The handset weighs 210 grams & measure 132mm in height, 57mm in width & 20mm in depth, when in it's closed & upright position. The E90 Communicator is the ideal companion for all business user who are on move & need a high quality communicating mobile handset with the latest technologies.

Though the keyboard is relatively wide, it's not a good candidate for touch typing. The keys are much too stiff, there's no spacing and it's still not quite wide enough for average hands. Two-finger typing is fine, though we'd prefer to expend less energy pressing down a key. We found our typing speed to be just a bit faster than on the Nokia E62 and BlackBerry Curve, but not as fast as the HTC Advantage. The key surfaces have good traction and share the same finish as the phone's body, and there's a bevel line at the bottom of each key to help your fingers discern one row from the next. We like the very standard keyboard layout, with dual shift keys, tab key and large return key. There's a backlight on-off button for keyboard backlighting which is faint but adequate for quick typing in the dark. This button does double-duty to control screen brightness when you hold down the Chr key. The Chr key also gives you keyboard shortcuts to Bluetooth, IR, volume and Profiles. Commonly used characters and symbols such as @, slashes, dashes and = are easy to get to with a single press in most cases. Our APAC (Asia Pacific) region E90 had only English characters on the keyboard.

The external screen's resolution is QVGA (240x320 pixels, 16 million colors) and the physical dimensions are 30x40 mm. For the first time ever, the external screen is not just a simple "cover UI" supporting a very limited set of telephony-related functions but now it's fully functional, providing access to all functions and applications of the device. It means that on the external screen you can not only access all your data and run all system applications (e.g. Calendar, Web browser, Messaging) but also all installed 3rd party applications. There are absolutely no restrictions, the external display simply gives you access to EVERYTHING you get on the large screen inside. Switching between the screens couldn't be simpler: open the lid and the application you worked with on the small screen becomes visible on the large screen, and vice versa.

There is also a setting that lets you configure the device to always automatically switch to the Activity (standby) screen when you close the lid so that you can quickly dial a number without having to switch to the Activity screen manually. Switching between screens is almost instantaneous - one second or so. The user interface is fully scalable and all applications and UI elements adjust themselves to different screen sizes and proportions fully automatic and almost imperceptibly. My dreams have just came true! It's also worth mentioning that the screen is bright and pixels are very small providing high picture quality. Using the "Bulb" key on the internal keyboard you can adjust the brightness of the internal screen (4 levels). The brightness of the external screen can be configured in Settings using a slider (4 levels).

The user will never be short of entertainment on their new handset as the Nokia E90 come with an integrated 3.2 megapixel camera complete with built in flash & an auto focus feature. The user can capture, edit, share & store their photographs on their phones memory. The phone comes with a media player which allows the user to play videos on their 3G Smartphone. The user can record, play, store & share their video with others. The user can enjoy a 3G video call with other 3G capable mobile phone users which allows the user to enjoy a face to face call with their compatible contacts.

The battery is the new 1500 mAh BP-4L providing 5 hours of talk time and up to 14 days of standby. And it does its job very well: one hour of Web browsing or GPS navigation on the large screen with max brightness will only consume one bar (out of seven) on the battery indicator. It's worth mentioning that unlike in 9500, you don't need any special techniques or tools to remove the cover and the battery; now they can be removed quickly and easily. The battery cover is made of metal.

Let's begin with the last element of the accessory package: the stereo headphones. The difference from the older model is clearly noticeable as soon as you open the box. The remote control pad is smaller, undeniably better looking and of higher quality. It still has the Made in China tag but somehow that's not as stigmatizing as it used to be with some older Nokia models.

It won't be long though, before you get the first disappointment. The remote control pad has no volume controls. The E90 has the wide multi-pin Pop-port replaced by a miniUSB and a 2.5mm jack. The miniUSB is of course more than welcome, but the 2.5mm jack is beyond comprehension. Nokia E90 is clearly a business device and that's one possible reason for not making it like the N95. Could the Communicator have then been much more attractive? If cost was the issue, it may have been worth it.

