14 DAY TRIAL // In the third quarter of 2005 Nokia launched a new lineup of handsets especially designed for fashionistas. The new series, called L'Amour Collection featured only three models at that time: a candy-bar 7360, a swivel 7370 and a thumbdrive-shaped 7380. After exactly 1 year, Nokia decided to refresh the series with a new model ? 7390. Unfortunately, its bulky clamshell form factor didn't stir the interest of the Collection?s fans. Its oldish design, obsolete operating system and mediocre techs embedded should've transformed it into a total fiasco, but they didn't. I guess Nokia brand is too much appreciated or has the fiercest fans. As a side note, Nokia completed its L'Amour Collection with a CDMA compatible handset ? Nokia 7088. Available in two colors, Powder Pink and Bronze Black, the handset's price ranges from 450 Euros to almost 600 Euros, depending on the market location.
Design
Now that's strange: the 2006 clamshell has a 2005 design. Bulky for today's standards but rather slim for those times, Nokia 7390 bears the same chic label that every L'Amour handset has been branded with. If you look at the phone when it's folded you can see that its size is pretty ok, but the moment you unfold it ... oops you'll have a 'BIG' problem in your hand. Precisely, the phone?s size is 90 mm (folded), 170 mm (unfolded) x 47 mm x 19 mm and weighs 115 grams (battery included).
But being large has its advantages and one of those is the beautiful large TFT 240 x 320 pixels resolution display that supports more than 16 millions colors. The clamshell form factor gives the designer a chance to also include an external display, which in this case supports 168 x 128 pixels resolution and more than 256k colors. A custom for Nokia handsets ? both the volume control and the camera buttons are located on the left side of the handest (like in so many cases). On top of the phone, we can find the miniUSB port and the 2.5 mm stereo jack port for headsets. The left side of the device features the charger and the infrared ports and the usual power button. The front cover of the phone has been decorated with flower-like drawings; the same that were used in all the previous models of the L'Amour Collection. Right under the external display, on the front cover, there are three more keys that help users navigate in a small menu.
The back of the phone embeds the 3 Megapixel camera and it's made of a leather-like material that bears the Nokia logo. If we unfold the phone we can see that its keypads are unusually big, but very comfy. It almost makes you feel sure that you'll never dial the wrong number. You can even use the phone in darker areas because it features backlights and you won't have dialing problems. Nokia 7390 is a 3G device, thus it also features a VGA camera used for video calls, which is located on the top right of the unfolded handset. If you decide to buy one you'll also receive a HS-60 stereo headset, 128MB microSD card, compact charger AC-3, charger adapter CA-44 and carrying strap.
Display and Camera
Nokia 7390 has a very generous internal display that measures 45 x 35 mm and a 27 x 21 mm external display, both fully customizable. Actually, this is were the fashionistas will get excited; because the phone features tons of images, wallpapers, themes, effects and screensavers for both displays; and that's besides the pictures you can shot and set as background for either of the screens. The internal TFT display's graph is exceptional featuring 240 x 320 pixels resolution and supporting over 16 millions colors, but the lack of an internal processor will make your screen lit up a little bit slower than normal. Another drawback of the display is its low brightness. The external display features 168 x 128 pixels resolution and supports more than 256k colors; plus, it can be used for navigating a menu that controls some of the most widely used functions of the phone such as: radio, mp3 player, camera and key locking command.
The 3 Megapixel camera is the best in all the L'Amour Collection handsets. Never before has Nokia launched an S40 device to feature such a powerful camera. There are 6 resolutions supported by the 3 Megapixel camera: 1536 x 2048, 1200 x 1600, 960 x 1280, 480 x 640, 240 x 320, 120 x 160 pixels. The pictures taken with the camera are pretty good, but big resolutions don't necessary mean better quality. Still, the camera shots are good, as you can see in the pictures below.
There are some options you can use such as auto-timer, some special effects that you can apply on the already shot pictures, 8 x digital zoom, flash or color balance. If you don't want to unfold the phone to take a picture, the small external display can offer you the alternative of taking shots whenever you want. You can even use pre-defined frames for your pictures. The 3 Megapixel camera will surely satisfy any person that buys this phone, assuming that he (but mostly "she") also likes it.
Menu and Software
The phone features one of the most customizable menu in terms of view and graphs. Users have a high number of colorful themes and images at their disposal which they can use to change the appearance of both displays. The main menu features the usual options such as: Messaging, Contacts, Log, Settings, Gallery, Media, Organiser, Applications, Web and PTT (Push to Talk). The rest of the applications are the same as in any S40 device. No other uncommon applications or functions, except that you won't be able to open and read .pdf or any office files although Nokia particularly specified that you can do that in the phone's manual. The external display can also be customized, but you can't change its menu and you're only left with 4 functions: radio, mp3 player, camera and key locking command.
