Hands-on test of Nokia's 9290
 
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Nokia's latest entry in the world of converged devices (cell phones with PDA-like functions) arrived on my desk recently. The Nokia 9290 Communicator has started shipping in the U.S., although a similar model, the 9210, has been in Europe for a while. Nokia sells the 9290 for about $600 through its Web site, with service plan activation in the U.S. through VoiceStream.
At first glance, the 9290 Communicator looks like a throwback to the olden days of cell phones that looked (and felt) like a brick. In fact, on the surface the 9290 looks like a standard Nokia cell phone with a lot of empty space at the bottom. The top right edge is slightly angled, causing one co-worker to comment that it looked like Gumby.
The reason why the phone looks larger than it needs to be is the convergent part. In a neat little trick, the phone opens up like a clam shell to reveal the PDA/handheld computer. It's this part that will make your colleagues go "ooh" and "ahh."
With a look similar to Hewlett-Packard's old Jornada handheld computer, the top half of the 9290 clam shell holds the color display. The bottom half holds a full QWERTY keyboard and other buttons to access applications and for navigation.
The phone part runs on the GSM circuit-switched network. Anyone familiar with Nokia phones will recognize the menu/keypad operations. An odd feature is that to use the phone without the included headset (that is, holding it to your ear), you have to turn the phone's display away from you. Walking through an airport talking to the back of the phone might get you some funny looks.
On the PDA side, the 9290 integrates with personal information manager software such as Outlook and Lotus Notes (calendar, contacts, etc.). It also has a telephone directory, e-mail capabilities (and Short Message Service), Internet surfing (including Wireless Application Protocol and normal HTML-type browsing), and extras such as a calculator, alarm clock, image viewer and voice recorder (which can play MP3 files after you convert them to WAV files via the included converter application). The Office button gives access to Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents, letting you create, view and edit these types of files (except PowerPoint, which is "view only"). For expansion, the 9290 Communicator has a SecureDigital/MultiMedia Card slot. This can be used to store extra documents or applications.
All these applications loaded onto the 9290 gave me the feeling that I could leave the laptop at home when going on the road. While the keypad was not as great as a laptop's, it wasn't awful either. Being able to view and edit Word and Excel files is a very cool feature.
A big downside to the device is its reliance on the GSM network for data transfer. Because of its circuit-switched nature, the GSM network is painfully slow for e-mail and Internet connectivity. This is even more of an issue when you consider other converged devices that can (or soon will) access higher-speed General Packet Radio Service and Code Division Multiple Access 2000 1xRTT networks.
On the plus side, the coverage area for GSM is a lot greater than the high-speed networks, so users will be able to use the 9290 in more areas. While the device will not give real-time access to corporate e-mail, as with the BlackBerry's "push" method, it can be used to pull down corporate e-mail. Nokia says a third-party application called Active Mail can help users get that "BlackBerry" feeling.
Still, if your users tend to send and receive a lot of e-mail, there's still no competition with the BlackBerry. However, if your users don't need their e-mail immediately and need to do a lot of file editing (such as in Word and Excel), the 9290 Communicator might be a good fit.
Contact Reviews Editor Keith Shaw
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