Review of Nokia's sleek E55 business smartphone

The Nokia E55 is a new candybar smartphone from the Finnish manufacturer, aimed at the business market. Boasting a 20-key hybrid-QWERTY keypad for easier messaging, HSDPA/HSUPA and WiFi for faster connectivity, and a large battery for extended use, this device is set to be a businessperson's best friend. Read on as we put the E55 through some rigorous tests to see if it's up to the job.

Physical Aspects

OK, let's get down to business. The Nokia E55 is a slim candybar device that measures a svelte 116.5mm x 49mm x 9.9mm (4.6in x 1.9in x .4in) and weighs in at a perfectly acceptable 95g (3.4oz). Although it looks to be made of metal, the exterior is actually mostly constructed from plastic with a metallic painted finish. Our E55 has a metallic silver band surrounding the black front panel of the phone, which gives the handset a very stylish appearance. Overall, the build quality is pretty good and the phone feels very robust.

The front of the device is very busy, with plenty of buttons set below its 2.4-inch display. The display itself has a 320 x 240 pixel (QVGA) resolution and can display up to 16 million colors. Bright sunlight legibility wasn't great, but I've seen much worse. Above the display is the device's earpiece, a light sensor, and a forward facing videocall camera. The keys beneath the display comprise a 20-key QWERTY keypad, a 5-way d-pad, two softkeys, a home key, a calendar key, a messaging key, and a backspace/delete key, as well as call send and end keys. All the keys offer good tactile feedback and are black, with white text and backlighting. The d-pad also pulses periodically by default and flashes when a missed call, message, or email is received.

The edges of the device are finished in a metallic black color, as are parts of the rear of the handset. However, the rear is mainly occupied by the metal battery cover, which is engraved with an attractive pattern that provides extra grip. Toward the top of the rear is the lens and flash for the 3.2 megapixel camera, as well as the loudspeaker grille.

The top of the device features the power button and a 3.5mm headphone port, and the bottom of the device features just a microphone pinhole and lanyard fixing. The micro-USB port for charging/data is found on the left side of the handset, and the right side is home to the earpiece volume keys, microphone mute button, and camera shutter button.