Nokia E63 Review Photos

24th March, 2009

Style & Handling Summary

A smart design that comes in blue or red, it’s made from plastic to keep costs down, but we are not fans of the small, 2.3-inch screen.

User Friendliness Summar

The dual screens are a great touch and easy to set up, and the small keyboard is surprisingly adequate.

Feature Set Summary

The low cost of the handset has meant Nokia has had to compromise on features, and HSDPA, GPS and video calling are all sorely missed.

Performance Summary

The features that the E63 does have work very well, and we particularly like that the camera’s LED flash can also be used as a torch. A nice touch.

Battery Power Summary

Battery life is excellent, with up to 18 days of standby time.

The Verdict

The E63 is missing some key features, but for the price point this is still an excellent handset, and it looks good, too.

When Nokia first launched its Eseries handsets, they were intended primarily for business users. But their popularity extended beyond that group and plenty of consumers are drawn to Eseries devices.

 

As if to serve that dual need, Nokia has included a simple and very clever idea – dual home screens.

 

Business or pleasure?

 

The idea of dual homescreens is that you can set up one home screen for when you are at work, and the other for when you leave. Switching between the two screens on the E63 is simple, and with the ability to set up wallpaper and themes for each screen, you can go to town differentiating between your work and personal life.

 

It is a great idea and we are surprised that more handset manufacturers aren’t doing it.

 

QWERTY keyboard

 

There are plenty of smartphones with miniature QWERTY keyboards. RIM has the prize for consistently making the best, but Nokia is a strong competitor, and with the E63, the manufacturer may have matched RIM’s best offerings.

 

The keyboard is small but its keys are nicely raised in the centre, making them easy to find with a fingertip. The keys depress well and give a little click when they do so. All these features combine to allow you to type at a reasonable speed.

 

Tidy design

 

Overall, the design of this smartphone is impressive.

 

We had the blue version to review, but there is also a red one available. The casing is plastic, which may explain the cheaper price tag, and the backplate has a rubbery finish to assist with grip.

 

However, we were disappointed with the screen. It was quite small

at 2.3 inches across diagonal corners, and its 320x240 pixels are average rather than outstanding.

 

The images do look crisp, but if you are in to mobile web browsing, then something larger might be more suitable.

 

Bells and whistles

 

The E63 is reminiscent of the Nokia E71 but not as expensive. As well as switching from metal casing, found on the E71, to plastic casing, Nokia has made some other cutbacks to the E63 to reduce its cost.

The device lacks HSDPA data speeds, and there is no GPS, which is a pity. We aren’t sure that the two-megapixel camera is ideal and we were disappointed with the absence of a front-facing camera for video calling.

 

That said, the device does boast 3G support and Wi-Fi connectivity, and if all you want from a camera are quick snaps for blogging or sending via Bluetooth, then the E63 will be more than adequate.  

 

We especially liked that the camera’s LED flash can be used as a torch. This feature is simple to use, as all you need to do is hold down the space bar to turn it on, and hold it down again to turn it off. There is even a little icon on the space bar to remind you.

 

The verdict

 

Given the lower price tag of the Nokia E63 compared with the E71, it is no surprise that something had to give in the specs department.

 

However, even without features such as GPS, HSDPA, a better camera, and metal casing, the E63 still has plenty to offer, like dual home screens, making it a praiseworthy smartphone.