Thinking about 9290 Communicator (US)

I was considering getting a 9290 communicator as my next cell phone,
but after reading some less than stellar reviews here, I have some
questions:

1. How exactly do internet connections work? the impression I get is
that you have to call a dialup ISP; Is this true? Do they charge extra
for this, or is it treated like any other call? Do I have to be on my
cellphone provider's network? would any Dialup ISP work, or does it
only work with a few? If I plugged a normal modem into my Cablemodem
equipped PC, could I set it up like an ISP?

2. What software is availiable? I get the impression its compatible
with the psion 5 series' software; is this true? What websites carry
9290 software? Is MMC the ony way to store phone data externally? can
you transfer files freely from a PC to the phone, or are there
restrictions? is the file transfer software... goofy? (I have OpenMG
jukebox for transferring songs to my MD player. that is hella goofy.)

3. is it 'weird' to use? I have read that, to listen and speak into
the phone, you must have the mini-screen and numeric keypad turned
away from you. is this at all akward? do you find yourself
accidentally pusing buttons while holding the phone? Also, is the
keyboard comfortable, or clumsy? I have fairly big hands, if that
matters.

4. Finally, Should I wait? Is nokia going to be releasing a newer,
better, faster, more-er version anytime soon? Is there any other
reason I should 'wait and see' what comes down the line? Are there any
pda/phones out now I should be looking at? The blackberry and sidekick
don't appeal to me, nor does anything that runs WinCE (or whatever
they call it these days.)

Answers greatly appreciated.

---

› See More: Thinking about 9290 Communicator (US)

"guy-jin" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
| I was considering getting a 9290 communicator as my next cell phone,
| but after reading some less than stellar reviews here, I have some
| questions:
|
| 1. How exactly do internet connections work? the impression I get is
| that you have to call a dialup ISP; Is this true? Do they charge extra
| for this, or is it treated like any other call? Do I have to be on my
| cellphone provider's network? would any Dialup ISP work, or does it
| only work with a few? If I plugged a normal modem into my Cablemodem
| equipped PC, could I set it up like an ISP?

>> U have to call a regular dialup ISP. It's friggin slow to surf anywhere
with the images on.
>> Usually charged as a regular local call - contact ur network for more
details
>> Any dialup ISP that works via the standard PAP protocol and Dialup
Networking in windows (NOT THE ISPS THAT ONLY WORK WITH THEIR OWN DIALERS)
>> Its easier to just use a cheap dialup ISP that works if ur out of the
office/home and want to surf/check mail than to bother with 2 modems on one
PC (which causes software conflicts)

|
| 2. What software is availiable? I get the impression its compatible
| with the psion 5 series' software; is this true? What websites carry
| 9290 software? Is MMC the ony way to store phone data externally? can
| you transfer files freely from a PC to the phone, or are there
| restrictions? is the file transfer software... goofy? (I have OpenMG
| jukebox for transferring songs to my MD player. that is hella goofy.)

>> What SW available? Plenty - from enabling a 9210/9290 to use GPRS (needs
another GPRS phone like 6510/6310/8310/6610 etc) to Mp3 players, free games
etc.
>> It is SYMBIAN SERIES 80 for the 92xx. Only S80 stuff works.
>> Only MMC. NO SD CARDS WORK IN 92xx.
>> The nokia SW file xfer is OK for everything but those 40 MB audio
files...its kinda slow via cable!

|
| 3. is it 'weird' to use? I have read that, to listen and speak into
| the phone, you must have the mini-screen and numeric keypad turned
| away from you. is this at all akward? do you find yourself
| accidentally pusing buttons while holding the phone? Also, is the
| keyboard comfortable, or clumsy? I have fairly big hands, if that
| matters.

>> Naah. The girls dont think the phone is weird...it's like a chick magnet
:-)
>> It works like normal. Just use the phone THE OTHER WAY (screen away frm
u). No prob there, u'll get used to it in 3 hours.
>> No button prob. The 92xx is a elegant and functional phone. There is
enough grip on the sides when ur using it to speak.
>> Keyboard is OK..not too bad. It isnt that hard to use - I have big hands
too. But u'll end up using it 3+3 fingers. Cant type on it - the phone isnt
built for typing as its hard to get it to stay on my lap...hehe

|
| 4. Finally, Should I wait? Is nokia going to be releasing a newer,
| better, faster, more-er version anytime soon? Is there any other
| reason I should 'wait and see' what comes down the line? Are there any
| pda/phones out now I should be looking at? The blackberry and sidekick
| don't appeal to me, nor does anything that runs WinCE (or whatever
| they call it these days.)

>> No new 9310 etc coming out. Check out 7200 for a non communicator dual
screen high end phone.
>> PDA phones...like the current Pocket PCs with 400 mhz processors? Speed
is good...but expensive stuff.
>> The 92xx phones have a tendency to lag in the SMS display and sending
when u have more than 500 SMSes in one folder. To improve speed, move all
the old msgs to another Archive folder etc.

|
| Answers greatly appreciated.

>> There you go. :-) Girls ARE fascinated by the communicator, especially if
you have games loaded on it. Just cant explain why..hehe

Anything more? just drop me a line via email ; cut the NOSPAM parts out