Sporting a massive 4 GB of storage, support for MP3 and WMA files and a host of other features, the N91 is Nokia's first proper music phone; Jørgen Sundgot takes it for a spin in this picture review.
Review summary of the Nokia N91:
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 Not much holds the N91 back from scoring full marks in the music department; the lack of bundled quality headphones and stereo Bluetooth audio is about it. Otherwise excellent audio quality, an intuitive interface, comfortable controls and superb music transfer capabilities including Windows Media Connect support are all favoured traits, as is the massive 4 GB of storage - although we're a bit miffed by the rotund form factor. Voice and messaging capabilities are first-rate with the exception of a slightly cramped keypad, while the 2 Megapixel camera and browser are unlikely to impress. As a result of its varied feature set and hard drive reliance, battery life is expectedly average, but the N91 still outperforms the vast majority of music phones at the time of writing. Release: June 2006. Price: $600.
Pros: Spacious 4 GB hard drive; dedicated key lock; nice screen
Cons: Bulky; mediocre out-of-box audio quality; lacks stereo Bluetooth audio
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87%
VERY GOOD |
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Full Nokia N91 Review:
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Arriving as Nokia's first fully-fledged music phone, the N91 is a bulky competitor to more streamlined offerings such as Samsung's SGH-i300 or Sony Ericsson's W810i - yet also boasts a best-in-class hard drive that holds in the range of 1000 MP3s.
Calling - Excellent
Demonstrating Nokia's usual excellence in voice quality, owners can gab effortlessly using either the built-in microphone, a Bluetooth headset or the impeccable loudspeaker; signal reception is outstanding, as we've come to expect from Nokia.
Music - Very good
Stocking the N91 with music is a pleasantly snappy affair, with the handset connecting either as a USB drive or alternatively to Windows Media Player 10 or above to gain access to intelligent playlist synchronization, album art and more.
Navigation is a breeze whether in the music player or elsewhere courtesy of the large, slide-down control pad, while MP3 and WMA tunes alike play back with rich bass and crisp high notes; unfortunately, WMA DRM isn't supported, and the bundled set of earphones are of the mediocre sort. Sadly, there's also no stereo Bluetooth audio (A2DP).
Stand-out feature: to search for music, start typing within the player, and the result list will be refined while you type - pure genius.
Messaging - Very good
SMS, MMS and e-mail are all duly supported, and the keypad - although slightly cramped and with a scattering blue backlight - is excellent. For text-o-holics, the N91 also allows for the adding of a Bluetooth keyboard to enable rapid-fire typing.
Camera - Good
The N91 also hosts a 2 Megapixel camera sans flash which offers basic picture taking and video recording. Unfortunately, its performance is far from comparable to that of its N90 sibling; we'd go as far as to say it's sub-par.
Browsing - Good
3G and Wi-Fi make for superb connectivity, but the N91 sadly isn't much good for browsing as a result of its slightly milky and medium-resolution screen coupled with a browser that has no support whatsoever for mobile optimization.
Battery life - Good
Delivering up to 3 hours of standby time and 6 days of standby, the N91 isn't for the most talkative among us. Music lovers will be pleased to learn of the 7 hours of play time, which is quite decent but nothing more.
Price and availability
The Nokia N91 will start selling for $600 () in June 2006.
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