Review: Nokia E50 (Black Metal Beauty)
Okay, been using my E50 for about 2 weeks+ now. Technically speaking, I think it is a great-to-have smartphone (if you wanna upgrade from an ordinary mobile phone), but when compare to my current workforce (Sony Ericsson M600i, Symbian UIQ3 platform) still lack of some standard functionalities for a so-called ‘business smartphone’, especially the lack of call management feature like accept incoming calls based on predefined list / contact no, reject all calls, create reminder to return missed calls and etc. All these come with standard in UIQ3 platform.
The look and feel
tadaaa.. the main guy for this short review
Matte finish keypad
Top view
Bottom view
Back
Left
Right
Screen close-up
Holding in hand
Side view (slim?)
Overall, being catagorized under smartphone range… I would say this phone is very well built if were to compare to E61. E61 was good in term of built quality too, but missing some detailings when come to design point of view (too squarish). Whereby E50 has the shape, the cut and the styling details are there. It is so compact being a smartphone device. I have no idea how Nokia could possibly put in the 208Mzh cpu and the S60 platform into this small little piece, it just so compact to be called as a smartphone!! But, somehow… it weights a little due to the materials used. (magnesium alloy) But it feels sturdy and solid.
white backlight make it looks classy
keypad is nicely designed, but a little too tiny for big thumb user. the navi-stick is abit stiff, just like Nokia E61. Would be nice, if nokia make it something softer like the SE T630. The navi-stick got a backlight indicator LED, which blinks when there’s a missed call/missed sms/mms/emails. (blinking time can be configured in the settings menu) For the silver version, the keypad backlight is green, for black version it is white. but somehow the missed calls indicator is standardized to green.
overall, for look and feel… it’s just sleek n compact for a smartphone.
Some size comparison:
Motorola V3
with V3 side by side
which one has the slimmer trim?
Sony Ericsson M600i
with M600i side by side
which one look slimmer?
Sony Ericsson K610i
with K610i side by side
obviously, K610i is thick!
The UI
standard S60 3rd edition active standby screen
menu nagivation screen
Calendar
Comparing to E61, nothing much to be mentioned here… (details can be found at my previous review on E61 – Click Here) But somehow, some sections of the menu were enhanced. Such as:
- Team suite: setup a group of contacts for PTT, Messaging, Conference, Web paging? (err.. not sure what this is)
- Text speech: Choose a voice (either male or female), get the voice recognition application to read out your document, SMS and etc.
Other than the above, I see nothing much changed over E61. The screen resolution is high for this screen size (QVGA, 240×320 pixels and framed at 2.1″), and backlight is strong to shine up the screen. I normally set the brightness to half of what it capable of. I read some forums, people were saying the font is too tiny and start complaining to nokia, but hey.. this is not the issue of the font, it’s the screen size over the pixels ratio. The font get tiny because of the high-res effect. And I have no problem reading them at all. The screen perform well under direct sunlight too, I’m not sure what coating Nokia put on the screen, but I was able to read what was printed on the screen while i was at outdoor.
The Audio
The speaker is located just above the Quick-contact key at the top right. The speaker ‘hole’ making it look like the handstrap hook. Sound quality wise, is just okay if compare to E61. I still think E61 has better speaker over E50. Music playback from on E50 is good up to 70%, over that barrier… aspect some distortion to be heard. (tiny speaker used?) You would probably like its sounding if you are into ‘sizzle’ tone, this phone has lots of treble.
The Connectivity
Well, just like E61..(err.. minus the wifi okay?!) for wired, you can use the supplied CA-53 USB data cable. and for Wireless connectivity, it comes with 2 channels: IRDA and Bluetooth. As for GSM connectivity, it supports: EDGE (class 10) and GPRS.
The battery life
Overall, it is capable to last for 3 days without shutting down the phone and with carrier mode on all the time.. hmmm.. occasional phone chats summed up about 4-5 hours and 40 sms.
Final word
What I like:
- Compact and portable to carry around
- High resolution screen with good brightness control
- Good battery life
- It uses MicroSD, which is relatively cheap in Malaysia now… it’s like 1GB = USD12 now!
- For its price, as at Nokia 6300′s price tag.
- 1.3MP okay quality for a 1MP camera, atleast better than E61 :)
What I dislike:
- As a business phone, tapping the keypad efficiently is a MUST, but this one is just too tiny
- No stereo headset bundled in the package (hello.. nokia?)
- Distorted sound if volume pump up too high
- No games found in the phone (but free download at nokia site)
- Navi-stick is abit stiff to click / to navigate
- No 3G and Wifi
I just got one from my girlfriend as a birthday gift. i’m a business professional, therefore, E50 suits me quite well. I’m currently using nokia 6230i, it’s 2 years old, but still serving me quite well, have all the fancy bits except 3G and the video streaming junkies.
I loved this phone very much, but the only thing that I wish Nokia would come out is the following:
1) 3G
2) 2 megapixels camera phone
3) better video quality…………….
if these were incorporated, I’m sure E50 will kick some other business phones out……..
btw, I’m a 6000 series fan. :-)
Cheers,
Kennut
hmmm. i have a nokia e50 but its normal silver type.
is it possible to change the backlight from blue to white type?
i manage to change the casing and keypad to black. :)
when u dissemble the e50, you would notice the white LED is soldered on the keypad circuit. I think, noway u can change the LED color unless u get the keypad circuit as well. (or if u r skilled in soldering… hehe.. perhaps u can try and see how it goes?)
yea. i just notice that.. too bad cant change mine.
u’re still using this phone? :)
frankly speaking, e50 is no longer with me. i’m using e61i since early this year, quite a productive smartphone for my need, despite i’ve changed quite a number of phones along the way. e61i still the one that fit me good.
might getting the E51 in January 2008 :)
do u have pictures of the box and the accesories included?
i noe pavillion nokia center got the phone for display.
wonder they sell it?
tobs,
the standard package (avaxx set) came with only the charger, data cable, battery and the e50 transceiver itself.
why don’t u get the latest e51 with WIFI and HSDPA support.
p/s: i’ve sold my e50 to a very close friend of mine.
I enjoy very much on my nokia e50, solid, slim and stylish and very cheap second hand phone with 1gb memory card.
at the same time i have e61, where blackberry installed, yahoo messenger, skype….
enjoy with my e61, like having my laptop around.
Does anyone know where to buy this phone?
please give me a clue…
i’m from indonesia.
email me at joe_mckaig@yahoo.com
many thanks
if anybody can help me with buying one black e50. it is not avialable in serbia. email me at tajm28@hotmail.com or sms on +38162280250. thank you
Great design. Low SAR. Font size adjustable, great radio, ease of use…
where I can buy the casing? I have the original one for the silver casing, but I interest to used these casing, can you help me to get it (only the phone casing)?
thank you