Part 2 of the Nokia E90 review covers the main features and functions of the phone. I’ll be making a lot of the comparisons with the Nseries, because devices like the Nokia N95 and Nokia N82 are what I mostly use. You can read Part 1 of the Nokia E90 review on the Physical aspects before continuing if you haven’t done so. In the end, I think the Nokia E90’s large screen is its main strength. Thanks again to Expansys for providing the E90.

The Nokia E90 runs on S60 3rd edition similar to the Nokia N95 and Nokia N82. The main functions are very similar with a few differences unique to each phone.

Phone Calls

Making phone calls look very similar to other S60 3rd edition phones. Press contacts, and then you can scroll or start typing in names to find the right person with the exterior screen. When opened, the bigger display shows more information other than the name as you scroll through the list.

Contacts on the Nokia E90

You can also choose voice dialing. Unlike the Nseries phones where you hold the right soft-key to activate voice dialing or voice commands, you press and hold the side button on the Nokia E90.

Sound volume is fine on the earpiece, but I found the speakerphone not loud enough to my liking. The speakers are covered by your right hand when holding the phone in open position and also covered when faced flat on a table.

Messaging

The exterior screen is not as useful in reading email. You need to use the main screen for better usage. I set up my Gmail imap account on the built-in messaging application and was able to receive emails and get notified as they come. This feels similar to Push Email as described by All About Symbian. I like the automatic notifications, but I’m not impressed with the interface when it comes to reading my emails. I much prefer going to the Gmail website to read the emails.

Email on the Nokia E90

The Nokia E90 supports Exchange, but I don’t use that type of email and cannot comment my own experience. Take a look at E-series.org’s take on Mail for Exchange 2.5 for S60.

Text message alerts are different on the Nokia E90 than on the Nokia N95. Instead of a window pop-up, an alert appears within the active standby screen. What’s cool is that holding the left soft-key allows the E90 to read the new messages aloud for you!

Calendar

The bigger screen is utilized pretty well in the calendar application. As you browse through the calendar days on the left side of the screen, a quick summary of your schedule is shown on the right side. On the Nseries using the smaller displays, you have to click on the dates to see the same information.

Nokia E90’s calendar

Connectivity

The Nokia E90 supports Wifi, infrared, GPS, bluetooth, A2DP, microSD, EDGE, and 3G (though not compatible with US 3G). I have no complaints in this area other than I wish it was compatible with US 3G!

Browsing the Web

I love the wide screen on the Nokia E90. Most websites fit to the screen’s width and they appear similar to what you’ll see on a computer monitor. Since the browser supports Flash Lite 3, you can even go to Youtube to watch videos from the site directly.

Nokia E90’s browser versus Nokia N95 8GB

Games and Other Applications

Since the Nokia E90 runs on S60 3rd edition, you can install a bunch more applications on the phone to increase your productivity or even play a few games. Attila Katona over at All About Symbian wrote a nice article on Gaming with the Nokia E90 you should read about and my top 10 applications.

Conclusion

The Nokia E90’s 4in. screen allows more information displayed to the user. It enhances the experience with the main functions such as messaging, managing contacts, scheduling, and browsing the web that are all very important to a business user. One negative thing I need to mention is that I’m still not a big fan of the built-in email application. I have a better experience reading my emails on Gmail’s website.

On the next part of the Nokia E90 review, I’ll explore the camera for photos and videos.