Weight: 144 g (with Nokia Battery BP-5L)
Dimensions: 117 mm x 69.7 mm x 14 mm, 108 cc
Form: monoblock
Display: Active matrix display
Supports up to 16M colors
Adjustable display brightness and contrast control
Ambient light sensor for keypad display lighting control
Price: $384.95 to $519.90
The E61’s 2.8-inch screen certainly demands attention. It’s large and bright with a 320×240 pixel resolution and 16-million-color output. Text and images looked excellent, and even better, it was still readable in sunlight; you can also adjust the backlighting and contrast. Just be aware that it’s not a touch screen, so keep this in mind as you’re shopping around for your new smart phone. You can enter all of the E61’s commands via the navigation array below the screen and the full QWERTY keyboard. The array consist of left and right selection keys, Talk and End buttons for phone calls, a Menu shortcut, an e-mail launch key, and a four-way navigation joystick that acts as an OK button when you press it. We found all controls well spaced and easy to use, and they’re large enough that even users with larger digits shouldn’t have too many mishaps.
Most people are going to be dialling numbers from the built in contacts application, probably synced to Outlook on their PC. There’s a natural assumption from Nokia that the E61 users will be PC based, and using Outlook – and to be fair with the E61 being a business device that’s probably correct – so the services are geared to this integration. This means that synchronising contacts (and notes, tasks and calendar entries) is something I now implicitly trust the software to do. That’s far cry from the 7650 days.
Packed with powerful productivity apps and wireless options, the Nokia E61 is sure to be a corporate crowd pleaser. The E61 runs Symbian OS 9.1, Series 60 third edition, and comes with full support for viewing and editing Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents–an advantage it holds over the Moto Q. We used the included USB cable to transfer all three types of files to the E61 and had no problems opening them; we were pleased that little, if any, formatting was lost. In particular we were pleased to find we could edit the documents, including the PowerPoint presentations, which is a feature you won’t find on too many devices. If that’s not enough, there’s a Screen Export function that allows you to display the E61’s screen via a compatible projector. The smart phone also works with Adobe Reader and Zip Manager, and comes with your basic PIM apps and organization tools, such as a calendar, notes, a calculator, a clock, a voice recorder, and a currency converter. There’s 75MB of built-in memory, which is a bit on the lower side, but it’s helped by the miniSD slot.
With the landscape screen of the E61, the built in applications have all needed tweaking to take account of the extra number of pixels, and the different orientation. Looking at the contacts application, we can see the tweaks made to shoehorn S60 into the larger space. We still have a bar on the bottom of the screen that labels the two soft keys, but because of the size of the screen, there is a massive blank space in the middle. The background wallpaper does minimize this, but cramping the labels into the corners of the screen isn’t a great user experience, and it looks sloppy. There must be a better way to use this screen space, and I’m confident that we’ll see some third party applications that will in the next few months.
Sadly no one won our sweep stake as the E61 is much smaller and thinner than we’d expected, measuring 117 x 69.7 x 18 mm and weighing 144 grams. Nokia have really managed to keep their beast of the slim fast plan, meaning your jacket pocket might just cope with its bulk. But why would you put yourself though carrying the E61, most blackberry users are corporate’s who have them forced upon them. We wondered if anyone would actually buy the E61 with their own money, surely a good test?
Power up and the screen is the first thing that makes its presence felt, the large 2.8″ screen seems much bigger due to its landscape orientation, the colours are vibrant and the backlight is good and strong. Like many mobiles the screen is equipped with a light sensor but this one actually works and manages to maintain a bright readable display even in direct sunlight.
Key Features:
Supports the most common features of Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel (Microsoft Office 97, 2000, XP and 2003). Compatible with Zip Manager and Adobe Reader
Multi-tasking abilities: send and receive emails while talking on the phone
Access to up-to-date calendar and contact information
Works in offline mode – read and write email even when network is unavailable
Large user memory: up to 64 MB + support for miniSD card
Mail for Exchange*
POPs/IMAP supported in native email client
WCDMA provides fast, wide-area connectivity
WLAN provides fast, local-area connectivity
Large, advanced high-resolution screen shows images sharper and reduces scrolling
Documents and applications appear with high clarity
User-friendly, sleek design
Easy to configure
Rapid and simple deployment and management
Feature rich device – conference calling capability, speakerphone, email, and messaging
Other features:
Personal shortcuts
Customizable profiles
Alarm clock
RealOne Player
Music Player (MP3/AAC)
Notepad for short notes
Auto lock for keyboard
Calculator
Navigation:
Two soft keys with five-way joystick, power key can be used as profile key
Configurable right and left soft keys
Input method: Full keyboard
Active standby enables user to configure 7 applications for fast access
Symbian operating system OS 9.1
Series 60, 3rd edition
Connectivity:
Pop-Port™ interface
USB port full speed supported via Pop-Port™
Remote and local (peer-to-peer) synchronization over Bluetooth technology, IR, cable
Bluetooth wireless technology 1.2
Video and audio streaming (3GPP and RealMedia: Real Video and Real Audio)
WCDMA (3GPP Release 4)
Multiconnectivity
WLAN connection can be shared by multiple applications at the same time. For example: email, browser and synchronization
Possible to use WLAN, Bluetooth technology, USB and infrared at the same time
Maximum six Bluetooth technology connections in use at the same time. Note: only one for Bluetooth wireless connectivity for audio
Email and messaging:
Email client for connecting to personal and business email
Supports POP, IMAP(with idle) and SMTP protocols, and MS Active Sync
Settings via OMA Client Provisioning, OMA Device Management
Supported email clients: Intellisync Wireless Email,Visto email technology ,BlackBerry Connect, GoodLink and Seven Always-On Mail1
Attachments viewers and editors support the most common features of Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel (Microsoft Office 97, 2000, XP and 2003). Compatible with Zip Manager and Adobe Reader *
Instant Messaging client (Yahool, AOL, OMA)
SMS distribution list
