We are a year old!

This post comes in a little later than it should have (ok a whole lot later!) but since I’ve been busy shifting my base it’s been a little hard to get some blogging done. I know I have the N97 and the E75 with me, but it’s more about finding time than anything else.

It was on the 7th of July, 2008 that I decided to start blogging about phones. A couple of days prior to this, my girlfriend had told me that she had begun blogging and that I should start too. it was her insistence which led me to start a blog. the question at that time was ‘What do I blog about?’ and as I said I thought about phones. I had been following them for a a couple of years and I thought that I had gathered enough knowledge about the industry to have my own view point.

So I began, with a humble post about my experience with mobile phones. I was a regular reader of Darla’s blog and Symbian-Guru amongst a whole lot many. Ricky Cadden a.k.a The Guru gave me a few tips (I’m sure he doesn’t even remember! lol!) about getting in touch with WOM World for trial devices. I contacted them and it wasn’t until a couple of months later that they mailed me asking if I would like to trial the E66. I was overjoyed!

It would be the first of many trial devices I would get from WOM World. My relationship with the warm people at WOM World(no pun intended here!) grew and they kept on sending me devices after devices against my requests (E66, E71, E63, N96, N85, E75). And today here I am, taking part in a global contest of ‘Teach the Technophobe’, You can read about it here.

Thank you so much WOM World and all the people I have interacted with, you guys are really great!

During this time I came across another person’s blog. He had used the N80 just like me and although he had upgraded faster than me, his story seemed similar to mine. This blogger was none other than Clinton Jeff of ZomgitsCj. Over the years I became a regular visitor to his blog and in time we became very good friends. In addition to the many blogs he wrote for, Cj would help me out by putting up blogposts on topics when I could not blog due to my rigorous MBA schedule. We would (we still do!) catch up online and have some of the most interesting and intellectually stimulating conversations about mobile phones and the internet. It was uncanny, how we would have almost identical view points.

Thank you Cj for all the help and support you have given to this blog and me. If it weren’t for your contributions (posts and chats), this blog would not be where it is today.

Another person I must thank is Ravindra Dissanayake. Ravindra till last year was writing for Symbian-Life Blog. I used to love his articles, always simple, lucid and packed with content. This prolific blogger (in my eyes at least) went on to create Symbian Stories, before he vanished to Australia for further studies (I hope you and your wife are doing alright mate!). Around then, Meraj of Phone Report V2.0 offered me a position at Phone Report V2.0 and I accepted. Ravi also requested me to take over the reins of Symbian-Life Blog, I would then start blogging on three different blogs. But I must admit, it is indeed difficult to fit into Ravi’s shoes.

Thank you Meraj and Ravi for giving me such wonderful opportunities and allowing me to become a bit wiser. Thank also for all the guidance and support you continue to give to me. I am indeed thankful to you guys for putting me on the path of growth.

Carlos, a regular visitor on both the blogs (this one and Symbian-Life Blog) also helped out in times of stress. He would write a few articles for me on this blog, when I was trying to set myself with all the blogs I was writing for. Thank you so much Carlos for helping me out in times of need. I hope you still visit this blog!

Mike Macias, I would like to thank you too for being a great person to look up to. Your N82 blog in many ways is like the Bible for N82 users. I have always received support from you, no matter how big or small the issue. Also if it weren’t for you, I would have never bought this great netbook I have now.

All of these people and many more have played a very important role in developing this blog in their own ways.my readers and all the people who have commented. All the websites and blogs that have linked to this blog and those who I have linked to.

The S60 Ambassadors Program also provided me a lot of opportunities to meet some great bloggers and hear their story and give me a wider perspective of the S60 platform. Various forums like Symbian-Freak forums, Howardforums, and many more provided loads of knowledge about S60, and it’s quirks.

The high point of this first year came when I was invited to the N97 Blogger Meet, in Gurgaon where I met Axel Meyer and got to play with the N97 way before it was launched. Along with this WOM World invited me to be a part of a global campaign ‘Teach the Technophobe’.

I also want to thank D3x, Rita El Khoury, Varun Krishnan, Vaibhav Sharma for everything. Listening to your rants and passion for phones has always been inspirational, I hope I can reach the same place where you are today.

This blog has also been instrumental in me getting a job at Spice Retail Ltd.

So as I celebrate the completion of one year of this blog I want to thank all the people who have contributed to the success of this blog. I want to thank all the software manufacturers for trusting me and giving me an opportunity to review your applications, also Nokia for having me review your devices. I also want to place on record my gratitude to all the readers, fellow bloggers, friends and my family for all your support. Thank you everyone!

