Here is my Review on yet to be released model of N93i !

Nokia N93i

General

• Date Announced: First Quarter 2007
• Date Released: Coming Soon
• Mode: UMTS / GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
• Dimensions: 108 x 58 x 25 mm
• Battery Type: Lithium-Ion (950 mAh)
• Battery Life: 210 mins talk time, 280 hours standby time Weight: 163 grams
• Form Factor: Clamshell
• Phone book: Dynamic Memory
• Display Type: 16M colors, TFT, (240 x 320 pixels)
• External Display: 65K colors, (128 x 36 pixels)
• Expansion Slot: Yes (miniSD Card slot)
• Games: Yes
• Operating System: Symbian OS 9.1, S60 3rd edition
• Polyphonic Ringtones: Yes (64 chords), MP3 Support
• Vibrating Alert: Yes

Connectivity

• Bluetooth: Yes
• EDGE: Yes (Class 32, 296 kbps)
• E-Mail client: Yes
• GPRS: Yes (Class 32, 107.2/64.2 kbps)
• HSCSD: Yes (via PC dial-up)
• Headset Jack: No
• Instant Messaging: Yes
• Infrared (IR): Yes
• Java Apps (J2ME): Yes (MIDP 2.0)
• MMS: Yes
• Synchronization: Yes
• Pop Port: Yes
• SMS: Yes
• USB: Yes
• WAP: Yes (2.0)
• Wi-Fi (802.11b): Yes (802.11 b/g)

Organiser Functions

• Internet Browser: Yes (xHTML)
• Onboard Memory: 50 MB
• Picture ID: Yes
• Voice Memo: Yes

Special Functions

• Camera: Yes (3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels)
• Flashlight: Yes
• FM Radio: Yes
• GPS: No
• Mp3 Player: Yes
• Push to Talk: Yes
• Streaming Multimedia: Yes
• Video Recording: Yes
• VGA Output: Yes

Detailed Review

A while ago Nokia started producing the N-series of multimedia telephones. When you take a good look at the N-series, you will find multimedia telephones of great stature, literally as well as figuratively spoken. Some time ago Nokia enabled us to test the N93 and I must admit I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I was given the chance to review the successor of the Nokia N93; the N93i. The build of these two telephones is almost identical with on top of them the camera including a Carl Zeiss Vario Tessar lens with 3.2 Megapixel and 3x optical zoom. The rotating screen has a shiny exterior and the telephone is packed with multimedia features. Nokia are renowned as manufacturer of high quality appliances. I hope they can prove themselves again with the Nokia N93i. And furthermore prove that it's not just the appearance that has changed! How well the Nokia N93i did in our extensive test, you can read in the following Nokia N93 multimedia phone review.

Nokia N93i - Design

The Nokia N93i is available in black and silver. Nokia delivered the silver colored one at my doorstep and I must admit I am quite charmed by its appearance. It's shiny and striking and not only because of the large size of the Nokia N93i. The back has been made of a brown purplish metallic colored plastic that feels a tad feeble in some ways. To finish off the design completely it would have been better to have used a much more firm cover. On top of the camera we find a huge lump. It contains the digital camera that I will comment on further down in this review. Furthermore some two covers are found hiding the memory card and the connection for the computer and TV out.

Nokia N93i - Menu

Compared with the Nokia N93 in my opinion the menu has become a lot clearer. The graphic design of the menu items has improved tremendously and thanks to the support in the form of short messages you are able to easily and quickly find all functions. Some basic functions are already visible on the start screen, so fast navigation is ensured. You can quickly open the phone book, make and view text messages, surf the Internet, providing you have connection, view photos, listen to music, keep the calendar up-to-date and adjust your WLAN settings. All of this without having to dive into the menu which makes it quick and easy. The multimedia button brings you rapidly to the multi-media part of the telephone where you can choose from various multi-media applications just by pressing the button once.

Nokia N93i - Camera

The Nokia N93i features a 3.2 Megapixel camera including a 3x optical zoom. The lens is a Carl Zeiss Vario Tessar lens according to Nokia. When you want to use the camera, you have to open the cover half-way, rotate the screen a quarter turn which will activate the camera automatically. The camera is equipped with a small flash and auto focus. The flash can be activated manually as well as automatically. Looking back at the models Nokia brought into the market lately and looking forward to the models that are being manufactured now, (for example the Nokia N95 with its 5 Megapixel camera that we will review soon) we may conclude that Nokia expects a large market for these telephone/camera combinations.

Nokia N93i - Shutter release lag

Like most inbuilt cameras in mobile phones the Nokia N93i is also suffering from shutter release lag when trying to capture a moving subject, for example a car driving passed, a cyclist or children playing. When you press the release button half-way down, it takes a while before the camera actually finishes focussing. And it takes another fraction of a second before the photo is taken. The smile of a child, the cyclist or the car will have long gone by then. But not too long ago, normal digital cameras also suffered from this problem and through the years, manufacturers have been able to solve this problem for digital cameras apart from some exceptions, so it offers hope for future models of camera phones.

