Nokia E62

 

BEST FOR Business users who want productivity without distractions.
 
DESIGN Broad and flat with comfortable keys and an gorgeous 320 x 240-pixel screen, Nokia’s latest effort is an obvious BlackBerry competitor. The device features relatively large keys topped by dedicated menu and messaging buttons, as well as a five-way navigation control similar to the Treo’s. Unlike the Q, which the E62 strongly resembles, there is no side scroll wheel. 
 
The left edge features dedicated buttons for volume and voice recording--be aware that the recorder begins when the button is pushed. Annoyingly, the miniSD slot is hidden behind the battery cover, but at least it’s not under the battery itself. Unlike the Q, the E62 is quite comfortable to use one-handed.
 
FEATURES The E62 lacks a camera, but is otherwise well-stocked. Basic connectivity is dual-band GSM/GPRS, with EDGE capability for data. The BlueTooth 1.2 connection supports twelve profiles, including stereo headset and dial-up networking for use as a modem. GPS positioning, navigation, and landmark applications are built-in for use with a Bluetooth GPS device. The handy screen-export feature allows the E62 to connect to some projectors, so running PowerPoint presentations directly from the handset is possible. The E62 also has a unique programmable button called the Own Key, which activates a quick launch pop-up menu from which frequently used apps may be selected with the joystick.
 
ORGANIZER Running the Symbian 9.1 S60 3rd Edition operating system, the E62 is powerful but not as intuitive as other smart phones. However, the Nokia PC Suite software ably handles file transfers and synchronization with Outlook, Outlook Express, Lotus Notes and Lotus Organizer. You also get a suite of office apps to edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents, as well as a ZIP tool to compress and send your work.
 
WEB The E62’s Web browser built specifically for S60 has two unique features. One is a ‘mouse’ cursor that can be moved across a page with the nav switch. The other is a thumbnail version of the current page that appears when scrolling down or across long pages, making navigation easier. Hit the back button and you’ll get a timeline of recent page views shown as a series of thumbnail images. Very cool. No other phone comes close to E62 when it comes to rendering pages with high fidelity, but every other one boasts better speed; our throughput averaged 100Kbps.
 
E-MAIL Configuring e-mail took only a minute, and the E62 supports as many e-mail flavors as office apps. Microsoft Exchange, POP3, IMAP4, and push solutions like Intellisync, Goodlink, and Blackberry Connect are all supported. We love the attachment support: all Office docs, PDF, ZIP, MP3, and JPG.

 

CALL QUALITY Conversations were clear and loud enough, but we heard a little bit of echo during some calls. Callers didn’t notice the echo, however.

 

ENTERTAINMENT MP3 and AAC tracks are supported, and the RealPlayer app can handle MP4, MPEG-4, 3GP, RV and RA files, whether copied from your PC, streamed over the Web, or received in an e-mail. While the Nokia PC Suite was fast and reliable for data transfer, when using the Transfer Music option we experienced incompatibility and crashes. Ultimately, copying files directly to the miniSD card in data-transfer mode was preferable.

 

VERDICT If you can live with EDGE, the Nokia E62 is an extremely powerful handset that should be a top choice for business users.