Nokia 9300 & 9500 Communicators Review

Nokia has just released two Smartphones Communicators to the market. The two communicators have more advanced features than the old Nokia 9210i communicator.
Both phones are packed with features for the techno-savvy individual. It is worth making a comparison between the two phones, Which will serve as a guide should you be interested in purchasing either of them.

It is important to note that these are not fancy phones; they are business phones. So, if you are looking for a stylish, fancy phone, you are making the wrong choice.

Nokia 9300 Features
Java, GPRS/EGPRS, MP3 Player, MMS-Enabled, Bluetooth, Infrared, USB Connection, Storage Media is MMC, Display (Pixels) 640x200 62k colour, MS Office Viewer, Weight 167g, Dimension(mm) 132x51x21

Nokia 9500 Features
Camera/Video, Java, GPRS/EGPRS, VPN Client, Wi-Fi, MP3 Player, MMS-Enabled, Bluetooth, Infrared, USB Connection, Storage Media is MMC, Display (Pixels) 640x200 62k colour, MS Office Viewer, Opera Browser, Weight 230g, Dimension(mm) 148x57x24

Pros of Both 9300 & 9500
Full QWERTY keyboard.
Great support for Microsoft Office documents of different versions (Word, Excel and Powerpoint).
80MB Internal Memory is really cool, with an extra 128MB on MMC that came with the phone, making a total of about 200MB memory for user to download applications, photos and music.
Although, the friend's phone I checked came without memory, because he purchased it earlier, the later release of the phone will come with 128MB of MMC, as explained by Nokia.

Pros of the 9500
The 9500 came with Acrobat Reader in the product's CD, which can be installed on the phone.
Wi-Fi Connection. Though, we currently have no netwrok in Nigeria that supports his feature.
MP3 files as ringtones. Download Mp3 files to your phone and make them as your ringtones. Be unique with your ringtones and let those around you marvel anytime your phone rings.

Pros of the 9300
Smaller in size and weigh only 167g
Faster and more stable than the 9500


Cons of Both 9300 & 9500
No Handwriting Recognition (like Sony Ericsson P910i).
No Touchscreen input (like Sony Ericsson P910i). You will miss this feature especially when browsing the internet.
Display just 62k colours. Some phones are already 256k colours
No Backlight (means you can't type in the dark). This is a thumb-down for Nokia.
No Voice Tag. Means you can't use voice commands
No Vibrating Alert. When in silent mode, the phone better be sitting in front of you or you will miss your calls.

Wish List
Handwriting Recognition / Touchscreen input would have made both phones superb
FM Stereo (Though it is a business phone, it sure won't spoil things). I don't know while I like this FM things in a phone.

Cons of Nokia 9500
Too Slow to run some applications
Too Bulky (some people call it 'brick'). Well, it fits in without a bulge into the front pocket of my jeans trouser, but with the side pocket, it created a noticeable bulge. It is easier and better to carry the communicator with a belt clip.

My Comments:
These two phones are great if you are the type that likes to browse on your mobile phone. Also, if you can't do without having a computer with you, then either of these Communicators is a good choice.

The Nokia 9500 has more features than the 9300, like the Camera, Wi-Fi, VPN Client and Opera Internet Browser. These features cannot be ignored if you are techno-savvy.
However, if you do not need any of the extra features of the 9500, then, the Nokia 9300 will be a better choice, since it is smaller, and lighter.

Java: This enabled you to install and run java applications on mobile phones.

GPRS: For internet browsing on your mobile phone (if your network supports it).

VPN-Client: If your office network supports it, you can work remotely from home or while on the road.

USB-Connection: You used this to connect the Multimedia Memory Card on your phone to your PC. The MMC will appear as another disk on your system.

Bluetooth:
Bluetooth will enable you to connect your phone to your PC. This is more than a USB-Connection as you will have access to all features on the phone. With this you can synchrnoise your phone with Microsoft Outlook or browse the internet for free on your phone making your internet-connected PC as the Gateway.

This review and others are originally posted at my blog http://diakim2.blogspot.com


Picture of the Nokia 9300 Communicator


Picture of the Nokia 9500 Communicator

Yes, you have to be close to your PC. Maximum bluetooth range is 100 metres. But with all the walls and partitions in the office, it will be less than 100m.

as for bluetooth depending how lucky you are you can usually get outside (bluetooth is really cool at school, you turn it on and browse for phones/computers etc and you usually get at least a page of devices on my phone )

through walls etc i would give it a range of about 30 metres though give or take depending on the devices

dominobaby:

Good to know that the review was helpful to a friend of yours.
Hope he enjoys his precious possession. He may have to upgrade the memory to 256MB or 512MB if he wants to make the best use of the MP3 player.

Yes, Mamba. The Sony Ercisson P910i even though released earlier, and with the absence of EDGE has been a serious competitor to the Nokia 9xxx series.

Good review, Diakim

Hi Hunter,

Wuz up? BT is a wonderful technology but has it's disadvantages as well u known.

Ah!

Igbayi laaro