Nokia Communicator: Some thoughts and ideas for the future

Preface: I have never owned, nor have I ever used a Nokia (NYSE: NOK) E90. I’ve never owned any mobile phone in the Nokia Communicator series to be honest.

When I was growing up laptops were expensive, had horrible battery life, and were slow. I wanted a device to take with me to school since I felt much more comfortable in front of a keyboard then holding a pen. The PSION Revo was one of the best purchases I’ve ever made.

The keyboard was large enough that I could type comfortably and the device was small enough that it could fit inside my rucksack and I’d forget it was even there. Battery life was amazing, often lasting me several days without having to charge. When I went to college however I got rid of it and purchased a compact laptop with a 12 inch screen. I needed more horsepower.

I still miss that little guy sometimes. It never crashed on me, ever. It was small enough to take with me everywhere and it was very snappy. This post however isn’t about the PSION Revo. Why did I bother to bring it up then?

The Nokia Communicator has always been about a balance of portability and practicality. The form factor hasn’t changed in 10 years and people still seem to dig it. From the pictures I’ve seen however the screen has an awkward aspect ratio and the keyboard doesn’t look all that comfortable. I’m going to propose something that I think many of you will want to hang me for: make the Communicator larger. At least the size of the PSION Revo, better yet the PSION 7.

“Stefan … you’ve gone stark mad. Make a mobile larger?!”

The thing is the Communicator never was about being a cell phone. It was about leaving the laptop at home and transplanting your office work to your mobile. I feel that in 2007 we have the technology to do something better. Here’s what I had in mind:

1. Make the Communicator large enough that anyone can touch type on it. The Q, A, and Z keys should not line up. Any proper keyboard will have the correct orientation.

2. Remove the external screen, and increase the size of the internal screen to at least 5 inches.

3. Make an ultra thin Bluetooth handset that would slide in to the device to recharge. This is the most radical of the three ideas and the one I’m going to spend the most time on elaborating.

Microsoft has this new feature they’re pushing laptop manufactures to adopt called Side Show. It is essentially a screen with an input device that allows a user to access critical data while the computer is off or in another room. A remote control on steroids if you will.

Kensington released a PCMCIA VoIP phone. It plugs in to the PCMCIA slot on your laptop and you pull it out whenever you want to make or take a call.

Combine Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT)’s concept with Kensington’s and you get an idea of what I would like the ultra thin Bluetooth handset to be like. Imagine having a Nokia Communicator smaller than a 12 inch laptop, but wide enough that it would let you touch type. It doesn’t need a hard drive or optical drive so it can remain thin. It has a full size USB port allowing you to use a USB key. Inside the belly of the Communicator would sit an ultra thin handset. It doesn’t have any radios except Bluetooth.

You keep this handset inside your pocket, while having the Communicator in your briefcase. Anything you can do on a current S60 device like the E61 or E65 for example, you can do on this device. It doesn’t have a TI OMAP processor; it is merely using the Bluetooth protocol to stream information to appear on the display, as well as take your inputs and send them to the Communicator. You can read your email, look at your contacts, and even make a call on this Bluetooth handset. It’s simply a remote control that looks like a mobile phone.

When you’re done with it, you slide it back in to the larger Nokia Communicator. The Communicator itself houses the processor, all the radios, GPS, etc. The handset is merely an external screen with an input device that is wireless. I cannot emphasize this enough. It isn’t a phone; it’s the external screen and keypad on the E90, transplanted in to an external Bluetooth device that just so happens to look like a mobile.

UMPC’s aren’t taking off since the battery life is poor and the device itself is slow. Laptops are getting smaller but again don’t offer the ease of use and reliability that a mobile phone does. Smaller laptops often sacrifice battery life to reach such a petite form factor. Make the Communicator a super ultra compact laptop replacement with an ultra thin Bluetooth handset allowing you to control and manipulate everything inside and I think you’ll have a winner on your hands.

What do you guys think?

I wish I had the photoshop skills to make a mock up. Best I can do is this.

Imagine you had a Nokia Communicator the size of a Fujitsu (OTCPK: FJTSY) P1610:

Then built in to the device, where the PCMCIA slot is, a phone the size of the Samsung U100 slides out:

You would keep this handset in your pocket at all times and the communicator would stay in your briefcase or bag. When you need the full size screen and QWERTY keyboard then you can just take your Communicator out, slide your handset in to the device to charge and off you go.

Practical or too complicated?