outside of the software platform, it's the single biggest improvement in the E90 compared to the 9500. The camera is best used in closed mode with the external screen used as a viewfinder (with an array of on-screen camera controls) and there's a dedicated capture key on the side of the device.
Sample Images from the E90 Camera (prototype hardware)
The E90 will ship with Nokia's Maps application (a version of their Smart2go software) and this, together with the built-in GPS adds navigation capabilities to the E90's feature set. Given the target market of the Communicator family, this is a sensible addition. There are many business users who will welcome the ability to navigate and find out about (via the City Guides) a strange city with ease. The GPS also opens up the possibility of some interesting location-based and tracking enterprise applications, this is definitely an area developers will be looking to explore.
Much of this multimedia capability is driven by the inclusion of Imagination Technologies' PowerVR chipset technology in the E90's processor (Texas Instruments OMAP2420). This is the same chipset used in the Nokia N93, N95 and Motorola Z8. This also makes the E90 a capable gaming device - it will ship with a racing game that shows of some of this prowess, and could (at least in theory) support the next generation N-Gage gaming platform. Quite what the boss will make of that is another matter!
There is 128MB of on-board memory, but this can be expanded (up to 2GB) using the microSD memory card slot at the base of the device. The E90 ships with a 1500 mAh battery, which Nokia say will provide up to 14 days standby time. In practice, it is likely that the device will manage 2 days with moderate usage, which should be enough for most users. The E90 is the first Communicator that will have two colour variants, Nokia believe this will broaden the appeal of the device. Although it is a minor cosmetic change, it is a welcome one.
Nokia's Communicator line has a rich heritage; one that stretches back 10 years to the Nokia 9000 Communicator and to a time before smartphones. Is the Communicator line still relevant and how does it measure up in the smartphone jungle? In a world where software platform phones and multimedia computers are common place, the E90 may not stand out as much as its predecessors, but it is still an impressive device. It packs in more features and modes of use than any other device I can think of. With the addition of 3G connectivity and the use of the S60 software platform, the Communicator line is bought bang up to date with a vengeance.
Moreover, the addition of a GPS, a powerful graphical chipset and a terrific camera bring true multimedia convergence to the Communicator family for the first time. Indeed this element brings a whole new side to the family, the E90 is about a lot more than working and communicating on the road. It manages, to a large extent, to marry the abilities of Nokia's 'multimedia computers' to an extremely capable enterprise device.
However, I wonder how big a market is left for such a device. It is almost twice as heavy as most smartphones and about 50% bigger in the dimensions department (though it is much closer to the 9300 than the 9500). However you are going to be hard pressed to make this particular from factor any smaller or lighter without sacrificing a great deal of usability - anyone who wants this kind of device is going to find the device impressively sized. For many users, a device such as the E61i will do many of the same jobs (PIM, email, music, apps) in a more pocketable device for half the price. Of course for the true power user only the E90 will be good enough.
The move to S60 brings many benefits, but has not been trouble free; many of the most ardent Series 80 users will be disappointed by the changes in menu accessibility and by the on board applications. New users and existing S60 users are likely to be happier since they will suffer less from ancestral memory and benefit more from the new catalog of applications that is available from launch. Overall though the move must be considered a positive step.
There are many existing Communicator users who will be looking to upgrade, but the number of new users who will be attracted is more open to debate. Perhaps the irony here is that the Communicator, by virtue of its success, helped to create the very smartphone market that may stifle its success this time round.
But perhaps this doesn't matter? The E90 remains a hugely impressive device, one that represents the breadth of Nokia's technical ability and vision. It will inevitably face criticism, and may only be suitable for a small number of people, but the E90 Communicator really is a legend reborn and I welcome its appearance at the very top of Nokia's range.
Resources / See Also
Steve's further comments and screenshots from the E90
Nokia E90 Photo Gallery from 3GSM
Steve answers your question about the Nokia E90
Ewan - Enough about Psion
Steve - From Psion 3 to the E90
Published by Rafe Blandford, Steve Litchfield at 20:17 UTC, February 21st 2007
Categories: Comment, Hardware
Platforms: S60 3rd Edition
Feature Discussion
Many thanks, Rafe & Steve, for the excellent and well balanced first-hand review.
As a Psioneer, I did miss on the Communicator 9500/9300 generation, as they were lacking too much of the Psion 5mx functionality.
