Marketing your Business - Martin Bailey - Reviews, Joomla, SEO and Marketing advice

The Communicator series has been around for almost a decade and was at the top of the smartphone food chain for most of that time. Then came the Sony Ericsson P800 and the Orange SPV. The SE had a touch screen, faster processor and Bluetooth, while the Orange ran Windows. Nokia were a long time coming back with a response, but when they did it was with two phones rather than one!

This review concentrates on the baby of the two - the 9300. The main differences between the two are:

In the past I've used both the 9110 and 9210, before moving to the SE P800 and then the P910. The reason for switching brands at the time was because of the 9210's lack of GPRS and Bluetooth. The 9300 now supports both (+EGPRS), and also supports the EDGE networks, offering up to 236.8kbps data transfer - if your network supports it.

Upon startup you run through a basic configuration routine, including language and time settings, and are presented with the standard Desktop. This can be navigated by the cursor keys, the eight main menu buttons at the top of the keyboard, or the 5-way joystick in the bottom-right hand corner of the handset. In practice the joystick can be tricky, as pressing it down to 'click' can often result in the cursor moving to the left or right before the action is carried out. The keyboard is certainly the best of any Communicator so far, with a solid but soft feel.

One feature that other capable phones I've tested have never managed to match is the speakerphone facility. With the Nokia there is no discernable difference from the caller's end whether you use the handset or speaker - other phones generally suffer feedback. Add to this the ability to patch in 5 other people to the call and you have a very powerful conferencing system.

Many smartphones can now double as portable media devices. Audio quality is generally passable and with the 9300 taking up to 2GB on an MMC card the prospect of this replacing a separate MP3 player while on the move is a realistic one, but for one minor snag. While phones such as the SE P910 are supplied with a stereo headset as standard, the 9300 is supplied with a single ear bud mono one. Thankfully, for around £15 you can get a full stereo one, which will also provide the usual handsfree operation of the phone. Audio playback on the 9300 is surprisingly loud - probably about 20% louder than the P910.

Video does not perform so well, although it's debatable whether you'd buy a smartphone for this purpose. Playing an MP4 video that was recorded on a P910 was noticeably poorer in terms of smoothness. The 640 x 200 resolution screen also means that you are limited in height, so the image only fills about 1/4 of the screen. Other devices that have more of a 4:3 style screen would be more watchable, and to be honest the 9300 does not have enough 'grunt' under the bonnet to do video good justice.

The Communicator is called so for a reason, and its messaging capabilities certainly deliver. The 9300 will synchronise with pretty much any mainstream mail system, as well as standard SMTP/POP3 and IMAP4 servers. A web browser (based on Opera) is included - it tackled most sites without any major issues, but did not display Flash animations - I was unable to find a Flash player available. The width of the screen is a big bonus over other smartphones when it comes to web browsing and email display.

Overall build quality of the phone is excellent, only let down by the slightly awkward battery cover, which will no doubt have female users cursing when nails break due to the pressure that needs to be applied to remove it. While the size of the phone is reminiscent of 'normal' handsets dating back about 5-6 years, it is certainly smaller than the ageing 9210, which it now greatly surpasses in functionality. Battery life is also respectable, with the unit operating for several days in general use.

The applications provided on the phone are as you would expect with a smartphone. In addition to a contact management system and calendar as powerful and easy to use as Outlook, you have the ability to read and write Word Documents, Excel spreadsheets and even PowerPoint presentations. Adobe Acrobat reader and Real Player are also included, as is Pro Tour Golf. A minor niggle is the slightly sluggish delay when navigating between applications that suggests that the unit is fractionally underpowered.

One other major plus for this phone is its operating system and the support for it. The Symbian 7 Series 80 platform is not only very stable, but there is a massive catalogue of software applications and games available for it. These include data management/security, multi-lingual dictionaries, project planning, instant messaging, ftp and even PC remote control software such as the multi-platform VNC.

As a result you are left with something that can be described as a small laptop instead of a large phone. Stick a 2GB card in it and you have the makings of an excellent data backup/transfer device and/or a jukebox on the move. Imagine having your complete brochure and press material with you at all times, being able to view/show a presentation, having the ability to send receive data, or browse websites at high speed, or even edit a web page or access a PC remotely - all from something that can still truthfully be called pocket-sized.

Conclusion
People buying this phone will do so if they have a specific requirement that general phones cannot offer. The killer apps for this phone are EDGE network support, a good size keyboard and, for the lovers of older technology, the sending and receiving of faxes. If this phone had a VGA (or better) camera built in then it would be a serious contender for the high-end smartphone market. While the 9500 has this (plus Wi-Fi support) it comes at a price - size. If you want hi-speed data access, the ability to check email and work with Office documents on the move without the need to lug your laptop around, then this device could certainly fit the bill. At the time of writing some (UK) vendors are even offering the phone for free on monthly contracts, making it even more attractive for those looking to upgrade, although the same is true of the 9500, so if you can handle the bigger form factor and want/need a camera and Wi-Fi consider this as well.

Con's: There are better smartphones out there. Slightly sluggish in operation. No camera, so 9500 may be a better option for some. Fiddly joystick.