Nokia E5 Preview

Full Review

While all eyes are falling on the Nokia N8,  at the mid-range segment , Nokia silently introduced the smart and capable E5 smartphone.This  QWERTY smartphone f may not have the coolest features in the market but it has loads of smart features to rival those of Blackberry smartphones and a much affordable price.

Design and Specs

Design, fit and finish are all excellent on the Nokia E5 smartphone - we’d even say impressive. In short, this phone feels solid. The keyboard has a nice 'click' feeling to it and is simply one of the best phone keyboards we’ve tried. A microUSB 2.0 port lets you connect the Nokia E5 smartphone to a computer, or Bluetooth is available if you prefer. There's also a 3.5mm audio jack for plugging in headphones.

The E5 runs Nokia's Symbian S60 9.3 operating system. This is a stable platform that's capable of multitasking even on this smartphone's modest hardware's.

Interface, Apps and Browser

The E5 runs Nokia's Symbian S60 9.3 operating system. This is a stable platform that's capable of multitasking even on this smartphone's modest hardware's. A Facebook app comes preinstalled on the Nokia E5 smartphone, but when you select the Twitter icon it simply takes you to the main website – a major letdown. Nokia’s excellent Ovi Maps and Ovi Store are preinstalled on the E5 smartphone, with the Ovi Store letting you purchase music, apps and more.

The browser is surprisingly good at displaying web pages correctly, but the small 2.36in (320×240) display limits functionality. The Nokia E5 smartphone's 3G and Wi-Fi connections will keep data flowing at a good pace, however.

Storage and Camera

With only 256MB user memory available you need to be careful about what you download and install. However, the Nokia E5 comes with a 2GB microSD card, and cards up to 32GB are supported. This will come in handy, with a 5MP camera offering stills and VGA video at 15fps. There's no autofocus, but the smartphone's fixed-focus lens means photos are better than expected.

Call Quality and Battery Life

Call quality is very good, and we found the Nokia E5 smartphone excelled in areas where our iPhone 3GS struggles.

Battery life is as you would expect: excellent. Nokia says its E5 smartphone offers up to 13 hours talk time and 635 hrs in standby mode. We saw around two day's use with some calls and data usage. There’s no doubt that if you leave the E5 checking for email, tweets and other things on a frequent basis it will drain the battery faster, much like any other mobile device.

Bottom Line

The Nokia E5 has no touchscreen, no flashy operating system and no particularly exciting apps, but the Nokia E5 smartphone is a solid, reliable and affordable business phone with impressive build quality.