Photos: Nokia E7
Nokia's business-friendly version of the N8, the keyboard-equipped E7, is due in the UK in December. We got to examine it at this week's Symbian Exchange & Exposition in Amsterdam
Nokia's business-friendly version of the N8, the keyboard-equipped E7, is due in the UK in December. We got to examine it at this week's Symbian Exchange & Exposition in Amsterdam
<p> Nokia's E series handsets were originally targeted at the business market, but they also sparked off a good deal of interest from the consumer sector. In its more recent E series models, Nokia seems to have taken note of this interest. The <a href="http://www.nokia.co.uk/find-products/all-phones/nokia-e63">E63</a> is an example: it's a relatively low-cost device in which a few corners have been cut to reach the sub-£200 (SIM-free) price point. Do these cuts leave us with a handset worth having? </p>
Nokia's E7 offers an appealing blend of business and consumer functionality, but it's expensive and the Symbian ^3 operating system is unlikely to win any converts.
<p> Business handheld-maker <a href="http://www.rim.com">RIM</a> once had the market pretty much to itself, but today faces stiff competition. Nokia, in particular, has made great strides with its recent Symbian-based E-series devices, the <a href="http://reviews.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/mobilephones/0,1000000685,39443165,00.htm">E71</a> being the pick of the bunch. And of course, the threat from Windows Mobile cannot be discounted. </p>
We like Samsung's Omnia 7, whose standout feature is its vibrant 4in. AMOLED screen. However, we'd caution business users to wait for the Windows Phone 7 platform to mature.
We recently reviewed Samsung's <a href="http://reviews.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/mobilephones/0,1000000685,39377534,00.htm">SGH-i640V</a>, a smartphone running Windows Mobile 6.0 Standard; the <a href="http://uk.samsungmobile.com/mobile/SGH-i780">SGH- i780</a>, reviewed here, also has a mini-QWERTY keyboard, but this time it has a touch-screen and runs Windows Mobile 6.0 Professional. The i640V was a Vodafone exclusive at the time of writing, while the i780 sits in <a href="http://www.business.orange.co.uk/servlet/Satellite?pagename=Business&c=OUKDevice&cid=1044136901399">Orange’s portfolio</a>.
The <a href="http://www.clubimate.com/t-DETAILS_JAMA.aspx">i-mate JAMA</a> is the latest in a long line of Windows Mobile devices from the Dubai-based company. Like its predecessors, the JAMA is available contract- and SIM-free in the UK and, as such, it will have appeal for sectors of the business community looking for handhelds which are not tied down.
<p>When we reviewed RIM’s <a href="http://reviews.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/mobilephones/0,1000000685,39286080,00.htm">BlackBerry 8800</a> earlier this year, we noted that it was a device aimed at business users but lacking in two key features — 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity. RIM has now dealt with one of those omissions in the new <a href="http://eu.blackberry.com/eng/devices/device-detail.jsp?navId=H0,C201,P563">8820</a>, adding Wi-Fi into the mix. </p>
BlackBerry handheld/phone devices from Research In Motion (RIM) are popular among business users who require access to email while away from the office. The ability to access email either via ‘push’ (sent from a network) or ‘pull’ (retrieved from a server by the device) technology is one of the secrets of the BlackBerry's success. However, the devices have been criticised for their hardware design, and in an attempt to reach a wider audience, RIM has introduced the more compact 7100 series. The first of these to reach the UK, the <a href="http://reviews.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/mobilephones/0,39023925,39166016,00.htm">7100v</a>, is a Vodafone-badged unit.
There is commonly a hiatus between a product being announced and it becoming available to buy. However, rarely is the gap quite as long as it has been with BenQ's P50, a quad-band Windows Mobile smartphone. First seen at the 2004 CeBIT show, launch announcements followed from BenQ in January 2005 and then again in May. It finally went on sale in the UK a few weeks ago. Although <a href="http://reviews.zdnet.co.uk/0,39023100,39256264,00.htm">BenQ Mobile</a> (the company formed when BenQ bought Siemens' mobile business) has now announced the Windows Mobile 5-based BenQ-Siemens P51, this is not due to ship until July. The BenQ P50 is available from <a href="http://www.expansys.com/product.asp?code=112410">Expansys </a> for £329.95 (inc. VAT; £280.81 ex. VAT).