Hardware & Equipment | 05 May 2009 :
The E75 is the first phone from Nokia that sports a full slide-out qwerty keyboard. The firm already has several devices with a full keyboard, including the Communicator series and the more BlackBerry-style candy bar devices such as the hugely popular E71.
One issue with a full slide-out keyboard is that the phones tend to be bulky. While the E75 is fairly chunky compared to some of today's ultra slim phones, it is certainly one of the slimmest in its class.
It is an excellent size and fits nicely in the hand. The build is solid and the stainless steel rim and battery cover help add to the feeling that the device is not about to crumble at the first sign of hardship. The keyboard slide is spring loaded, so it snaps reassuringly when open and shut, but we wonder if it may eventually loosen, as the HTC Touch Pro has done.
The E75's casing uses simple lines to create a unisex design. The screen is a useful size and the display is clear. The navigation pad is easy to use and there are dedicated home, calendar and e-mail launch keys, but the keypad's downside is that it is quite crowded and the flat buttons can cause numerous mis-strikes.
The slide-out keyboard has fairly large and well-spaced keys, but sacrifices a dedicated number row and cursor control, meaning that you constantly have to move your right thumb between the keyboard and keypad when navigating through menus and so on. The keys, while adequately sized, are completely flat, which can slow typing.
The E75 packs in all the features found in most of today's smart phones, including Bluetooth 2.0, Wi-Fi, GPS and a fairly basic 3.2-megapixel camera with an LED flash. Memory is upgradeable through a microSD slot, and the phone ships with a decent 4GB card as standard.
Nokia has also included an accelerometer, so that the screen image automatically rotates if you turn it on its side, and will always go into landscape mode if you slide out the keyboard.
Being a business phone, the E75 includes e-mail and web browser, as well as Quickoffice for viewing and editing documents, spreadsheets and presentations. A media player runs Symbian Series 60, so there are several third-party applications for those who want more from their smart phone.
The E75 looks like a solid business phone, and is clearly aimed at the typical business user who is looking for a solid workhorse but is less interested in the bells and whistles that manufacturers use to try and differentiate themselves in a crowded market.