Shopping CartNokia E63-2 Unlocked Phone with 2 MP Camera, 3G, Wi-Fi, Media Player, and MicroSD Slot–U.S. Version with Warranty (Ultramarine Blue)
date : September 2nd, 2011Nokia Mobile
Review : 3 Reviews
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List Price : $ 279.00
Price Now : $ 223.99
You saving : $ 55.01
Tags : Blue, Camera, E632, Media, MicroSD, Nokia, Phone, Player, SlotU.S., Ultramarine, Unlocked, Version, Warranty, WiFi
A smartphone phone with a good price,
I purchased this phone (blue E63-2) three weeks ago. Overall, I am very happy with this phone. $200 for this unlocked smartphone is a great deal.
I add my application background first in the following. Because I think a review will only be fair with certain application background. For example, for the email application, Blackberry is more powerful for the business user, it can have more functions or better performance when it is hooked up with your company exchange server. Also for data service performance in wireless network, I only use it in T-mobile network; I don’t know how it performs in ATT’s 3G network, so I don’t comment on this.
My service provider: T-mobile
My service package: voice + 100MB/month data service
My application: personal use
Pro:
1. Full Q keyboard. Yes, a lot of smartphones have the full Q-keyboard. But the keyboard of E63 has the better design, the shape of each key enables you to type with less error-stroking.
2. WI-FI: 802.11g compatible. The setup is very easy, it supports WEP/WPA/WPA2 wireless security features. And the link speed is very good. This enable me to go to internet and download applications at home (or hot-spot) without using the 100MB data-service bandwidth.
3. When the “bluetooth” and the “WLAN scanning” are turned off, the battery life is GOOD; thanks to the physical size of the battery. When the “WLAN scanning” is off, you still can use the WLANs that have already been setup in the phone; it just won’t search for the new WLAN. But for the “bluetooth”, you will have to turn it on in order to use it; and the “bluetooth” seems draining more power than WIFI.
4. Email service: I am using Nokia’s free (for now) mail push service; it pushes my yahoo mails and the other mails to my E63, it notifies me when there is a new mail. Most time, it worked very quickly in T-mobile network (but my emails are more text oriented, HTML contents require additional download time). This is a great feature, I don’t have to go to the internet to fetch the mails manually. One can download this email setup software from Nokia website. This is only available for BlackBerry and iPhone before, with a more expensive data service. (I don’t know when Nokia will start to charge this service.)
5. Completed PDA functions and reliable sync with PC (Syncing with PC by bluetooth is great!)
6. Compare with the Nokia E71, I like this one better. The reasons are: lower-price and thicker body with plastic finishing. Although the body of E63 is plastic, but the texture feels very good and not easy to get the finger-prints. The thicker body has the acoustic advantage, the speaker performances well even when you are listening music. Of course, the lower price comes with the trade-offs: comparing with E71, the E63 does not have integrated GPS and the resolution of the camera is lower (3mp via 2mp)
7. Music function: E63 has the 3.5 mm standard connector, which means you can use your favorite headset to listen to music. Although, the headset comes with the phone is stereo, and it has an in-line microphone; but the frequency response is not good enough to listen to music (if you are serious about listening). By using a standard headset, you still can make calls or receive calls, but you will have to speak to the microphone in the phone.
Con:
1. Image quality of camera. I can live with the 2MP resolution, but the noise of the camera is too obvious; even the pictures taken outdoor.
2. Micro-USB cable is not included: This phone uses the Micro-USB interface, which is smaller than the mini-USB. I am sure most people have one or more mini-USB cables, which is widely used. But a lot of people don’t have the micro-USB cable, at least I don’t. So I have to go to a local shop to buy one ($15), and it is not easy to found one too. Very unfortunate, Nokia did not throw one in the box. Sometimes, it is very useful, such as when you want to copy a hundred songs to your phone’s memory card; bluetooth is simply too slow to do this task.
Update:
Here is the update after three month use.
(A) Don’t put this phone into a case that is too tight; especially: preventing the keyboard to be touched when it is in the case. I found out if the keyboard is being touched, the phone will not go into the sleep mode and the battery runs out really fast.
(B) The IP phone function(aka Internet phone) is great for the international long distant call (you must sign-up the “Gizemo” first), you can use it whenever you have the WIFI access; it cost much less than your wireless service provider’s international plan. But after you finish a call, you should disconnect the phone from the WIFI completely; otherwise the battery goes down real quick. The reason is: as soon as you connect the IP phone service, it will contact the WIFI access point (such as your wireless router)…
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|Great, Best Bargain out there!,
I want to start off saying that after using multiple phones over the years, I find this to be one of my top phones I have ever used.
