My Initial Impressions!. Review on Nokia N90

Just a day before I purchased this new monster! I am still exploring its features which are plenty. This handset will provide you an opportunity to know your phone better and improve your vocabulary in mobile terminologies.

The only reason which motivated me to buy this model is the attractive exchange prize offered for my older Nokia 6600 model. I had spent two years with that model and Nokia gave me a replacement when it was around 1 one year old.

For those who are interested in knowing the spec kindly refer Nokia’s website.

I will be focusing my review on very few areas and with my limited exposure considering the fact that I have been using this only for a day or two. I would strongly suggest those who are about to invest heavily on mobile handsets NOT to consider my review as guideline.

Build Quality:

Definitely the phone sounds sturdy when you look it inside the box with chrome plated sides and heavy looking case. But you would be surprisingly finding it lighter than what it actually looks like. Still you can see plastic appearances backside and inside. Over all I would rate 3.5/5. I expected totally rugged material and a heavy clamshell model. This model is easily scratch prone due to heavy exposures of its critical areas.

Features:

This phone is a 3G (UMTS/WCDMA/GSM/EDGE), beautiful LCD panels, extensive Camera with good optics, Bluetooth, solid 64 MB, plus Memory expansion, good software, Good call management features etc…This phone will be a decent second/third step for serious mobile users & geeks who closely follow latest mobile trends.

But for those who are not restless may wait till end of first Quarter of 2006 for more new models like N91, N92 etc…which are sporting with 3 Mega Pixel cameras. My guess is that price may drop further but not significantly [it will be around 25-30K for sometime].

On the negative side, this phone does not come up with Vibration alert.

Since Indian providers do not have 3G infrastructure I can not talk about its Video streaming capabilities.

Over all we can give 4/5 for Features list.

Call:

I use GSM network and the voice clarity is really amazing. This comes with total noise (background) reduction and it gives you an impression that the person is really whispering in your ears; while it saves your energy and privacy by transmitting your voice to the receiving end without having to shout or reveal your all private conversation to your immediate neighbors.

Again it stands out at 4.5 / 5

Camera:

This is the main catch in this model which comes with Carl Zeiss optics which is the trade mark of premium photography. Pictures taken using this Digicam are really impressive and great amount of details being captured. I am really impressed with its camera work though I myself have a professional digital SLR camera. Camera controls are bit confusing for starters and it may take a while to get you adjusted. But this will not be a showstopper for sure!

My rating would be 4 / 5

Display:

Its dual LCD display panels are pleasure for anybody’s eyes. Mini LCD panel showing the crisp Nokia screen saver is a real treat for your eyes. Even Texts in the word document are clearly visible, over all very pleasing display.

I would give 4.5/5 for this.

Data & Connectivity:

I initially struggled with Bluetooth connection with my PC but once after I restarted my phone (because I already connected my phone with another Bluetooth device) Bluetooth connectivity was real easy. The speed at which files are getting copied from the PC to Phone was amazing.

Due to network limitations in India I will not be able to test its EDGE capabilities.

My rating would be again 4/5

Software:

There are plenty of softwares available for this model; especially, Quick Word Viewer and PDF Viewer are very useful tools. I need to invest more time to explore its software capabilities. Initially, the system may tend to behave slowly since it may be booting for the first time. But if you are willing to wait for few extra milliseconds, what you are going to experience is something phenomenal.

So far so good so my rating would be 4/5

Sound:

I think this phone comes with some sort of 3D sound which clearly distinguishes itself from other predecessor models in the Nokia series. The crystal clear sound of music instruments really rocks. I checked its sound quality by playing various types of music and I am really impressed with over all performance. The volume levels are surprisingly loud enough you may tend to ignore the absence of Vibration (yet this may not be taken lightly under certain circumstances)!

Since the sound levels are impressive I would give 4.5/5

Usability:

This is a clamshell model without Vibration alert. Those people using mobile phones too frequently and also on the move may find this model not a convenient one. For a normal person who does not bogged down with mobile phone calls (and not married to your phone) but use this as a friendly attachment will not find it difficult to use.

I will any way give generous 3.5/5.

Value for Money:

If some one asks whether this phone is a value for money I would reserve my immediate affirmative response.

This is not a normal run in the mill Nokia camera phones but it is addressed to slightly premium markets. So this phone may be expensive for ‘normal’ mobile users. I would strongly recommend this model for those who are upgrading their mobile phones from basic to camera models and those who have extra bucks in their pockets!

Those who already own a decant camera phones with all similar features/capabilities (except may be 2 MP camera & 3G) may wait for better bargain but Nokia will never stop its array of new models. If you have plenty of money, go for it!

I would rate this phone over all 4/5.

Please note: This are my initial impressions.