The Nokia N-90 Experience

Nokia N-90 Impressions

For those of you that have been following my reviews, you know that I have a distinct like for packaging. It’s not that a package “turns me on”, it is what gives me the “first impression” about a product. If a vendor really believes in their product then they are going to “dress it up” so the user will begin their experience at first sight. Of course, a good looking package doesn’t mean that you are going to have an outstanding product but it is going to give you a little insight into the manufacturer and to me that is important. Needles to say, I was stunned as I removed the box for it shipping container.

I don’t think I have ever had a product that gave me the same initial experience that I got when I saw the packaging of this phone. Neatly designed to house the phone and its included accessories, the imprinting of the Nokia logo was subtly placed so as not to take away from the experience of seeing a very stylish device peering through a plastic window. This is just a box, but it had the look of “you’re about to have an incredible experience”. In fact, as I gazed at the phone through the window, I was really taken back by its design. It just looked good!

Appearance

Opening the box, I was able to easily slide the phone out from the plastic window and I began my experience with the Nokia N-90. The first thing I noticed was its weight, 6.1 ounces but that was very quickly overlooked as I began to see what this phone was all about.

The device has a very interesting form factor. It is a clam shell device (well, sort of) coupled with a swivel camera attached at the top. When I say “sort of like a clam shell” that is just what I mean, “sort of”. It operates similar to a clam shell but it has a double hinge; one for the top and one for the bottom. Each hinge appeared to connect to the swivel camera portion and yet it did not; the camera portion attached to the hinge. A slick design, smooth in operation enabling you flip the phone open, swivel the camera portion for taking pictures and at the same time twist the top flip to allow easy viewing of the display screen. All of this twisting and turning was instinctive as you opened the phone up the first time…a credit to the engineer who designed this unique phone.

This is not a normal looking camera phone; it truly is an art piece. Unlike any other phone I have ever seen, this device you just can’t put down. I spent quite a bit of time admiring its look and function and couldn’t help but think about who the person was that designed the phone. They must have an amazingly creative mind!

After initial looks and first impressions, the real investigation was about to begin. There were a variety of features that struck me right away that this was a high quality device. The words “Carl Zeiss Optics” were neatly embossed across the camera portion of the phone along with the wording “2 Megapixel”….that’s right 2 megapixel. Hmmm, my interest was really starting to peak.