Nokia N93i review

The tiny LED light under the Nokia's lens is just acceptable for taking very close-up portraits in the dark, but miles behind Sony Ericsson's powerful Xenon flash.

Video shooting is equally easy to master, but even lighter on features -- just Auto and Night scene modes and exposure tweaks.

Much sleeker than the original version but still more camcorder than phone

Being an N-series handset, there's a host of high-tech extras on board. Top of the list is Nokia's excellent Web browser -- especially useful in conjunction with an all-you-can-surf package from 3 or T-Mobile, or with the efficient, easy-to-set-up Wi-Fi connection.

The browser spurns cut-down WAP or i-mode sites, tackling real Web pages with aplomb. A handy Mini-Map function aids navigation, and it gets easier still if you flip the screen into landscape format. The N93i is confident on multimedia, too, streaming BBC's Listen Again radio shows without a murmur of complaint, although it does baulk at YouTube videos.

Other features worth seeking out are instant-blogging links to Flickr and Vox, QuickOffice and PDF Viewer for work stuff, and some surprisingly good games, including an excellent 3D racer.

Performance
Still images from the zoom lens are much better than most camera phones, with reasonable exposure, recognisable detail and lively colours. But you'd never mistake the N93i's pictures for those from a real camera -- complex detail is smeared, there's softness and distortion at the edges of the frame and white balance is erratic. Reds, in particular, are over-emphasised, leading to scarlet skin tones that suggest sunburn or excessive drinking.

Video clips are better, with smooth, rich colours and crisp edges, though again little real detail. The zoom, however, is noticeably jerky and sound recording ebbs and wanes like waves on a beach. With or without the LED light, low light filming is grainy.

Media playback is more professional, with fine video performance and light, bright sound through the supplied headset. Connecting the N93i to a TV is quick and easy. But we did have some problems. The handset would occasionally flash up an 'Out of memory' warning during video slideshows and once froze up completely.

Loud ringtones, distinct vibration alerts and clear, if somewhat distant, audio make voice calls relatively painless.

But all this multimedia action -- and that huge screen -- put a strain on the N93i's battery. We found it needed charging pretty much every evening, after just a modest amount of photo and video shooting, and a few calls and texts.

Conclusion
If you want a camera phone to replace your digital camera, you've got two main choices: the N93i with its zoom lens or Sony Ericsson's K800i (and soon K810i) with real flash, although Nokia's all-singing N95 nav-phone (with 5-megapixel resolution) is probably worth checking out.

The N93i's 2.7x zoom lens is easy to use and certainly adds flexibility. Question marks, however, remain over the quality of both still photos (white balance, softness) and video (jerky zooming). Despite its fantastic range of multimedia features and unparalleled connectivity, the N93i remains just a shade too lumbering to recommend without reservations. Try before you buy.

Edited by Jason Jenkins
Additional editing by Kate Macefield