NOKIA
S latest Eseries mobile
phone is the little brother of the more powerful and slimmer E71.
Commanding an outright price of under $400, the Nokia E63 retains most
of the Nokia E71
s design traits - including a full QWERTY keyboard -
but it lacks built-in GPS and HSDPA connectivity.

The Nokia E63 is quite similar to the Nokia E71
in terms of its design, though it’s thicker and is made of plastic
rather than shiny metal. This means it is less prone to fingerprints,
but it doesn’t feel as solid or sturdy as the Nokia E71.

The full QWERTY keyboard is comfortable to type on, but the spongy
keys will not suit everyone. The individual keys are slightly squashed
but do provide reasonable tactility. A particular issue is just how
close the first and last column of keys are to the edges of the
handset, and, annoyingly, the spacebar has been shrunk when compared to
the Nokia E71. The shortcut keys - home, calendar, contacts and mail -
remain, as do the five-way navigational pad and selection buttons, but
there are no side volume controls or buttons.

The Nokia E63
s display is slightly smaller than the E71
s, but it
retains an identical resolution and offers similar performance. It
isn
t outstanding, but viewing angles are good and its performance in
sunlight is passable.

The Nokia E63 runs the popular Symbian S60
platform, and it includes plenty of business features, including the
ability to read and edit Word, PowerPoint and Excel documents and
access PDF files. One of the best features of the Nokia E63 is its
speed - applications open and close in a flash, and despite running
multiple programs we didn
t experience any lag or slow down.

The Nokia E63 commands a much lower price point than the E71 and as
a result lacks some of the latter
s features; namely, built-in GPS and
HSDPA connectivity. While we can live without GPS, HSDPA connectivity
should be standard fare in a business device, so this is definitely a
big omission. The Nokia E63 is still 3G-capable, but the maximum data
speed is just 384Kbps. If you
re a heavy mobile Web user you
ll
definitely notice the drop in speed. Thankfully, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
with A2DP are included.

The Nokia E63 works with the Microsoft Exchange Server in addition
to personal e-mail accounts like Gmail and Yahoo! Mail. Setting up an
e-mail account is a hassle-free experience, as after entering your name
and password it will automatically search for the settings required.
Despite the lack of a built-in GPS receiver, the Nokia Maps application
is still included on the Nokia E63.

The handy mode switcher present in the Nokia E71 is also found on
the E63. You can switch between business and personal modes and edit a
number of settings including enabled applications, notifications and
themes. You can then toggle between the two modes - for example you
could block access to your work e-mail and tools when in the personal
mode if you wish.

The Nokia E63 is a handy multimedia device and has a standard 3.5mm
headphone jack - the first we
ve seen on a Nokia Eseries device. The
screen displays video quite well, but it
s a little small to use
frequently. The camera has been downgraded to 2 megapixels and a fixed
focus, but it does include an LED flash and self-portrait mirror. The
E63 also has a flashlight function that allows the camera flash to be
used as a torch, activated by holding down the spacebar.