E63 Review Part-4: Camera and Accessories

A Merry Christmas to all the readers. I am sorry for having delayed on this post. I have been a little lazy lately. I guess the holiday mood has kicked in for good!

I have already reviewed the following aspects in my previous posts -
Design, Lighting & Software, music, battery and screen.

In this part of the review I will be concentrating on the camera and accessories.

Camera:

The camera on the E63 is just a 2 megapixel module. The main reason for putting in a lower resolution camera is only to cut costs. This camera is a very basic camera capable of outputting images of a maximum resolution of 1600*1200. There is no auto focus or any of the other features that you find on any Nokia S60 3rd edition phone. If you have used the Nokia N70 or the E50, you will be well versed with the kind of features you have available on the phone when it comes to the camera. The software to handle the camera on the E63 is the same that you would have seen on the N70 and E50. And may I tell you that software was not very user friendly. If I need to change something, I have to go into options and hunt for the setting, of which there are very few, change it… I cannot change it as quickly as I was able to on the E71 or the E66 for that matter. I was very disappointed by that. The clarity of the camera is also not that great. In daylight it can click good photos, but in a little darkness, the chinks in the E63’s camera become glaringly visible.

The video recording capabilities of the E63 are also poor and I don’t need to tell you why it is so. The video is recorded at 15fps at a maximum resolution of 320*240 (QVGA). But then that’s what you will get with a camera like that. This phone was meant to do DVD like video recording and so I really don’t feel they have done anything terribly wrong here.

Overall I was none too happy about the software implemented on the E63. The fact that it is a 2 megapixel camera is alright, but the software that makes it work is absolutely not acceptable. It is hard to believe but the N81 which is selling at similar prices to what the E63 will sell at, has not only a better camera, but also a better software for it. I wish Nokia changed that software soon, because it is a disaster in today’s day and age. I would give the camera a poor score of 4.5/10. If you are looking for a QWERTY phone with a camera, look elsewhere.

Accessories:
In this department, the E63 is virtually on par with it bigger brethren. The E63 comes with all the accessories you would expect to get with a smartphone. The only thing missing in the box is a leather pouch. The E63 does not have a leather pouch like its bigger sibling the E71 has. But then this is not an E71. The E63 is expected to come with a data cable, a pair of handsfree earphones, a 2GB memory card (Micro SD).

The data cable is the usual Micro USB variety. The handsfree solution though throws out any iota of doubt you have about the E63 being a decent smartphone. It ships with a a cheap pair of earphones, the WH-102. These earphones are the nearly same ones I got with the 1650 which by the way is very cheap (INR 1800 = US $36). The only exception is that the 1650 has a 2.5mm plug v/s the 3.5mm plug the E63’s(the 1650 comes with the WH-101, a 2.5mm pin variant). They are also very uncomfortable as you do not get any cushions with them. This means that they simply keep falling out of the ear. I could not keep a single earphone in my ear for more than 1 minute, its that bad. I did not know Nokia could go so low with the E63. If there was one thing that would make me not want to buy the E63 it would be this, simply because the phone has brilliant audio capabilities and it really sounds very good, better than even the E71! What a pity it is limited by such a poor set of handsfree solution. I would suggest you to toss the WH-102 as soon as you buy the phone and invest in a better set of headphones or earphones.

The phone supports bluetooth A2DP and AVRCP solutions, this means you can pair a stereo bluetooth headset and control it wirelessly. Thank you at least providing that Nokia. In this department, I would give the E63 a rather average score of 6.5/10. The absence of a pouch and a decent handsfree solution lowering its score here. If you are looking to use the music capabilities on this phone it will be worth your money to invest in a good pair of headphones.

The charger with the E63 is not the miniature AC-8 which I am a fan of. Instead it came with a variant of it perhaps, the AC-8X. This charger is huge compared to the AC-8 and doesn’t look as beautiful also.

With this there is only one more aspect of the review left to complete my review of the E63. I shall have that up by tonight.
Please leave your comments and opinions below… I am eager to know what you think of the E63.

To see the results of the camera, click here. This link will take you to my Ovi page and the specific channel. Do not worry the link will open in another window or tab as the case may be.

