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 The Nokia N93i, a compact and stylish digital camcorder and multimedia computer in one. Boasting a host of advanced features - from DVD-like quality video capture to direct video uploads - the Nokia N93i enables you to record great quality video wherever and whenever you feel inspired.
The Nokia N93i isn't actually strictly an upgrade to the N93. The N93i is an evolution of the original design, to be sure, and the main point is that it's much slimmer and more visually appealing, thus attracting people who would have dismissed the original bulk of the N93. he N93i is the one most newcomers will buy, but there are quite a few compromises made in the N93i design that might annoy anyone determined to buy the 'flagship' S60 smartphone. Appearance and design
Dimension: 108 x 58.6 x 25 mm; weight: 163g.
While the N93 comes in at 118х55.5х28 mm and 188 grams, the newcomer features 108x58x25 mm and 163 grams. Bluntly speaking, dubbing this handset as “so-much-more-portable” wouldn’t be the right thing, that’s why the way the N93i will be treated in won’t change too much, since the most crucial flaw of the phone is neither height nor width, but is thickness, brought about by such awesome camera module found inside, even though it has been shape-changed in the N93i. In-hands experience of the N93i is no different from what we felt with its predecessor, although the top half has become much lighter, it doesn’t make all the difference in the handset’s image. First impressions of the N93i are excellent, with the large mirror-backed screen prominent and attractive, with a silver surround that's unfortunately not carried down into the base unit, which remains black(ish) - the two-tone silver/black looks a little odd.
Keypad
Opening up the Nokia N93i reveals changes too, both positive and negative. Most obvious is the flush, metallic keypad, probably a necessity given the new slimmer lines of the base unit. There are spidery rubber inlays to improve grip and give you a better sense of where the key boundaries are in the dark. Although this largely works well and there's a definite 'click', the amount of force needed to effect each keypress is fairly high and the N93i isn't as useable as its predecessor when it comes to text entry. I also didn't like the way there were no dividers between the Green/Edit and (more vitally) C/Red 'keys', it's going to be quite easy to go for 'C' and hit the hangup button by mistake, thus ending the application you're in.
Additional buttons
The power key sits on the top rim, the same button stands for switching profiles while in standby mode.
 The right side features camera shortcut keys. The shutter button, marked with a red point, originates from usual digital cameras, as well as a ring rounding the key, which performs zooming in/out actions. The navigation key with OK button placed inside is located a bit lower – it’s used for changing camera modes and browsing through the menus, not in camera application. Frequently this very button allows managing the handset single handedly; however the dimensions override this handy possibility. Dedicated flash button becomes flashlight trigger while in standby mode – to tell the truth this might be the only application of the flash, as it doesn’t make much difference when taking pictures, because it’s rather weak. The side “OK” button locks and releases keypad lock, and once again, you can hardly make use of it. The Shutter key turns the external display into monochrome one, where you are shown current date and time. Sizes, Ports and Slots
Now Pop Port is protected by a plastic drop-out latch (whereas on the original N93 it was a rubberized flap). The slot for miniSD cards has become much easier to manage as well – now you won’t have a hard time accessing it. The eye on the bottom end looks better on the N93i and moving the Infrared window from the top end of the upper half onto the side has brought some benefits as well. Display
Over at Nokia they have come to the same conclusion and put under the mirror plate a OLED screen sporting the same resolution and displaying up to 65 K colors, but the dominating tones are always monochrome pastel colors, which allows the phone to keep the picture in acceptable state in various environments and on top of that this color perfectly matches the mirror finish of the handset’s face. The display is topped by an indicator having a pair colors onboard – green or blue depending on active mode. On incoming call the external screen gets filled up either with the caller’s name or his number, and a variegated animated handset. Status indicators of signal’s strength and battery charge are curved a little adding some fashion-points to the N93i. TFT, 240х320, 16.7 million colors
The N93i has 16 million colours rather than the N93's (paltry!!!) 262,000 available. What this means is that colours are more vibrant and more accurate, which is good. Not so good is that the change in screen technology has meant undistinguished performance outdoors, especially in sunlight. The outer layer of the screen proved too reflective and consequently ruined the contrast, whereas the original N93 screen reflected nicely off the back of the display, giving excellent contrast in the brightest of light. Camera
3.2 Mpx, Video, 3x ZOOm
Although restyled, the camera seems to be identical, in terms of hardware, to that in the N93, though once you examine photos you'll realise that there is a significant difference.
