Nokia E55

The E55 as a phone

Like most mobiles aimed at professional users, the E55 is a great telephone.

The tool for handling contacts is very well developed, and supports plenty of extra details for each number. However, the small screen makes looking through your phone book less easy though.

We've nothing to complain about when it comes to making calls, you can hear the other caller perfectly, and the opposite is also true--well done Nokia!

Finally, i's excellent at staying connected to the network. We found that it never lost a 3G signal during our tests, for instance, except when underground.

Apple iPhone 3G S vs Nokia E55 vs Nokia E52 vs BlackBerry Bold 9700

The most surprising thing about the E55 is how small it is.  A lot of people here in our lab use large smartphones: there are iPhones, Blackberrys, Samsung multimedia phones and HTC phones running Windows Mobile, to name but a few.  Given the size of this new Nokia then, it would be easy to think that it was a basic, entry-level model.  Its compact size may be misleading, but the ability to have a real PDA in such a small format is an undeniable advantage!

No need for deep pockets or big hands--the E55 is smaller than other smartphones

Symbian OS proves once again that it's a reliable choice for professional users.  The interface isn't the most modern we've ever seen--and that's where RIM is clearly streets ahead--but it's very efficient.  Plenty of phones aimed at the consumer market could learn a lot from the clear, well-organised menus.  If some phones with larger screens are in the pipeline, it might need a more thorough makeover, but it works fine on the E55's screen. 

 
Despite having a regular layout, the keyboard still fits into a relatively small space

And let's take a look at that screen: it really isn't very big at all.  Nokia didn't have a lot of room, given the size of the handset, but this where the clash between usability and portability really becomes evident.  Although using the Internet is entirely possible and Opera Mobile works well, it's very frustrating to only see a tiny preview of the page in question before hunting out the area that has the content that interests you.

The same is true with e-mail.  If you're hoping to sort through hundreds of messages a day, you'll soon find that it's frustrating.  However, as with the E71, the e-mail application is very well thought out and allows you to flip easily from one account to another.

The next step is trying to write a message using the keyboard with two letters per key.  If you're used to the Blackberry Bold, then it's quite a shock.  But if you compare it to an onscreen virtual keyboard, or an old-fashioned numeric keypad, then it becomes clear that this hybrid format really does save time.  Typing on it isn't the same as a full-sized keyboard, but that's not the point.  The E55 is a real alternative that anybody who doesn't need a super-powered smartphone should consider.