Again the classic , award winning design of E71 is in action , after being copied on E71x , E63 and E72 , yet Nokia drops another clone – the E5 upon us as part of their Messaging phone portfolio .

Many must be thinking it’s the evolution of E72 , we have done a feature and spec review for you to see where E5 stands as compared to E72 .

Operating System

E5 : S60 V3 FP2

E72 : S60 V3 FP2

Winner : None – both has the same OS

Screen:

E5 : 320 x 240 240 k screen – 18 bit

E72 : 320 x 240 16 million color screen – 24 bit

Winner : E72 has a far better screen in terms of color than E5

Size and Weight

E5 : 115 x 58.9 x 12.8 – 126g

E72 : 114 x 58.3 x 10.1 – 128 g

Winner : E72 is slimmer by whole 2.7 mm

Connectivity

E5 : GSM – 1800 / 1900 / 850 / 900 – WCDMA 1900 / 2100 / 850 / 900 – A-GPS

E72 : GSM – 1800 / 1900 / 850 / 900 – WCDMA 1900 / 2100 / 850 / 900 , A-GPS

Winner : None both are the same

Data Bearer

E5: EDGE / GPRS / HSCSD / HSDPA / WCDMA / WLAN 802.11 b/g

E72 : EDGE / GPRS / HSCSD / HSDPA / WCDMA / WLAN 802.11 b/g

Winner : Same Specs

CPU :

E5 : Single Processor ARM 11 – 600 MhZ

E72: Single Processor ARM 11 – 600 MhZ

Winner : both has the same specs

Input Keys

E5 : QWERTY Keyboard – 3 Soft Keys , Navi Key , Volume Key

E72 : QWERTY Keyboard – 3 Soft Keys , Navi Key , Volume Key

Winner : Both has same specs , yet to find out in E5 has a touch pad like E72

Sensors :

E5 : None Available ( not mentioned in spec sheet )

E72 : Accelerometer , Magnetic North , Magnetometer , Screen Rotation

Winner : E72 , with all the sensors , but how many people use it ??

Camera :

E5 : 5 MP back – 15 FPS Video recording at 640 x 480 – No Front Cam – Single LED Flash

E72 : 5 MP back – 15 FPS Video recording at 640 x 480 – Front Cam – 320 x 240 -  Single LED Flash

Winner : E72 with a front Cam

Battery :

E5: BL -4D – 1200 MAH

E72 : BP-4L3.7 v 1500 MAH

Winner :  E72 , with a  higher capacity battery  and better power management features ( Thanks to Adam for pointing out the mistake )

Talk Time :

E5 : GSM – 7.5 hrs , WCDMA – 4.8 hrs , Standby 25 days , Music playback 38 hrs

E72 : GSM – 13 hrs , WCDMA – 6 hrs , Standby 16 days , Video Playback 13 hrs , Music playback 37.5 hrs

Winner : E72 , although it has a marginally better battery 1500 MAh vs 1200 MAh on E5  , better power management makes it last longer , we won’t count the standby time as we use our phones and don’t keep them standby

Misc

E72 has a dedicated Audio Chip which E5 doesn’t

Conclusion :

In many aspects , E5 stands equal to E72 , and with an updated standby screen showing contacts and their status makes it a true social networking and messaging phone . However E72’s target market is different , it’s users are those on the corporate world who uses BlackBerry and for them looks are most important the sector in which E5 does not even come close to the E72 . However with a large choice of colors and a much lower price , Euro 180 as compared to Euro 360 of E72 launch price ( in Pakistan – current price Euro 240) it’s acceptability among the target market for E63 will be great .

We won’t call it an improvement over E72 except the standby screen which we hope E72 will also get , but it’s a winner over E63 . Our purchase advice to E72 users is to forgo the E5 but those using and want to replace E63 or looking for one should wait for E5 as it offers better bang for the buck .

