Mar
23

Nokia E75 -Detailed Review – Part 1.

Right, so I’ve spent a whole week now with the Nokia E75 and have managed to run through what I think is almost everything on the device. The experience has been awesome to say the least, though it is not without its shortcomings. I’ll split this post into parts, trying to focus on each aspect one would consider before buying the device.

Overall Look & Feel: - The device feels very comfortable in the hand, though on the heavier side, and should easily fit into a normal sized palm. Looks wise, I think its pretty sleek and thin for a device that houses two whole keyboards. It seems a little unfinished in places though ( the silver battery cover simply does not feel like its finished yet). The phone has much more rounded edges than the other E-Series phones, and while this might appeal to some, I’m sure it will have its detractors. Nokia seems to have worked hard on the device thickness here, if the E75 and the E55 are anything to go by. I’ve enjoyed watching people’s reactions when I slide out and show them that the device actually has a QWERTY keyboard underneath. The copper coloured device that I’m reviewing does not look too bad, though if I were to buy the E75, I would definitely go in for the Silver-Black version. To sum up, though the device looks extremely sleek, it appears slightly unfinished which would make it lose some points in the looks department.

Keypad/Display: – The numberpad itself is very comfortable to use, though I’ve hardly used the numberpad to its fullest (I prefer the QWERTY keyboard to type). The numberpad seems a little hard to press, and the lack of a gap between the menu keys means you could accidentally press the wrong button very easily. I don’t know whether this is an issue with the unit that was supplied to me, but the up key on the D Pad feels less sensitive than the other keys. The D Pad itself on the whole, feels lesser responsive than the N82 and other Nokia devices, and somewhat brings the whole E75 experience lower. Mind you, this could very well be an issue with the piece I’m testing, not the E75 as a whole.

Slide out the front screen, and its almost like its a whole new device. It took me a couple of hours to get used to the QWERTY keypad, but its been an absolutely convincing experience since then. The size of the QWERTY keypad makes it very easy when you’re typing out emails, as opposed to other QWERTYs like the E71/E63 or the Blackberrys. Full marks here for the QWERTY keyboard, and this could well be the ONLY reason people might want to buy this device.

The display is very very impressive, with a brilliantly bright screen and is among the stronger points of the device. the 2.4″ 320X240 QVGA does a stellar job. Absolutely no complaints here.

Battery: - The battery life was something I was really keen about looking into, and I’m relieved to say its impressive. I’ve not charged my phone for a little over a day now, and its just two bars down. Before the last recharge, I ran the phone through three hours of Audio through Bluetooth, and that brought the battery to its knees in a day, flat. I can only conclude that A2DP music majorly eats into battery life, and I’d advise everyone to carry a spare set of headphones, always. Another thing to note is that the OS (S60 V3 FP2), seems to manage power much better than FP1. That seems to have had a major effect in the E75 having good battery life. Having said that, I’d have been happier if this had the BP-6MT, like the Nokia N82. No complaints though, the battery life has dispelled my worst fears.

I’ll look into the camera, music player, and the other components of the phone in the following parts, and hopefully provide some sample shots with the E75 camera.