A smartphone phone with a good price
I purchased this phone (blue E63-2) three weeks ago. Overall I am very happy with this phone. $200 for this unlocked smartphone is a great deal.
I add my application background first in the following. Because I think a review will only be fair with certain application background. For example for the email application Blackberry is more powerful for the business user it can have more functions or better performance when it is hooked up with your company exchange server. Also for data service performance in wireless network I only use it in T-mobile network; I don't know how it performs in ATT's 3G network so I don't comment on this.
My service provider: T-mobile
My service package: voice + 100MB/month data service
My application: personal use
Pro:
1. Full Q keyboard. Yes a lot of smartphones have the full Q-keyboard. But the keyboard of E63 has the better design the shape of each key enables you to type with less error-stroking.
2. WI-FI: 802.11g compatible. The setup is very easy it supports WEP/WPA/WPA2 wireless security features. And the link speed is very good. This enable me to go to internet and download applications at home (or hot-spot) without using the 100MB data-service bandwidth.
3. When the "bluetooth" and the "WLAN scanning" are turned off the battery life is GOOD; thanks to the physical size of the battery. When the "WLAN scanning" is off you still can use the WLANs that have already been setup in the phone; it just won't search for the new WLAN. But for the "bluetooth" you will have to turn it on in order to use it; and the "bluetooth" seems draining more power than WIFI.
4. Email service: I am using Nokia's free (for now) mail push service; it pushes my yahoo mails and the other mails to my E63 it notifies me when there is a new mail. Most time it worked very quickly in T-mobile network (but my emails are more text oriented HTML contents require additional download time). This is a great feature I don't have to go to the internet to fetch the mails manually. One can download this email setup software from Nokia website. This is only available for BlackBerry and iPhone before with a more expensive data service. (I don't know when Nokia will start to charge this service.)
5. Completed PDA functions and reliable sync with PC (Syncing with PC by bluetooth is great!)
6. Compare with the Nokia E71 I like this one better. The reasons are: lower-price and thicker body with plastic finishing. Although the body of E63 is plastic but the texture feels very good and not easy to get the finger-prints. The thicker body has the acoustic advantage the speaker performances well even when you are listening music. Of course the lower price comes with the trade-offs: comparing with E71 the E63 does not have integrated GPS and the resolution of the camera is lower (3mp via 2mp)
7. Music function: E63 has the 3.5 mm standard connector which means you can use your favorite headset to listen to music. Although the headset comes with the phone is stereo and it has an in-line microphone; but the frequency response is not good enough to listen to music (if you are serious about listening). By using a standard headset you still can make calls or receive calls but you will have to speak to the microphone in the phone.
Con:
1. Image quality of camera. I can live with the 2MP resolution but the noise of the camera is too obvious; even the pictures taken outdoor.
2. Micro-USB cable is not included: This phone uses the Micro-USB interface which is smaller than the mini-USB. I am sure most people have one or more mini-USB cables which is widely used. But a lot of people don't have the micro-USB cable at least I don't. So I have to go to a local shop to buy one ($15) and it is not easy to found one too. Very unfortunate Nokia did not throw one in the box. Sometimes it is very useful such as when you want to copy a hundred songs to your phone's memory card; bluetooth is simply too slow to do this task.
Update:
Here is the update after three month use.
(A) Don't put this phone into a case that is too tight; especially: preventing the keyboard to be touched when it is in the case. I found out if the keyboard is being touched the phone will not go into the sleep mode and the battery runs out really fast.
(B) The IP phone function(aka Internet phone) is great for the international long distant call (you must sign-up the "Gizemo" first) you can use it whenever you have the WIFI access; it cost much less than your wireless service provider's international plan. But after you finish a call you should disconnect the phone from the WIFI completely; otherwise the battery goes down real quick. The reason is: as soon as you connect the IP phone service it will contact the WIFI access point (such as your wireless router) periodically even when you are not making calls this activity will use a lot of power.
(C) The "Remote lock" is a great feature and it is very easy to setup. First you need to setup the "lock code" of this phone (after setup write it down). Then enable the "Allow Remote lock" feature it will ask a lock code again; it can be the same code in the FIRST step or a different one. If you lost your phone or simply forget your phone in the office; just grab another phone and send a text message to your phone the message is the lock code. The message must contain the exactly same lock code case must be matched and no extra space. Use another phone to send a text message is the best way to do it; some computer programs can send a text message to a wireless phone but it tends to add some extra text in the message automatically this will fail to lock the phone.
More detail ...