Since the launch of Nokia’s new Messaging devices , I’d been hearing a lot about c6 being a replacement of N97 Mini , so here’s is specification comparison followed by our thoughts and for both

The pictures above show the C6 and my snaps of N97 with N97 Mini and Nokia 5800 for comparison

Operating System

C6 : S60 V5 with Standby Widgets

N97 Mini : S60 v5 with Standby Widgets

Winner : None , same OS and same feature set

Screen:

C6 : 360 x 640 – 16 million color Resistive Touch Screen

N97 Mini : 360 x 640 – 16 million color Resistive Touch Screen

Winner : Both has the same Specs

Size and Weight

C6 : 113.4 x 53 x 16.8 mm – 150g

N97 Mini : 113 x 52.5 x 14.2 mm – 138 g

Winner : N97 Mini as it’s marginally small , thin and light

Connectivity

C6 : GSM – 1800 / 1900 / 850 / 900 – WCDMA 1900 / 2100 / 850 / 900 – A-GPS

N97 Mini : GSM – 1800 / 1900 / 850 / 900 – WCDMA 1900 / 2100 / 850 / 900 , A-GPS

Winner : None both are the same

Data Bearer

C6: EDGE / GPRS / HSCSD / HSDPA / WCDMA / WLAN 802.11 b/g

N97 Mini : EDGE / GPRS / HSCSD / HSDPA / WCDMA / WLAN 802.11 b/g

Winner : Same Specs

CPU :

C6 : Single Processor ARM 11 – 434 MhZ

N97 Mini : Single Processor ARM 11 – 434 MhZ

Winner : both are losers as none got the new 600 Mhz processors

Internal Memory

C6 : No onboard flash – 240 MB user available Memory

N97 Mini : 8 GB onboard flash : 256 MB user available memory

Winner : N97 Mni with 8 GB onboard flash

Camera :

C6 : 5 MP back – 30 FPS Video recording at 640 x 480 – Front Cam 320 x 240 – Single LED Flash

N97 Mini : 5 MP back – 30 FPS Video recording at 640 x 480 – Front Cam – 320 x 240 – Dual LED Flash

Winner : None but N97Mini has Carl Zeiss Lens and Dual LED Flash

Battery :

C6: Bl-4J  – 1200 MAH

N97 Mini : Bl-4D 3.7 v 1200 MAH

Winner : None Same Capacity

Talk Time :

C6 : GSM – 7 hrs , WCDMA – 5 hrs , Standby 17 days , Video Playback 4.1 hrs , Music playback 30 hrs

N97 Mini : GSM – 7.1 hrs , WCDMA – 4 hrs , Standby 13 days , Video Playback 3.5 hrs , Music playback 28 hrs

Winner : C6 , although it has the same capacity battery , better power management makes it last longer

Conclusion :

In all aspects , C6 stands equal to N97 Mni , even the onscreen widgets are the same . What matters is the form factor . C6 when closed looks more like the classic Nokia 5800 Xpress Music while N97 Mini copies it’s looks from it’s elder bro N97 . C6 has a plastic body , while N97 Mini has ample use of metal . The Keyboard slide in C6 is straight as in N900 , while in N97 Mini it’s angular making it easy to keep it and view it on a flast surface and also gives it a laptop look and feel.

No matter how we biased we feel towards N97 Mini – it’s the price which matters . N97 Mini when launched was commanding almost double the launch price of C6 and till now in Pakistan the new N97 Mini is sold for Euro 280 while c6 ‘s starting price is Euro 220 which will surely fall with time and soon will be available for 150 – 170 Euros in Pakistan , brining it In many people’s reach

For those using N97 Mini , we don’t recommend upgrading to c6 as it offers no extra value but for those thinking about N97 Mini , we recommend to wait for C6 , as it’s going to offer the same functionality as N97 Mini but at a lower price .

Minutes ago , Nokia launched their new Messaging Device Portfolio  as part of their Everyone Connects Launch , the Nokia C6 , C3 and E5 and what a disappointment they are .