The reason why the camera is integrated into the upper rim is not its actual measurements, but rather presence of optical zoom. Size of the matrix has remained pretty small and equals 4.5х5.5 mm, therefore images quality is not too far ahead of the competitors, however implementation of glass lens and considerable focus length allow acquiring good results. A small hood covering the lens which can be fastened to the casing with a strap is also an appealing detail. All in all, the manufacturer has succeeded in creating an illusion of a tiny amateur camera. Similarly to Nokia N93 this camera is equipped with flash, highlighting you in the dark if needed. Menu
There’s no point in reviewing standard features on S60 3rd edition all over again. Generally speaking, the N93i is almost an exact replica of Nokia N93, basically they did only minor patch job, altering the applications suite and layout of some menus.   Away from multimedia, the Nokia N93i is familiar on all fronts, it's standard S60 3rd Edition all the way, though with the extra tweak that you can run any application in 'landscape' mode by twisting the screen round in the other direction. And, as with the N93, you can echo your display out to a widescreen TV using the supplied TV-out lead and extra graphics chips in the smartphone. Being able to shoot video and then play it back straight away on any TV... and then upload it directly to the web to a video blog via a Wi-Fi connection is just cool, cool, cool. And blogging got even easier too, at least in theory, with the addition of Vox to the 'Open online service' option in Gallery (Flikr is already there). Just don't try this at home on a typical European data tariff... The N93i comes with a handful of dark and moody themes, as shown below, although I preferred to use it with a much lighter theme, giving more screen clarity in daily use. Imaging
3.2 Megapixel Camera
3 x Optical Zoom
20 x Digital Zoom
Autofocus
Camera Key
Carl Zeiss Lens
Scenes Settings
Camera settings
Video Recorder (30 Frames Per Second)
3 x Optical Zoom
8 x Digital Zoom
Adobe Premiere Elements 3.0
Video Player
Video Streaming
Second Camera
Video Calling Messaging
SMS (Text Messaging)
MMS (Multimedia Messaging)
Email
Email with Attachments
Picture Messaging
Predictive Text
Sound
RealPlayer Media Player
Music Player
FM Stereo Radio
MP3, True Tones & Polyphonic Ringtones
Voice Recorder
Voice Dialling
Handsfree Speaker
Vibration Alert
Entertainment
Java™ Games
Java™ Applications
Embedded Games
Downloadable Games Organiser
Organiser with Contacts
Calendar
To Do List
Notes
Clock
Calculator
Converter
Push To Talk
OS Symbian Operating System
S60 3.0 Software
Connectivity
3G
Bluetooth™
USB 2.0
Pop Port™
Infra Red
WLAN
TV Output
Network
Tri Band (GSM 900, GSM 1800 & GSM 1900)
WCDMA
Internet
XHTML
HTML
Memory & Talk Time
50 Mbytes Memory Plus MicroSD™ Memory Card Option
3.9 Hours Talk Time
283 Hours Standby Weight & Size
163 g
108 x 58 x 25 mm
Pluses
Slimmer, sleeker, shorter
Great display
Pop port and card covers
EDGE
Side joystick
Light Indicator for charging/missed calls/sms Minuses
No Mini-USB and 3,5mm Audio Jack
Small external Screen
Keypad is hard to press
Poor Battery life Conclusion
The N93i looks and feels like a second generation design and will doubtless delight many a new Nseries customer as well as make jaws drop around the world, in homes and offices, both at its looks and at the sheer number of things such a relatively small device can do.
Many good and bad things on the Nokia N93i, still it’s a very impressive phone which I’d definitely recommend before the old N93!
It become noticeable slimmer, the LED, the new cam joystick and the Camera improvements takes this phone on top. Still Nokia didn’t manage to give it a mini USB and 3,5mm audio jack, unbelievable, but it’s fact |
