Nokia E66 - Your Answers Here
Remember when I first received the E66 and posted: Nokia E66 - Your questions here? Well this might be a lame title to follow the first one, and yes I have been late in replying, but as they say “better late than never”. In this post, I will answer as much questions as I can, as well as add some notes at the end that I thought should be mentioned but weren’t in what should be my most covered device ever.
For full coverage on the E66, you can check: my first impressions, a hands-on during DWTG, an explanation of the red color on the handset, a positive look at the gaming aspect, a physical comparison with the e65, walkthrough videos of the new calendar, the added dictionary, the new homescreen usability improvements as well as the new Modes. Wow, that’s a lot! Now, let’s get rolling with the Q&A.
Aatif : how fast can u type on the E66?
The E66 definitely has one of the best T9 keypads out there. I will later post an update to my previous keypad comparison and, spoiler alert, the E66 knocks the N95 and the 3250.
Aatif : How’s the dictionary while u type feature?
It’s the same as any T9 phone. Only the E71 has the predictive input modified for faster input.
PyN@ : In the E66 will the keypad autlock with the slide?
out of the box, it will, but there’s an option to change it. You can set it to autolock or not or ask you. There’s also an option to change how the calls are handled with the keypad opened or closed.
PyN@ : Is the GPS SIRF III?
I believe the GPS is the same as any other Nokia handset, though I wouldn’t bet my life on it. From my experience, the E66 gets faster locks than the N95, and the good thing is that you don’t have to keep the slider open like on the N95 to get a GPS signal.
Ax : Is there an integrated VoIP client?
If you mean the internet telephony client then yes, it’s there.
Tim Salmon : How ‘tall’ is the E66 is with the slide open?
Well I measured it, wrote it down and lost the paper, ugh. But as far as I remember, it was around 13cm, slightly (2 or 3 mm) shorter than the N95 with its slide open, even though when it’s closed the E66 is taller.
Rodak69 : Is there any settings for the ASR function, like sensitivity, reaction time etc?
I’m afraid not, it still comes with a yes or no option, and there’s no way to change the sensitivity or reactivity, which is a shame.
Cheung Yuen Wong : Does the E66 slow down when several apps are open and does it support microSDHC?
Never while using the E66 did it give me a memory low notice and it seemed to handle everything I threw at it quite well. As for microSDHC, it supports it though I couldn’t test it since I don’t have microSDHC cards.
Cheung Yuen Wong : Is the device fast in use overall?
Definitely. The E66 is snappy around menus and in all uses. It certainly was a change from the dead slow E65 and E61i.
Alcatraz : Do birthdays entered in the PIM show the age of the person or just their year of birth?
Just the year of birth, and it still doesn’t sync birthdays in contacts with the ones in calendar.
Alcatraz : Does it have Timed Profiles?
Nope. Boo you Nokia.
Mino : Is the “backspace” button just under the D-pad a bit far to reach comfortably?
On the contrary, it’s very close, so close that I was pressing it by mistake sometimes.
Mino : I read somewhere that the notification light (under the D-pad) sometimes lights on with no apparent reason. Did it happen to you?
No, it only lit up when it needed to, ie once every couple of minutes to notify me that the phone is on, and faster when I had a missed call or an unread sms.
Al : In the menu, you typically have an option for grid view and list. Is v-shaped and horseshoe also available?
Not on the handset that I had.
Bobby68 : I would love to see screenshots and a good description of the improved calendar and contacts. Well, we did a video walkthrough (links at the beginning of the post) so you can see how both of them work 
isn’t that better than screenshots?
Mandeep Singh : I just want to know about WEB app, hows it works, which mode is suitable (landscape or normal) for web browsing, and if there is any improvements?
The web app is like on any S60 phone I’ve had since I first trialled the N95 8GB. Though compared to the E60, I believe you will first notice that the Services browser is gone, and replaced by the real S60 browser. Landscape is definitely better for browsing, but with autorotation, you can easily switch between the two to enter text then continue surfing.
NvS : Can we use the navigation free, like in the nokia 6110 navigator?
No, the E66 doesn’t come with free navigation license. Though you can download maps and plan your route on it, but it won’t give you voice turn-by-turn commands.
NvS : How many days does the battery hold?
The battery life is pretty good on the E66. Of course it depends on your usage, but I never needed to recharge it more than once every night on heavy usage, and every couple of days on light usage.
Other things you need to know
1. The E66 has a Now Playing screensaver that I totally loved when I had the N81 8gb.
2. There’s a new clock screensaver that you can summon by pressing the middle d-pad button when the device is in power saver mode, and yes it’s huge.
