Nokia announce 3 new Business Series 60 handsets

Well I can't believe nobody else has commented about these devices. I amazed that they actually managed to keep these quiet until now. I wonder if there has been a bit of gamesmanship with Palm announcing its new handhelds today?

Anyway they look like killer business devices to me. I think Palm and Blackberry must be worried. I look forward to some hands on comments.

I must say I really like that E61. Might just be the one to replace my 9300.

I've now fixed the comment thread from the front page so hopefully more people will post (just a glitch in the new system, easily fixed - sorry). I've just got back from the Show.

I had a few minutes which each of these devices and they were all very nice. Aside from the obvious there's some significant software changes, I'm trying to get some screenshots to better demonstrate this. Nothing major, but little things. The E61 will of course appeal to those who like the form factor and the E70 follows the popular 6820 (and its been a long time coming). The E60 shouldn't be overlooked either - it will sell more than the others in all liklihood, and it has a very nice feature set.

If any one has any questions I'll try an answer them.

I would really like to see some screenshots from the E61, Rafe (if you have). The UI of the E61 looks quite a bit different from the standard S60 (which I think is a good thing), at least based one that one official photo... It looks like the UI really takes better advantage of the screen estate than previous S60 versions.

Any info you have gathered about the E61 would be most welcomed. 😊

Raven - I will be doing a preview article tomorrow.

Yes screen estate is better used (e.g. less room given to the status / header bar). Its also got a lot of the s60 3 enhancements (scroll bars etc. etc.), which make more sense in the form factor.

Do you know the E61 screen size? they didn't tell at the website... the others have 352x416 (that odd resolution), do you know if it is like that too, or if it is VGA (or something else)?

320 x 240 (QVGA)

I wasn't too suprised about the arrival of the E71 - had to happen sooner or later. Might be a nice compromise for people who want a keyboard but can't afford/want a Communicator. The TreoBerry (a.k.a E61) was also inevitable, although it's crying out for a touchscreen.

Masamune wrote:The TreoBerry (a.k.a E61) was also inevitable, although it's crying out for a touchscreen.

I don't know. I think it depends on how well keyboard-optimised the UI is. If it is anything like the Communicator line, the lack of a touch screen won't be such a big deal, at least in my opinion. With keyboard shortcuts on my commie (and the help of PowerDesk) I can navigate around the UI with greater ease than I could on my P900 (with Tracker installed).

Sorry everyone - didn't get round to the preview article today. In answer to the concerns about no touch screen. Bear in mind this is a Series 60 phone - do you ever need a pen on a Series 60 phone?

On the other hand given Series 60 supports pen input in Series 60 3rd edition I would not be surprised if a variant with pen support is released some time in the future. Nokia said the 3 E Series handhelds were just beginning of a new Enterprise range.

Rafe wrote:Bear in mind this is a Series 60 phone - do you ever need a pen on a Series 60 phone?

Yeah, but S60 phones are annoying as hell to navigate IMO. I can't stand having to use a joystick to scroll down endless menu lists just to get to the simplest things. I just hope the E61 takes advantage of the full keyboard, instead of leaving everything to a joystick and two soft keys.

touchscreen is not required for S60 phones.if its difficult for you to scroll down to access a simple app,then just organise them into folders in the size of the screen.
it becomes easier to access the apps...

Raven wrote:Yeah, but S60 phones are annoying as hell to navigate IMO. I can't stand having to use a joystick to scroll down endless menu lists just to get to the simplest things.

Anyway, you can organize the menu in any way you wish so that frequently used apps are immediately available (and with quickest access on the Active Standby screen).

And there are also keypad shortcuts; when you enter a menu, the 3 by 3 grid visible correspons to the keypad so that if you hit number 1, it will launch the first app in the grid (first app on first row), and if you hit, e.g., number 6, it will launch the 3rd app on the second row, etc.:[INDENT]123[/INDENT][INDENT]456[/INDENT][INDENT]789[/INDENT]

N/A wrote:And there are also keypad shortcuts; when you enter a menu, the 3 by 3 grid visible correspons to the keypad so that if you hit number 1, it will launch the first app in the grid (first app on first row), and if you hit, e.g., number 6, it will launch the 3rd app on the second row, etc.:[INDENT]123[/INDENT][INDENT]456[/INDENT][INDENT]789[/INDENT]

Ok, that's good. So S60 has definitely improved since I last used it. I wasn't talking about apps particularly, I know they can be organised. Just menu option lists in general. In the older versions there were no keypad shortcuts, and you couldn't even scroll directly from the top to the bottom.

the czech website idNES.cz has more information on the E61.

