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My Next Phone, Perhaps

I’ve finally found a phone to replace the Treo 650 I love/hate so much. Perhaps.
Nokia’s new E62 is a thing of beauty. It’s a smart phone with a similar form factor the Treo and Blackberry. It comes loaded with all the right applications (including e-mail, Good client, IM clients, Office compatible apps, a superb SMS client, and more). It also multi-tasks properly, if you are in the middle of a text message when the phone rings, when you switch back to the SMS client you’ll be exactly where you left off (something the Treo has yet to get right). The screen is bright and easier to read than any Palm or Windows Mobile device I have seen yet. The keyboard feels better than the Treo’s, and it supports Blackberry style one-hand navigation (something the Treo and Windows devices don’t do very well). There’s a dedicated voice dial key, spoken caller-id, and much more. There is no camera (that’s a good thing for me, I don’t want a camera on my phone, I visit too many locations that won’t allow camera phones on their premises). The device runs Symbian, and there is a Flash player available for it (there’s an Adobe PDF reader, too). It uses mini-SD cards which I don’t care for, but I can live with that. And of course, it supports Bluetooth (10 profiles), and is quad-band GSM (absolute base requirements for me).
The phone is almost perfect. Why almost? The E62 is the Cingular GSM version of what is also called the E60 and E61. The Cingular E62 version is the E61 with two significant changes: 1) WiFi has been disabled 2) 3G has been disabled. The official reason for making these changes is that this allows Cingular to keep the device cost down. But, cynic that I am, I suspect that it has a lot more to do with not wanting users to be able to run VoIP software on the device.
Still, I have to give this one a try.

5 responses to “My Next Phone, Perhaps”

  1. Stefan Avatar
    Stefan

    Why do you not just get the E61 then? Are there any advantages to get the E62?

  2. Ben Forta Avatar
    Ben Forta

    Stefan, I may indeed do that. The E61 costs about double (unlocked phones always cost more), and the E62 does have a simpler USB connection cable.
    — Ben

  3. Stefan Avatar
    Stefan

    The reason why I ask is taht I have just ordered the E61 – I need an unlocked version anyways since i change SIM cards when I travel. I can update you with my impressions when I have the phone and have some experience with it.

  4. Daniel Avatar
    Daniel

    I don’t think you should compare E60 with E61 or E62 since its so very different from them. Also, don’t forget that E6o/E61 got 16 million color support and E62 "only" 262k.
    I bought a E60 and traded it quickly for E61 since I noticed I wanted a bigger screen and qwerty keyboard, it worth every penny. I can’t buy a E62 and I never will either, I found that device lacking things I really wanted (well, as you mentioned it didn’t have; 3g and wlan).
    I recommend you speak with Ed at e-series.org about E62 since he got one and has great knowledge in that phone.

  5. Ben Forta Avatar
    Ben Forta

    Daniel, actually the E62 does indeed have 16 million colors, display is the E61 display. Plus, big potential problem with E61 – many Cingular customers are report that they cannot get any data connection with it!
    — Ben

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