My E90 review

Question

I have my new Nokia E90 for several weeks now and I had the chance to thoroughly "evaluate" it. I must say I am coming from a Nokia 9300 / 9300i, which means that I am influenced by them (I have used them for over 2 years now)
First the good stuff about the E90:
- SPEED - it is extremely fast compared to 9300i and all functions benefit from this. Everything works as it should be, including Internet browser, meaning that the waiting times are at a minimum on all applications.
- 3G - I do not use video-calling too much, but my God the Internet at 3.5g is fast compared to GPRS ! Internet at high speed makes live much easier, while another very good aspect is the ability to make calls and stay connected on the Internet at the same time (impossible with GPRS).
- You always have the possibility to choose the access point when needing an Internet connection. Every time an Internet connection is required, you are asked which access point should be used. On 9300i this wan only available for Internet Browser, while the E-mail program was much more difficult in this respect.
- Larger inner screen. While 9300i dsipaly was only 640 pixels, E90 has 800. This in a benefit only for Internet browsing, even though most pages these days require 1024. Never the less, a step forward.
- The keyboard is lit (finally) ! Very good !
- The phone software can be up-graded by the user. This is a very smart move from Nokia ! No new software available for Nokia E90 just yet, though.
- It has vibration alert. Good for meetings.
- Power-up is done maybe 5 times faster than 9300 / 9300i. A Big step forward.
- In two weeks my E90 never hanged-up, while 9300i would have hanged-up several times in this time.
The bad stuff:
- Missing shortcuts. Nokia 9300i is GREAT when it comes to shortcuts. The new E90 does not have too many shortcuts and some of them do not even work in all applications. I am especially missing the Ctrl+T for full screen (its lack is most annoying in Internet Browser and Acrobat reader) and the Zoom keys (Chr + arrows up and down) Having a BIG keyboard but being forced to work through the menus to perform simple tasks is AWFUL. A big step back from 9300i.
- Missing buttons on the right of the screen. Not only that E90 has only two buttons on the right of the screen (compared to 9300 / 9300i), but they are normally full with "Options" and "Exit". 9300i was very smart: have important functions on those 4 buttons on the right of the screen, while keeping a proper, computer-like menu on top of the screen. Another step back from 9300i.
- Internet Browser does not allow to open a new window, unless a web page is opening a new window. You do not have anymore the option of opening a link in a new window. So we have now an Internet Browser which is performing slightly better than the one in 9300i, but with fewer functions. Another step back from 9300i.
- E-mails are displayed without the "To:" and "Date:" field, unlike in the 9300i. If you want to see when the message and to whom it was sent, you have to check the "Message details". Again, why the big screen if it in not user properly ?
- No fax. I cannot believe this ! Another step back from 9300i.
- Computer has only basic functions and it does not know the order of operation (in the 21st century !). This is step back compared to the very good computer available on 9300i.
- It does not show the phone number of the person calling, only the name. If a person is calling and the contact has several numbers in memory, you do not know from which number that person is calling from. The 9300i was showing the number on the inner display (not on the outer display though). For me this is a big problem since I have to reject calls from some numbers and accept calls from other numbers, for the same contact name. Of course I can go around it by putting the same person on two contact names with different number, but why ? The displays are huge, so the number of the caller would easily fit on the screen. Another step back from 9300i.
- Search function for contact was very much simplified. You can no longer search a contact by company name, job of phone number. Even though this function was slow in 9300i, at least it worked. Another step back from 9300i.
- Keyboard keys are very stiff. The keyboard on 9300i was perfect in terms of ergonomic (at least for my fingers) They keyboard on E90 gives me cramps on fingers because I have to press much harder on keys.
- Keyboard is touching the screen and leaves grease mark all over it. Very annoying because you have to clean the screen very often.
- No BACK-UP to Memory card function anymore ! I have to keep a back-up copy of the phone in my computer, instead of the memory card. If my E90 gets broken, I will have to connect the new one to a computer. Another step back from 9300i.
- Multitasking have a strange meaning on the E90. You can no longer have opened in the same time the Messaging program and several messages. If you open a message, the entire messaging program is blocked with it. If you want to see two E-mail messages in the same time, you have to close one of them and open the other. Same, if you open a document from File Manager, the entire File Manager is blocked until you close the document. Another MAJOR step back from 9300i.
- Calendar does not show the "Number of years" for anniversaries. Another MAJOR step back from 9300i.
- Notes are no longer on the Desk, but in a separate program. This new program is very good because it searches for E-mail addresses, web addresses and phone numbers in the notes (something which 9300i was not doing), but the notes are no longer sticking on your face. The display is big, why use it ?!
- Text documents (.txt) are opened by default in an viewer which does not allow editing, just viewing (?)
- I do prefer the Office programs (Text editor and spreadsheet editor) on 9300i. Quickoffice might display the documents better, but it has one very annoying "feature": you have to switch from edit mode to viewer mode. Why ?
- I did prefer the Picture Viewer and the Music Player on the 9300i. The new ones want to be smart an search for available pictures / music all over the phone. I just preferred to tell the software which folder I want to see / play. Maybe it is a matter of taste and this was a response to the iPod (which is definitely not on my taste)
The two new major features added on E90:
- GPS is EXTREMELY slow on acquiring the position. I actually use it with an external GPS mouse connected to the phone via Bluetooth. It work 10 times faster !
- CAMERA: all pictures have a blue tint, while the camera button is very hard to be used. On top of this, the long time from the moment the button is depressed until the picture is taken makes the camera almost impossible to use in real life. To obtain acceptable results you need to take pictures in full natural light, on static subject, and with a lot of patience. So forget about the camera. Moreover, in my line of work I am not allowed to enter with a camera phone on some of the customer's premises, so I have to leave the phone outside and change the SIM to another phone.... Why do we not have the choice to have the phone without the camera, like on E50 ?
All in all:
- If you do not count the incredible speed and the 3G, E90 is a step back from 9300i on almost all functions.
- Nokia 9300i was designed for power users, having in mind the person which is using a PC computer at full capacity and expects a similar performance from a Communicator. Nokia E90 was designed for kids who want to show off with an expensive phone, not for power users.
- I was expecting from Nokia just a 9300i communicator with 3G and 10 times the speed. It really does not need anything more, hence the camera or GPS.
- The fact that I can have the same application running both on the large inner screen and on the smaller outer screed is of no use for me. If I wanted to use the applications on the smaller outer screen I would have bought the Nokia N95.
- I do not think I could come back to Nokia 9300i because it is VERY slow compared to Nokia E90. But just for speed and 3G I have to make A LOT of compromises.
- However, if I brake the E90 (which is very easy with a phone of this size), I am not sure I will pay the same money for it again. I will probably buy a new 9300i which is very cheap these days and incredible value for money.
Now, I would very much like to have somebody tell me that I am wrong and that all the features that I am missing so much actually exist and I just did not see them...
August 2007.
2110i, 6150, 6210, 6310i, 6670, 9300, 9300i, E90, E72, HTC Touch Pro2, Samsung Galaxy S, Samsung Galaxy S II

