Nokia N90

I hate this phone. I hate it so much. I hate it more than any other phone in the world – because I want it so badly. I want it so much. I want this phone. And I'm not the only one. Sturart Henshall recorded me with his N90 at CES, and I was… mad. Not because he recorded me, but because I knew that this post was inevitable. You see, someone on Nokia's PR team saw it fit to send me a review unit before these things shipped. They wanted me to give 'er a spin, and I did (several times over). And now that I've spun it, it's time for me to send the N90 back to Nokia. They'll probably send it out as a refurb at some point, so that put me a little on edge when I had it on my person. The N90 is ~$600. To me, that's just too steep – despite the amazing optics. $600 is PDA range – but I don't really own (or need) a PDA anymore.
For years, Nokia phones have sported a killer OS UI. Until the Smartphone came along, Nokia was really the only game in town. The N90 “swivelphone” is just as usable. At first, the hardware was a bit awkward to use. I was flipping and flopping that flucker before I fligured out how everything worked. But it was fun. Since I don't review phones for a living, I don't think I could come close to offering the same kind of details as infoSync World or Mobile-review. I'm just a user. A power user, at that. I use something, people see me use it, then they go out and get it themselves (just ask Robert Scoble about that). Is the N90 something I'd like to have in my pocket? Certainly. Is it worth the price? That all depends on how much you're willing to spend on a communications device.
Let me put it to you this way: when I was carring it around, everybody wanted to know what it was – and where they could get one. It's different, in the good kind of way. If you don't have a price ceiling, and you're looking for a phone that'll make everybody jealous, I'm thinkin' you're lookin' for an N90. But if you're on a budget, and don't take many pictures with your current phone, then I'm thinkin' you need something else.
And now that I've said my piece, Nokia wants me to send the N90 back. See, they couldn't buy me off. Not that I would have stopped them had they let me keep it, but at least I'll be able to say that I owned one of the world's most expensive cell phones once. Bragging rights! Damn them. Damn them for tempting me and making me want to add the N90 to my collection. I love 'em and hate 'em for it at the same time.