Now the E90 is ever further away in that respect, quite likely dumber in its OS... but it looks like a much better "Communicator"!
I will probably buy one, and use it happily for the use its name implies, while hoping that the recent rumours about a super-portable Apple Macbook Pro prove true by the end of this year.
May be there is (some) peace looming in the future on the Psion vs Communicator debate, by hoping that truer "computing" platforms might be offered again in super-portable form factors.
Granted, the efficiency of the original Epoc OS will be missed, and the "Robinson Crusoe" experience of mobile computing on a small Psion will not be replaced by more modern platforms, much as I am an devote Apple cult member.
Recognising that "Communicators" are not meant to be mini laptops, but that they are also, if not first and foremost, phones, will help cast them in a rosier light.
And, as far as phones go, the E90 looks an impressive one!
Congratulations again for the excellent job,
Regards, F
I have the N93i and it is a fantastic phone for what it does, unfortunately I have to keep a blackberry around just in case I need it for business use. The s60 platform, again IMO, should only be used in the Nokia N-series of phones and not for serious business users.
Now compared to my current E61, E90 adds a seemingly very good camera (as N73, that's quite incredible) and the killer 800pixel width internal screen.
I don't know about you, web browsing is quite comfortable on the E61, but I gave up editing/visualing word/powerpoint/excel files as there is no way to get a good overall page/slide/sheet idea of the result, I hope that with E90's 800x352 internal screen, this will become possible. Maybe you've already sent the E90 back to Nokia, but I would love to see screenshot of Quickoffice on the E90 internal screen.
Thanks for great preview!
But also, to the writers Rafe and Steve, you said:
[quote]However you are going to be hard pressed to make this particular from factor any smaller or lighter without sacrificing a great deal of usability [/quote]
I would diagree with this. We could easily look to Symbian ex-partner Sony Ericsson's M600i for outstanding example a small, highly tactile keybaord, packed in a smaller space. That keybaord is proven for speed, accuracy and durability - works well one or two handed and is designed for a mobile environment.
Surely Nokia could have taken a tilt at that? Llicence that SE keyboard, or make something like it, add a few keys and the directional pad and you probably take at least a quarter of the bulk off the device, maybe even a third. [B]Much smaller device, you've actually created value beyond the past[/B] and injected the same mass-relevance to this clamshell category that the E61 did to its own format.
But instead, we get this device, unnecesarily large - and therefore heavy. The E90 looks like a decent device for what it is: arguably a yesterday type device with a few modern do-dads tacked on. But too bound by the size, concept and framework of the past 9xxxx devices, rather than driving them [U]forward[/U].
Adding a GPS chip and 3MP camera in a PDA is not exactly an earth shattering step - Win mobile has beaten that one to death for years already. But changing the dimensions of usability and size, on the other hand, would be hugely useful and creative.
Some may say I'm being harsh, but for the high price Nokia are charging, the expectations should be equally high - and they should be located in the [u]next[/u] decacade, not the [u]past[/u]one.
Also, if done well enough, and sized right, then this device that one might have normally expect to be only "niche" appeal, could suddenly take on relevance for the mass market, without losing its value to the initial niche.
Isnt that what marketing and product development is all about? Or should we yet again sit around and wait for Apple jump in and do the obvious, then claim it is an "innovator", while the incumbents have sat around fat dumb, happy and not really trying? Just a question.
I really like Nokia, but too often their ambition and creativity seem to be AWOL, yet they have all the tools and resources. I dont get it.
Of course Nokia could have made the device smaller with a multi tap keyboard or thumboard - and they have - it's called the E61!
The whole point of the device is it's size - yes it needs to be large for the keyboard but this also enables it to have a much larger screen. If you reduce the keyboard the screen would have to get smaller (unless you want a really odd form factor :tongue: ) and you end up with a clamshell that it neither one thing or another.
Yes it's aimed a niche market but so are (arguably) all smartphones to some extent as no smartphone by definition of it's size and form factor can 'do it all' (what's the right size for some is too small or big for others).
Personally I don't think Nokia are looking backwards with this device at all.
