Nokia’s taken a leaf out of RIM’s book and designed a very familiar-looking handset aimed at business and enterprise users.
The Nokia E6 is a business-oriented phone with a 2.46 inch display, portrait QWERTY keypad, touchpad and capacitive touchscreen. You’ll recognise the basic design form the iconic BlackBerry series that was obviously the inspiration behind this handset’s form-factor.
However this shouldn’t be taken as a negative. Many people prefer the traditional BlackBerry approach to handset design and physical keypads are definitely easier to use for those who are constantly on the move.
What's New?
What we immediately noticed about this phone, after its external appearance of course, is the screen. We’re used to seeing phones that look like this, but with this bar-design comes a certain expectation when it comes to displays. Rather, one expects the display to be somewhat sub-par.
The E6, however, looks fantastic. Crammed in to its tiny 2.46 inch screen is an amazing resolution of 640 x 480, a resolution commonly seen in 3.5 inch, or even larger displays. The result is a tight, crisp image that is viewable from multiple angles and extremely pleasing to the eye. The clean-cut lines and sharp edges really do make the device look more professional than it otherwise could. There’s also the added bonus of being able to fit more on your screen without losing clarity. Those business folk who still have their eyesight will be able to make text smaller than before and still be able to clearly read the text due to the improved pixilation of the E6.
The addition of a capacitive touchscreen is also greatly appreciated. While it’s true that some traditional BlackBerry devices had touchscreens they were severely limited in functionality and efficiency, with most users ending up relying solely on the trackball or touchpad.
Blending a touchpad with a capacitive touchscreen on a device like this should make navigation a breeze, especially when surfing the internet, browsing media or checking your email inbox. Certainly the screen’s size limits the amount of functionality a touchscreen might usually add on a larger display, but it’s still a significant improvement.
Under the Hood
Unlike with the X7, the 680MHz processor of the E6 shouldn’t prove to be too much of a problem. Devices like this are designed for working. Word processing, emailing, event checking and navigation are all served more than satisfactorily by a 680MHz CPU.
Private users might still find this to be a bit of a restraint, as it will definitely hamper the multitasking of web-apps and media players, so that’s definitely one thing to keep in mind if you were considering this device for non-business use.
The back sports an 8MP camera with 720p video capture, once again a massive improvement over most BackBerry devices.
We still haven’t had a hands-on with one of these bad-boys yet so exactly how it compares to the powerfully popular BlackBerry line is still in question. But from what we’ve seen it looks like Nokia may have found another market in which to start churning out handsets.
The E6 does run on the Symbian Anna update. Being such a new OS (it was announced yesterday) we’re still uncertain what kind of functionality Anna boasts, especially when it comes to enterprise.
Until we know a bit more we’ll have to leave off on a final judgement. But we definitely recommend keeping your eye out for the E6 if you’re interesting in a business-centric handset.
Alex Angove-Plumb
Digital Content Editor
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