E63 Review Part-2: Lighting,

With the 1st part of the review over, Let me move on to another aspect of the E63, one which is a very important one, Lighting.

Now this is an Eseries phone which look pretty similar to the E71, its elder sibling. For a layman, the E63 would be a plastic clad E71. This is something even I expected, that the E63 was a toned down version of the E71 (not that it isn’t). I thought that the E63 was the same as the E71 on most hardware and software aspects. It turns out that I was wrong, the E63 is a completely different device.

Backlighting:
The screen is well lit and is the same as the E71. There were no problems on that front, Just like in the E71, here too, I have the ‘Light sensor’ set a notch below full, mainly because the amount of light is sufficient. I have no problems in terms of backlighting, The E63 performs as capably as the E71 in this area. Full 10/10 on this aspect to the E63.

Notification Light:
The E63’s notification light is similar to the E66 and the E71’s notification light and it can be configured according to the user’s needs. The light does not flash every 10 seconds like it used to in the E66 and E71 when the phone was in idle mode. It however does blink every 2 seconds when there is an event (missed call, message, email, MMS). The light is not soft, it has definitely been made brighter that the E71’s notification light. The E63’s notification light rests within the D-pad just like in the E66 and E71. The design of the innards is also the same as it was in the E66. Just as the E71’s design did not allow the neigbouring buttons to benefit from the notification light, the E63 does the same. I would give the E63 a 8.7/10 in this aspect. It loses out on mainly because, there is no notification light when the phone is idle.

Keypad Lighting:
The E63 which is every bit a younger sibling of the E71, falls a little short of expectations here. One would have expected similar standards in keypad lighting, but unfortunately, that is not the case. The keypad lights are a soft white colour. While all the keys were evenly lit, I could not help help notice the fact that the D-pad is dimly lit as compared to the other keys on the handset, the same is the case with the key ‘T’. Now it is a rather small thing, but it caught my attention early on, and although, I did not find any problems as such, it definitely did not go out of my head. A new user of this device, is sure to be a little irritated about it. I hope that it can be addressed in some way. Barring that, every key is wonderfully lit and is very much legible in the dark just like the E71. A very strong 8.9/10 in this aspect for the E63. A positive for the E63 here is that unlike in the E71, where some of the light was escaping through crevice between the ’space bar’ and the lower lip of the phone, there is no such occurrence.

The bar was set too high by the previous Eseries devices and it was a going to be as tough for the E63. It has performed well, considering the segment it is aimed at, but in front of the E71, it performs marginally lower.

I am not posting a video of the notification light, since it is exactly similar to the video I made for the E71’s review The only difference is that the notification light in the E63 is brighter when blinking.

Stay tuned for the remaining parts of the review.

E63 Review Part-1: Design

Firstly, a big thanks to the good people at WOM World for sending me the E63 to review. The E63 is a successor to the E62, and a cheaper version of the venerable E71. It has a lot at stake, without even knowing it. Over the next 2 weeks I shall give you all the info on the E63 and how good or bad it is. For now, Let me stick to the design aspect.

Design:
With the E51, E66, E71 setting very high standards when it came to design, its no wonder that the E63 has a huge act to follow. The E63 is not sleek or thin. If anything it is thick (going by E71’s dimensions). But compared to a N82, it is 3/5th of the latter’s thickness. The dimensions along with the materials used make the E63 a very comfortable fit in one’s hands.

The handset I have for review is the ‘Ruby Red’ colour. I guess a lot of people have complained about the staid looks of the Eseries phones and the need for some colour. The people over at Nokia, have heard their prayers. The device is available in two colours, red and dark blue. I hope there will be a complete black one as well!

The reactions I got for the colour were surprising. 8 out of 10 people loved the red! They thought that the phone looked ‘cool’. The girls also liked the colour of the phone a lot. If anything, the colour will make them more receptive towards ‘complicated’ phones (that’s what most girls say, even if they use them). In terms of the colour department the opinion is pretty positive. However, a friend of mine who did not like the colour gave me an interesting point of view, he said that, ‘people like the colour when they see it, but when it comes to buying they will prefer the same staid colours’, conformity to standards being the basis of his argument. We will have to see how much of this true, when the phone is available for sale.

