My thoughts about the black E90
Posted by Christian Titze in E-Series, E90, Nokia, Review
I’ve used the black Nokia E90 communicator for over one week now. In this post I want to share my thoughts about this device with you.
The E90 was anounced at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in early 2007 besides the E61i and the E65. Since the device is available there are quite a few problems like the internal keypad that is touching the screen. With the black E90 Nokia wanted to fix the problems – but have they successfully fixed all the problems? This post will find it out!
Advantages:
- great Design
- full QWERTY-keyboard
- huge & sharp internal screen
- keys on the front have a firm pressure-point
- good camera with flash and autofocus
- good loudspeakers
- miniUSB
- great build quality
Disadvantages:
- small front-display
- only 2.5mm headphone jack
- bad camera-key
- internal screen is a fingerprint-magnet
- internal navigation key is too small
As you can see in the advantages/disadvantages lists above there are a some points I don’t like about this device.
Positive aspects:
The E90 features a full QWERTY-keypad that I very like. The new, flatter keys of this improved E90-version are just great. The have some kind of “soft” pressure-point nevertheless you can press them very well. They have a very low lightning, but in the dark you can see all the keys properly. You have to turn on the lightning of the QWERTY-keypad manually with a special key.
The internal screen is just great. It has a resolution of 800 x 352 pixels, so it is very sharp. I haven’t seen a sharper screen in a mobile phone before. The user-experience while surfing in the web is great. Because the screen is so wide you can see the websites almost as on your computer. The screen is also readable in bright conditions e.g. in the sun. The screen has no extra plastic-protection in front of the LCD – it is like the N95’s display.
The camera of the E90 is great. It has 3.2 Megapixels with autofocus. The pictures are sharp and clear. They even look good on a big computer-screen. I think you definitely can compare this business-device with the K800i from Sony Ericsson. The video recording is in VGA-resolution at 30 frames per second – very impressive for a business-device. You can find great image-samples here.
This business-device is a great allrounder: It also features very impressive stereo speakers. The speakers are placed on the backside of the device. They aren’t as good as the N95s’ loudspeakers, but just bear in mind that the E90 is designed for business-users. The sound of the loudspeakers is loud and clear and they are placed well.
Negative aspects:
Let’s start with the small front display. There are no doubts that the E90 is a big device. On the front there is so much free space Nokia could have used. I think that the display as well as the keys could be a little bit bigger, but especially the display.
The E90 features a 2.5 mm headphone jack. I like the idea of a “real” headphone jack, but I don’t like that it is a 2.5 mm. I would prefer a 3.5 mm headphone jack, because almost all the MP3-Players, iPods and other gadgets have such a 3.5 mm headphone jack. If you own a phone with such a 3.5 mm jack you will not need to buy new headphones if you want to use them with it.
The worst aspect of the whole phone is definetely the camera-key. Come on Nokia, what the hell should this camera-key be? First of all it is too small. It is very hard to capture a photo with it. You will need to press it half way down to use the autofocus, okay no problem here. But if you want to capture the focussed image you need to press the key exactly on an extremely small pressure-point. The other bad aspect is that you can only press the key aslope. This should be definitely fixed in the next communicator.
The last negative point about this device is the navigation key on the QWERTY-keyboard. I don’t like it very much because it is some kind of too small. I have small fingers although I can’t use it properly. I would prefer if it would be a little bit bigger, because sometimes I press the middle of the navipad instead of some direction.
At last I want to say that I like the black E90 communicator very much. All in all it is a great device with a perfect build-quality. There are some disadvantages but they aren’t that big – You can live with them. The only thing I really hate is definitely the camera-key.
If you have questions or suggestions about my thoughts leave a comment!
Related posts:
Will the keyboard of this E90 Black touch the screen if the clamshell is closed?
Very good description of the device. I have few questions if you can answer I would be grateful.
It is a fact that the newer version of E90 Communicator has got flatter QWERTY keys, which I assume do not touch internal screen anymore when Closed. Unlike the previous one.
Q1. I am interested in the MOCHA Color E90, does newer version of MOCHA E90 also come with same Flatter QWERTY Keys? or this change is Limited only to BLACK E90?
Q2. When you browse a certain website can you save images from the website onto the Memory Card of the Phone?
Q3. Can you SELECT, COPY & PASTE any kind of text when using the web browser?
Q4. Can you save web pages?
Q5. Is the material used in BLACK E90 same as N95 8GB BLACK, I mean is the BLACK E90 Glossy Finish on the external side or Matt Finish like MOCHA E90?
Q6.
Hi Titze!
Very good description of the device & beautiful pictures. I have few questions for you.
It is a fact that the newer version of Nokia E90 Communicator has got flatter QWERTY keys, which I assume do not touch internal screen anymore when Closed. Unlike the previous MOCHA E90.
Q1. I am interested in the MOCHA E90, does newer version of MOCHA E90 also comes with same Flatter QWERTY Keys? or this change is Limited only to BLACK E90?
Q2. When you browse a certain website can you save images from the website onto the Memory Card?
Q3. Can you SELECT, COPY & PASTE any kind of text when using the web browser? to say: NOTES or SMS
Q4. Can you save web pages?
