After much waiting, my new phone is finally here! (That’s a picture of a Nokia N90 below, in case you’re reading this in an aggregator that doesn’t pull in linked images.)

Alright, so I’m last on the block to get one, I know, but I’ve really wanted this phone for it’s camera and high resolution (352 x 416) screen. Even though it’s four or five months old (that’s ancient, right?), it still seems to be top dog in camera phones, which is what I wanted.

However, before I go much further in explaining my excitement, I suppose it’s only proper to mention the standard disclaimer that I’m a little partial to the brand and technology in this phone, given my place of employment (ie., the company that makes it.)

With that out of the way, let’s start with first impressions. The packaging was nice — standard Nokia cardboard, but it opens well, creating a nice presentation and feeling of excitement. It’s not quite the experience of opening an iPod box, but it’s an improvement over previous box designs.

Removing the N90 from it’s clear plastic pedestal, you immediately notice the metal trim on the sides, which is cool to the touch. The phone feels solid, and you notice it’s heft. I hear people complain about the size and weight of this phone, but it carries the bulk well — it’s similar to how a solid car door feels compared to a flimsy entry model. Opening the clamshell, the mechanics also feel more solid then on my 7610 (although it could be the 2 Euro face plates from a Beijing street dealer that I was using.) The 7610 is a great phone (I carried it for almost two years!), but the N90 is certainly a step up.

Unpacking the rest of the box, you get a power cord (with a new, smaller plug that renders my collection of Nokia charges mostly useless), a single power-cord adapter for older chargers, a USB cable, a 64 MB MMC, and a wired headset that seems more like a prank then a real consumer product (I’m glad I still have the one-ear unit from the 7610.)

With the phone charged, I fired it up to be greeted by a gorgeous screen and a LOUD startup sound. Before mucking around, priority number one was to transfer my contacts and pictures to the new phone. Fortunately, I know that the new devices ship with a Data Transfer application, so I gave my new toy a Bluetooth device name, popped a dummy-SIM into my 7610, and kicked off the process. The 64 MB card in my 7610 was maxed-out with pictures, videos, flash files, and Python scripts, so I expected this to take awhile. It did — about a half an hour, but it worked like a charm. Having this work was particularly important to me since the N90 isn’t supported by Apple’s iSync yet, and I don’t have the patience to use Nokia PC Suite.

Next up was installing crucial applications. This includes, Python for S60 (of course), Calcium, FExplorer, Google Local Mobile, and my various card and puzzle games. Everything installed and runs fine, but you certainly notice the free memory numbers when installing — there was something like 25 MG free on internal storage! That’s a nice change of pace.

Using the phone will take a little getting used to. The controls are spaced differently, so I find my thumb occasionally hitting “end call” instead of ‘c’ (the “delete” key.) The D-pad placement is also going to make gaming a little tricky. It’s recessed in such a manner that my thumb is telling me I’ve been playing on the phone too long. The 7610 was no Snake-champ either (the 6600 is probably my favorite for that, or perhaps the original N-Gage), but I suppose I’ll get used to it. It’s also a little disorienting at first when you have to switch to different soft-keys and a side-mounted D-pad when rotating the screen. It “feels” right when you’re holding it, but it’s still something different.

I made a few mistakes when trying to take my first photo (of one of my cats, in case you’re curious.) Just when I had the shot lined up I would depress the D-pad hoping it operated the shutter. It doesn’t. It’s the button above that. And then when I finally figured that out, the cat was in for a surprise when the flash went off :-)

I’ve got a lot of exploring left to do on this phone. There’s a ton of camera functionality that’s new, and I might even try to make a phone call!