Black Nokia E90 impressions

As I sit here with both my E71 and the black E90 from WomWorld I am all the more certain that this will have to be the final farewell. There is no doubt that I would love to continue this steadfast devotion to the E90 that has been a part of my smartphone activity for such a long time, but circumstances have caused me to think differently. After a couple days of limited Internet speeds via quad-band access to an EDGE-only network, my smartphone usage (or my patience) simply began to outgrow the E90's potential. Slow updating of my email in the Messenger app along with poor call performance within my home wrought with structural two dead zones have proved to be too much of an inconvenience for me to tolerate. After the initial smartphone shock of dealing with these issues, I moved my SIM card back to the E71 and only used the E90 sporadically (if at all).

After spending so much time with the faster, more reliable and MUCH more portable E71 with its 3G connectivity, I am no longer as smitten with the E90 as I used to be when I had received my first red model a long while ago. This is really a shame since the E90 is not really a bad device at all for average use, but my hunger for faster 3G speed and better qwerty accessibility has prevailed and solidified my allegiance to the E71. Even if Nokia had provided an update that would have allowed for the E90 to adopt 3G support, there is still the issue of the Communicator's bulk and form factor to deal with in my everyday use. I have found the OS on the E90 to be a bit slower than the E71 in regards to responsiveness with operating applications, and the PRICELESS feature of bluetooth tethering with the E71 has also been another considerable factor against this grand clamshell device. While I never had to deal with these issues many months ago while owning my first E90, times have changed for the mobile phone market as well as the cellular carriers that support it. At this point it is only wise to admit that the capabilities of the E90 are no longer able to meet my demands in a smartphone, and I must move on with the E71 in the meantime.

The times when I did use the E90 seemed to be perfectly fine for typical texting and voice calls when outside of my home. Additional uses such as YouTube viewing, email managing and Internet surfing are great on wifi and somewhat tolerable on the EDGE network for AT&T, especially on that amazing widescreen display! Listening to over 2000 audio tracks in the Music Player via the stereo speakers is always a grand pleasure to experience on the Communicator during prolonged periods of writing with the full qwerty. This now brings me to that expanse of alphanumeric, shortcut and directional keys that consistently proves to be unmatched by ANY other smartphone device on the market right now. The feedback on the qwerty and numeric keys upon unboxing the device don't seem to be as spongy and soft as the previous red and mocca models I had owned and almost reflects that of the HTC Touch Pro and TyTN 2. I do notice an initial difference in the qwerty since it appears to be much flatter than the previous generation and has no raised keys to encourage remnants of key prints on the screen display. The glossy black appearance of this phone really adds a classic and professional look that I wholeheartedly welcome and prefer over the mocca and red versions. Aside from these noticeable elements everthing else about this device basically acts in the same way that I can remember from the my previous versions. The navigation of the UI and the performance of the camera are all the standard fare in high-end Nokia ESeries models.

One software addition that really impresses me happens to be an app called SkyeQuiKey. This appears to be a way to efficiently access contacts and apps depending on certain keys being pressed on a numerical keypad and reminds me of a similar feature on my E71 and Treo 750. This greatly increases the ease of use when the E90 is in closed mode and keeps me from wanting to automatically open the flip to the full keypad.

Even when coming to terms that this E90 no longer has any use for my personal needs, there is still a bit of charm that strikes the heart of me from its benefits. This is why I have mixed feelings about doing away with the Communicator to remain with my E71 and anticipate the arrival of the N97. As the new year of 2009 comes into full effect and I prepare to end a lengthy holiday weekend and return to night classes, I now rebox this black E90 to send it on its way back to WomWorld. It has been a great ride while it lasted, and I will still have the memories from the many pictures and movies that I had created with this device.

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Trentonn Smith
Blogger, TRENT SENSE
trentonnsmith.blogspot.com