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E63 comparison photos

I had completely forgotten to put up these photos I had clicked of the E63 alongside the E61 and later the iPhone. Luckily for me, the Ninja from www.ninjatales.wordpress.com asked me just the right questions to remind me that I had these photos.

He also asked me about the audio quality of E63 from the speakers when compared to either of the iPhones. Well, I haven’t had the chance to play with the iPhone 3G yet, but I have had a chance to check out the iPhone. In my opinion, the E63 is louder than the iPhone. I distinctly remember not being able to clearly hear anything on the speakers of the iPhone. The E63 is relatively better, though in a crowded place, you can’t hear anything from either of the two.

All thanks to you “ninjatales“, that I am putting up this post. Without further ado, the comparison photos of the E63 with the E61 and then the iPhone.

E63 Review Part-5: Internet & Maps

The 'Ruby Red' E63

This post is a rather special post! Chiefly because it’s the 100th post on this blog. I am very excited about it, and I would like to thank my parents, my girl friend, Ricky Cadden aka Symbian Guru, Rita aka Dotsisx, Clinton Jeff aka CJ, Ravindra, Renegade Fanboy, WOMWorld and so many more! Thanks to all of your love and support, I have accomplished this much.

Let me get down to the business at hand, This is the last part of the review of the E63. I have already looked at many aspects of the E63 like design, lighting, software, music, battery, screen. I have also looked at the camera and the accessories that are a part of the E63.

Let’s now see what the e63 is capable of in these aspects…

Internet:
The web browser found on the E63 has the same web kit that is found in the Apple iPhone, but S60 web browser can play ‘flash’ content within the website.

The S60 web browser is a good and sturdy web browser. This same browser does duty on all S60 phones of Nokia. Though, Eseries gets a slightly tweaked ’secure’ version as compared to the Nseries or even the regular series. It is the same browser which was doing duty on the E66 and E71. So, there is nothing new to talk about it as I have covered this aspect in great detail here and here. The only thing missing as I have stated many times is the lack of tabbed browsing. I really do not know what has prevented S60 and Nokia from implementing it. I don’t know if other browsers on other platforms offer tabbed browsing or not, I want tabbed browsing and I want it fast!

I have also been using ‘Resco News’, ‘Fring’ and Nokia Messaging (formerly NES), to get information, mail from the internet, and I did not face any problems getting these applications to work seamlessly. The internet radio application has also been reworked a bit, as the different screen orientation created a few issues with the earlier version.

Probably the one thing I did not like about the E63 is the speed it delivers when being used as a modem. With the E71 and the N82, I was getting speeds of 460.8kbps and with the E63 its not more than 115.2kbps. I was disappointed with that as the there was noticeable difference in speeds. The phone also lacks 3G support.

On the whole I would five the E63 an 7.5/10. The E63 losing out on the slow speeds it was giving when used as a modem and absence of tabbed browsing.

Maps:
Firstly before you get your hopes up, let me categorically tell you, the E63 does not have GPS functionality. If you do want to use GPS, then you must buy the external GPS devices which can connect with the E63 via bluetooth.

This is a rather glaring omission for the E63 considering the global market, but when you consider India, I don’t think many people know that it exists and/or know how to use it also. With India not being fully covered by Navteq, Maps or GPS for that matter becomes useless and an almost redundant feature like the PTT feature which does not work in India at all.

However, I doubt it becoming a deal breaker for potential customers of this device.
I will not be giving any scores for this aspect as it does not exist for the device in question.

Conclusion:
The E63 is definitely a new direction that Nokia has taken for Eseries. The E63 which is a ‘cheaper E71′ is very practical and good. The keypad can be a bother to many people because it is cramped and the size of the keys, small. I did not have any problems however. The ‘cost cutting’ carried out for this phone is mind boggling. When compared to the E71, there is a marked difference between the two. But mind you, in terms of fit and finish, both are on par. The E63 with its 3.5mm plug clearly shows its musical intentions and capabilities and mind you, it did not disappoint at all! The camera is lacklustre but I don’t think this phone will be bought for its camera. On the internet and maps front, I don’t need to say anything since oyu have just read about it.

With this comes to end the review of the E63. I hope that the review has given you a good understanding of the phone & its capabilities and at the same time, helped you in deciding for or against buying the device. I will be very happy to know what you think about the review and the phone too. Leave a comment below!

The ‘Ruby Red’ E63

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-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.”

Leave your views and comments below! Tell me and the other readers your views…