Announced on 8 September 2004, half a year after the 9500, the 9300 can be considered a younger brother of the 9500 Communicator, sharing most of its features but being considerably smaller and lighter.
The 9300 is the first Communicator with dimensions and weight similiar to 'normal' GSM phones. It weighs 167 g (i.e. almost 60 grams less than 9500) and measures 132x51x21 mm (126 cc) which is more or less a size of Nokia 6310 phone. Good news for all those who always wanted to have a Communicator with its full QWERTY keyboard but couln't stand the size and weight of the previous models.
What's different? Of course, the most visible change is the above mentioned much smaller weight and size. In addition, the 9300 lacks two important things: it has no camera and no Wi-Fi. Smaller battery (Li-Polymer 970 mAh compared to 1300 mAh in 9500) provides it with shorter standby and talk times of 150-200 hours and 3,5-4 hours respectively (9500: 180-300 hrs and 4-10 hrs). Also, the 9300 additionally supports SIM Access Bluetooth profile. It is said to be available in Q1 2005 and should be about 100 Euros cheaper than the 9500.
So, what do we think about the 9300? It is magnificent! Being that small and light while preserving almost all of the features and full compatibility with the 9500 is what can make the 9300 a mass market device as opposed to the 'niche' role played by all previous Communicators. Remember that just like the 9500 the 9300 offers EDGE, Bluetooth and USB 2.0 connectivity, stereo sound, fast, dual-core OMAP1510 CPU @ 150 MHz, 64 MB SDRAM and ~90 MB storage memory expandable with MMC cards and it still has that full QWERTY keyboard and more. On the other hand, lack of Wi-Fi is a bit disappointing whereas no camera can stop network operators from subsidizing the 9300 and keep its price on a high level.
Anyway, the best news is that the Series 80 platfrom has come back to life. And it not only offers all the latest technical features but now also let users choose between larger 9500 and smaller 9300, according to personal tastes and needs. That's a completely new approach of Nokia to this product range.
All the remaining features of the 9300 model are the same as of the Nokia 9500. Please, see the 9500 Introduction for more information.
N9300 PROs AND CONs
PROs (compared to N9500):
- much smaller and lighter
- supports SIM Access Bluetooth profile
CONs:
- no WiFi
- no camera
- shorter standby and talk times