Answer 1

Because my review of E90 has got too long, especially on he not so pleasant issues, I have put together a list of the problems / missing features. Of course, the comparison is with 9300i, so the users of other S60 Nokia phones swill not notice most of them.
Software issues:
1. Missing fax
2. Missing keyboard shortcuts (most of them)
3. No scheduled SMS
4. Only basic computer
5. Browser cannot "Open a link in a new window"
6. Browser has no "Save picture as" function. Images can be saved only working through several menus.
7. Messaging cannot open several messages in the same time
8. E-mail does not display "To:", "Date:" and sender E-mail address (they can be found only in "Message details")
9. Phone does not show the number of the caller, nor the number of the person I'm calling (only the name)
10. No advanced search fucntion for Contacts (search is available only for names, but not for company name, function, address, phone number, etc)
11. No "Back-up to memory card" function
12. Calendar does not show the "Number of years" for aniversaries
13. Strange multitasking (opening a document from File Manager will block File Manager until the document is closed)
14. Mail / calendar software does not support .ics attachments
15. Problems with roaming in Russia
16. Tab key adds 5 spaces instead of moving the cursor to the next field
17. No buffer for the keys pressed in advance
18. Voice recorder can only record 60 seconds (instead of 60 minutes on 9300i)
Hardware issues:
1. Stiff keyboard
2. Keyboard is touching the screen and get it dirty
3. Extremely slow GPS
4. Camera button hard to opperate
5. Pictures taken have a blue tint
If here are any other isues to be added to the list, or those on the list are not correct, please feel free to comment.
2110i, 6150, 6210, 6310i, 6670, 9300, 9300i, E90, E72, HTC Touch Pro2, Samsung Galaxy S, Samsung Galaxy S II