In fact I think this device is in it's infancy -
Let me explain - having owned a variety of Psions, UIQ, 9500 devices but with the loss of my 9500 last year and the end of S80 in sight I didn't want to move to a S60 numeric keypad/thumboard device and strayed to a WM5 TyTN, directly because of the form factor (a qwerty keyboard that wasn't available on any new symbian devices last year) and the fact that WM5 is more of a business and power users OS than S60. (Mostly because it is still more PDA centric bias than S60's phone centric bias).
Like most commentators here I think the S60 interface and PIM functionality is too simple for a keyboarded N90. The N90 (and S60) needs to grow up to support the form factor to it's full capability. Hopefully (as long as the N90 does well) S60 will be developed in this direction and the functionality added for later versions. But I get the feeling that the device is a little under utilised/not pushed to it's full potential in the current release. :redface:
It does have new ideas/functionality, not just the 'tacked on' GPS and camera (which will be much better than any of the notoriously bad WM5 cameras!) most notably the fully functional front screen which is not replicated in any other smartphone or OS (even the new WM6 clamshells only have small 'window' displays on the covers:o ).
I won't be getting one soon (mostly as I have a year to go on my current contract and have now invested time and money in WM5 programs). By that time I may well be tempted by the N90i or N91. Although by that may be more than a year away in the shops) but then the competition and WM6 may have caught up?
Either way certainly a cool device and exciting times!:)
Cheers
Jago
please could you tell which WM5/6 device has 3G, HSDPA, GPS & 3MP camera in small package (e.g. size of N95 or even E90).
Also the WM5 brigade have had trouble with their comms chips not playing nicely! (HTC trinity and TyTn both have GPS chipsets but only some operators versions of Trinity have them enabled because of problems with the 3g radio).
Also possibly because of the fact that WM is more aimed at (the behind the telecomms times) US market HSDPA and 3G generally is only just catching on!
Forget about the size.................my biggest gripe is that they can fit all this into a phone, but can't have the most basic and proper PIM sync/function built into the software. That's why I question Nokia's ability to compete with business users.
The issue is the debate itself. It's started on the wrong footing. The Psion vs Communicator debate is entirely pointless. No one in these days would seriously consider a Psion as an [u]alternative[/u] for a Symbian v7 or v9.x phone. You'd be nuts if you did. So there is no "vs"="versus". Instead, it's a hypothetical "and". The debate should instead focus on the merits and issues of keeping a Psion 5mx/Revo [u]along with[/u] an E90/E61/P990/M600 etc.
But your wrong on form factor ;) I don't want smaller phones that always compromise on screen real estate and usability for power/business tasks. Editing documents, seeing a lot of calendar info or emails on a page is more important to me than slipping the device into my trouser pockets.
There's plenty of smaller form factor devices out there and not enough large ones like the E90, Toshiba G900, I-mate ulitmate 7150 or even (bordering into UMPC territory but still WM5/6) the HTC Athena/X7500).
Maybe we should start a protect the qwerty clamshells movement :tongue:
In effect the E61i is the device you describe, but in changing it you lose some of the unique attributes of the E90. I do think Nokia could look at some other form factors (e.g. a slide out keyboard as on the HTC Vox), but they would be additions to the range not a replacement.
But yes I agree its not for everyone. A lot of people would do fine with the M600 or E61 or any number of Windows Mobile tumboard devices.
Did you ever consider that Nokia had [B]other[/B] people in mind when they designed the E90 and that the E90 is the absolute perfect device for those people?
Perhaps, rather than criticising what has been produced because it doesn't meet your exacting specifications, you should go away and design [B]your[/B] perfect device, come back here with specs/prototypes for Rafe and Co to review and then we can all criticise it because it isn't what [B]we[/B] wanted.
:) :) :)
Times have changes and now it no longer is enough to have a PIM functionality on board. Business people like me expect that with the business device like e90 they will be able to take their Outlook (or whatever other PIM they use) out of the office. And it seems, they can't!
It is far beyound my comprehension, how e.g. E61 can be called a business device, while one cannot see notes attached to the tasks in Outlook on the device...
That is why a number of my colleagues decided not go for e61. Others decided not to go for 9300 or 9500 because they supported Outlook synchronisation so poorly! They all chose blackberries (although they can much less than the nokias, but they allow you to have your outlook with you anywhere) or WM5.
Despite that I have been a convinced Nokia and Communicator fan for years now, I am constantly tempted by WM5/6 devices. Not because they are smaller etc. But because they offer far better synchronisation with a PC than the nokias. So far, I resisted, but if the E series does not catch up the right direction - which is seemless integration with PC and Outlook - I think I will finally give up.
