Your mobile… office (Nokia 9210)

Member Name: Jpdm

Product:	Nokia 9210
Date:	04/10/01 (363 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: features, mobile+PDA(?), autonomy

Disadvantages: size, weight

Nokia’s Communicator sets new standards to the sort of applications consumers should expect in the very near future from their mobile phones.
The Nokia 9210 is not a mobile phone that can easily be described. This is simply due to the fact that it offers quite a few heterogeneous characteristics. Despite being a big mobile phone (it’s dimensions are indeed “monstrous”), it offers a huge colour screen (640x200 pixel) with 4096 colours, full keyboard and not forgetting applications such as word processor, spreadsheet and presentation software. It must be noted that the latter are fully compatible with Microsoft’s Office! However, it can not be purely considered as a mobile-PDA, since its screen does not recognise your writing. By all means, its characterisation is not what is most important, simply because its potential is so great that it sets a new category of electronic gadgets for users that are all day on the move.
Contrary to what many users believe, it can never replace a portable computer (i.e. notebook). It does however allow its user to perform basic tasks, valuable to those that live an intense professional life. Surely a lot might wonder who is going to need such a mobile phone. The answer is not a simple one, but one might suppose that it will bridge the gap between a mobile phone and a filofax. Indeed, the 9210 is placed somewhere in that position as far as practicality is concerned, allowing its buyers to do things of such importance that will not think twice before handing around £850 to the cashier. So, someone really busy will be able to read his e-mails, access the Internet, fax something, or even view photos or videos at the colour screen of the device. A very positive detail is that the Nokia 9210 comes inclusive of a 16MB MMC card where the user can store contacts, documents, presentations. For those that are after more memory, extra cards can be added, which can increase the total memory to 128MB
. The whole packet of services is fairly well worked, but it must not be omitted that GPRS is yet to be supported (only HSCSD @ 43.2Kbps), which is something negative in the image it will have to the “power user”.
Because of the large size (thankfully the antenna can be folded) and its increased weight, the 9210 probably fails in the portability sector. However, one such device is most probable to be residing in your briefcase. Very encouraging was its autonomy that reaches 280 minutes of continuous talking. The usability is very high, but the lapse of a touch-sensitive screen spoils the overall feel. Very few functions are also performed from the external keyboard, as most of them are performed through the operating system’s (EPOC 6) menus, giving a clear view of what is we have selected.
Overall, the new Nokia is a unique proposition for its kind, which targets a quite small part of the market that will, though, indeed appreciate its capabilities. Unfortunately, its high price of purchase is not helpful to its public. Despite that it can easily be excused as what it has to offer is not even closely comparable with any other similar device.

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Just the other day I was having a discussion with a colleague from Tokyo. Curiously enough I asked her about the appeal such devices have in Japan. The answer I got was quite surprising. She told me that in Tokyo a person that goes to work needs an average of two and a half hours to get there. No wonder similar devices to the Nokia 9210 have been utilised more and more. People spend a lot of time on the move and quite rightly make good use of it. They pay their bills, buy their groceries etc. Do you think something similar could happen over here? I doubt it.
Another thing I would like to make clear is the price of the handset. I found it:

-£849.99 as a handset only,
-£399.99 as a pay monthly phone with Vodafone & BT Ce
llnet and
-£434.99 as an upgrade with the same two networks.

IF YOU ARE ACTUALLY INTERESTED IN BUYING THIS MAGNIFICENT PHONE, I WOULD ADVISE YOU TO WAIT FOR THE X-MAS OFFERS!

Summary: