Here's a quick review of the Nokia 9290... Since I previously used a HP200lx (still one of the most utilitarian handhelds around even though it has been a couple of years since it was discontinued), this Communicator review will tend to compare it to the HP200lx.

• General: The Communicator's construction is solid, with no excessive flex when you open it up. It has a nice finish and workmanship.
• Size and weight: The Communicator measures 6.22"L x 1.06"D x 2.2"W and weighs 8.6oz. Most reviews complain that it is a "brick", but it is smaller than the HP200lx and easily carries horizontally on your belt using the corresponding Nokia case. Go here for pictures of the Communicator and HP200lx - side by side - 9290 on top - end view.   I can't imagine that it is possible to shrink a clamshell design any further without an unacceptable loss of screen size and keyboard.
• Screen: The Communicator's screen is 640 x 200 pixels and is really crisp and clear. The backlight has 5 levels. Indoors, I generally keep it at the 'lowest' setting, outside in sunlight it usually is necessary to crank it up a bit. The 9290's screen area is only approx. 66% of that of the HP200lx (actually, since most apps do not utilize the full screen as the default, the used area is only 53% of that of the HP200lx), but the screen is beautiful and very easy to read. Having a backlight is great, and it is bright enough at its maximum setting to see the keys to use the 9290 in total darkness.
• Keyboard: Switching from the HP200lx, the keyboard took some getting used to. The keys are larger but have a much more 'mushy' feel. There are no dedicated function keys, and some of the key locations are less intuitive. However, adjusting for the 'mushiness' and key locations, the 9290 ends up being as easy for 'thumb typing', really the only realistic way to enter text if you use your PDA on the move.
• Battery life: The 9290 has a 1300 mAh Li-lon Battery, rated at Talk/Data/Fax Time up to 10h, and Standby Time up to 9 days. However, since it is also a cell phone I'm in the habit of plugging it in every night (as I was used to doing for my previous cell phone). Due to this I don't really have a good idea for how long the battery might last, but it certainly wouldn't be the month I used to get out of 2 AA's on my HP200lx.
• Built-in software: The built-in software consists of the usual programs - Contacts,   Calendar, Phone/Fax/SMS/Messaging, File Manager, Image Viewer, Clock, Calculator, and an "Office" suite with the ability to edit and write documents and spreadsheets compatible with MS Office programs. The 9290 has a Recorder function that saves recordings as wav files (recording length being dependent on the amount of disk space available...) Having recorded a meeting, I found the playback to be of pretty good quality. The CD that comes with the Communicator has a number of other software packages that can be easily installed on the 9290. The CD also has the PC Suite for Nokia 9290 Communicator software, that allows you to synchronize your calendar, contacts, and e-mail with your desktop, as well as to backup/restore your Communicator. OK, now to the gripes... The calculator software is a pale shadow of the HP200lx calculator and solver software, there is no database application like the flexible database application that comes with the HP200lx, and while you can open Excel spreadsheets the Sheet application is feeble compared to the HP200lx's Lotus application. Amazingly, the Calendar software has no "Location" field when setting up appointments, so although you can synch with Outlook you'll need to guess where your meetings are set up for! The desktop software is also flaky, I've had to uninstall/reinstall it twice after it mysteriously stopped work for no apparent reason. And it's not very fast as you have to use a serial connection, there is no USB.
• Communications: The absolute exception to the normal ease of use of the other Communicator applications is setting up your 9290 Communicator to access your ISP. Here the instructions (manuals, Nokia web site, etc.) are virtually non-existent and you are completely on your own!! If you go to the Communicator section of the Handheld forum on Compuserve you'll find that 90%+ of the traffic consists of plaintive appeals for help connecting Communicators to Compuserve!! It took me a day of futzing around before I could get access to Compuserve (go here for instructions on how to connect.) Another 2 days of fiddling around finally got me access via my Netcom/Earthlink account. This is a totally ridiculous situation for something called a Communicator - Nokia should put specific instructions for the various ISPs on its web site...Also, even though I have it working, it is not 100%. Approximately once out of every 10 connection attempts I get a "Problem connecting Unspecified error" message. The next connect attempt usually succeeds. In addition, once out of every ten connection attempts I connect to Compuserve, but the system starts out in the middle of my connection script instead of at the beginning, causing a communication failure. Putting these together means that I have only a 80% chance of getting a successful connection when I try to go online, which is extremely annoying. Plus the connection is at a measly 9600 baud. Why couldn't it have GPRS??
• Overall Impressions: All things considered, the 9290 Communicator is a nice piece of equipment. Almost everything is very intuitive. On receiving my 9290 I popped in my SIM chip after charging the Communicator, and everything worked right out of the box. I hardly had to touch the manuals at all. It could be improved if it had GPRS, had storage other than a MMC (I have a 64MB MMC, though it seems that 128MB might be available, a lot less storage than when I had a 256MB compact flash with my HP200lx), and better desktop synchronization.

© SNi 11/30/02