Nokia C6 -

The reincarnation of Nokia 5800 XPress Music form factor with a 5Mp Camera and slide out keyboard , featuring good old S60 V5 and Standby Widgets .  Even it’s outlook when Keyboard is closed looks like 5800 and others -  will be available for Euro 220 by Q2 2010  and with 200mb Internal Memory , it’s a bit lower than  N97 Mini

Nokia E5 

E71 reincarnated again after E71x , E63 , E72 -  although the Camera has been upgraded to 5 MP , at Euro 180 and available in Q3 2010 , you will get a crappy 320 x 240 -  240 k screen ( although many Nokia low end handsets now have 16 m )  color screen  –

Nokia C3

Now this is the phone , I like at Euro 90 price point , it gives the executive look  although running S40 (  no multi tasking )  it does offer messaging and connectivity at an acceptable price point .  Although no GPS , it does have WiFi but 55MB user available memory may hinder downloading multiple mailboxes .

My thoughts are based on my initial view of all the phones , I’m waiting for complete details like processor speeds etc to make the final judgement

Just received the invite from WOMWORLD Nokia about the Nokia event tomorrow

Thanks WOMWORLD Nokia , the only question I have is why you want me to holdon to the invite , will tomorrow , it will transform itself into a beautiful virtual phone  

Guess I have to wait some 18 hrs more

Nokia E72 is made for messaging and email is an integral part of it.  With support for Nokia Messaging software , it can access upto  10 email accounts with full html support and even plays Youtube Videos embedded in the email .

The best way to setup email on Nokia E72 is to make an account on email.nokia.com , add all the email account you want it to access.  It’s a three setep solution , click new , add email account , click save and you’ll be all set .

On the Nokia E72 , go to email setup and add Nokia Messaging login and password and it will sync with Nokia Messaging server and download all account information and emails itself .

Later you can add or remove email accounts either through phone or the website . Nokia does not store any email on their servers so privacy is guaranteed and deleting email from phone will also delete it from your email server   .

The video below will give you an overview on how to setup Nokia Messaging on your E72 

Nokia had been working on spreading it’s OVI range of services , from email to contacts to Pc Suite , OVI is everywhere , the rumor mill once suggested that Nokia may bring OVI Chat too which became the advanced version of Contacts on Nokia and now taking it a bit further Nokia has introduced Nokia Messaging IM -  a rather long name , can’t they call it Nokia IM or OVI IM

Here is my overview of it .

I downloaded Nm-IM Client off the betalabs.nokia.com site through my mobile a couple of days ago when the application was launched . it proved to be a big fail as whenever I started the application , I got a Java Error

Fortunately Beta Labs recognized the error and issues instructions to install it through PC Suite

For E71 and E63 You MUST install both .jad and .jar using PCSuite or Bluetooth on your computer. Mobile browser installation is not currently working, we will have updated clients to fix this soon. Installing using the PC should work.

and it did worked .  I downloaded both the files the Jad and Jar on my laptop , transferred them to the Memory Card and installed both from there and it worked.

The NM-IM service currently supports OVI Chat , Google Talk and Yahoo Messenger , sorry no MSN even though Nokia is going in strategic partnership with Microsoft .

Logins are easy just type in you user name and password and you will be instantly connected . The best thing I like about GTalk is that it supports Google Apps Domains too and asks on the top menu If I want to change the email domain .

Once signed in , it quickly fetched my contacts and also the pic I use on OVI contacts. another added feature is that if you don’t want everyone to know you are online , you can also sign as Invisible

For Nokia it’s a good approach but changing of screen to check out the logged on friends is a bit cumbersome , I advice Nokia to look into the Fring client and follow how simple they have made it . 

so who is in for a chat ?

Just received this email from Nokia

“Dear Nokia Messaging customer,

The Nokia Messaging account you have been enjoying came as part of the purchase of your Nokia phone. According to our records, that phone has been transferred to another person.