I already decided that I would by the E90, but after having read the review, doubts arose in me. Shall I spend almost EUR 1k and suffer another two years or more with a poor PIM, which does not help me save my time... Maybe it is time that I switched to WM6 instead...
What you mean, of course, is that the subtleties of Outlook's data structure, such as task notes and categories, aren't synced over. And I fully support the idea that Nokia might improve their S60 apps to embrace these. Especially for the E90, the ultimate 'business' device.
Re: Martin and Psions. Come on, the whole point about the rise and rise of convergence and the success of smartphones is that people DON'T want to carry around two boxes. With the aforementioned PIM improvements and the E90 hardware, I think Nokia would have got just about 'there'.
Steve
I remain a two box person, since, amongst others, I still haven't found a good way to type on a phone which I'm holding to my ear....and because of that I guess I'm divergent, not convergent.
Because I have a second box which remains through the times - a much needed terra firma or continuum contrasting the FMCG nature of Symbian devices - I do not have to go through the repeated pains of moving my contacts, agenda etc from device to device.
And afterall, what are we talking about, a few hectograms....it's worth it.
It depends if you mean market share or actual sales.
Phones have spread round the globe in the time between the E90 and the original 9000 series Communicators, so I wouldn't be surprised if the actual sales and profits made from the E90 vastly exceed those of its predecessors simply because there are now several times more people buying phones and smartphones.
However, there's obviously a lot more diversity and competition now in the PDA/Smartphone field, and that will probably hit its market share.
But it's the actual sales, not the market share, that determine profits. It's better to have a reasonable share of a huge cake than a large share of a small cake.
a real commie killer... now I started to have real doubts... Although I like the commies format better, the WM6 seems to appeal to me more than the S60 (unfortunately as I wish it was the other way round)
What you mean, of course, is that the [U]subtleties[/U] of Outlook's data structure, such as [U]task notes[/U] and [U]categories[/U], aren't synced over. And I fully support the idea that Nokia might improve their S60 apps to embrace these. Especially for the E90, the ultimate 'business' device.[/quote]
These aren't "subtleties" they are the kind of tools that are bread and butter for power users. Who is the E90 intended for for if not business power users? Pray tell.
Also on some earlier comments, just my personal opinion but I dont find megapixels in current smartphones to be relevant at all. 3MP, 1.3, the are both pretty mediocre, mostly for the the use of the marketing dept and neither remotely coming close to threatening a digital camera. So whether WM has 1.3 or 3MP really is irrelevant to the size of the package.
So you are converged if you use E90 with Outlook (on another OS i might add), but diverged if you use E90 with a Psion 5mx?
And by the way another issue I would raise with MS Office compatibility is: where is the OneNote syncing?
On previous generations of phone this would not be a question at all but OneNote in Office 2007 is not a fantastic and highly useful piece of oganisational software.
If we claim that this is the ultimate business device, again, has anyone at Nokia actually thought about this? Or is it - like the Outlook categories and notes - something they glossed over.
Its all well and good to put out $1000 devices, but really there should be some coherent and clear thought behind the product from a user perspective, rather than trying to wow people with GPS. First make sure I can bring the key data I own on my PC before you are trying to sell me "enhanced services" - otherwise, the tail starts to wag the dog.
This sort of stuff is exactly why Nokia's Enterprise devices division is doing poorly and laying people off.
on my WM5 device (HTC Universal) I cannot sync categories for Outlook Notes! Even M$ can't everything right. And WM5 can't even render HTML emails! If you don't like the E90 don't buy one. Also my 2MP P990 outshines the camera and video on my HTC Universal. And my K800i camera quality is in a different league to any HTC device I have used (Universal & TyTN).
Also please name ONE WM device that is a phone size package that has ALL the following: 3G/UMTS, HSDPA, GPS & 3MP camera (or even a 2MP camera).
love the technical chat but is it worth all the hype. do i ditch the 950 and go for it.
keep it simple for the lay menyhs
Main Navigation
|
» Home (1) » News (2) » Reviews (3) |
» Features (4) » Media (5) » Forums M | Full (6) » Top (9) |
Advert
no links availablemobile.allaboutsymbian.com