Nokia 9300

By Bonnie Cha, CNET.com on 16 September 2004

Nokia's 9300 is no longer a brick, but it's also no longer alone in the smart phone space. It's a good evolution of an existing design that should appeal to existing Communicator users, though.

User rating:6.5
  • Good: No longer a brick • Impressive array of applications • Crystal clear screen
  • Bad: No vibration function • Costly
  • Specs: Bluetooth, Infrared • See more specifications
  • RRP: AU$1,199.00
Nokia is giving business users something to write home about with its new 9300 smart phone -- literally. Reminiscent of the Nokia 9210i Communicator> in looks, the Nokia 9300 flips open to reveal a spacious QWERTY keyboard and an ample internal colour display for on-the-go note taking and messaging. And as a corporate-centric phone, it has support for multiple e-mail accounts and Bluetooth, and it runs Symbian OS 7. The 9300 will be available in the first quarter of 2005 in two triband versions: one for Europe and Asia (GSM 900/1800/1900) and one for the Americas (GSM 850/1800/1900).

Upside: Aimed squarely at corporate citizens, the Nokia 9300's features won't disappoint, with its built-in office apps for documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, as well as a PDF viewer. The handset also has a whopping 80MB of free user memory (compared to the Sony Ericsson P910i's 64MB and the Treo 600's 32MB), so you'll have plenty of room to store contacts, appointments, and more; if that's still not enough, there's an MMC slot for expanding memory up to 2GB. Other features include an integrated speakerphone, five-way conference calling, an MP3 and multimedia player, an infrared port, a Web browser, and USB connectivity. For frequent messengers, there's e-mail support (IMAP4, POP3, SMTP, SyncML, and BlackBerry Connect) and text, instant, and multimedia messaging.

Downside: With so many goodies packed inside the Nokia 9300, it's no surprise the handset is a little on the bulky side. At 13.2 by 5 by 2 cm and 167.3 grams, the lengthy mobile will need some room, whether it rides shotgun on your hip or in your bag. Also, for such a full-featured phone, the 9300 has external and internal displays that are limited to 65,000 colours, though newer models support 262,000 shades. And shutterbugs are out of luck with the camera-shy 9300.

Outlook: Due to be released in January 2005 (pricing has not yet been determined), the Nokia 9300 will face tough competition from other office-savvy smart phones such as the P910i, which carries the advantage of a sharper display and an integrated camera. Check back soon for a full review; to see more Nokia handsets, check out our other mobile phone reviews.

Topics: mobile, phone, nokia, smartphone, symbian, 9300

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Comments (9)

  • Chris gave 3/10 on 06/12/2006 21:14

    • Good: mmm NONE
    • Bad: Stacks

    Worst phone I have ever had and I reckon I have had 70. Unreliable and poor functions. Blackberry was inconsistent and constantly turned itself off and locked up.

  • David gave 1/10 on 20/08/2005 04:55

    It's good very good, but...

    It's a great smart phone and not at all bulky and far more convenient than the 'brick' (9500 - who needs a cam in business anyway?) But Nokia are under the illusion that you don't need an external key board as an option. They produce bluetooth keyboards for other smart phone models but not this. yet the key board (though good) is too fiddly for anything other than an extended email, yet with the Symbian Office program and an external keyboard you could usefully write and mail whole 'Word' documents - great when travelling. So wake up Nokia and make your bluetooth keyboard compatible!

  • divyarao gave 1/10 on 14/08/2005 03:05

    9500 is much better than 9300

    I prefer a 9500 instead . This doesnt have a cam . 9500 is business on the move!

    Plus points are Light weight than 9500 & Good looks .

    Anyday Anytime Nokia 9500 !!!

    wats the point of releasing a fone which is Rs.3000/- less .

  • Anonymous gave a review on 29/06/2005 19:18

    Excel & Word Hopeless !

    My 10 year old Casiopia with 4 mb capacity opened & saved Excel & Word files in 10 seconds & used Microsoft CE & so was easy to use. The 2005 Nokia 9300 with 80 mb takes between 30 seconds & 6 minutes to open & save (1 to 4 page ) files & contacts ! Why did Nokia not use the Microsoft CE platform to speed unit up & make it easier to use ? All functions are slow because, I imagine, the unit is constantly converting downloaded Outlook & Office files in to its system . Also I had to learn a whole new platform to use the unit. Why Why Why ? Very frustrating & disappointing as the design,layout & concept is fantastic & large keyboard is the best for people who it often.(I hope a Nokia rep reads this )

  • Samkeet gave 1/10 on 23/02/2005 06:05

    smallest communicator...

  • Arppit gave 1/10 on 23/02/2005 05:59

    smaller than 9500

    i like the functions alot i used Nokia 9210i, 9500 but i like this 9300 more than 9500.

  • Franc Nigl gave 1/10 on 17/02/2005 20:09

    Now I'm ready for business...

    It's a perfect addition to my business life to keep up with my appointments, contacts, time management issues, Finance and other stuff...

  • Jb gave a review on 31/10/2004 03:25

    Cause I Don't Want To

    Cause I want to be different

  • geoff brown gave 1/10 on 10/10/2004 21:04

    a bonza time saver

    moe flexibility in one handpiece. way to go Nokia

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