A workhorse mobile has moved on from the days of just making calls, we expect more like basic data connectivity and the ability to sync phone books and appointments, plus use of Bluetooth and hands free. So our tests of the Nokia E65 focused on the essential features as opposed to the whizzy extras that Nokia are keen to push.

For starters the E65 is a quad band mobile that enables its users to stay in touch worldwide assuming you have a phone plan that supports it. For data there is EGPRS support and just to complete the I/O options there is full WiFi 802.11b/g with the now require WPA and older WEP security in place. Measuring 105 x 49 x 15.5 mm and weighing 115 grams its about dead average for a candybar style mobile and only its angled shape edges make it look that different, you won't win any style awards with a 65.

So its small but a bit slabby in the style dept but what it packs is a fair old battery life and equally good performance. Our tests had it running for 5 days with moderate use which is a leap on from the power hungry multimedia phones like the N93 and N95. Call quality is 1st class with loud speech both in the earpiece and on the excellent hands free  system which seems to get better and better with every new generation of Nokia. RF performance is good and almost back to the heady days of the Nokia phones that got signal when no others could.

The Nokia E series is aimed at the business market with the N range being more consumer facing, but while Nokia expect a company to buy you an E65 more and more consumers are opting for its combination of robust performance and productivity features. One of the key things we noted about the E65 is the way that it handles groupings, you can for example group contacts together so you can send them a text at the same time or for that matter start a conference call. When in a conference call you can easily select more number to invite new parties to join the call and combine this with a great hands free system or Bluetooth headset and you get a very powerful mobile.

The E65 users the S60 operating system and is therefore very rich in features in a useable and well designed GUI as we have seen on the rest of the series. There are a few weird steps like shipping a 3G mobile which the networks are pushing as video calling and then omitting a front facing camera, mind you have you tried a video call? so we can't get too upset about that one now. A real downside is that to use the MP3 playback capability when combined with a MicroSD card you only get a mono earphone jack, should you want stereo you will need to splash out on a Nokia pop port headphone set.

After a few days with the E65 we grew to like its feel in the hand and general use, the slider mechanism is strong and great to use for answering and ending calls. The screen which is a QVGA 240 x 320 pixel unit is not the largest but it is bright and colourful and easily read but a little small for email which is supported by the 65. The data services are spot on and easy to configure, we soon had the Nokia E65 hooked up to our WLAN using both WEP and also the more secure WPA security settings. The inbuilt browser works well but again the small screen means while its fine for checking a train timetable you wouldn't want to read the Times on it.

All the WLAN and Bluetooth not to mention multimedia capability can take its toll on the little Nokia and the 100mAh battery was dead on the 3rd day after some seriously heavy use. We expect that a normal user who leaves WiFi off will get 4 or 5 days on standby with modest calls which is a lot better than the N series mobiles which struggle to make 3 days.

One of our reviewers seemed to re kindle his teenage years and start to bemoan the poor camera which at 2 mega pixels is a bit below the standard and we were about to ridicule him for having a Bebo account when he proved that the business user may want a good camera. In fact he made his point by emailing Lordpercy back a whiteboard shot taken with an N95 with its 5 megapixel camera, there are business uses for a good camera and if you have one then the E65 may fall short in this respect.

The S60 operating system does all the things we demand of a mobile, with a nice front screen acting as a mini organiser, over the air sync plus also Bluetooth and WiFi sync to a network PC and a robust loud ringtones and vibrate option. If your company gave you the Nokia E65 FOC then you'd be a happy bunny.

However would you spend your own cash on one, well in short yes, only if you crave a full on multimedia assault or require GPS should you worry about the smaller screen or missing features. If you are after a hone with a good battery life that's easy to use and yet still has plenty of connectivity in a stylish package you could do a lot worse than an E65.

Published - 19/08/2007

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