3. You can activate T9 search in the Contacts application and not just on the homescreen.
4. The E66 comes with 2 silencing functions: flip to silent and double tap to silent.
5. The E66 comes with an impressive list of free software licenses in the Download! application: Top Hits Solitaire, Advanced Call Manager, Psiloc WiPresenter, Magnifier, as well as some other software like Windows Live, Yahoo Go! and Global Race.
6. There’s an encryption option for the phone and the card memories.
Thanks a lot for the updates and answers, it is much appreciated.
One notable thing you mentioned was that while using the S60 browser in landscape mode and then e.g. write a new url it changes to portrait mode before then again change into landscape.
This behavior seems to be the same for most phones from Nokia now.
Do you know if it will be the same for the phone if you connect a bluetooth keyboard to the device?
I would have hoped that the screen stayed in landscape while texting with the accessory.
(However I do see the logic of turning the screen to portrait while typing with the keypad on the phone)
Great! Not more to say. You covered up everything i guess. Plus you make the 2 months waiting time even harder for me.
Finally! Thanks for response
Cheung Yuen Wong,
As always, your question is very appreciated, and very specific. I don’t have a BT keyboard to test it (yes, I am VERY low on gadgets and budget, what could I have done if I didn’t win the N82 and E71?). But I do hope that Nokia takes this into account. Obviously, it would be great if the screen remained in landscape mode while entering an address in the browser if a BT keyboard was connected.
Does the E66 have OTA update?
Thanks Dotsisx. Your extensive coverage of the E66 is much appreciated!
which one would you prefer over all? An e66 or n95 8gb?
Ah charlie, that’s a very tough question. I would definitely put the E66 over the regular N95, but i don’t know if I would put it over the N95 8gb. It’s a very close call.
Thanx for the review & Q section.
I was wondering since I formatted my SD MEMORY all the software has gone such as games. Is there any way I could get a list of software and download links.
Thanks. i incest on asking which is better, e66 or n95 8GB?
and why the E series interface looks smaller with small icons and fonts ? is it the same here with e66 or the interface is as large as n73 and n95 ?
Hi
I am a new nokia user, and i have the Nokia E66.I am currently in South Africa. I need to know - will the Nokia E65 Nokia Map download also work on a E66 or not?, if it wont, where can i download maps that are revelant to South Africa and not any other country?
hi, according to the help instructions, it says when the camera is on standby mode (when its not used or nothing has been pressed for awhile), to activate the camera again, simply press the scroll button. i tried that, but it didnt work. in the end the only way was to switch off and on again. i was using the barcode scanner and it took awhile to scan the barcode in and the camera went on standby mode.
also, when viewing pictures, is it not possible to zoom in with the volume buttons? or the only way is to press options > zoom. and if you wanna zoom again, options > zoom?
and is there anyway where i could activate the camera function by simply pressing the camera key at the side so i could have the right (menu or shortcut key) be applied to something else, say calculator or something. i tried searching through the whole phone but can’t seem to find the settings to set the camera key to not only just simply take pictures but start the camera function when pressed.
was looking at your review. great review by the way. how do i get the big clock screen saver and now playing screen saver?
so sorry for all these questions. this is my first nokia phone!
hi. just purchased e66 and on its 2nd week now. just today i notice that when i slideup the screen don’t light up at all. where in yesterday, it does.
as far as i remember, i didn’t touch anything on the setting. can someone pls shed light on this?
tnx
who was owner of nokia?
tell me about nokia in short
Hi,
Many thanks for your infomation regarding the E66. I’m very undecided between getting either the N95 or E66. I’m aware that the camera function of the N95 is much more superior but my, the E66 is soooo sexy! Other than, that there seems to be not much of a difference,or is/are there? Which would you recommend?
Honestly, if you know that you will be sliding that keypad a lot, go for the E66, no doubt about that. The N95 has a horrible keypad in my experience, and even the solid ones are nothing close to the build quality of the E66.
Also, if you think you will keep the handset for a while (more than a few months) then the E66 is definitely a winner. It will be easier to sell since it’s relatively new, whereas the N95 already has 18months behind it i believe. Also the E66 will be in a much better condition after a year of usage compared to the N95, which will deteriorate fast.
Thanks Dotsisx,
That settles it, E66 it is then. Really appreciate your help, keep up the good work!
hi
i just got my e66 today compared to n958g the price diff is not much but i personaly think that besides the camera of n95 theres not much of a diff between the two………but i am confused which is better ….for my liking n95 is too thick to fit in my pocket !!
Jul 23rd, 2008 at 5:35 am
[...] the Symbian Guru pages, Dotsisx has posted a piece which contains the answers to the questions her readers asked when the E66 was first [...]
Jul 24th, 2008 at 11:43 am
[...] Guru - Answers your questions about the E66, via WOM [...]