Nokia N93

Originally uploaded by Prophecy Boy.

Yesterday I was getting excited about buying a new camera. My current digicam is getting rather long in the tooth, with only 3 megapixels packed into its bulky body, and the small 1.5″ screen and tendency to over-expose everything have been getting on my nerves for awhile. Buying a new camera was always part of the plan for my tax refunds, and seeing as the fall will bring a new computer and a new phone, it seemed like a good idea to spread out those major purchases just a bit.

The problem that I ran in to was a classic dilemma - size versus quality. I had found what I thought was the perfect camera for me (the Canon S80), but - alas! - it’s barely smaller than my current brick. I briefly considered buying two cameras (one good, larger cam, and one small and portable), before immediately slapping myself for thinking such things.

Then, this morning, the solution appeared, in the unexpected form of the Nokia N93. Yes, it’s a phone, but it has an amazing 3 megapixel camera (same as I have now), and a real lens, and takes full VGA-quality video. With the N93, I could carry a decent camera with me all the time, and not worry about buying a slightly larger “good” camera. In fact, I’m wavering on whether I would really need another camera at all (despite how much I want one).

I have this problem with cell phones - while they’ve evolved into very nifty and flexible devices, they never seem to be able to get all of those features into any one phone. Well, it seems like the N93 may have solved that problem. Besides the high-quality camera, it’s also got integrated Flickr uploading, stereo bluetooth, over-the-air PIM syncing (gush!), and even freaking WiFi (double-gush!)! And it’s running S60 v.3. You know what that means? It will (eventually, when it’s released) run Skype! How hot is that? Video moblogging, OTA syncing, and WiFi running on an open platform - it’s true love.

Pretty much the only missing feature is a QWERTY keyboard. Despite all my problems with my Treo, the thought of leaving behind the full keyboard has left me with nightsweats. Fortunately (because Nokia is, clearly, the bomb), the N93 will work with their Bluetooth keyboard. Not the ideal solution, but I’m willing to work with it, considering that everything else about the phone is damn near perfect. Oh, and it’s also a quad-band GSM plus CDMA, which, I think, means it will work just about anywhere in the world, and on multiple carriers in the US and Europe.

It drops in July, and though I want it sooner (damn it!), just knowing that I’ll be able to purchase a phone that solves most of my mobile problems makes me a happy camper indeed.

UPDATE
I must admit, I was a little afraid that I’d have to import the sucker, but - hey! - it looks like Nokia will be opening stores in the US to sell freaks like me the phones that carriers are too stupid to realize we want. The second store will open this summer in New York (after the first one in Chicago). Perfect timing! Oh, and the purported $682 price tag is (thankfully) less than the 800 euros quoted earlier. Still, the lack of carrier subsidy is a pain in the wallet. But, hey, no contracts!

I predict this will work well for Nokia - it’s insanely expensive to import phones, and the carriers just don’t carry anything remotely high-end in the States, despite the fact that most GSM phones from Europe would work seamlessly.

[via Gizmodo]