The sound quality of the original headphones will please all but the most undemanding users. Using alternative headsets will require a jack adapter, plus you'll lose the handsfree functionality. All that may seem as hairsplitting, but it does compromise the music player capabilities of the E90 Communicator.

In terms of software, things are almost the same as in other Symbian handsets of the Finnish brand. The appearance of the music player application is the only novelty.

Nokia E90 features a built-in FM radio. It doesn't support RDS but is stereo, and can even play on the loudspeakers but the handsfree should still be plugged as usual to ensure reception. The Auto settings are worth praising, they scanned the whole FM band in about 10 seconds.

E90 has more free RAM memory than any Symbian OS device ever made, if not the most of all smartphones released up to date. Only the recently announced Sony Ericsson P1i has the same RAM size, but it's not available yet. The total operating memory (RAM) capacity is 128 MB of which.... almost 80 MB is free! Read: mutitasking at its best, navigation with super-detailed maps, no problems with large PDF or Word documents, browsing the Web without virtually any restrictions... and even all of them at the same time if you only wish so, and with nice MP3 music playing in the background. If you have the P990 and your web browser quits every time you try to open Messaging due to lack of free RAM then you can be sure that it's something that will never happen to you with the E90.

While we are at memory, the internal storage memory (disk C:) is about 136 MB, with about 128 MB available for the user. E90 supports hot-swappable MicroSD cards (available with capacities up to 2 GB) and ships with a 512 MB card

This is the first Communicator with 3G, and HSDPA at that. Sadly for us Americans, that high speed data connection is available only on the 2100Mhz band, which isn't used in the US. That means we have to resort to 2.5G EDGE, which averages 165k on the E90 according to DSL Reports mobile speed test. You can turn off 3G in phone settings to save power as a consolation. Thankfully, there's WiFi for much faster data when near a hotspot or home/work access point. The E90 is a quad band GSM world phone that supports all GSM bands: 850/900/1800/1900MHz and it's sold unlocked for use with any GSM carrier by Dynamism and other importers. The SIM card is located under the battery. Though import versions of the E90 aren't targeted to the US, the Nokia Settings Wizard had no trouble setting up AT&T and T-Mobile settings for data and MMS for us. Call quality was the usual excellent Nokia stuff, and reception is strong (stronger than the Nokia 9300) on both the 850 and 1900MHz bands as measured using PhoneNetInfo and other decibel-reading utilities. The E90 comes with the usual speed dial where you can assign 2 through 9 to numbers in your contacts (1 is reserved for voicemail). Also there is Nokia's voice dialing which we've never found very trustworthy (woe when it dials an overseas contact instead of the intended next door neighbor). Voice dialing gives you only 1.5 seconds to make sure it "heard" and dialed the correct number.

Java™ Games
Downloadable Games
Embedded Games

3G HSDPA Technology
WLAN
Integrated GPS
Symbian OS Version 9.2 with S60 Platform 3.1 Edition
Dual 16 Million Colour Screens
3.2 Megapixel camera with Flash & Auto Focus
Email Attachment Editor & Viewer

GPS

The E90 ships with software similar to the Nokia N95, which also has an internal GPS. The Communicator has a true GPS, though it's not a SiRF III which generally offers the best performance in mobile packages. Nokia Maps is a world-wide solution, and that's ambitious. While it's very cool to search for a restaurant called "Pescador" and see results not only nearby, but also in various states of Mexico along with Argentina and other countries; you know there have to be holes in mapping and navigation somewhere in the world. We hear Maps works fairly well in Europe, but in the US, it's a decidedly mixed bag.

The E90 comes in a small and elegant box. It contains the following items: the Nokia E90 Communicator , BP-4L 1500 mAh battery, 512 MB microSD memory card with SD adapter, HS-47 stereo headset, DKE-2 USB cable, AC-4E charger, user's guide, quick start guide and a DVD disc with E90 presentation and PC Suite software. Unfortunately, the box does not include desk stand or carrying case.