The Communicator series of Nokia, as big, bulky and brick-like as they may have been in their respective life spans, have never ceased to be one of the most fascinating mobile communication devices of all time. In fact the Communicator could be considered the worlds very first true MID (Mobile Internet Device). While the initial designs may not really have appealed to me too much, I’ve always wanted to own one simple because pf the powerful, macho presence it brought to the table. And then came the E90, or as I liked to call it, The Brick. Sure it wasn’t slick or sexy, but you just couldn’t deny the kind of machismo this baby just oozes.

The E90 was as manly a phone as a phone could get. Plus in a street fight, a better concealed weapon you could not find. A swipe of the E90 up-side the head and that’ll take care of your issues in a single go.

It’s been a long time since the Finnish company launched a Communicator and I know the community has been waiting impatiently to see just what the next gen device would be capable of. Well it’s here now, finally!

Better late than never

After traumatic delays the all new Nokia Communicator aka the Nokia E7 has arrived. But my question to Nokia is, as fantastic as the Communicator series may have been back in the day, how will it hold up in this new day and age of handsets and tablets that are so much smarter than before? With the likes of the iPhone 4, Motorola Xoom, Samsung Galaxy S II, LG Optimus devices et al, it’s not going to be an easy road for the E7.

What does really make the timing so bad for Nokia to have unleashed this beast, is that prices of Smartphones have dropped drastically. With Apple’s iPad 2 out in the open now, the current model and competitors like Samsung’s Galaxy Tab have slashed prices. With the their shares in a decline and an app store that features a little over 3000 plus apps, there’s no way Nokia is in shape to seriously compete with the likes of Google’s Android or Apple’s own AppStore. Although, I’ll admit, and I can say this since I have had a decent amount of exposure to the Nokia E7, the pricing, in relation to the functionality, is going to make competitors wince.

It’s an all new design that’s got everything you’d expect from previous models and it’s loaded to the hilt with the latest in communication technology. Of course I’ll know more when it makes to my lab table.

All things considered though, with Nokia making the big move to take on Microsoft’s latest smartphone OS i.e. Windows Phone 7, I fear that the E7 could very well be the very last of the famous and now legendary Symbian Communicator line of Mobile Internet Office Devices. The Symbian OS has been struggling to match competition and to retain its footing in the mobile smartphone space. It might not make it. Loyalists will be sorely disappointed I’m sure.  

But that doesn’t mean we won’t see more Communicators. I’m not, however, looking forward to a new age Communicator running a yet-to-be completed operating system like WP7, as much as it is growing on me. I’ve said WP7 has potential and I’m sticking by that. It could be the new revolution of smartphones, just like Android, but I don’t see it overtaking Google’s offering ever. But just yet, I wouldn’t mind waiting a little while longer till the OS is ready for the phone. I don’t ever see it being the other way around.

The Communicator will have its long standing legacy on the mobile mantle place of the greats in this business. This won’t be the last I’m sure and whatever the turn out for the E7, even if the community rejects it as a best in class business device because of the BlackBerry or any other contender, I have no doubt it will still be a handset that will make you sit up and take notice. A Communicator is a Communicator, is a Communicator.