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My experience with E51 - first two weeks

12 replies · 9,771 views · Started 24 February 2008

Mind_Rx 24 Feb 2008, 16:11

Hi,

I have been selfish so far and have always "looked for answers" rather than offering some on this forum. And I am not claiming that I will change that dramatically in this post, but I thought I would share my experience with the Nokia E51 in the 2 weeks I have had it.

First of all, its a T mobile upgrade phone I managed to get for free-silver(the colour I prefer). I chose this phone as the one I wanted to migrate to from windows mobile. Initially, I had thought about the E90(I want the biggest, meanest phone attitude:rock:-The phone I hope to leave is the HTC TyTn II). Then I realised that I really needed to assess my needs and opt for a phone that would match most of them.

I am a doctor and use my phone moderately to receive and make calls. I also use my phone for PIM, email, light internet browsing, making short notes, very occasionally using GPS(I want to have one when I need one). I also want something smart(read professional), compact(read-dont need anything to compromise my already unflattering body shape:hahaha😊 and most importantly something that WILL WORK WHEN I NEED IT TO WORK.

I have had some 2-3 years experience with windows mobile/PPC and palm os(treo 650). I love the functionality of the apps like Pocket informant, SPB products, Pocket Alarm, etc. But overall, I found my experience with Windows Mobile disappointing for various reasons -
1. Ever frequent hang ups:banghead:
2. Things always dont work as they should:turtle:
3. Apps too complicated for their own good😡
4. Touch interface is not always a good thing-this is a general complaint. I think, button presses are far more confidence inspiring than screen touch manipulation. We are getting there(re:iphone) but I will wait for a couple of years. I never liked using styli.
5. HTC devices in my opinion are not well made:icon13:. They have improved recently, but have some way to go to reach Nokia, SE standards.

My experience with E51

I think the E51 is a fantastic phone:icon14:. Its so well made, I cannot resist making a comparison to premium german cars. The shell is sturdy, the button presses sure and reassuring, the screen bright and clear. Its a joy to hold and slips unnoticeably into any pocket.

The S60 OS may appear to be dated to someone coming from windows mobile, but my point is that when things are simple, it always works. Navigation through the menus ( to find where apps are) could be more intuitive, but it takes a few minutes to figure out.

I have downloaded the trial versions of popular S60 apps like Papyrus(PIM), Handy profiles, etc. Yes they are not even close to the functionality offered by pocket informant or Pocket Alarm, etc. but in my case I am willing to make some sacrifices for simplicity and glitch free operation most of the time.

Most of all, I am no longer anxious to use the phone. Dialling a number, saving a number, switching calls, etc were such arduous processes, what with using the stylus, not getting the buttons right on the screen, etc. Now, I dial by pressing the right buttons, intuitive menus ask me if I want to save numbers, and generally, things work.

So, I am still on a trial phase in my migration, and it looks like I will make the leap. What I have learnt is that the biggest, baddest, meanest device may not always be the sweetest😛roud:.

I hope this helps someone.:ciao:

evad 28 Feb 2008, 23:24

Surprisingly, I've also recently got Nokia E51 as an upgrade from T-Mobile, and I've also used HTC TyTN II before. 😊 However, my adventure with Windows Mobile began much earlier, as I've first got HTC Wizard, then HTC Hermes and then HTC TyTN II / Kaiser. By that time I've got really addicted to full qwerty keyboard and touchscreen, so I thought to get E51 as a secondary phone, rather than replacing primary TyTN II.

Anyway, once I've got E51 in my hands, I started to use it as default phone just ot try it out, and... I like it! First of all, I love the form factor. It's light, slim and looks great. Keypad is really good, display a bit small, but ultra-crisp. In terms of software, finally Nokia/Symbian managed to fix few small, but annoying things from previous editions (ie. multi-day alarms). Last, but not least - E51 is the very first S60-powered Nokia I've had chance to play with that is actually *fast*! Previously I've had Nokia E61, which was my secondary phone, mainly to place VoIP calls. I remember that doing anything with that phone was really painful, and I needed quite a lot of patience (even more than Windows Mobile requires). But with E51 all that pain is gone, and it's actually pleasant phone to use. I like that new set of home/calendar/contacts/messages buttons. Oh, and that Bluetooth on/off key - extremely helpful! WiFi access in such small phone is also great thing, along with seamless VoIP calling.

There are downsides as well, of course. As I mentioned, I've got really used to qwerty keypads, so writing texts, emails or calendar entries is somewhat harder for me. Today (Standby) screen is also better in WM, lack of touchscreen doesn't help either, but I can live with that. Feature I really miss in E51 is smart-dialling. To place a simple call I need to dig into a phonebook, making lots of clicks, while in WM it was matter of 3-4 taps on the screen. Other thing which is better in WM-world is software. There are *loads* of (free) software for WM which is backwards compatible and installs without a hassle. With S60 I need specifically look for 3rd Edition software, which is mostly not free, and if it's free, then pray to get signed version, or go through the pain of signing Symbian applications (who on Earth invented that, btw?!).

Generally speaking, I really started to love E51, mostly for its great functionality packed in such form factor. However, I really miss qwerty keypad, so I'm tempted to go back to TyTN II... But in the meantime the perfect (?) solution might be released - Nokia E71... 😊

Mind_Rx 01 Mar 2008, 13:06

Hi evad, i agree with you re 3rd party software and querty keyboard, although i didnt find myself using it that much. Regarding calling, i have downloaded SkyeQuikey. This really helps but its not free!

Mind_Rx 02 Mar 2008, 12:06

RadicalSatDude wrote:How loud is the loudspeaker, My E50's loudspeaker is nearly useless in noisy Central Appartus Room / Data Center enviornments.

Nseries loud? For example Can you hear people clearly if you're driving 100 Km/Hr with the car windows down?

Regarding loud speaker, I think its not as loud as the HTC TyTyn II. I am not sure how it compares with E50. I find it reasonably ok with my type of usage. And btw, 100km/hr with windows down...the last thing I would want to do is make/take a phone call....unless you are not driving!!😊

fyrestrtr 15 Mar 2008, 07:05

For loudness and other audio tests; you can check out the gsmarena review which does an audio comparison.

I would like to know how is the keypad? I really, really really like the keypad on the P1 but sadly there is no Nokia device that comes close.

So, how is general texting on the device?

solfer 10 Apr 2008, 17:17

Discontinued?? Why?

I spoke to T-mob this morning - they'd had some in & I'd missed them by 10 mins..

Gotta wait a week or so now.

abunuha 19 Apr 2008, 11:53

Hi,

Thanks for replies..

I got my E51 recently, and working fine.

I like this , connectivity, browsing, Wlan, simple & lightweight.

FRING & SIP registered, but I can not make SIP call yet.

To make a SIp call, it dials eg.: [email][email protected][/email] format
and the call is not going. then showing connection error.Wlan and Sip registered icons shown on mobile.

How to solve this , any idea?

rgds