P990 Review

This should be easy. I LOVE my new phone. I have the opportunity to check out so many devices that I think I have a good perspective on what is good and what is not good but more importantly I have good perspective on what I like. So before I gush too much let's do the bad.

The Bad.

Cost. This phone is EXPENSIVE. When you can buy a computer or a really neat smartphone, it better be good. I think the P990 hits the mark but its certainly not for everyone.

Buggy UI. The P990 is Symbian 9 and UIQ 3. There are clearly some strange software issues that aren't up in your face but they do surface periodically. Besides the bugginess, which I assume they will fix in an update soon, there was definitely a learning curve in switching from my P910 to the P990. It didn't feel as seamless as I would have expected. I am certain that there are a number of features that I will discover in the future but right now it's just getting back into the old grove with the phone.

Edge. It's probably a carrier issue, but I don't have high speed access on the device(3G network). I am sure Tmobile will get there soon. They just bought a ton of spectrum so its mostly a time issue.

Powercord. After owning 4 Sony Ericsson devices over the last 4 years, they went and switched the power cord. Throw away multiple power cords (home, car, etc.)

The Good.

This phone truly rocks. Rss feed support? Got it. WiFi support? Got it. Multiple audio file support? Got it. Word, PPT, XLS, PDF Support? Got it.

The Very Exceptional.

There are a handful of things that have blown me away. They are...

Battery Life. Something must be terribly wrong, but this battery lasts longer than any power hungry phone I have played with. It also recharges in record time.

WiFi. Trust me, when you get WiFi on your phone, it is going to change your life. I sent 2 megabyte files to my Flickr account over GPRS. Painful. I did it over WiFi. Instantaneous.

Display Quality. The P990 comes with some pre-installed games. I don't play games on my phone (much) but when I checked out the Vijay Singh golf game my jaw dropped. The display is simply insane.

Over the coming months I plan to work the device in a way that maxes out the multimedia capabilities as well as explore new software as it becomes available. Skype please? Stay tuned for more.