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Not quite the E…

As much as common sense tells us to avoid slider phones for obvious reasons—as in moving parts, wear and tear—they’re hot! The E65 is red-hot (literally), and it’s available in mocha, too. The entirely matte-finished body offers good grip, and it manages to also look classy. Red—russet brown really—might not appeal to all, but the soft contours are nice.

 With Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 3G, EDGE, and more, the E65 is a business-oriented device with some artistic flair. The number keypad is well-laid-out with raised demarcations on each key, similar to the N95—but remember there’s no QWERTY. Keypad backlighting is good. The 2MP camera and the music player are pretty ordinary.

Pop the hood and it’s a Symbian S60 9.1 device. Quick Office has been provided, but it’s Word and Excel editing at its barest (no document creation). GPS software is bundled: it’ll work with any Bluetooth GPS device. There’s also a pretty nifty text-to-speech module that will read out data whose menus are placed in the Voice Aid folder. Contacts can be read out, as can phone numbers, recent calls, and the time. You also get a voice assist while dialling, which will help (only if you remember the number) in the event of mis-dialling while in a hurry. Still, we think the software needs a lot of work to be functional.

The phone is slow, though, especially while using the voice functions—which bespeaks low memory. Call quality is good, but not on par with some of the other Nokia phones we’ve tested. Calls disconnect easily when reception strength is at one tower.

At Rs 22,469, the E65 isn’t the definitive business phone that the E series label indicates it to be. A phone with very similar specifications and functions with a cheaper price tag comes to mind—the N80. But then all new phones are costly, and a couple of price cuts may see this hottie become popular.

Specifications
Weight: 115 gm; dimensions: 105 x 49 x 15.5 mm (L x W x H); screen: 240 x 320 (16M colours); 50 MB shared memory; 2MP camera; GPRS, EDGE, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, IR, and USB connectivity

RATINGS
Features : 3.5
Performance : 3.5
Build Quality : 4
Value for Money : 2
Overall : 3

Contact : Nokia India   
Phone : 30303838
E-mail : ext-manoj.goel@nokia.com
Web site : www.nokia.com
Price : Rs 22,469