Talk to Me, Baby
Written: Jul 01 '00 (Updated Jul 01 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: An all-in-one wonder for the modern mobile warrior
Cons: A little too hefty for the average hip pocket
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| joller's Full Review: Nokia 9000il Cell Phone |
You would think, by now, that the dentists of this world would have figured the whole thing out. It is not the prospect of root-canal treatment that quickens your pulsebeat and tightens the knot in your chest.
It is not the finely-pitched whine of the precision electric drill, or the meticulous gleam of the talon they use to scrape away at the back of your teeth. It is the waiting.
You sit in the ante-room with the pastel-coloured walls, battling to divert your attention from the posters of neglected molars and advanced gingivitis. But the only diversion, short of small talk with your fellow victims, is the pile of coverless consumer magazines from the early 1990’s, and the scattering of educational pamphlets dumped by the Mentadent rep.
Dentists, here is a suggestion. Put a couple of computers in there. Hook them up to the Net. Allow people to surf, check their e-mail, play a game. Your investment will pay off. Your patients will be rewarded. They may not even need an anaesthetic.
Yes, I know: it’s not going to happen. Dental bills are already high enough. So here is another suggestion. Next time you pluck up the courage to visit your friendly dental health professional, be sure to take along a Nokia 9110. (Or the Nokia 9000i as it's known in the US).
You will be able to surf the Net, check your e-mail, play a game. You will be able to send or receive a fax, organise your diary, record yourself speaking.
As if that were not enough, when the phone rings in the tone of your choice, you will be able to sit there with the Nokia still open on your lap, and tell the other party that you are in a meeting and will call back as soon as the anaesthetic wears off.
Part personal planner, part mini-computer, part Internet-enabled wireless communications device, the Nokia 9110 Communicator is the most compelling example yet of the coolest trend in modern consumer gadgetry. It’s called convergence.
As separate, overlapping tools and functions merge and, well, converge, the need to carry a multitude of small devices on your person gradually falls away. Now, you need only carry one. True, it’s not that small.
The Nokia 9110 is about the size and heft of a king-size bar of double-hazelnut chocolate, although it must be said that the sleek, angular design represents the best possible compromise between convenience and portability.
From the outside, the Communicator looks like any other cellphone, only slightly more conspicuous. Open the clam-shell, however, and you have in your hands a gadget that even James Bond and Captain Kirk would gaze upon with envy.
Anyone who has ever attempted to introduce a cellphone to a laptop computer, for the simple purpose of sending an e-mail to the office, will know that the benefits are rarely worth the schlep and the extra expense.
With a Nokia 9110, the whole process is as easy as touching a few teeny buttons, while feasting your eyes on the crisp, backlit and zoomable screen. This is e-mail and fax we’re talking about. If you want to browse the Web, it’s just as easy, but not quite as quick.
The Communicator trawls through cyberspace at 9600 kilobits per second, which is about five times slower than the modem on your desktop. Still, it’s fine for checking the headlines and stock prices on a text-only site.
In practise, you are more likely to regard the Web access as a nice-to-have perk, while you wonder how you ever managed without e-mail and fax in your pocket. Indeed, you may need to remind yourself that the Nokia 9110 is a cellphone too, and a damn fine one at that.
Best feature: the hands-free speakerphone, which allows you to flip the lid and chat away without one of those stupid secret-service buds in your ear. Coolest feature: the built-in voice recorder, which allows you to define your very own ringing signal (“Pick up the phone! Pick up the phone!”) in a world where every second person has already chosen Flight of the Bumblebee.
Add the calendar, the contacts list, the world-time clock, and the digital camera connectivity, and you have a device that no self-respecting citizen of the modern world can possibly afford to be without.
Go on. Be brave. Pick up your Communicator, and make that appointment with your dentist today.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
joller
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Reviews written: 19
Trusted by: 4 members
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