Nokia Communicator 9210

Is it a PDA with a built-in phone, or vice versa?

Price: £500

Manufacturer: Nokia

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Verdict

At this price, and with practically no posing power, this is strictly for those with more money than sense.

Dimon Duddy, Computeract!ve 01 Mar 2002

The Nokia Communicator 9210 is a long-awaited device and many anticipated that it would be revolutionary, not least Nokia itself. Now it has arrived, we see that the 9210 is indeed a clever device. On the PDA side of things, the usual bases such as contacts book, calendar and note taking are covered, but it also strikes out in more novel directions.

The 9210 has an infrared port from which you can download snaps from infrared-equipped digital cameras. Unusually for a PDA, the pictures look pleasing, being both colour and detailed enough thanks to the sharp screen.

It also operates as a voice recorder, with the microphone picking up voices in a room with clarity and filtering out much of the background noise.

The intuitive controls placed on the right-hand side of the screen let you jog easily between applications - handy as you can record, but not immediately play back, sound clips. You must go into file manager, a completely different 'part' of the PDA, and open up the sound file to play it.

You can also use the device to access the internet, browse and check email. But how efficiently you can do this depends on your SIM card. The 9210 is compatible with SIM cards using Orange's HSCSD technology, which provides two or three times the speed of connection of typical internet-ready phones.

To make the most of this you have to be with Orange, of course. So for non-Orange subscribers, one of the key selling points of this device - fast, mobile internet connection - is out of reach.

When opened, the device is a PDA. Close it and it switches automatically to phone mode. This is again very clever but here we come to the major drawback of the gadget. In the days of dinky, cute phones, this is the size of a hard spectacles case. It won't slip easily into your pocket and people will stare with pity as you cart it about.

Combine this heft with the equally bulky price tag and we reckon this device is only suited for thick-skinned, gadget-obsessed business executives with chunky wallets.

Contact
Nokia: 01480 434343 www.nokia.co.uk ALSO CONSIDER

PALM 505
The bee's knees of palmtop computers.
£399 ****
Reviewed in Computeractive, Issue 90

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