Nokia E63 smartphone

When we reviewed the Nokia E71, we found it was one of the best Qwerty smartphones available, although fairly expensive at more than £300. Nokia has now released a cheaper alternative, the E63.

The similarities between the two are obvious. From the front they look almost identical, with similarly sized keypads and the same screen.

Sadly though, a closer look at the E63 reveals just how many cuts have been made to keep its cost down. The keyboard might look similar to that of the E71, but its keys are more squishy and the space bar has been shrunk to half the size, making it harder to type.

The power button has been removed from the top of the phone, and now this function is performed by the ‘end call’ button. Those used to Nokia handsets will find themselves summoning the power menu by accident.

The body is slightly thicker and the volume controls have been removed from the right side. The camera on the back is a two-megapixel model, rather than the E71’s 3.2-megapixels, and has no auto-focus. More annoyingly, the plastic back of the phone is held in place by a single latch ­ knock this open and the back panel falls off.

These design cutbacks are a shame, as the E63’s software works well ­ it shares Nokia’s excellent email client and includes a one-year subscription to the Files on Ovi service for accessing documents and files on a PC.
However, there’s no GPS so Nokia’s Maps application is somewhat limited, and with no support for HSDPA, internet browsing won’t always be as fast as on the E71.

The E63 is a good handset but it lives in the shadow of its older brother. At around £200 Sim-free it’s well-priced, but as the E71 is now available on contract, many people will opt for the better model. If the E63 becomes available for even less on a pay-as-you-go scheme, though, it could become a good choice if you want an affordable smartphone.