Full Review

15 January 2007 - So you're after a business phone, but aren't ready to go the full hog and upgrade to a smartphone? We won't ask why, but Nokia believes it has the answer it in its E series

In steps the Nokia E50. The thinnest Nokia E series quad-band phone to date - the others being the Nokia E60, Nokia E61 and the Nokia E70.

Weighing 104 grams and measuring 113 x 43.5 x 15.5mm it means that it will easily slip into that suit or trouser pocket unlike most bulky smartphones.

The model supports GSM networks worldwide and promises users up to 6 hours of talk time, which in our tests it delivered.

Not opting to go for anything crazy as we've seen in the past from the Nokia office, the new Nokia E50 sports a classic Nokia design of silver and black. Keys are arranged under the usual array of quick access buttons and the main control is via a d-pad just below the screen (see pictures right above). Think traditional Nokia and you're on the right track.

Built on the S60 third edition smartphone platform, which is now in hundreds of other devices, the Nokia E50 supports popular corporate mobile email solutions, including Intellisync Wireless Email by Nokia, BlackBerry Connect, Visto Mobile, Altexia, and Microsoft ActiveSync.

The Nokia E50 comes with 70MB of dynamic memory for storage of emails and can be expanded even further by using the MicroSD card slot on the side of the phone which is accessible once you remove the back cover.

Business users hoping to take the phone home with them in the evening will also like the feature that allows users to have two phone numbers in one phone, ideal for mixing business and personals calls although there aren't two sim slots so you'll have to program the phone if you need this feature.

Web surfing is provided by T-Mobile's web'n'walk service which automatically re-organises webpages so you can see it on the phone's smallish 262k colour 240 x 320 pixel screen.

But its not all business, other features include an MP3 player and optional 1.3MP camera - although the model that we had for testing didn't.

VERDICT
The Nokia E50 is a straight-talking phone that offers more than most standard mobiles without going the whole hog of being a smartphone.

Ideal for users who want slightly more from their mobile and the ability to check messages on the go, the handset falls down only when you want to start replying or doing anything productive beyond making calls.

Good, but the lack of a keyboard, touchscreen or 3G will mean that you'll still have to carry about a laptop if you're planning on working out of the office.