Software
While the E5 hardware has a lot going for it, the S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2 running on Symbian v9.3 takes it down a few notches. Blackberry users will certainly appreciate the greater flexibility and customization the Symbian platform affords, but if you’re used any modern smartphone OS in the last 3 years or so, prepare to be confused and frustrated.
I must confess that Nokia has done a fair bit to make Symbian more user-friendly and feature-rich since the time I last used a Symbian-based Nokia phone almost 4 years ago. With that being said, the underlying platform IS almost a decade old and there is only so much a company can do before it has to completely revamp the platform.
Starting off with the home screen, there is a fair bit of customization that can be done here. Nokia even offers a bunch of standby screen layout presets such as Active, Basic, Horizontal/Vertical icon etc. that re-arranges what is and is not visible on the home screen. The E5 makes it very easy to switch between the presets (Work/Personal modes). You can display everything from your calendar, inbox(s), notes, clock, shortcuts to frequently used apps, and a couple of more useful features all on one screen.
You can choose from a bunch of different home screen ‘styles’ and easily switch between presets
While not at the same level of customizability as Android, I found the flexibility and usefulness of the home screen quite nice. Symbian offers a lot of personalization options and if you are willing to spend the time to try and sift through the dozen or so different menus and options, you may be able to tailor the E5 to your exact requirements. The only issue here is that the interface is not particularly intuitive which, along with the small display, make it a frustrating experience.
While the menu page itself is logically laid out, the options and features they control are not. For example, part of the data connection-related options are under the Settings > Connection section, while there are some options under the Connectivity menu, and you need to look under both to get stuff working.
The no-frills menus in Symbian OS
The overall design is clean and simple, without any animated effects or transitions, which is why navigating between menus is snappy and the phone is for the most part pretty responsive. And considering the fact that S60 has a pretty efficient multitasking system, the overall responsiveness of the E5 helps you switch between your mailbox, calendar, contacts and browser very quickly.
Multitasking in Symbian OS is simple and straightforward
You can see a list of apps running in the background by holding down the home key. Another nice touch is that all open apps are identified by a green circle on the top-right corner of the app icon in the menu grid.
Speaking of browsers, the default browser that the E5 comes installed with is one of the outliers to the otherwise snappy response of the phone. Even over WiFi, the browser was quite slow and even no-so-heavy websites caused the browser to hang. This behavior was only exacerbated on 3G, where the browser was slower to load pages. The dull 2.36” screen doesn't do the browsing experience any favors, either. With the phone seriously lacking display real estate and pixel density, websites are completely illegible zoomed out. Even when the website is only moderately zoomed into, you have a scroll a lot both vertically and horizontally. And because you are constrained to the D-pad and soft-keys for browser navigation and actions instead of touch gestures, surfing the net on the phone quickly becomes a chore.
The default browser (left), Opera Mobile 10 (center) and tabbed view of “history” (right)
There was however one feature of the browser that I liked; clicking on the “Back” menu option in the browser shows a “tabbed” view of the previous pages you visited. Initially, I actually thought of them as being real tabs, but soon I realized they were just snapshots of the previous pages I had visited (the default browser doesn't have support for tabs). Nevertheless, it is the one feature that proved useful in a browser that should otherwise be avoided. To imagine the default browser is actually webkit-based! Most of these issues can be readily remedied by downloading an alternate browser such as Opera Mobile 10; a point made blatantly clear by the fact that it is one of the most popular apps in the Ovi App store. But even then, the 600Mhz ARM11 CPU seems to struggle to carry anything more than the weight of Symbian and the E5’s default apps.
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deputc26 - Tuesday, November 30, 2010 - link
While he may be wrong, "Powerful stupid" does not fit...I agree that those three are currently the best for the most people and will end up 1, 2 and 3 as things currently stand but of course RIM/Nokia and especially WebOS could make top 3 if they get their acts together.
Belard - Tuesday, November 30, 2010 - link
I based my opinion on... educated guess and how the market works. Until I saw the WM7 in action (somewhat - on Andandtech) - I figured it'll be junk. But it's still a rather updated 6.5 with more power.MS looked at iPhone and Android and said "hmmmm... what can we do to make OUR product different and actually better." The big squares look like they'll function better - direct to the point of the function you want with a quick swipe access to more apps.