The Finnish communication giant 'respects' its L'Amour Collection lineup and doesn't include any version of Symbian OS. Nokia 7390 'complies' to the S40 rules and application compatibility is limited to the Java system. You can only find 3 pre-installed applications on the phone: Size converter, World clock and Nokia Sensor. We all know what the first two are doing, so let's check out some features of the last one. Nokia Sensor is used for Bluetooth communication between 2 or more people. It's some kind of a sociable application for 'sociable' people. Nokia Sensor can be used to create personal pages ? called folios ? on the phone. Users can check out the folios of other Sensor users nearby, exchange messages, and share files. The application uses Bluetooth wireless technology, which means that it works within a circle of up to 10 meters around the phone. When other Sensor phones come within this circle, the phone can 'sense' them and you can see their folios and send them messages. As soon as you step out of each other's circles, you are no longer able to communicate via Sensor. Because phones running the Sensor application communicate directly without going through an operator network service, communication is free of charge. However, if you send SMS or MMS messages to other Nokia Sensor users, regular operator fees apply. Unfortunately, there are only few handsets that feature Nokia's Sensor, so the popularity of the application is rather scarce.
There are also 4 nice games included, Java compatible: Music Guess, Rally 3D, Snake III and Sudoku (see pictures below), but you have the option of downloading and installing more. You can search our database for more free Java applications here.
Communication
Nokia 7390 can be considered the "flagship" of the L'Amour Collection, because of its 3G (UMTS) technology. UMTS technology, using W-CDMA, supports up to 14.0 Mbit/s data transfer rates in theory (with HSDPA), although at the moment users in deployed networks can expect a performance up to 384 kbps for this handset, and 3.6 Mbit/s for HSDPA compatible handsets. It also features EDGE connectivity, class 10 that offers transfers of up to 236.8 kbps, Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity, Infrared port and miniUSB port 2.0. In this case, data transfers through USB port reached to 1Mbit/s, which is good if you think of the user target of the handset. The USB connection will surely offer the best method for synchronization with the PC, backed up by the Bluetooth 2.0, which will mostly be used when you lack an USB cable or don't want to use one. Clearly one of the strong points of the device is the reception of the GSM signal. You won't have any signal problems if you'll be staying in the coverage area.
Processor and Memory
Nokia 7390 features an ARM9 familiy processor at 211 MHz, a little bit slower than its 7373 older brother. The simple S40 3rd Edition tag will allow you to install some Java application and games, but check the requirements before installing anything. The Jazelle technology enables the phone to achieve high performance to software compilation techniques, with fast start-up and smooth execution in a small memory footprint. The phone features 30 MB internal memory which can be upgraded through the microSD card slot up to 2 GB. The internal memory is too small and offers less functionality for users that like the phone, that's why Nokia decided to include a 128MB microSD card in the selling package. You can find the slot card right above the SIM card slot, which is good because you won't be forced to take out the battery when you want to insert or take out the memory card (hot-swap option enabled).
Multimedia
The whole L'Amour Collection is based on rich multimedia features such as: especially created themes, sounds, wallpapers and screensavers. Thus Nokia 7390 features 9 abstract themes, 30 wallpapers, 4 graphical effects, 7 clip-arts that you can send as MMSs, 7 frames that can be used for pictures, 16 ringing tones and 7 alert tones. The phone features 64 polyphony sound and has enough volume so it can be heard in noisy areas. The "vibrate" function also works very well, ensuring that the user won't miss any calls even when in "Silence Mode". Unfortunately, the HS-60 stereo headsets included in the package doesn't help users too much and the sound is bad. If you use the 3D speakers for listening to music the sound is even worse, especially when you want it louder. Media functions include MP3 player which supports MP3, AAC, M4A, eAAC+, AAC+ files, media player that can record clips in 3GP format, in four different resolutions (128 x 96 pixels, 176 x 144 pixels, 352 x 288 pixels or 640 x 480 pixels), equalizer with 5 modes (normal, pop, rock, jazz and classical) or custom mode, FM radio and voice recorder.
Battery
Nokia's 7390 handset features a BP-5M 780 mAh Lithium-Polymer battery that has a stated autonomy of 220 hours in standby mode and 3 hours in talk time mode. The manufacturer clearly overestimated the autonomy of the battery, thus it only lasts for about 160 hours in standby mode and about 2 hours in talk time mode. Even lower numbers if you're using the phone as an MP3 player.
Impressions
At first glance, I didn't really like the phone because its design tags it as a "fashionistas" phone. Although it features great functionality and includes all the options a Nokia fan will look for in a handset, it lacks good design and at only 1 year after its launch I can say that it looks "obsolete". Nevertheless, Nokia 7390 is the best handset of the L'Amour Collection ? as it was intended to be, so I suggest you upgrade your older phones of the lineup if you're looking for more updated technology.
The Good
The numerous options and technologies included in the handset give the phone great functionality. Even if not all present functions are high-end level it still catches the eye especially if you're a girl. I could point out that the 3G connectivity is a big step forward for L'Amour Collection, but I think that this lineup should focus more on the design first and then on functionality. Also, good transfer data on miniUSB port and strong signal could be mentioned here.
The Bad
Bulky design, bad sound, lack of operating system, low internal memory recommend this phone only for L'Amour Collection "fanatics". Too few accessories in the sales package can also be a major drawback, especially when you think of its rather high price.
Sales Package
Nokia 7390 phone Nokia Battery BP-5M (780 mAh) Nokia Compact Charger AC-3 Nokia Charger Adapter CA-44 Nokia Headset HS-60 128MB microSD card (optional) Carrying Strap Software CD Brochures
Photo: Tudor Raiciu
