Nokia E90: First impressions

by Volker Weber

Here is quick write-up of the first few hours with the E90. You will find plenty of feature reviews, so let's just cut to the impressions and not the boring facts.

Even if you are accustomed to using large smartphones, you cannot help but classify the E90 as huge. Reminds me of this scene:

[Dundee is threatened by a mugger with a switchblade]
Sue Charlton: Mick, give him your wallet.
Michael J. "Crocodile" Dundee: What for?
Sue Charlton: He's got a knife.
Michael J. "Crocodile" Dundee: [chuckling] That's not a knife.
Michael J. "Crocodile" Dundee: [Dundee draws a large Bowie knife]
Michael J. "Crocodile" Dundee: *That's* a knife.
[Dundee slashes the teen mugger's jacket. He and his friends run away]
Michael J. "Crocodile" Dundee: Just kids having fun. You alright?
Sue Charlton: I'm always all right when I'm with you Dundee.

Like a Bowie knife, there really is no proper way to carry this thing in your clothes. The E61 fits in a short pocket (flat, wide) or in the inside pocket of a jacket. I can fit it in my (baggy) pants. The E90 however is going to draw some jokes (Are you happy to see me, or is that a Communicator in your pocket?). Definitely bigger than the 9300 but smaller than the 9500. And quite heavy at 210 g.

Seven smartphones

Once you get over the sheer size, it is a beauty. The case is not black but a very dark brown. The metal hinges look sturdy, but I don't want to test them. All the wires run through them, so there is no concealed ribbon like the 9300 had. Is it fast? Well, sort of. Much much faster than the 9300, but faster than the E61i? No, not really. I would call it fast enough.

What have I done so far? Downloaded the iSync plugin from Nokia, added the E90 to the trusted Bluetooth devices on my Mac, synced all calendars and contacts to the phone, set up the internet connection so I can use it as a modem. Installed Mail for Exchange and configured my hosted Exchange account. Put the device into Direct Push mode. Took a few photos and was really underwhelmed. The E61 has the inferior camera, but it works much better. Maybe I need to practice a little bit.

I also tried to use the barcode reader which uses the camera, and tried my luck with the navigation software. So far I have been unable to get a GPS fix. This is not as good as SirfSTAR III receiver, not by a wide margin.

The keyboard is wonderful. Only to be used with both hands, but very easy to type on. The screen is just a beauty. The resolution does not fit this margin, so you have to click through to see the full screenshots:

Nokia E90 message

Nokia E90 browser

Alternative links for people without a Flickr account: message and full screen browser.

[To be continued ...]

Comments

It's slower than the E61i? I've gotta tell you, after using the US-based E61 for a few months... unless they've made some SERIOUS improvements on the time it took to launch applications and browse email messages, that's quite a scary statement. My E61 was DOG slow when compared to my other smartphones, namely my Cingluar 8125/HTC Wizard and my Blackberry 8800.

I would wait a good second for an email message to open, or several to get an application to load. Also, the inability to mark multiple documents as read/unread was the final straw. Did they really make that much of an improvement with the E61i, and if so, how would you compare this to a Pearl or 8800 as far as functional speed (browsing through emails, launching browser and other applications, etc.).

Chris Toohey, 2007-06-21

The E90 is not slower.

Symbian smartphones are a lot slower than Blackberry 8xxx when reading messages. Loading apps is a different matter. Just depends on how much is preloaded.

Volker Weber, 2007-06-22

Hi

I found your blog today by a google "e90" alert, as I am looking to buy an E90 to upgrade from my 9500.

questions if you dont mind:

Does it sync with exchange perfectly ? (although I going to use open source Zimbra)

Where did you buy one, and how much are they in Germany?

what on board software does the GPS use?

cheers

adrian steele
mercian labels ltd

dr adrian steele, 2007-06-22

Short answers if you don't mind:

1. Have not tried full sync with Exchange but assume it will.
2. It's not yet available in Germany. Street prices.
3. Nokia Maps v3.0 wk17 OpenGL OpenBit MN.

Volker Weber, 2007-06-22

Thanks for this nice post.

Can the E90 realy be used as a modem with a Mac?

This would be great! ;-)

Christoph Ehscheidt, 2007-07-06

I can confirm it works as a modem with the proper modem script.

Volker Weber, 2007-07-07

Is there actually a way to sync your mail on a Mac with the E90 without an Exchange Server?

Because I have no clue how that works...


cheers

Teymur Madjderey, 2007-07-12

Of course. IMAP would be the default choice.

Volker Weber, 2007-07-12

thanks Volker.

I'll have to look into that too :-)


hopefully Gmail supports IMAP at some point.

Teymur Madjderey, 2007-07-13

it still is a shame you cant sync your mail with a mac, as you do with a windows pc... I still dont understand this.

Teymur Madjderey, 2007-07-16

how do you sync the e90 to a mac. i have just got the mac pro desktop
tks
pierre

pierre crocquet, 2008-04-17

Nokia has an excellent website you should visit. Download the iSync plugin and then add your phone.

Volker Weber, 2008-04-17

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