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.