WM7 will do very well because of MS's marketing but also, unlike before - MS has several hardware partners (HTC, Samsung) selling about 12 models out the gate. While there are only 7 different black berries, half of them on the market for a year. Apple only makes 1-2 models of iPhone... but they are easily skinable.
So with the OS improvements, close work with partners - yes, WM7 will be giving Android some good competition. I don't think WM7 - these three different phones have their strengths and weakness. I have an Android Galaxy-S, and so does one of my business partners... I think he'd do better with the WM7, but it wasn't out when his blackberry died, which he doesn't miss.
I NEVER meet a blackberry phone that I liked.
I prefer the more open design of Android... and I hope 3.0 will take some clues from MS and streamline some of the operations of the phone. I'd like to see a smaller grid... perhaps 3 icons across. Improved unlocked-swipe... yeah, the jig-saw looks cool, but its a PAIN in the butt in ways it shouldn't be.
The battery usage of Android needs to be enhanced.
With limited models, iPhone will end up #3 in about 2-3 years... IMHO.
My prediction by 2013
1 - Android
2 - Windows Mobile
3 - iPhone
4 - RIM
5 - Dumb-phones & Palm & Symbian - which is semi-smart.
Market share for #5 will be reduced... new generation of users will not want dumber phones. I've only recently gone from dumb cell to smart... most of it has been good experience with room for improvement.
mino - Tuesday, November 30, 2010 - link
You know, there are actually customers (90% of world market actually) that expect the phone to JUST WORK out of the box. No firmware update needed.Also there are customers not willing to shell out $300 for a mobile.
$1 with $20 plan being the target market of this device.
mythun.chandra - Tuesday, November 30, 2010 - link
Belard, I see your point. And having used a Palm Pre Plus as my primary phone for the last couple of months, it was almost jarring when I first used the E5.But the Blackberries seem to be selling quite well only because they are tailored for their target market. With the E5, Nokia is trying to do just that.
Also, most of the uber-phones listed sell for $150-199 on contract. If I remember correct, i saw it for $170 without a contract a couple of days ago. Plus, if you're going to use this primarily as a business phone (mail/messaging only), you can get away with the $15 unlimited data plan that AT&T offers for its "dumb" phones. That's a lot of savings over 2 years.... :)
Belard - Tuesday, November 30, 2010 - link
A friend went from a blackberry to Android... it was a huge improvement. He's had his blackberry for about a year (one of the recent models) - the screen, internet, texting, etc... improved experience going to a Galaxy-S. Even thou the Galaxy isn't perfect.... ;(At&t at walmart has the Galaxy-S for $100 on 2yr contract. The data-plan is $25, with unlimited texting. There are times WHEN I do need an internet connection with a usable browser.
Using my old SONY at the moment... its still NICE to sometimes have just a dumb-phone.
calyth - Friday, December 3, 2010 - link
I'm a little amuse that you think a Samsung Galaxy could be a business phone.Mine was sitting on my nightstand when I left for work at like 9am, unplugged from the power source, and whne I was back at around 1030pm, it's already complaining loud and clear that I need to charge the battery. It's got nothing on, but 3 very low traffic email accounts. No IM. Maybe a google reader feed being updated.
I've used both a Bold2 and a Torch, and all of them will last at least a day with corporate levels of email.
I don't have high hopes for this BlackBerry knockoff to last that long when a user actually has any kind of email load.
Exodite - Tuesday, November 30, 2010 - link
Very nice and detailed review, as usual.Can we expect any S^3 devices, primarily the N8 and E7, to be reviewed in the future?
mythun.chandra - Tuesday, November 30, 2010 - link
You should :)Exodite - Tuesday, November 30, 2010 - link
Sweet. :)digitalw - Tuesday, November 30, 2010 - link
I'm not Nokia fan, but, if you have a lot of time to spend "touching" your phone, then go android, go iPhone,go WM7 or WM6.5.... i was using all those platforms and i can assure you, there is no better OS if you want to QUICKLY write SMS, check / write e-mail, quickly send photo as MMS... in the "rush" business hours, my Nokia E52, does the greatest job. After work, my "toy" Samsung Omnia helps me to watch divx or make a nice photos. But E52 (or any other Nokia business model) is the right tool. BlackBerry is in the same class i guess, as i never use it. But my frinds say it's best, for business, not for fun! :)