The Nokia N90, $900 Camera Phone Reviewed

Lord_of_Tech writes "CoolTechZone.com has reviewed Nokia's N90 cell phones that comes with 2 megapixel camera and a host of other features, and it costs a solid $900 per unit. "The minute you set your eyes on the N90, the first thing that springs to your mind is 'it looks a lot slimmer in photos...' but as you take it out of the packaging, you realize the heaviness of it. To be very clear at the outset though, this is not Nokia's attempt to produce as sleek a phone as the Motorola Razr. What it is designed to be is a feature packed phone that doesn't mind compromising on the ergonomics to pack in every last bit of functionality you could ever want on a camera phone."

Comments

Tiny quibble with the review

[FidelCatsro]

One small , perhaps insignificant problem with the review.
It goes in-depth with all the features of the phone rather well, it does however miss one thing.

How good is it as an actual phone?
What does it sound like when making a call?
Is the antenna any use?
How is the microphone?

This is something rather important to me when buying a phone.. being that it is the primary purpose of the thing.

Good review of all the features though, I won't touch this phone with a barge-pole if the review is correct (and the price tag so inordinate ).

PS: I took the liberty of coral caching the site , it was taking a while to load pages when I was reading the review http://www.cooltechzone.com.nyud.net:8090/index.ph p?option=content&task=view&id=1915

Re:Tiny quibble with the review

[pasokon]

The review really doesn't tell you anything... try this http://www.mobileburn.com/review.jsp?Id=1689 for a decent review, with real pics of the phone and interface, as well as sample shots from the camera.

Re:Tiny quibble with the review

[yogix]

"Hey - the 90s called. They want your concerns back..."

I have been using Nokias (and other mobile phones) for over 10 years here in India. While some of the earlier models did have issues in these areas, in my experience, NONE of the current models do...

The problems that they do suffer from are mainly usability issues such as sluggishness of software, bad layout of keys and so on.

So although every time a cam-phone is mentioned on Slashdot someone brings up the 'mic and antenna' issue and how a 'phone should be just a phone', I really don't think these newer phones have a problem in that area any more.

[DISCLAIMER: This is of course based on my own experiences with several cam / non-cam phones I have used. Your mileage may vary...]

-YoGiX

oblig

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, but can it make phone calls?

Re:oblig

[DarkVader]

Well, I was never one of the people who really wanted a camera in my phone. I did want bluetooth, so I could use it as a modem with my iBook.

So, I got a motorola v551 - which happened to have a camera. I didn't object to a camera enough to bother finding a phone without one.

And then, I was at my girlfriend's business one night - and an eagle decided to eat a pigeon in the doorway.

Without a camera phone, I'd have missed getting pictures of that. So, I guess I'm glad my phone had one.

Re:oblig

[scovetta]

And then, I was at my girlfriend's...

A hundred thousand /.ers expected a different ending to that sentence.

N91

[pr0nbot]

Not sure why this was posted to slashdot... it's just another phone.

The one you want is the N91, which has 802.11g wi-fi.

This phone is a travesty.

[generic-man]

I will absolutely not buy this so-called "phone." For $900 I can get:

1. A Nintendo DS on which to play games
2. A small 4-megapixel camera with which to take photos
3. An Archos PXF-78-MNpL-1 Personal Media Player Jukebox that will extract the photos, sew them into a DivX movie, synchronize with all seven of my Linux boxen, and perform many other tasks that an iPod cannot do
4. A free cellular phone from any carrier I wish
5. A portable DVD player on which I will watch movies
6. A large backpack to haul this around

As is common in these discussions, I believe I speak for everyone in this forum when I state that because I do not want this product, none of you should ever even consider purchasing it.

</coffee>

Re:This phone is a travesty.

[killmenow]

I will absolutely not buy this so-called "phone." For $900 I can get:

1. Hookers
2. Blow

I already have a digital camera and a cellphone and if my digital camera's batteries die after I photograph myself with the hooker, I can still use my phone to call my dealer for blow.

Japanese cell phones

[Bueller_007]

The "West" is so far behind in mobile phone technology. For only $200, I can get this phone in Japan:
http://www.vodafone.jp/english/products/model_3G/v 903t/index.html

It's completely bilingual (although I don't think it has predictive text in English mode), has a 2 MB camera, global roaming (and global GPS navigation (although only five or six countries are available at the moment)), can take video calls, communicate via Bluetooth or IR, read QR codes (very convenient in Japan). The Nokia N90 can't even vibrate when it's in silent mode. WTF? That's pretty much par for the course over here. And the Nokia is $700 more? If you can switch this phone to work on a Verizon account back home, it's almost worthwhile to buy a ticket to Japan, buy the phone and then fly back.

Even the free phones you get with a new account over here have AT LEAST a 1 MB camera. Some have 2. Some of the newer Sharp phones even have built-in optical zoom.

Vodafone is generally looked down upon by the Japanese people. NTT Docomo probably have even better phones available.

Weight Issue

[canfirman]

CoolTechZone.com has reviewed Nokia's N90 cell phones that comes with 2 megapixel camera and a host of other features, and it costs a solid $900 per unit. "The minute you set your eyes on the N90, the first thing that springs to your mind is 'it looks a lot slimmer in photos...' but as you take it out of the packaging, you realize the heaviness of it..."

However, at $900, the weight issue can be easily compensated by the lightness you now feel in your wallet.

Safety

[HermanAB]

Talking on a phone is dangerous while driving, so Nokia decided to drop that feature...