By being unlocked from the start, the phone is completely umbranded, meaning you don’t have all of the cute AT&T or T-Mobile logos everywhere, and have complete access to all of the settings that most providers will restrict you from changing. You also have 110MB of space free on the phone (a ton) for basic apps, and of course you can buy a MicroSD card for even more memory.
The phone itself looks great. The blue color is actually an extremely dark navy, and can look black in most cases. As for the thickness compared to the e71, I think it actually feels better in your hand, and isn’t that noticeable. The headphone jack is a great touch, allowing you to use any headphone set you want.
As for the software, it uses the Symbian 9.2 Feature Pack 1, and includes software you can use to open and edit Word and Excel documents on the go. The built in music player is decent, and set up like an Ipod with its ability to have playlists, genre searches etc. You can even download the free Divx player and watch movies to go! Then theres the Nokia Ovi store. Sort of like the App Store for the iPone, you can download apps directly from Nokia, although at the moment due to its recent launch, there aren’t that many things (especially free) being offered.
The WiFi was the deal sealer for me. Living on a college campus which has wireless internet all over, I didn’t want to have to pay to have internet and email on my phone. Its fast (compared to a friend’s iPone, about the same speed)and it is great for surfing, along with using the build-in YouTube application.
There is a ton of great free software on the web for the phone if you look for it, things like weather applications, instant messaging, mapping software (requires either a WiFi or a data plan to use) etc.
I find the speakerphone loud and clear, and good enough to play music over.
The keyboard is absolutely amazing. I haven’t experience many misspellings while using it, compared to my past palm treo I had. The keys are comfortable and easy to press down.
Battery life is great on this. I was able to get 5 days out of a charge with light usage (30 texts per day, maybe 20 minutes on the phone per day and 10-15 minutes per day surfing using the WiFi)
The cons I’ve found:
Nokia still hasn’t set up a threaded text messaging system as default (IM style chats). My Windows Mobile phone from 4 years ago has this feature, and Nokia has their own application which does this, but you cannot set it as the default Txt messaging.
Weak vibration feature. I can barley feel it. My previous Nokia was weak as well though.
The Operating System (Symbian) does not assume or remember any connection settings. If you open your web browser, each time it will ask you what connection you want to use. It can get annoying if you are constantly in the same place.
Other Tips I’ve found
If you don’t have a data plan, go into the Network settings and change it to be GSM Only (NOT UMTS). UMTS is 3G, and you will get better battery life using GSM only with no downsides if not using the data plan.
To change volume with internet radio, press the function key, and then the up and down keys change the volume.
In media player, you can start typing the name of a song or artist using the keyboard and it will show up.
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|Great unlocked smartphone for the price!,
I’ve had the E63-2 (North American Version) for a few days now, and am really loving this phone so far. It’s my first Symbian (S60) phone, so I was a little hesitant about the learning curve. And to be honest — it’s not anywhere near as intuitive as the iPhone or Android. But if you’re a little bit tech savvy, it won’t be a problem at all.
The phone feels great in hand. I’ve held the E63′s big brother, the E71, and I prefer this one better. The rubberized plastic doesn’t feel cheap at all, offers a superior grip, and maybe best of all, doesn’t get all smudged up with fingerprints. It’s still relatively slim, though not as sleek as the E71. But again, I prefer it — it’s just easier to hold.
The QWERTY is nicely designed, and the keys feel great to push. Numerically, the “0″ is to the right of the “9″ instead of underneath the “8,” which is kind of jarring at first, but I got used to it. Another design annoyance is the lack of a volume rocker on the side… you have to use the D-Pad, which means taking the phone away from your ear mid-conversation. No dedicated camera button either, but that didn’t bother me much at all — you can take a picture in two button clicks away from the home screen.
Voice quality is crystal-clear, rivaling any land-line I’ve ever used. The ringer’s nice and loud, though getting to the Sound settings themselves require a series of button pushes, instead of being “right there.”
The default mail client is decent, though I’ve run into some problems connecting to my ISP’s POP3 mail server. I downloaded Nokia’s new mail client, which is a lot more graceful.
There are lots of apps available on the internet for this operating system, but they’re scattered all over the place and they’re hard to find unless you really know what you’re looking for. However, that’s going to change very soon, as Nokia’s “Ovi Store” is set to open next month (May 2009). Looks very promising — and even appears to have the elusive S60 Facebook app that’s been conspicuous in its absence.
Anyway, great UNLOCKED smartphone for the price. Might be lacking in some minor areas (no GPS, average camera quality, no volume rocker), but it makes up for it in others (WiFi, stable operating system, app store coming soon).
Strong recommendation from me.
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