Nokia N93i - Multimedia player

The Nokia N93i is a typical example of what the Nokia's N-series stand for; stacked with multimedia. You can play all sorts of files, watch videos, listen to music, make slide-shows from your photos; you name it; the Nokia N93i enables it all. For example: when you're on the road you can use the Nokia N93i as an MP3 player and listen to your favorite music. You can even choose to get the sound via the delivered headset or through the speaker on the telephone. The quality of the sound coming from the speaker is a tad restricted when you put the volume up high. The sound quality of the headset is fine. A pity you have to depend on the Nokia headphones in stead of choosing a normal Cinch plug, which gives you a very restricted choice for headsets. One big advantage is that the fact that the headset is a hands-free model so you can use the Nokia N93i in your car while driving.

Nokia N93i - miniSD

The memory of the Nokia N93i can be expanded with a miniSD memory card. When you use an SD card for memory in your digital camera, you may want to purchase a SanDisk miniSD kit that is a fine addition to your mobile phone. This kit contains a miniSD card and an SD adapter. You can insert the miniSD card in the adapter and use it as an SD card. The expandable memory is a real relief when you use your Nokia N93i as multi-media telephone. Files can also be transferred from the card to a computer using a USB cable, Bluetooth or infrared connection. You could also choose to use a card reader for example the SanDisk MobileMate card reader that will be a wonderful addition to your telephone. This card reader is small and light so it can be easily carried around with you for transferring files from the card to a computer even when you're on the road and want to share photos with family or friends.

Nokia N93i - WiFi connection

The Nokia N93i is also equipped with a so-called WiFi connection, offering access to the Internet via the wireless network at home and via Hotspots (a Hotspot is a place that offers wireless Internet access). Hotspots are mainly found at events and currently also appearing at many spots in cities nowadays. Sometimes the wireless connections can be used without any charges being made and sometimes you have to pay a small amount of money. The wireless Internet connection on the Nokia N93i is stable and fast. It is not as fast as my common Internet connection at home, but in comparison with other mobile phones with wireless connection, the Nokia N93i's connection is considerably faster.

Nokia N93i - Internet Explorer

It might take some time to get used to the Internet Explorer of the Nokia N93i. Obviously the monitor is a lot smaller than the one of your computer which means that you have to scroll horizontally an awful lot. Once used to the appearance of the Internet pages you will be able to work fast with the Internet Explorer. It certainly is a nice addition to quickly look up something when you're on the road, or for downloading a ring tone or watch a movie on the Internet. Nowadays it is possible to enhance your telephone contract, for a small amount of monthly paid money, with UMTS to be able to look up things on the Internet without WiFi connection, without high costs per minute.

Nokia N93i - Office functions

The Nokia N93i enables you to watch Office files through Quickoffice. The names of the programs show what they are meant for. Quickword lets you view Word files, Quicksheet for Excel files and Quickpoint is for PowerPoint presentations. Also PDF files can be opened and watched with the Adobe Reader. Furthermore there is the possibility of converting measures and money through Converter. And the Zipmanager compresses your files so that they take up less memory space. So you don't have to be afraid that you won't be able to review your Office files during your travels.

Nokia N93i - Battery

The Nokia N93i gets its energy from a 3.7 Volt, 950mAh Lithium Ion battery. According to Nokia the battery has a standby time of 280 hours and a talk time of 3.5 hours. My experience is that I had to charge the battery fairly quickly when I'd been playing a lot with the N93i. When the telephone wasn't used at all, it had to be recharged on the tenth day, which is a standby time of approximately 240 hours. The battery capacity of the Nokia N93i is not the worst one, but certainly not the best either. Nokia proved themselves before with better handling of battery capacity and getting more out of it. So if you're going to be on the move a lot whilst making many calls; make sure to take the battery charger with you!

Nokia N93i - Monitor

The Nokia N93i has the disposal of an internal and external monitor. The small screen on the outside of the phone shows the time, the reception and the battery capacity. The large screen is of high quality. Images are shown neatly and in high quality. Colours are reproduced realistically and lively. Well, we wouldn't expect anything else from a 16.7 million colour range. Also letters are rendered extremely well. Small screens usually show blurred letters which wears you out having to read them for a while. Nokia really did their utmost to make it a good monitor and they succeeded. They show that they know what quality means!

Nokia N93i - Conclusion

I have mixed feelings when observing this Nokia N93i. It is definitely an incredible multimedia machine of great stature. But that is also the thing that bothers me a bit; the size. The phone is of such format that it might not be handy to take it along. The camera performs well. Of course there are still some points that need attention, such as the shutter release lag and the blur from jitter in bad light conditions. In some situations night mode might offer some help but even then some blur occurs. Hopefully Nokia will have solved this problem in the N95. The battery capacity is sufficient, although Nokia have proved in an earlier stage that they were capable of doing better. All in all the Nokia N93i performs well and is of high quality. If you want to go for a business-like model with many multi-media options, the Nokia N93i certainly is a must, and you will get a lot of fun out of it.

So here it is ! The complete review !