Nokia’s E90 is the latest addition to its Communicator range of high-power phones with laptop capabilities and mobile office functionality

Nokia’s E90 is the latest in a long line of Communicators: all of them relatively large for mobile phones or smartphones;  all of them with clamshell designs that protect a built-in keyboard and a large wide-format screen. With each evolution of the Communicator format, Nokia has added more features, and the E90 is no different.

When the first Communicators appeared, there were few devices to compete with Nokia. Today, however, we have smartphones aplenty to choose from and Nokia’s E90 exists in a much more competitive environment.
On the other hand, smartphones with seriously usable keyboards are relatively rare and today Nokia seems to pretty much own the clamshell smartphone format.

We have to assume that anyone considering buying a Communicator has already accepted the fact that the phone will be no waif and this particular model measures 132x57x20mm and weighs 210g.

If being picky, we could argue that the front number pad isn’t as large as the available space could allow it to be, although the keys are nonetheless pretty sizeable. The front screen, too, looks a little lost in its surroundings, being just two diagonal inches in size, but its 240x320 pixels make it sharp and clear.

With the Nokia E90’s bonnet closed, there is no problem accessing contacts, making voice calls, creating SMS messages, using Bluetooth and doing all the other things you’d normally do with a Symbian S60 handset. You can even use the number pad to tap out text or browse the web. But why bother?
Lift the lid and you will discover the real point of the E90. A screen measuring about 3.3 inches wide and 1.6 inches tall delivers 352x800 pixels. This is enough to show web pages exactly as nature intended. If you’ve got an application running on the front screen, incidentally, opening the clam will display it on the widescreen.

The clamshell locks at 90°. A gentle nudge lets you open it further and it sits at whatever angle works for you, right up to 180°, i.e laying flat on the desk.

The screen isn’t touch-sensitive and that may disappoint people who are more used to the new raft of stylus-operated Windows Mobile devices. However, the S60 interface is replicated inside the clamshell, often somewhat tweaked to suit the wide-screen format. It includes the familiar soft menu key options, so the general look and feel is familiar enough. In addition, there are many shortcut keys incorporated into the keyboard area. All in all, getting around and making use of everything the E90 Communicator has to offer shouldn’t be a problem.

It’s also worth taking a little time to consider the build quality, which is very good indeed. The casing is solid – part of the reason for that 210g of weight, we suppose. But it is a price we think is worth paying because if you own one of these devices, it is going to spend a lot of time rattling around in bags and briefcases and good protection will be important.

The Nokia E90 Communicator runs Symbian OS 9.2 with the S60 platform on top. So, along with the software you’d associate with the numerous features on offer, there are applications for diary and contact management and other goodies like Nokia’s barcode reader.

The Adobe PDF reader is built in, and QuickOffice is here too – you can use this to create Microsoft Word or TXT format documents, Excel format spreadsheets and read PowerPoint documents. The Nokia PC Suite is provided for PC synchronisation and a mini USB cable comes in the box too. There’s plenty more, but that’ll do for starters.

You’re not limited to the provided built-in software. Not every application written for Symbian S60 3rd Edition will run on the Nokia E90 Communicator – a certain amount of tweaking is required by the software authors. But there is already plenty that has been tweaked, and no doubt more will come along as the Nokia E90 Communicator establishes itself. With Java on board too, there is plenty of scope for third-party applications, and the 128MB of free on-board memory, plus the provided 512MB microSD card, should be enough storage to keep most happy.

The Nokia E90 Communicator won’t appeal to everyone. Some people will grumble that Nokia has abandoned the Series 80 interface that was used in the immediate predecessors to this Communicator. Others will find the E90 just too big to carry around.

The main target group of busy professionals who need to be able to stay in touch while they are out of the office will be drawn, though. Anyone who needs to write emails, edit and prepare documents, and undertake web-based research will find the E90 Communicator instantly appealing.

And we reckon, like its predecessors in the Communicator range, the E90’s reach will be wider than that core group. There is just something about the Communicator that grabs the attention of early adopters, and for all its size and weight, we’ve enjoyed carrying it around while writing this review.

The E90: Up close and personal ( see photo 3 for layout )
1 Call and End Call buttons
You can start and end calls with the clamshell opened and use handsfree or the built-in speaker

2 3G video calling
This camera lets you make 3G video calls. There is no equivalent on the front screen, so video calls have to be made with the clamshell open

3 Soft menu buttons
If you are used to the soft menus on S60 phones, then using these should be no problem

4 Navigation button
Use the silver button and its central OK button just as you would the navigation button under the screen of a Nokia mobile phone

5 Shortcut buttons
A row of eight buttons takes you quickly to different features of the E90 Communicator. One is the Nokia menu key; one you can programme yourself. The rest take you to Calendar, Notes, Web, Messaging, Contacts and Desk (the home screen)

6 Keyboard
The full QWERTY keyboard has keys which are raised at the front making them easy to tap at. The keyboard is too small to use for touch-typing, but it is big enough for pretty fast two-fingered text entry

7 Bluetooth
This key lets you access the built-in Bluetooth

8 Own Key
A second key with a function you can customise to suit your needs

GPS and navigation
There is a built-in GPS antenna on the Nokia E90 Communicator, which ties in with Nokia’s strategy to bring navigation to the masses. The E90 also has Nokia Maps built-in which means the E90 Communicator can pinpoint your position and cater for route planning. You can even get it to provide turn-by-turn navigation instructions if you are prepared to pay a subscription which is easily done over the air. See www.smart2go.com.
You can use the navigation system with the cover display or the internal one. The internal display gives you a wider view of maps – more akin to what you’d get with a dedicated navigation device than is usual with a mobile phone.

Multimedia
The multimedia capabilities of the Nokia E90 Communicator are not to be sniffed at. Of course, there is a music player, and it can send stereo to Bluetooth headphones, as well as using two speakers on the device itself to deliver loud sound. It is a pity the headset jack is 2.5mm, though, and it is also a shame there are no hardware controls for music.
There is also an FM radio, which will please those who like to catch up with the news or listen to their station of choice while on the road. RealPlayer does the job for video playback.
You can make voice recordings and just for the fun of it, use 3D ringtones.
If you haven’t tried this before, then applying effects to favourites like the Nokia standard ringtone is entertaining.

Images and videos
The 3.2-megapixel camera is on the back of the casing. It has auto-focus and an LED flash unit and it shoots pretty nice pictures. We can’t help wondering what those business users who don’t like camera phones will make of it, but for us, it is a winner. You have to have the E90 closed to use the camera as its smaller screen doubles as the viewfinder.
There is no button dedicated to starting the camera, though a side button takes shots for you. You can capture video at VGA resolution and at up to 30 frames per second.
When it comes to viewing images and videos, you can use either the outer or the inner screen, and Nokia’s Gallery application is present for the task.