Menu/Phone Book: Since the Nokia N91 is closer to a multifunction device than a cell phone, you’ll likely need a little time to get acquainted with how it works. Also, the Nokia N91 is more sensitive than your average cell phone. For example, if the battery cover isn’t on correctly, the MP3 player won’t launch. Additionally, if you try to speed through the menu options, you’ll be forced to restart it by powering off/on.
Overall, the menu interface is similar to that of a PC. The main screen has a taskbar across the top with icons for frequently used applications. But if you want to access all the menu folders, we suggest becoming acquainted with the side key with an elliptical icon. Think of it as the equivalent of your Programs folder on the computer; all the applications are located there.
As for making calls, you can dial right away if you remember the numbers and are in the main screen, or you can just select Contacts from the taskbar and a list of your contacts will immediately appear. You can import contacts stored in your Lotus Notes or Outlook applications on your computer using the included PC Sync application. For each contact, you can store the first name, the last name (a nice organizational touch), the company, a job title, six numbers (including an Internet Telephone and Video Call), and an e-mail address. There’s also an e-mail application, so you can send and receive e-mails and even send attachments (mostly multimedia). Since the cell phone supports POP3, SMTP, and IMAP4 accounts, you can set it up to receive work e-mail, but you’ll probably need help from your company’s IT department.
Camera: The Nokia N91 comes with a 2-megapixel camera but lacks a flash; that’s not a bad thing because the flash rarely helps on camera phones. There’s also no quick-launch camera button, unless you dedicate one yourself.  As for camera-centric features, there aren’t a lot. The N91 has a Night Mode and a Sequence Mode; you can only turn them on or off. We did find, however, that this camera is better than most when it comes to capturing moving objects.
Overall, the camera was acceptable. As expected, color accuracy is impressive when viewed on the cell phone, although when we transferred pics from the N91 to the computer, the colors shifted a bit, favoring more greenish hues, while reds were closer to pink. The pictures had a lot of noise; that is, you can see pixels in the photo. As for shadows and highlights, the camera didn’t fare well here. Shadows tended to look a bit muddy, while the highlights totally lacked detail. Additionally, we found video quality to be acceptable for both viewing and shooting.
Music: The heart of the Nokia N91 is its music player. Of course, there’s also an FM radio, and you’ll need to use the included headset if you want to access any radio stations (the headset does double duty as an antenna). There’s no slot for extra memory, but you don’t need it, considering the cell phone has a built-in 8GB hard drive. That means you can easily store more than 3,000 songs on the Nokia N91. It also includes a headphone cable with music controls, which you can use to plug your own headphones into. If you don’t want to use that, you can definitely go with your own pair since there is a 2.5mm headset jack located on the top of the cell phone. Sweet!
The cell phone supports MP3, AAC (Apple iTunes format) and Microsoft WMA music files. Getting music onto the cell phone via the included PC Suite software is fairly straightforward. Unfortunately, you can only delete music from the cell phone; you can’t actually transfer music from the N91 to a computer. Once you get music onto the N91, you can save any song as a ringtone. As for music player features, you can sort your tunes by Playlists, Artist, Album, Genre and Composer. It also has shuffle, repeat, an equalizer with predefined settings, and programmable audio settings (Balance, Stereo Widening, and Loudness).
Connectivity /Bluetooth/WiFi: The Nokia N91 has its fair share of connectivity options. You can make a connection using Bluetooth or the included mini USB to USB. As is the case with the N80, you can even make a connection using WiFi. Yes, WiFi. This is a good option if you have an available WiFi connection and a limited data plan. Since there isn’t a lot of free WiFi floating around these days, be sure to consider a data plan of some sort if you get this cell phone: either wireless or WiFi.
We were able to connect with a PC using Bluetooth and the included cable. We could sync up using the include PC Suite software. We should note, however, that making the initial connection takes a fair amount of time. So, again, have patience. Additionally, you can use Bluetooth to sync contacts, photos, and even music stored on your computer. This is our preferred method, as it went much faster (it took about 10 minutes to transfer 12 songs) than taking the time to set up the cable.
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Look and Feel: First off, the Nokia N91 isn’t going to get lost in a briefcase or a purse. It’s too just too big. The cell phone also has a decent amount of girth; when you hold it in your hand, it feels a bit like an old-school transistor radio, though not nearly as light. This is decidedly a music phone; it even looks more like a music player than a cell phone with its toggle mouse and music-centric keys. It’s not until you slide down (yes, that’s correct, slide down) the base of the cover do you actually see numeric keys.
As for the display, it’s not terribly crisp or bright. We definitely prefer the N80’s screen. The N91’s display, although slightly indented, is prone to picking up face grease.
Keypad: The keypad is a bit odd on this cell phone. Since the music button pad slides down to reveal the keypad, the keys are actually in a bit of a cave, which means there isn’t much room above or below the numeric keys. Also, the keys are on the small side. They aren’t much of a problem to navigate if you have small hands, but those with larger fingers will probably encounter quite a few misdials. |
Nokia N91 8GB Expert Rating
