Nokia E60 review: Strictly business

Nokia E60 is available on the market for some time now and offers the users powerful business solutions in almost every possible way. The tri-band phone has 3G UMTS network support and features a fabulous TFT 16 million colors display. E60 is based on the 3rd edition Series 60 and runs on Symbian OS 9.1. It has GPRS, EDGE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Infrared and USB support.

Nokia E60

Key features:

• Brilliant display
• Symbian OS
• Fast user interface
• Very good web browser
• RS-DV-MMC memory card slot
• Office documents editor
• 64 MB internal memory
• All connectivity options: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Infrared, USB
• GPRS, EDGE and UMTS support

Main disadvantages:

• Visually big dimensions
• No camera
• No FM radio
• Tiny Profiles/Switch off button

Nokia made this phone's interface and functionality features remarkably like the N80 model. It only lacks the 3 megapixel camera but has a display with more colors. Both phones are of 3rd edition Series 60 with Symbian OS 9.1 and thus are very similar in terms of user interface. We will use part of the material for Nokia N80 in this review.

Elegant and clean

Nokia E60 looks very elegant and sophisticated. However, the silver phone reminds me of an old VCR remote control. The big dimensions of the phone are more of an optical illusion than real bulky size. Actually, the phone feels very comfortable when held in hand and there isn't even the slightest sign of the visually perceived big size. 115 x 49 x 17 mm and 117 g seem pretty normal for E60. Interesting fact is that not everybody who sees Nokia E60 thinks that it is a high-class phone with nice design, some consider the phone looks as cheap.

Nokia E60 held in hand

The very plain and clean design of Nokia E60 is eccentrically disturbed by the front silver frame which ends in its left side but merges with the lateral side on the right. Similar design solution is used for the battery cover. Another interesting thing about Nokia E60 is the two white lights which are located in the alphanumeric part of the keypad. They serve as additional light for the backlighting.

Solid as a rock

Nokia E60 is surprisingly solid. The phone is so well elaborated that it seems that it’s made of one big piece and then it has been cut down to its current form. There aren’t any gaps between the parts of the phone and it seems unbreakable. Moreover, the phone leaves the impression of safety and control in your hands. Nokia truly deserve admiration for this.

When you first grab E60 in your hands, the first thing you will notice is the enormous display. The 16 millions colors display covers half of the front side of the phone. Above the display there is only space for the speaker and a Nokia sign, both etched in the metal frame, which surrounds all elements on the phone’s face.

On top of the keypad there are the two soft keys and the green & red receiver keys with the navigation joystick between them. On the next row are the Pencil, Menu and C (correction) buttons. Below them are the numeric keys.

Front side

The back side design of Nokia E60 lacks imagination. It shelters another Nokia sign, the battery cover and collaborates with the top side for the two holes for a neck-strap. The battery cover, however, is interesting as it slides aside not downwards. When you remove it you will find the BL-5C Li-Ion battery of 970 mAh capacity. The manufacturer promises up to 290 hours of stand by time and 6 hours and 40 minutes of talk time with this battery and we’re prone to trust him. Nokia E60 managed very well during the test period and we had to recharge it only once.

Back side • SIM card bed • Memory card slot

The sides of the Nokia E60 body are made of silver and black plastic. The left side of the phone features the volume control keys and another button for voice recording. All buttons are made out of metal and look great.

Left side • right side

The right side of Nokia E60 consists of three metal plates. The top one is short and beside it is the loudspeaker grill. Then there is a long one and the RS-DV-MMC memory card slot cover. It has a memory card picture on it so it cannot be mistaken. It is easily opened and closed but supposedly it can become loose or even brake off as the joint part of the card slot cover is not very reliable. When you open the cover, in order to get the memory card in or out, you should push it until it produces a snap sound. The method is similar to digital cameras.

The top side of the phone hosts one eyehole for the neck-strap and the Profile/Turn Off button. However, the traditional Nokia Profile/Switch Off button is really tiny this time. A good thing is that it bulges a bit from the surrounding surface but still, it is pretty small. The bottom side of the phone accommodates the Pop Port and the charger port.

Top and bottom sides of Nokia E60