Nokia E55 review: Five by five

Design and construction (continued)

Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming. The white backlighting is strong and pleasing to make the E55 perfect to handle in the dark.

The backlighting is nice and even

The 3.5mm standard audio jack and the power button are at the top of the Nokia E55. This time we are talking a normal button (it's a bit small though), rather than the unfortunate red knob on the Nokia E71 and E66.

The 3.5mm standard audio jack and the power key on top

On the right side of the Nokia E55 we come upon the two volume keys, the voice command key and the dedicated shutter key. They are all a bit small for our taste but with a nice press. The voice command key is sunk a bit too low though. Back in Nokia E51 there was no dedicated camera key at all, so we welcome its addition here.

The Eseries trademark three key combo and the shutter key are on the right side

The microUSB port is on the left side of the handset. It has no protective cover (unlike the E71) to prevent it from getting dust in. By the way the audio jack is exposed too.

There's no protection for the microUSB slot • There's hardly anything going on at the bottom

The steel back cover of Nokia E55 is a certainly one of its best parts. It is perfectly immune to fingerprints and we have to say it looks great in black.

Rearside we find the 3 megapixel fixed-focus camera lens, along with a LED flash. The specs alone hint that imaging is yet again bottom of the Eseries priority list but we will get back to that in more detail later on.

The E55 looks a treat from the back • The 3MP shooter and loudspeaker grill

A nice little latch at the base of the battery cover allows you to release it quickly and easily. The all-metal part pops out gently and is locked back into position without any hassle. Under the cover we find the microSD card slot and the massive 1500 mAh Li-Po BP-4L battery. With a power plant like this one, the Nokia E55 is said to last 672 hours of stand-by or 8 hours of talk time and that's more than impressive.

Pressing this button releases the battery cover • An impressive battery by all means

Forgive us for stating the obvious - the Nokia E55 is flawlessly built just like the E52. The phone looks great and working with it is a pleasure. Typing sure takes a bit of time to get to speed but the wonderfully ergonomic keys are duly appreciated. The best thing about the handset is the rare choice of keypad doesn't compromise the looks and ergonomics, which did impress us big time on the E52. All in all, we've got an almost complete replica here and if you're to consider any of the two handsets your choice will boil down to the type of keypad. The commendable ergonomics, durability and impressive styling are always part of the deal.

The Nokia E55 is sure to impress and deliver