Chunky is a good description of the N93. Use it for a few minutes and the size won’t be the only thing that throws you; navigating the seemingly endless array of functions will also be a bit of a shock.

However, it’s good to see that the size can be somewhat explained. The phone packs a 3.2 megapixel camera with optical zoom, TV output, funky swivelling screen, Wi-Fi connectivity and more. If you’re not suitably wowed yet, the high resolution camera can even scan barcodes and save the data.

Depending on how often and intensely you use these extras; battery life can suffer. With Bluetooth and Wi-Fi constantly on as well as frequent calls and excessive camera usage, we had to recharge after a day and a half. Under light load with the extra services turned off, we clocked about three days of battery life on a full charge. Also note that the N93 series uses a smaller charging connector, but an adapter for older Nokia chargers is included.

With a 55 x 28 x 118mm (WDH) footprint, it will fit in your pocket, but not comfortably. Most of the bulk is attributed to the 320 x 240 pixel, 2.4” screen, which opens like a clamshell and swivels on a second joint at the top right of the phone, as well as the camera’s optical zoom, which adds bulk to the top of the phone. There are an extra two buttons at the top of the screen which access different options in shooting mode.

Open it normally and you are presented with phone functionality, but when you swivel the screen it switches to camera mode, where you can take high-resolution stills or MPEG4 video. You can use the LED-based flash in video or still mode and also as a flashlight if the screen is closed. Flash and mode buttons live on the side, as well as a miniature 5-way rocker switch, which functionally is the same as the one on the phone’s keypad, although its position makes changing camera settings more convenient.

The buttons are large and comfortable. It’s just a shame that when you use them you’ll end up waiting for the phone’s slow operating system to process your commands. Some operations feel misplaced; for example if you swivel the screen from camera mode back to phone mode it will switch to its VGA camera instead of returning to the phone’s home screen.

Because of all this, it feels like more of a technical showcase than a phone you’d actually buy. The menu structure is convoluted and at times confusing. Despite knowing we could change a soft key function under the S60 operating system, we spent 45 minutes looking for the setting, to no avail. The sluggish performance doesn’t help this either, nor do its minor yet irritating flaws, such as the lack of a lens cover for the main camera.

When Nokia’s N series mature, we will no doubt see some truly desirable gear. Unusually for Nokia, it has missed the mark this time.