Nokia N90: Naughty, nice and neat

When Nokia launched its N-Series, it did so with the N90.

Bulky was the first thought that came to mind. Considering that most of the phones were growing smaller – here’s Nokia introducing a new phone that was not only a clamshell, but a hefty clamshell at that.

I have some misgivings about the clamshell – mainly, if you don’t hold it well it can easily topple over and fall.  The art of using a clamshell phone does not come easy. Balance and a good sense of proportion about the weight of the phone must be taken into consideration. There was a time when the clamshell phones were not too saleable – but, perhaps for reasons of fashion and style, the clamshell is making a comeback. This time perhaps with better balanced phones.

OK, the N90 clamshell came with a double purpose. After all, the phone was touted as Nokia’s state-of-the-art camera phone. Two-megapixel Carl Zeiss Optics is a strong selling point. And in this phone, Nokia has done its homework.  The shots taken with the N90 are great. The N90 is called "the best 3G camcorder phone" by Nokia. It is a camera, video recorder, mini theater and video call (not yet available here) unit all in one.

Better yet, one can take pictures with the use of the lens at the top of the phone which can rotate 180 degrees to capture the subject just as one wants. The other way is to open the phone and rotate the face of the phone so that it takes on the look of one of those funky video cams. If the subject is a sleeping pet who seems to shirk away every time he notices that the camera is focused on him, that’s not a problem. There is a macro mode and a digital zoom that allows one to zoom in 20 times closer.

And then the resolution. This phone comes with 262,144 colors (352 x 416) pixels for the main display. The video zoom is eight times. Neat.

Either way one works the camera of the phone – the pictures are clear. If video clips are what one prefers, they’re great, too.

I tried working the edit options on a video I took of my cute doggie. It was easy enough – especially for someone like me who is no camera expert. And that means it was easy.

And there’s a lot of space in the N90 for storing those picture-perfect memories. It comes with a 124MB memory card.

Another plus with this phone is transferring data – from a Nokia to a Nokia, that is. One can opt to go Bluetooth, sync with a computer or use the transfer function. Either of the ways is easy.

So, you wonder, does it work as a phone?

Yes.

The N90 has all the standard features that come with a Nokia phone. Except perhaps that one can opt to have a different screensaver or wallpaper on the cover of the clamshell and a whole different one when the phone is opened to full size.

When driving, use a hands-free headset, Bluetooth or the cool one that comes with the unit. But in case you were in a hurry when you left your home and forgot your headset, you can answer the N90 by pressing the little button on the side of the phone which activates the loudspeaker function. Connection made, with both hands still on the wheel.

I love ringtones. And this phone has been able to play all the tones I have loaded onto it – from message tones in wav to MP4 and MP3 songs. Perfect.  The only problem is that if I want to hear the whole song I can’t do that as a ringtone – can you imagine keeping a caller on hold for four minutes waiting for me to answer the phone. So, I have learned to keep the ringtones short, and listen to the music when I am driving.

One more thing, the design of the N90. The other day I had a conversation with a few officemates about whether there is such a thing as a gadget for a man or a woman. Of course as far as I am concerned there is no such thing. A gadget is for the user, regardless of gender.

But there are just some gadgets that can be a little bulky for smaller hands. The N90 is one of them. Each time I use the phone, I have to make sure that I get a good grip on it because it could slip.  And perhaps it would be even better if Nokia came up with the phone in funky colors. Cool. The steel look makes the N90 sooo cool.  

Clearly, this is one gadget where function is what the phone makes.