The sleek E62 arrives with a top-notch Web browser, a host of push e-mail options and a solid document editor. Can this EDGE-only device hold its own against its 3G competition?
Review summary of the Nokia E62:
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 The EDGE-enabled Nokia E62 is a dream come true for mobile Web addicts looking to duplicate their desktop browsing experiences while on the road, and it comes with solid corporate and push e-mail options, as well as the always slick and intuitive Symbian OS. But while it bests the competing Motorola Q with its superior keypad and document-editing abilities, it lacks the advanced editing options (not to mention the touchscreens) of PocketPC Windows Mobile 5.0 devices and Palm OS Treos, and its EDGE-only network support will disappoint those who need speedy data access or a broadband-capable laptop sidekick. Release: September 2006. Price: $70.
Pros: Best-of-class mobile HTML browser; impressive slate of push e-mail options; roomy, easy-to-use keypad; plenty of calling features, including voice calling and conference calls; document viewing and editing
Cons: Limited document editing options; addressing messages takes too many steps; no 3G support; no touchsceen; sluggish performance at times
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Full Nokia E62 Review:
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Messaging - Very good
The E62 packs in some impressive messaging options, including support for push e-mail via Good Messaging, BlackBerry Connect, and Microsoft Exchange servers, as well as standard POP/IMAP personal e-mail accounts. You can also download the Xpress Mail desktop redirector to your PC, although we experienced some connectivity hiccups during our testing. We were surprised and disappointed that the E62's messaging app doesn't automatically list possible matches from your address book as you type in the "To" field; instead, you must click away to the search window and then manually select contacts. Back on the plus side, instant messaging fans will appreciate the built-in AIM, MSN and Yahoo messaging clients (which can run in the background while you perform other tasks). We liked the E62's polished, intuitive messaging interface, although we were a bit annoyed by the number of clicks it took to, say, open or reply to a message. Typing on the handheld was a pleasure, however, thanks to the roomy, flat and easy-to-tap keys.
Multimedia - Good
The E62's crowned jewel is its best-of-class mobile HTML Web browser, which does an amazing job of rendering standard Web pages. Big, complex pages on sites such as the New York Times loaded quickly (especially considering the E62's EDGE-only data capabilities) and looked almost exactly as they would on a desktop browser, a feat we've yet to see on competing apps such as Palm's Blazer or the mobile Internet Explorer. Scroll around a bit and a "mini map" pops up, showing you your position relative to the rest of the page, while pages in the browser history are thumbnailed for easy access -- nice. The E62 also comes with a standard WAP browser, although it's so slow and clunky that it feels like an afterthought. Meanwhile, music lovers can groove to MP3s and AACs with the integrated music player (you can store music files on a miniSD expansion card, annoyingly located beneath the battery cover but accessible without actually removing the battery), and mobile RealPlayer is also included. That said, because the E62 doesn't support UMTS or HSDPA, don't expect to watch streaming videos or download music.
Scheduling - Good
Tracking your schedule on the E62 is a relatively easy experience, although there's nothing new here for those familiar with competing smartphones. Corporate e-mail users can sync their events with the device's calendar, and you get the standard complement of scheduling views, including day, week, and month, with an agenda view on the E62's home screen. We liked the pop-up windows that appeared when we moused-over events, which display the event title, but we couldn't get the Notes fields of our events to sync -- a major no-no in our book.
Productivity - Good
The E62 bests such similar smartphones as the Motorola Q with its ability to edit as well as view Office documents, although you won't find the advanced editing options available on the latest Windows Mobile Treos. For example, while the E62 lets you tweak cells in Excel and change the formatting of Word documents, you can't copy and paste text (which would be a tricky task anyway, given that the E62 lacks a touchscreen). The test documents we opened lost some of the formatting from their desktop counterparts, but no more so than with other smartphone Office editors we've tried. The mobile Adobe PDF viewer did an excellent job of rendering our test PDF files, although it took more clicks than we'd like to zoom in and out of our documents.
Calling - Excellent
Call quality was quite good on the E62; we could hear our callers loud and clear (or at least as clearly as you'd expect on a cell phone), and the flat device felt comfortable against our cheek during calls. All our favorite calling features are present and accounted for, including a speakerphone, speaker-independent voice dialing, conference calling (adding, holding, and conferencing in new callers was a snap), and Bluetooth headset capabilities. The E62 also supports live (or while-typing) searching for contacts, and plenty of alert options (including MP3 ringtones) are available. Finally, you can easily back up all your contacts (and more of your smartphone data, for that matter) with Nokia's bundled PC Studio desktop application.
Odds and ends
While we're big fans of the E62's easy-to-use keypad, we found the navigational joystick a bit tricky to use; it was all too easy to mistakenly nudge the joystick while trying to select a menu item. We also noticed that the phone seemed sluggish at times, with pauses of a few seconds while switching between screens (reminiscent of the mediocre performance we found on the Motorola Q). Finally, those familiar with the Europe-only E61 will be disappointed to learn that the E62 lacks its sibling's built-in Wi-Fi and 3G support.
Price and availability
Available now through Cingular Wireless, the Nokia E62 is priced at $149 with a two-year contract.
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