Nokia E51 – an unsung hero?

This week Jonathan Jensen is checking out the Nokia E51 …

—

I’ve been using the Nokia E51 for a while now. The E51 is a smartphone running the S60 Third Edition Feature Pack 1 operating system. It intrigued me because despite having had some good reviews it has a very low profile here in the UK, perhaps because it’s been badged by Nokia as an Enterprise device. None of the networks are pushing it which is curious when you look at the specification. It seems that badging it as an Enterprise device has meant it’s been somewhat ignored in the market. However the functionality is ideal for many consumers as well. The handset is competitively priced, at a price point only slightly higher than the 6120 Classic.

Why did I go for the E51? I had to have a Nokia S60 handset and I wanted a handset that was compact and feature rich. I’d thought about GPS but I have a TomTom for satnav stuff which works really well and I’m not convinced that mobile satnav is quite there yet. I still have a problem with being able to read something as small as a mobile screen when it’s stuck to the car windscreen!

Back to the E51; what really struck me about the handset is the size – it’s so thin compared to most smartphones, measuring 46 mm wide and just 12 mm deep. When compared to the N95 or N82 you realise just how compact the handset is. The specification is superb. The 3.5G HSDPA data makes for fast web browsing and downloads and is a must now that HSDPA is well supported by the networks. The transflective display is great in bright sunlight and much easier to read than regular displays. A small but I’ve found very significant function is the active standby plug-ins function which allow customisation of the functions displayed on the home screen. This allows email messages, missed calls, new text messages, WiFi availability and many other applications to be displayed as line items. This may not sound significant but once you’ve used it you really miss it as I discovered when I switched from a E65 to a 6120 Classic. It is a very useful function and should be standard on all S60 devices.

The handset build quality is excellent with a steel frame and very positive keys. The keypad layout is the best I’ve yet seen. It just feels like a quality piece of kit when you handle it.

The support for WiFi and VoIP calls is good. I’m running Truphone on my handset and use it for calling via my broadband at home and BT Openzone public WiFi when out and about. Truphone also gives the handset a second mobile number – useful for differentiating between different types of callers.

The one feature I did find disappointing is the 2 megapixel camera which is a bit basic by smartphone standards; we do now expect more from our handsets. Because this handset is aimed as the business market it appears that Nokia felt a better camera wasn’t necessary and this has probably affected its popularity as a Consumer device.

I’d certainly recommend the E51 to anyone looking for a high quality smartphone where size is an important consideration.

—

Jonathan’s also at Sevendotzero.