Your Nokia Messaging account has been deactivated. Your account is safe – it cannot be accessed by the new owner of your Nokia phone. In addition, you can sign up for a new Nokia Messaging account for use on another Nokia phone. Please visit the Nokia Messaging website (http://email.nokia.com/account) to see a list of Nokia phones that run with Nokia Messaging.

We look forward to serving you again.

Sincerely,
Nokia Messaging team

*** This email was generated automatically. Please do not reply to it. *** “

I had my  Nokia Messaging account since it was in beta stage and never be part of bundled purchase unless they count my E71 on which I primarily use this account .

I cannot delete my old account neither can erase any associated email accounts in it so cannot even make a new account

Have written to Nokia Messaging for assistance , let’s see what happens

Nokia had been toting E75 as a messaging device and along with their Nokia Messaging software they are considering a synergetic effect of the two where eaach will help the other to boost .

In my opinion , E75 is a good device for messaging with it’s slide out keyboard which is much bigger than my E71 but still , what considered it’s greatest strength may prove to be it’s greatest weakness if Nokia does not take some steps fast . 

Nokia Messaging in some ways I take it as a good contender to Black Berry , with it’s push email , support for 10 email addresses it can make any device easily  a Black Berry competitor but there are some flaws or shortcomings in the software . 

 Storage Memory :  Nokia Messaging still uses the phone base memory and with only 50mb available on E75 , a power user like me will eat up this memory fast , how much I use as of right now , I have only 50mb memory left out of 120 mb user memory on E71 although all my applications are installed on memory card . 

Junk Mail :  Nokia Messaging needs a Junk Mail /  Spam mail filter , out of the 10 email accounts , I’ve got two which does not filter out spam at server level so one it has above 1000 emails downloaded which has used up much of the memory .  Now if a Spam . Junk email filter is installed , the messaging app can either refuse to download that particular email or simply store in a junk mail folder for easy review and deletion .

Multi Message selection   Nokia offers it in the SMS application , just press the Function key ( Pencil Key ) and scroll down to select the messages , this feature s required in Nokia Messaging to easily select qnd delete bulk messages , removing one message a time , imagine how much time 1000 messages offering Viagra will take . 

Stability  Nokia Messaging is not stable , it will work for weeks and one day it will simply stop working , many a times it’s due to availability of a new version but Nokia please just like in Sports Tracker kindly have a notification for a new version , if the App stops working , naive users will take it as a broken App thus flooding Nokia Care with unnecessary calls

I hope Nokia will make the changes in their Email App soon  , a while ago I send these suggestions to Nokia Email and they have assured me that in coming versions these things will be added slowly and gradually till then E75 users your memory will be Owned by Messaging . 

Tuesday 25thApril Nokia Pakistan is launching E75 in Pakistan as the Nokia Messaging Story , unlike the Nokia 5800 launch last month which was more a club like  atmosphere , I’m told this event will be different and more professional .

I’ll be attending the event , but I’m not impressed by E75 , I’ll wait for  Nokia 5730 Xpress Music with a use memory of 100mb as compared to 50 mb of E75 , even the supplied 4 GB card with E75 is half that of 8gb with 5730 Xpress Music .  Or I’ll wait for E55 with it’s faster 600mhz processor ( could be same as N97 ) it sure is a winner .

Awaitingly

Farhan

Tuesday 25thApril Nokia Pakistan is launching E75 in Pakistan as the Nokia Messaging Story , unlike the Nokia 5800 launch last month which was more a club like  atmosphere , I’m told this event will be different and more professional .

I’ll be attending the event , but I’m not impressed by E75 , I’ll wait for  Nokia 5730 Xpress Music with a use memory of 100mb as compared to 50 mb of E75 , even the supplied 4 GB card with E75 is half that of 8gb with 5730 Xpress Music .  Or I’ll wait for E55 with it’s faster 600mhz processor ( could be same as N97 ) it sure is a winner .

Awaitingly

Farhan