14 DAY TRIAL // Nokia N93, together with the N90, N92 and N93i models, are among the most weirdly designed mobile phones ever created, not only by Nokia but also by any other handset manufacturer. Although these handsets were and still are very popular, Nokia apparently doesn't care too much about that, since a new phone to have their form factor will not be released in the next few years.
The Nokia Blog, quoting a "reliable source", says that the Finnish company doesn't plan to manufacture any devices with N93's design until 2010. And since there are no clear details if, after this date, Nokia wants to come with new N93-like phones, it's possible that we will never get to see that weird but nice form factor on a Nokia handset, ever again. If this turns out to be true, many Nokia fans that proudly own an N90, N92, N93 or N93i will probably be a bit disappointed, as they might want a new, up-to-date successor for their current phones.
Released back in 2006, Nokia N93 was the most advanced multimedia phone at the time, offering (among others) a 3.2 Megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, auto focus, flash and high-quality (DVD-like) video recording. Moreover, its camcorder-like form factor allowed users to open it in three ways, depending on what features they wanted to use: phone-only, messaging/emails, or photo/video camera.
The last handset to feature the design that Nokia seems to be abandoning is N93i, which was launched at the beginning of 2007. As all the other "camcorder phones", the main drawback of N93i is its big size: 108 x 58 x 25 millimeters - way too bulky when compared to the latest high-end handsets that come in very slim cases.
All in all, we hope Nokia will actually release a successor of N93i in the next year(s), as its form factor proved to be a "sure winner". If the Finnish company manages to make a slim Nseries phone out of it, it will be even better.