A Tasty Slice of Bread. Review on Nokia E61

The Nokia E61 is best described as a ‘Bread Slice’. Certainly not a ‘looker’ this ugly duckling was my choice because its price & practicality outweighs its aesthetic disadvantages.

The Selection Process

My last phone, a Nokia 6610 gave stellar service for over 3 years despite several hard falls and half an hour immersed in the bath tub. There was no reason to replace it other than boredom.

What I looked for in my new phone were

Must be :Agood & practical phone. Compact, light & comfortable to carry in my shirt pocket. I hate belt-cases or dangling phones on a leash around my neck. At 86 Gms. the 6610 was just right .Must have Bluetooth, for hands free.

Good to have: Business applications (MS Office file reader / editor), Net Access & a full QWERTY keyboard. I hate the T9 predictive input to type SMS. Wi-Fi would be nice since my office is Wi-Fi. I intend to get Wi-Fi for my home in a few months.Also, most hotels, cafes & airport business lounges should be Wi-Fi in the days tocome.

Budget: Below Rs. 20,000 because it is silly to spend more on something you will replace in a couple of years & is easily susceptible to theft & damage.

Not needed: I was not keen for Music Player or Camera functions as most combi devices are a compromise. I have an iPod Nano, a Sony Clie & a very competent Fuji FinePix for these applications. I foundthe O2, the Blackberry & the iPaq overpriced.

The final shortlist

1) NokiaE Series (E50, E60, E61, E70), Communicators (9300i & 9500i)

2) SonyM900i – Great looking business phone with handwriting recognition

3) SonyK750i – Great phone + no compromise camera at a great price

4) SlimPhones (Motorola Razr & the new ultra-slim Samsung) - Look good, easy to carry

Phones with joints & moving parts got knocked out because these are more susceptible to malfunctions &damage. So out went the E70, flip phones & Communicators. The Sony M900i looks great but no Wi-Fi and beyond the Rs. 20K budget. E60 also beyond 20K. So OUT.

So the fight was between the K750i,E50 & the E61 – Ultimately the QWERTY keyboard, big screen & the full set of MS Office editing abilities won the day for E61. My wife is still sulking for me buying such an ugly phone.

The Week 1 Experience

Have used it for a week now. Functionality wise I have used only the phone, SMS & calendar features.I’ve asked my office to enable GPRS and will access e-mail once it is switched ON. Haven’t had a chance to pore through the 14mm thick owner’s manual (I’llread it form cover to cover this weekend) nor the Quick Start Guide. But like most Nokias, the phone is intuitive despite the extra buttons & features.

Usage experience till date – as expected. Better sound quality & reception than my 6610. No cribs on the phone part of it. Opening of SMS & switching through menus a fraction-of-a-second slower than my 6610. The phone has hung once till now on rapid key switching. Am concerned on this front, though other users have not reported this to be a major problem.

Some users had reported that the User Interface is not properly adapted to take advantage of the large screen size. But I found no problem on this front.

Key concerns while buying the phone–

1. Toowide & heavy to carry: Not too bad on this front. 6610 was lighter, but this one is not bad either. But I also carry a small spiral-bound pocket book& a couple of pens along with my phone in my shirt front pocket. Now I knowwhy Pamela Anderson had her heavy Silicon implants removed!

   
   




2. Speaking position uncomfortable: Some users had reported concerns in this area, but no problems

   
   

What I love –

1. Sound quality

   
   




2. Easeof use, large & bright screen & intuitive User Interface

   
   




3. Overall package is great VFM

   
   




4. Decent battery life

   
   

I just love the standard set of audio files that it comes loaded with. The ringtones & alarm tones are very mature, discreet and soothing to the ear. I use my phone for my morning wake up and this is the first time I’ve found such a soothing wake-up tone.

What I hate –

1. The big screen becomes greasy when you speak on it. You ear is fully on the screen when you use the phone and that leaves imprints even if you are not an oily character!

   
   




2. Thekeypad is well laid out but the buttons are awful in terms of tactile feel

   
   




3. The 5 way pointer key (cursor mover) is painful to use and I’d have loved a Blackberry style jog dial on the side to scroll through the menu options.

   
   




4. Thevolume controls on the side are exactly where your index finger comes when you hold the phone to answer a call. So chances of inadvertently pressing the volume & recor dbuttons are high.

   
   




5. The baby has acquired scratches in its first week of usage. I hate putting covers on things but the Indian in me is screaming at me to get a cover on the thing. Damn, it will end up looking even weirder (if that is possible) with a cover. A cover on my iPod Nano totally ruined its looks – the Nano looks like Aishwarya Rai wearing a ‘monkey cap’ now!

   
   




6. Theadvanced features of this phone are not suitable for one-handed use and that is the key design weakness.

   
   

In conclusion

If you are looking for a good business phone and can live with its weird looks, take the plunge. At Rs. 19K it is great VFM for its feature set. The E61 is a brilliant business tool at a great VFM price. I see it as a laptop replacement.

I will update this as I unravel its more complicated features, so watch this space.