It also shows how the user interface will (or might?) look like. I think thats a very nice adaptation for landscape mode. The main picture circulating on the web has nice 3D icons, but I think the UI in general lokms rather unsinpiring and ver much UNLIKE series 60.

The website also has the screen size. Its obviously 2,8", probably the same LCD as in the Windows mobile phones MDA Magician and iMates JAM.

24bit=16m colors=WOW!!! A first for a smartphone? I cant think of one.

It also says that the depth of the device varies between 13,3 and 17,8 mm. In all press releases I saw it as stated as 14mm. I cant imagine which part of the device would protrude as much...

Can anyone tell me what GPRS class 11 means. Everyx other device I know only has class 10.

And whats WIFI 802.11 e and i? Only security protocols? Dows it do WPA secure
key presharing like AVMs latest DSL routers support?

And a question I didnt get answered yet: Does the SIP software only work with the named special PBX systems or any WIFI enabled PC/dsl router?

Heres the link:

http://mobil.idnes.cz/telefony.asp?r=telefony&c=A051012_002039_telefony_jm

Those Exx phone sound quite exciting...

Personally I'm very interested in the VOIP functionalities. Anyone know how it works and how it integrates with the GSM line. Assuming you have both GSM and WiFi signal, can you make calls on both lines ? Transfer ? Is the UI similar ?

Any info welcome

alex

@ Rafe

I was wondering if Nokia was going to offer a clip-on camera that would allow devices without a camera to take pictures but also, by turning to camera towards oneself, to videoconference ? (This would be great with the E60 for instance) Thanks.

Rafe wrote:If any one has any questions I'll try an answer them.

All the Nokia 60 series phones that I have seen lack some features found in the 40 series. I wonder has Nokia improved on this. So can you let me know does the E-70 comes with timed profiles, stopwatch, countdown timer, a world clock like in the 6230 or better and a call register. I believe it will come with auto keypad lock. Appreciate your reply.
Thanks.

Bear in mind the E61 has not been finalised yet (in terms of what will be in the box etc.) so its difficult to answer ajeet. However to my knowledge there will not be a stopwatch or count down timer or world clock by default. However these can all be added by third party programs either by your operator before you buy or by youself afterwards.

There's no clip on camera yet - doesn't mean there wont be one of course.

With reference to VOIP / GSM transfer there isn't anything yet which allows direct handover, but Nokia did say it was possible (it would require ties in with Operators obviously). I would assume you can use both lines if they are available (i.e. wifi and GSM), but again its early days. The VOIP functionality is designed to tie in with corporate PBX systems (e.g. Cisco's), but I don't think it will be long before we see other system supported too.

Just to add to Rafe's comments - a call log does exist in all Series 60 phones - were you meaning this or something else?

I imagine that on the Eseries phones there will be a similar world clock function as exists already today on the latest shipping Series 60 phones in the built-in Clock application (you can add cities in different countries and see the time of those, and also choose which is the current one where you are in).

stuclark wrote:Just to add to Rafe's comments - a call log does exist in all Series 60 phones - were you meaning this or something else?

The call log is a little different from the call register I am refering. In a 60 series you get caller's last time and date. In a 40 series like 6230, caller's all time and dates are available, up to a maximum of five.

N/A, the world clock in the 60 series only gives the time & date of a selected city. Whereas the world clock in 6230 gives the international dailing code, GMT offset and daylight saving of the major cities of the world.

Of course some of these are available from third parties. This takes some memory space and adds to the overall cost of the phone.

I will wait when E-70 is out then deceide. Thanks for the replies guys.

Rafe wrote:
If any one has any questions I'll try an answer them.

Do you know which BT (headset) profiles the E70 supports? Cause Nokia has some nice stereo BT headsets.

I don't think specific profiles have been mentioned, but it is Bluetooth 1.2 and does allows multiple connections so I suspect it may support Stereo and A2DP Bluetooth.

Rafe

Great, thnx. Just have to wait&see...

Can I connect e70 to a router/DSL for navigate on internet? (IRC,html,etc.) - tks!

Yes, the E70 has WLAN/Wi-Fi support and you can use it for TCPIP (Internet) apps like tbe browser, email, whatever.