Surely, with a qwerty, some dedicated shortcut keys (Contacts, Voice Recorder, Mail and Own Key) and amazingly useful LED notifications, the E61i looks like it will tackle the business world and rock through every test. The problem is that it doesn’t, at least for me, or I was just expecting a bit too much.
Hardware-wise, the qwerty could’ve been built to be faster. And what’s the deal with the : and ; symbols requiring the shift key whereas the other symbols require the Function key? And why do only 3 keys (Z X C) not have any symbol, while all the others do? I’ve always repeated it: consistency people!
The shortcut keys could also use some improvement: long key press setting is absent, all of them (except the Own key) can’t be mapped to another function, and the mail key can’t be configured to access the inbox for example.
But these are just small issues. My biggest grief was software-wise. I guess I was expecting Eseries to lack the multimedia features of Nseries, but to offer something in return. Call me a dreamer, but most importantly, I was expecting better PIM management and better Contacts-Calendar-Messaging integration. Fact is that beside the added freedom in Standby Screen settings, the better Messaging layout (discussed earlier) and the Quick Office full license, nothing seems to be changed, which is a shame.
Yeah sure, there’s the Teams application built-in, but when was the last time you saw anyone use it? And yeah, of course, the Download! application is full of software, but there’s nothing that can’t be found somehow or installed on an Nseries. With Exchange support coming to Nseries, I am rather perplex as to what exactly Eseries have to offer that is truly business-oriented.
Even worse, the software is slooooooow and I can’t imagine any businessman/woman waiting for the sluggish UI to respond. Eseries are also always late to the S60 game, with the new ones always sporting an older version of the platform than the Nseries which are released at the same time, they also seem to be a lot more neglected when it comes to firmware updates.
So I guess I was wrong, Eseries seem more like a truncated Nseries, without all the multimedia features (A2DP, better camera, tv-out, video and image editing, stereo speakers), but with nothing else than a better sturdier dressing and a free Quick Office license.
I have the impression that I only scratched the surface here, and there MUST be something that I am missing. What do you Eseries users have to say about it? What are the software features that you find and that aren’t supported on Nseries? Or is it just the form factors that make you go E and not N?