Q5. Is the external finish of BLACK E90 same as BLACK N95 8GB, I mean, whether BLACK E90 has got Glossy Finish on the external side just like N95 8GB or Matt Finish like MOCHA E90?
Q6. Apart from “GLOBAL RACE” are there any good GAMES available, that can be played on the Wide Internal Screen of E90? not on the 2 inch Mini External Screen.
Q6. Can you save YouTube Videos?
Q7. Can you watch YouTube Videos FULL SCREEN or PARTIAL on the internal screen?
Finally I want a UNBIASED, HONEST thought of yours on Apple iPhone and its features compared to Nokia E90 Communicator.
Simply because I have been waiting for the Newer Version of E90 Communicator since last few months, but ever since I had an opportunity to experience iPhone & its awesome Multi-Touch UI, I am confused & unable to firmly decide on E90.
Though iPhone has its share of negatives, it is still pulling the Nokia & Symbian Fan in me towards it.
Kindly give your thoughts…….
Thanks,
Abusha
INDIA
Most common error while installing Symbian Application on E-Series Phone:
On E-Series phone default installation of Symbian Self signed application is OFF. To install self signed application on E-Series phone you need to change default setting as:
TOOLS>Appl Mgr>Options>Settings> Software Installation “All”.
Default value is Signed only.
@ changi:
No, the keypad won’t touch the screen if the communicator is closed.
@ Abusha:
You can call me Christian
Here your answers:
1. Some E90’s in the color “Mocca” have the new keypad. But they’re very, very rare.
2. Yes, you can save the images onto the memory card of the phone.
3. As far as I tested it you can’t copy & paste any text from a website if you can’t edit the text.
4. Yes, you can save websites.
5. It has a glossy surface like the N95 8GB, but the black E90 looks more nobly because the black is some kind of brighter.
6. I can’t say anything about if there are more games designed for the E90’s internal screen, but Global Race looks just great on this huge screen.
7. If you choose “Fullscreen” from the menu the video is partial on the left side of the screen.
It’s hard to compare iPhone and E90. iPhone is more Multimedia and the E90 is a business-device. If you want a device for the office you should take the E90. The E90 has a better camera than the iPhone and I like a real keyboard more than a touch-keyboard. But all in all it’s your decision – I would take the E90.
Thank you, Christian.
for answering all my questions, now the ball is my court. I am used to Symbian OS & Nokia Mobile Phones since last 5 years. Its hard to shift to any other OS or any other Brand for that matter.
Simply because Nokia is the Best in the Business, with due respect to other Popular Brands like SONY Ericsson, Samsung etc. which also run on Symbian OS.
Well, iPhone is definitely one AWESOME, MULTI-MEDIA DEVICE, which lacks few great features. As it is couple of months from its First Official Launch in India, so the waiting period is Long Enough for me to go for E90.
As for the usage, Its basically both Multi-media & Business.
More of Texting, Emails, Web Browsing, YouTube Videos. Little bit of Camera, Music, Games & very little of GPS.
Anyways, I need to see the BLACK E90 physically to decide between BLACK or MOCCA, if I finally decide to go in for E90.
If ever iPhone is launched in India for the said price of $199 & that too Contract Free “UNLOCKED”. Which is HIGHLY UNLIKELY.
then I can have BEST of Both the Worlds.
Thanks once again Christian,
Can you post your email id?
I would like to share more on E90.
Abusha.
Hey Abusha,
You can find my e-mail in the category “About Symbian World” on the right column under the search engine.
Thanks,
Chris
How many days can battery work without charging?
Thanks,
IM
It’s hard to say something about the battery life because I haven’t paid so much attention to it. But it definitely is good – I would say about 5 days up to one week.
Wow thats great!
I`ve read some other reviews and the battery can last up to 2 days max with average use!
Thanks,
IM
hi.I’m 13 and thinking of getting the e90 or iPhone or n96. I really like the e90 but does it have enough space for a girl like me I really liked the keyboard that’s a reason I wanted it.. the others I like cuz I’m more like a multimedia person but I also liked the e90 I heard that theres a 16 gb e90 is that true? what do u think I should get?? can u plz reply to my email: aliya.f@hotmail.com thnks for ur time…I really need help in deciding
Is that the real black e90? The back of the official nokia e90 (see nokia website) looks rather different… it has a sort of rim at the edges of the back cover which the red and mocca version don’t have. Yours don’t have it either ….
Many backcovers crack under the keypad and they solved this with the black version (I think …. because I don’t tried it yet)
@ lili:
If you want multimedia buy the upcoming N96 or think about the iPhone – I would prefer the N96 because of the S60 OS, but it’s your decision.
@ John:
Yeah, it’s the real one – I received it directly from WOM World.
[...] | Files under Cellulari – Palmari – Smartphone, PC Hardware Christian Titze ci propone, tramite Symbianworld, la sua opinione riguardo al Nokia E90 in veste nera, che a me sembra più professionale e stiloso [...]
In answer to the question about copying and pasting in the web browser, I built a site for myself called http://mobitol.com so that I could cut, copy and paste text from websites and open new windows on my e61i. Not sure if this will help for e90 users but it should function the same. It pops the text from whatever website you want into a text editing field so that it can be edited. I’d be interested to hear if it works for you.
http://mobitol.com
Every time i come here I am not dissapointed, nice post