E63 Review Part-3: Software, Music, Battery, Screen

With the first two parts of the review of the E63 over, where I gave my views on the design and lighting aspect, it is now time to look at one of the most important aspects within the E63, the software, music, battery and screen.

Software:
The S60 is what does duty on the E63 too. The E63’s Operating System (OS) is a little different as compared to the E71′s version. The E63′s software is a little buggy, like when you connect the phone to the USB and the music player application is working in the background it stops and says that ‘USB connection in progress‘ at this point whether the phone is connected to the computer in PC Suite mode makes no difference, the music player stops functioning and even after disconnecting it doesn’t stop flashing that message, one has to switch off the phone and restart it to use the music player option. If by chance you get a message about the music folder being corrupted and it is repairing it… that’s because you switched off your phone with the application still being connected to USB! That is a big no-no, I think Nokia is going to have a lot of people complaining about this. The E63 is surprisingly fast! I think its a bit faster than the E66 also! Remember I had stated in the E71′s review that it was slower than the E66, which I found to be very snappy. At first, I thought that the transitions have not been given to this version of S60. But I was wrong, they are there, with the phone being so fast, it hardly a wonder that I never got to see it once till today, quite by accident!

Now I am a big fan of the Nokia Email Service (NES) which has been rechristened as Nokia Messaging, and will be rolling out in a select few countries soon, to check my mails, the web browser to browse and download, the search function to search for things online, fring to chat and post updates on my twitter channel, etc. Most of these functions are being done simultaneously. Never once did it freeze unlike the E71 which occasionally did. Such demanding usage would probably slow a phone, but not the E63, no sir!, the thing seemed to be in a hurry!

The icon for NES mailboxes in the standby screen has undergone change in the E63, its a big blue icon now, and it looks really good!

The ‘bubble’ feature which shows you your missed calls, messages and voice mail messages is present here also. I am a great fan of this feature, something that must come to the Nseries (N97 perhaps?). The Active Standby Mode is good and crowded too. The Switch Mode feature which is unique to the Eseries, performs brilliantly and does what is expected of it. Just like in the E66, here also one can customize it according to ones needs, enabling applications, changing themes, etc.

Quickoffice is a boon to the business user, and with the E63 coming with a full version of the great application (head on over to Symbian-Guru store for a 30% discount on it), the E63 scores a big advantage for itself, compared to other business phones.

I would give this experience a 8/10. The S60 performs just as it is supposed to. The fact that the software has some minor niggles is not good. On the other counts, this device comes out on the top. In terms of speed, looks like E71 has something to learn from its younger sibling.

Music:
The E63 has a mono speaker setup with 3D sound and stereo widening options. The speaker could have been better for the E63, considering it is thicker than E71, but unfortunately, I found it to be a little below par (Now you know where the corners have been cut!). Once a headset (N82′s headset)was connected, I was left shocked! I had to check if it was the N82 or the E63! This phone has one kickass output on the headset! It is loud. Good job Nokia!!! The music player is standard music player found on any S60 3rd edition handset with all the settings and equalizer options. There is just one addition to it, since the phone does not dedicated volume buttons the top and bottom keys on the D-pad control the volume and have been given signs within the application. No other phone had this before.

In terms of music, I am going to give it a 9.8/10. The only reason why I am not giving it a full score is because it does not have a good speaker.

Battery:
The battery on the E63, is the same which does duty on the E71. Now, if you remember, the E71 had given me excellent results. The E63 should have done the same, maybe even better. But that’s not the case. The E63 has (not that) good battery management. The phone lasts for 3-4 days with normal usage i.e, a few calls, quite a bit of messages, a little bit of WiFi usage, and an ‘always on’ net connection. While this is not bad, It could have been way better, with the E71 clocking in 4-5days easily on a single charge and with a much heavier usage.

I’d give the E63 a 7.5/10 on this parameter. It could have been much better!

Screen:
I am just going to lift this part from the E71′s post on the same, since there is no difference here.

“The screen of the E71 is in landscape mode. Most phones that I have used have been in portrait mode. The portrait mode has its advantages over the landscape mode. The portrait mode in the E66 allowed for a better Active Standby Mode. But it had its disadvantages when one was to surf the net. The E71 has a 320×240 QVGA screen, capable of displaying 16.7 million colours- all of that in a 2.4″ screen. But I miss the accelerometer found in the E66. I wish it was there in this phone too. I would give the screen a 9/10. The Active Standby crowds easily in this orientation and phonebook viewing can be a bother. But the superb resolution, colour reproduction and ease of use at the time of surfing or checking mails and messages are its biggest positives.”

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