Never judge a book by its cover, they say, and nowhere does this apply better than to the Nokia 9210i Communicator. It may look like an anodised brick, but it's robust and crammed with essential features, making it a powerful professional tool.

If looks are a weakness, then so is portability. Despite a range of holsters, the 9210i's size is off-putting. However, keeping your data up to date while on the move is no problem thanks to the simple serial synchronisation cable and Nokia's PC Suite software. You can also buy a docking cradle that includes a battery recharger. Running out of juice isn't something you'll need to worry about too much, though, as the 9210i seems almost inexhaustible.

The miniature QWERTY keyboard is well laid out and responsive, with useful shortcut buttons to the various application sections placed on the top row. However, unlike the other PDAs tested, the 9210i's colour display isn't a touchscreen. Instead, a simple thumbpad is used to move the mouse cursor, which actually works well. The screen itself is also good and for the most part easy to read.

Thanks to the keyboard, the 9210i's included applications are very usable.
This encompasses a word processor and spreadsheet plus the superb SMS and email program, with the latter making use of the GSM modem, which supports HSCSD. There's no GPRS, though. But you can still send and receive attachments and browse the Web, with Java, HTML 4.01 and frames are all supported. You also get the usual PIM apps, such as contacts and calendar, although the 9210i was quite sluggish searching through them.

Although the 9210i sells by itself for $1,799, for an extra $695 you can equip it with Quantum Technologies' TALX software. This is a text-to-speech agent for those with vision impairments and is quite a nifty program. TALX reads emails, WAP data, SMSes, and can even echo key presses, identify menu names and hotkeys.

Primarily for those with impaired vision, the TALX software is versatile enough to suit those with full sight but who are from non-English speaking backgrounds.
While it cannot escape a computerised diction, TALX is clear and simple to understand.