Nokia E63

Editor's Review of the E63

With a total weight of 126 grams and full measurement of 113 x 59 x 13 millimetres, the Nokia E63 joins Nokia's distinctive E Series that includes other 3G-enabled Smartphones including the Nokia E71, the Nokia E51 and the Nokia E66. It is clad in either colours ruby red or ultramarine blue casing. Various MP3 and video ringtones give the Nokia E63 that personal touch.

It sports a 58.42-millimetre screen that displays two customisable home screen modes and other images in more than 16 million colours over a 320 x 240-pixel resolution. The Nokia E63 is equipped with a full QWERTY keyboard with a Navi key that allows users to glide through the screen menus and make feature selections easily.

Running on Symbian version 9.2 operating system and Series 60 3.1 software,
the Nokia E63 is an ideal handset for worldwide roaming. It is powered with quadband reach, covering GSM 1900, GSM 1800, GSM 900, and GSM 850, as well as WCDMA networks.

The Nokia E63 is a 3G HSDPA mobile phone, which makes it an efficient multitasking handset. Internet connection is easy with the built-in HTML, MP, XHTML, WML and CSS browser of the Nokia E63, complete with the Nokia Mini Maps application. Users of the Nokia E63 can go online in any nearby hotspot with its WLAN Wi-Fi support. Because the Nokia E63 is powered by GPRS and EDGE technologies, it comes in a faster downloading rate. It also allows transfer and sharing of data and files with other compatible devices like printer, laptop and personal computers through its support for USB, Infra Red and wireless Bluetooth connectivity.

The Nokia E63 supports standard text and multimedia messaging services. Owing to the Internet connectivity it offers, the handset also supports Instant Messaging and email with attachment, in POP3, Mail for Exchange, IMAP4 and SMTP servers. A bonus feature of the Nokia E63 is its Text-to-Speech Message Reader application.

The Nokia E63 proves in many ways that it is an efficient business assistant with its set of organiser tools. It comes with an advanced phone book that supports storage of multiple contact numbers and displays contact images. It also has a calendar in weekly and monthly views, a PDF viewer, an analogue and digital clock, an alarm clock that supports ringtones, a calculator with advanced functions, a currency converter, active notes and to-do list, a reminders option, as well as a vibration alert. The Nokia E63 has a dedicated one-touch key that allows users to quickly access the organiser tools. Taking or making calls with the Nokia E63 are easy and hassle-free with the handset's support for VOIP Internet Call, conference call, push-to-talk option, call log, speaker phone, a voice recorder, and support for voice commands and voice dialing.

The Nokia E63 is a convenient tool for taking snapshots with its 2-Megapixel camera. The camera comes complete with a digital zoom, a controllable LED flash with a 1-metre range and a CMOS sensor that allows precise capture of photos. Pictures can be tweaked and added with effects according to preference using its white balance mode, capture mode, scene mode and colour tone mode selections. The Nokia E63 also supports video recording in video formats MPEG4, MPEG4 VSP, 3GP, MP4, and H263. Video clips of up to 1 hour can be stored in the handset. Similarly, videos can be enhanced with video white balance and video scene mode options. The Nokia E63 also supports video streaming and video playback.

The Nokia E63 can also pass for a portable music player that supports MP3, WMA, AAC+ AAC, and eAAC+ audio formats, and allows audio recording through the AMR technology it supports. Users may also tune in to their favourite radio stations using the FM radio RDS feature of the handset. It also comes with visual radio support and Nokia Podcasting support while being powered by Nokia Music Manager. The Nokia E63 offers 18 hours of music playback time. Wide selection of embedded Java games keeps Nokia E63 users entertained. The mobile phone also allows downloading of games from the Internet.

Files of up to 110 Megabytes can be stored in the Nokia E63, which memory can be extended to a maximum of 8 Gigabytes using a MicroSD memory card. Users can talk with friends and family using the Nokia E63 for 11 hours, and keep the handset on standby mode for 432 hours.

Observers point out that the downsides of the Nokia E63 include its lackluster camera and its set of function buttons that can often be too complicated for some users. Nevertheless, the Nokia E63 suits practically all user needs for business and personal purposes.