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By Sandra Vogel, CNET.co.uk
Apr 21, 2007

If you're after bling, you shouldn't be looking at Nokia's E50. It runs a very competent operating system in Symbian S60 3rd edition and it has plenty of capability, but the prime target for the E50 is people who want to get things done quietly--that includes a fair smattering of business people as well as the more clean-cut consumer types. The E50 comes in two versions: With and without a camera. T-Mobile loaned us their camera-less version for review. There is a price differential, of course, and checking prices at the Nokia online store we found the camera-less model for 199 pounds and the model with a camera for 209 pounds.

Editors' note: This review is based on tests done by our sister site CNET.co.uk. As such, please note that there may be slight differences in the testing procedure and ratings system. For more information on the actual tests conducted on the product, please inquire directly at the site where the article was originally published. References made to some other products or telcos in this review may not be available or applicable in Asia. Please check directly with your local distributor for details.

Design
We have to be honest--Nokia's E50 is not much to look at. Judging from afar, few would guess that this is a very sophisticated little handset indeed. Styled in silver and black, the E50 lacks the jaunty coloring of many of today's mobile phones. The color scheme means it looks like a phone with the emphasis on the professional rather than the frivolous, which is entirely the point.

The E50's somewhat tall and thin proportions make it a comfortable phone to hold, though if your hands are small, you may find it a fraction too tall to sit easily in the palm.

Nokia has a thing about providing small and fiddly on/off switches, and the E50's certainly no exception. The switch is in the top of the casing and, rather than being a physical button, it is embedded in a rubbery section that depresses as you push it with a fingertip. It works, but we'd have preferred a proper button. This isn't the only annoying button as under the screen sits a mini joystick. This type of control system never works well for us--we by far prefer a navigation pad. In this case the mini joystick is responsive enough, but we don't like the stubby feel of it under the thumb.

The remainder of the buttons meet with approval though, and particularly good is the number pad, whose keys are large, nicely bevelled so they are tactile, and which overall feels very solid under the fingers. The Call and End buttons, softmenu keys, Clear and Menu keys are all slightly on the small side when compared to the number-pad keys, but are easy enough to locate and hit.

There aren't many side keys. On the left is a pair of volume keys, while on the right, one key initiates voice dialling and the other is the Nokia Edit key.

If we have a major gripe it's about the screen--it's certainly clear and bright, and its 240 x 320 pixels are sharp enough, but it's slightly on the small side. We found that, for example, Web browsing using T-Mobile's Web 'n' walk service on the handset worked well, but that the screen was pretty small for reading text.

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