Gone are the steel body parts, replaced with plastic. The back panel is plastic with some sort of rubber film treatment. This gives the handset a very good grip. If you had sweaty palms, the E71 would have not given you any grip, but the E63 provides you with excellent grip anywhere, anytime. using plastic instead of metal has also meant that this device is no longer a fingerprint magnet.

The ‘qwerty’ keypad is also different. Now you probably wondering how different is different? Well quite a bit. The keys are now made of softer compound. it is not hard as the E71’s keypad. This means that people who did not like the hard keys will find the ’softer’ keys on the E63 a blessing. The arrangement is also different on the E63 of the keys. The E63 has a smaller ’space bar’ key. There are additions too, a ‘Ctrl’ (control) key is there beside the ‘Space bar’ key. On the E71, the the character (Chr) key, doubled as the control (Ctrl) key. There have been quite a few additions and omissions to the keypad overall. It seems, Nokia is keen on correcting its mistakes quickly. A photo with a side by side comparison should show you the difference. The red power button is also not there on the E63, which in my opinion should not have been removed.

Since, the E63 is a cheaper E71, a lot of omissions are there in other departments. The E63 does not have any keys at the side of the device like the E71 or E66. The only things at the sides of the device are on the left, a Micro USB slot, a Micro SDHC slot; on the top, a 3.5mm audio enhancement plug and mono speaker; at the bottom the mic, the 2mm charging slot and the lanyard clip holes. No dedicated volume buttons or camera key for that matter. The E63 also does not have a front camera, because it does not support HSDPA.

In terms of build quality, I found the E63 to be really good. Even though the elements of the design bear strong resemblance to the 1 and 2 series, the build quality is far superior and comparable to some high end phones. This design is however, not without its quirks. The 3.5mm plug for the headset has been given a cover, a cover that is bound to get lost once removed by the user. Also it isn’t exactly very easy to remove it. Secondly, the covers for the Micro USB and Micro SDHC slots are a little flimsy. I fear repeated opening and closing could wear them out and make them useless.

On the whole the E63 is a good phone in terms of design and I would give it a 7/10 in the design department. All the strengths of the E71 and a few of its weaknesses. The usage of plastic has solved problems for the Eseries in terms of fingerprints but will the business customer want a ‘plastic’ phone, when a metallic E71 exists, is something that remains to be seen in the long run. Also the design bears strong resemblance to the cheap 1 and 2 series phones of Nokia. Is that a good decision? Only time will tell.

similarities between the two

another similarity

E63 First impressions

This enitre week was a very hectic week for me. I had Clinton Jeff fill in for me. He did great! And will be posting for some time to come.

At the same time WOM World has also shipped the soon to be released Eseries device, the E63, to me for trialling. What perfect timing too!

For the next two weeks I will be trialling the E63 and giving you the low down on it.

Well first impressions on this device are good. Packaging for Eseries as a whole is same. Certain design elements are taken from the cheaper 1 and 2 series phones of Nokia. This phone is a departure from the existing Eseries phones in terms of materials used.

The device on the whole looks good, fit and finish seem similar to the Eseries device I trialled earlier. The keypad is definitely different from the E71 (more about it in the coming posts). The red is definitely an eye catcher. I got quite a few reactions to it, which I will reveal in the posts to come. One thing is for sure, this phone is good to hold, maybe a ‘little’ bit better than the E71 too.

Let me know if there is something you would like me to check out in particular.

E75 pictures leaked

A member at Mobile-review forums, Mirrorofsorrow has managed to post some real kick ass photos of the unreleased E75! The phone is compared to the ‘tube’ i.e. 5800 Xpressmusic. A look at the photos will show you how the phone looks and give a rough idea about the dimensions.

I think its high time, Nokia started to move about in terms of the handset designs. From bars, it is slowly moving into clamshells, sliders, touchscreens, and this now. Looking at it I’m reminded of the baby communicator(9300) that was sold before the communicator (9500) came into the markets. This phone also looks to be something like that; a phone for someone who wants a bigger keys than what the E71 or E63 offer yet not something as bulky as the E90. I hope that it is positioned in between the E71 and the E90.

Some specs for the E75 that I could get hold of:
A 2.4 inch screen, 3.2mega pixel camera with single LED flash, WiFi.

What do you think? Do you have some lowdown on the E75?