Nokia E60 GSM Phone

Introduction :
The Nokia E60 is a standard candybar phone and compared to other Nokia business phones (9500 or 9300i) the E60 is somewhat smaller and also cheaper. Weight is 117 g (with Nokia Battery BL-5C) and dimensions are 115 mm x 49 mm x 16,9 mm.The E60 packs in almost every business function that exists, including a few novel ones. Naturally the basics are covered - integrated speakerphone, vibration alert, voice commands, voice recorder, email, web browser, Bluetooth wireless connectivity. Then there are some less common but valuable features - 3G, Symbian applications, Push to Talk, an attachment viewer for browsing Office documents, Wireless LAN and a memory card (plus a generous 64 Mbytes of internal memory).

Finally, there are a couple of novel features that might or might not prove useful. The first of these is the capacity to make VoIP calls via the wireless LAN connection. Making free calls is probably not top priority for the average business user, but this could still prove be a useful feature. There's also a feature that people will love or hate: Talking Caller ID. This means that the phone will speak the name of an incoming caller as part of the ringtone. Could be useful (or embarrassing!)
Price £203.40 (Exc VAT)

Design :

The E60 is, to put it bluntly, a bit of a brick. Nokia calls it a "monoblock", and at 115mm by 49mm by 16.9mm and 117g, that it is. Given the Finnish company's recent experimentation with unusual phone form factors (such as the keyless 7380 and the swivel-happy 3250), it's a contrast to see a regression to the basic rectangular shape of days gone by. With its silver accents and simple silhouette, the E60 is not unattractive, but it does reflect the strictly business nature of the phone's features.


For a large phone, some of the buttons are curiously tiny. The power key on the top right is small and stealthy, and Nokia's decision to refer to the five-way directional key as a "joystick" was somewhat optimistic. Scrolling through Web pages for more than a few minutes will bring you not joy, but a sore thumb, due to the small, recessed nature of this square button.

One thing that did make us very happy was the brilliant display. The 16 million-colour screen is simply gorgeous, and makes reading Web pages and e-mail attachments very easy on the eyes.

Features :

Many of the features across the Eseries have been designed to fit in easily with an existing enterprise environment, removing the hassle of setting up protocols, proxies and passwords. Particularly useful features of the E60 include the ability to connect to your company's IP-PBX system so that calls to your desk phone are automatically diverted to your mobile. This also means that you can use the E60 to perform workplace telephone functions like call transfer and voicemail forwarding.

For mobile mail, you can go the IMAP/POP3 standard route, or take the plunge into push e-mail. The Eseries phones support third party push applications including BlackBerry Connect, meaning the E60 can swiftly slot into an existing BlackBerry enterprise set-up.

Key Features :


* Symbian OS v9.1, Series 60 3rd Edition
* 64 MB internal memory
* WLAN (WiFi) with SIP compliant VoIP client
* Bluetooth 1.2, Infrared and USB support
* EGSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900 and WCDMA
* Web browser based on WebKit
* 352 x 416 pixel full colour LCD.
* no Radio
* no camera
* 115 mm x 49 mm x 16.9 mm, 117 grams

PC Connectivity
* PC synchronization with Microsoft Outlook and Lotus Notes via Nokia PC Suite (available to download for free at http://europe.nokia.com/pcsuite) provides you with up-to-date personal information
* The Nokia E60 can be used efficiently as a modem over local and global networks

Ease of Use
* Wide, advanced high-resolution screen makes images sharper and reduces the need to scroll
* Documents and applications appear with high clarity
* User friendly, sleek design

Compatibility
* Supports leading push email clients
* Organizer compatible with MS Outlook and Lotus Notes
* Supports up to six Bluetooth wireless connections at the same time
* Add-on memory with RS-memory cards via hot swapping capability

Security
* Device lock
* OMA Digital Rights Management 1.0 (Forward lock, Combined Delivery, Separate Delivery, Superdistribution)
* Secure Socket Layers 3.0 and Transport Layer Security (TLS)
* WLAN security framework

Performance :

We had no problems with connectivity -- Bluetooth devices paired instantly with the E60, and file transfer was quick and easy. E-mail transmission and attachment handling (PDF, Word and Excel documents) was also problem-free, with those wonderful wizards guiding the set-up process. We appreciated the ability to edit received documents rather than just view them.

Despite our grumblings about navigating with the joystick, we liked the way Web browsing was handled. The relatively new S60 Web browser, which is based on the same components as Apple's Safari application, allows big, complex Web pages to be displayed on small screens with few changes to design and functionality. It's a brilliant browser -- we especially liked the Page Overview function, which displays a mini screenshot of the entire page so you know which direction to move your pointer in. The phone's display rotate feature also allows you to browse in landscape mode.

Voice features all performed well; the speakerphone was nice and clear, although playback volume without headphones was a little soft. You also need to stay within a metre or two of the microphone when recording.

Battery life was very good, with the phone lasting almost a week on mid-level voice and text use. Extended internet use did bring battery life down significantly, but no more than you'd expect for a 3G smartphone.

Generally, the E60 was a pleasure to use. It may not suit heavy mobile Web users given the screen size and small joystick, but push e-mail devotees who don't want a device of PDA proportions will be happy with this model. It's not a phone that you'd slip into your board shorts when the weekend rolls around, but the focus on workday functions and corporate integration means it does everything you'd want a business phone to do.