This review mainly descibes differences between the 9300 Communicator and the Nokia 9300i. If you are not familiar with the 9300 model, please read this review.
The "i" usually stands for "improved" and that's exactly what the 9300i is compared to 9300. It brings several enhancements, improvements and updates while preserving the same weight, size and look of its successful predecessor. The phone weighs 172 g (5 g more than 9300) and its dimensions are 132x51x21 mm. It is easy to distinguish thanks to different colour of the casing. Dark grey housing and silver keys make it look very attractive and professional.
The most important change is that the 9300i supports WiFi. Moreover, it not only supports IEEE 802.11b (11 Mbps) like the 9500 but also 802.11g (54 Mbps). And it's not just the connection speed (which even at 11 Mbps is probably more than what you may need in a smartphone) but it's first of all enhanced compatibility, with both B and G wireless networks.
To provide enough power for the wireless connectivity, the 9300i comes equipped with a 1100 mAh battery. What's interesting, the battery is still called BP-6M and it looks exactly the same as the 9300's accu, which is only 970 mAh. Both batteries are compatible and you can use the 9300i's battery with 9300 and vice versa.
Nokia 9300i has the same processor as the 9300/9500 - TI OMAP 1510 running at 150 MHz. Now that the device supports WiFi, I wish it was a bit faster to provide enough power for VoIP calls... The phone comes with the same amount of RAM and storage memory as the 9300. 9300i supports MMC cards up to 2 GB.
Changes can also be found on the cover phone side. SMS editor now supports predictive text input (T9 dictionary). It allows typing messages on the phone keypad much faster and easier. The external phone now also offers better integration with the "inside" Telephone application. Users can also enjoy improved UI of the cover phone, including icons for different kinds of connections (e.g. separate indicators for GPRS and EDGE, WiFi, IP passthrough).
Last but not least, Nokia 9300i is compliant with Bluetooth 1.2 compared to 9500's and 9300's 1.1. This provides improved speed, better voice quality and improved power efficiency. The phone will ship with rich business software suite preinstalled on the Memory card or available separately.
Besides all the enhancements mentioned above, the 9300i is IDENTICAL to the 9300 and it also preserves full compatibility with existing 3rd party software. So if you own a 9300 and you want to upgrade to 9300i, you'll be able to do it hassle-free, without having to learn how to use a new device, and without having to purchase all the favourite programs again. The speed and functionality are the same. Thanks to bigger battery, the standby time may be longer, but only if you don't use WLAN to much. If you do, you'll actually get a little bit less.
The 9300i definetely replaces the 9300. But does it replace the 9500, too? Well, it depends. If you care about the VGA camera present in the 9500 and its larger QWERTY keyboard and screen then the 9500 may still be a better choice. Other than that, the 9300i provides everything you can find in 9500 plus all the above mentioned improvements, while it preserves the weight and size of the 9300.