Nokia E5 Full Specs Pricing Pros & Cons Unveiled

Design and Build Quality

The Nokia E5 boasts a classic design typical of its era, featuring a candybar shape with a full QWERTY keyboard. The device measures 115 x 58.9 x 12.8 mm and weighs 126 grams, making it compact and easy to handle. Its build quality is robust, with a solid plastic construction that feels durable in hand. The E5-00 was available in a variety of colors, including Carbon Black, Chalk White, Sky Blue, Copper Brown, and Silver Grey, appealing to a wide range of personal tastes.

Display

The device is equipped with a 2.36-inch TFT display that offers a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels and a pixel density of around 169 ppi. While the display size and resolution might seem modest by today’s standards, it was adequate for the time, given the device's emphasis on keyboard usage over touch capabilities. The screen is sufficient for basic navigation, reading, and displaying emails and messages clearly.

Keyboard and Usability

The Nokia E5’s standout feature is its full QWERTY keyboard, which facilitates efficient typing and is a key feature for business users focused on communication. The keys are well-spaced and provide good tactile feedback, making it comfortable for long-duration typing, whether for text messaging or emailing. Navigation is aided by a D-pad located just above the keyboard, which provides smooth control over the interface.

Operating System and Interface

The device runs on Symbian OS 9.3, Series 60 release 3.2. Symbian OS was one of the leading smartphone platforms prior to the rise of Android and iOS. The interface is functional, offering customizable home screens and a range of pre-installed applications tailored to productivity, including email and document viewers. While it does not compare to modern smartphone operating systems in terms of fluidity and aesthetics, it served its purpose efficiently at the time.

Performance and Hardware

Powered by a 600 MHz ARM 11 processor and equipped with 256MB of RAM, the Nokia E5 handles basic smartphone tasks competently. It is designed to manage calls, messaging, and internet browsing with relative ease. However, more demanding applications and multitasking can result in noticeable lag, due to its limited processing power and RAM, which were standard for its release period.

Storage Options

Internal storage on the Nokia E5 is limited to 250MB, which is quite small by today’s standards but was typical for smartphones in 2010. Fortunately, the device also includes a microSDHC card slot, allowing up to 32GB of expandable storage. This expansion is crucial for users who wish to keep more media files or applications on their device without running into storage issues.

Camera Features

The Nokia E5 features a 5-megapixel rear camera equipped with an LED flash, enabling basic photography needs. While it does not provide the high-resolution or feature-rich photography options available in today’s smartphones, it can capture decent images in good lighting conditions. The camera supports video recording at 480p resolution at 15fps, which suffices for basic video clips, although the quality is modest compared to modern HD capabilities.

Battery Life

The device is powered by a removable Li-Ion 1200 mAh battery (BL-4D). It offers substantial standby time, up to 635 hours on 2G and up to 670 hours on 3G networks. For active use, the phone provides up to 13 hours and 10 minutes of talk time on 2G and up to 5 hours and 15 minutes of talk time on 3G. Music playback can last for up to 38 hours, making it suitable for long periods away from a charger.

Network and Connectivity

The Nokia E5 supports GSM and HSPA networks, offering decent connectivity for calls and data. The HSPA technology allows a data rate of up to 10.2Mbps for downloads and 2Mbps for uploads, standard for the era. The device also features Wi-Fi connectivity with b/g standards, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP for wireless audio streaming, and GPS with A-GPS support, making it fairly versatile for network usage.

Multimedia and Additional Features

The E5 comes with a stereo FM radio with RDS for enjoying music on the go, along with a 3.5mm headphone jack that provides flexibility in audio device connections. The audio quality is decent, with loudspeaker capabilities providing clear sound for calls and media playback. The absence of a front-facing camera limits video calls to audio-only, which was a minor setback at the time among burgeoning video call technologies.

In Summary

Overall, the Nokia E5 is a solid device from its era, primarily designed to cater to business users and individuals who prioritize communication over entertainment. Its sturdy build, efficient QWERTY keyboard, and reliable battery life made it a popular choice among those emphasizing text-based communication. While it may lack the advanced features and sleek designs of current smartphones, the E5 offers a glimpse into the evolution of mobile devices with a focus on practicality and efficiency.