Nokia E5

Available now
13th April 2010

The Nokia E5 is Nokia's first device in their "new" E-Series range, with the "5" indicating that Nokia believe this to be a midrange business device.

Somewhat similar to the Nokia E72 in terms of specification, the E5 combines business messaging with social networking, supporting corporate email systems like Exchange and Lotus Notes on one hand, and social sites such as Twitter and Facebook on the other. It is questionable if corporate customers will actually want their staff to muck about with social networking on their company phones though, but that's another matter entirely.

This is a Symbian smartphone, running S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2. As well as messaging and social networking, the E5 comes with GPS and free navigation software, a VPN client, remote wipe capabilities plus all the usual features that you would expect to find in a messaging smartphone.

The display is a fairly standard 2.4" 320 x 240 pixel panel, on the back is a 5 megapixel camera with an LED flash. With regards to connectivity, the Nokia E5 supports 3.5G data with maximum download speeds of up to 10.2Mbps on HSDPA and maximum HSUPA upload speeds of 2Mbps. The E5 supports WiFi as well, and quad-band GSM and tri-band UMTS capabilities mean that it should work worldwide.

Inside is a 1200 mAh battery which Nokia say can power the E5 for up to 5.5 hours talktime on 3G and a massive 18.5 hours if you drop back to GSM. Standby time is up to 29 days. There's also a microSD slot (a 2GB card is included), a 3.5mm AV connector and the whole package weighs in at 126 grams.

The E5 is pitched to sell at just €180 before tax and subsidy, which we think is a pretty good deal, although consumers might want to look at the new C3 which will be half the price. The E5 should be available in a variety of colour schemes including black, white, blue, copper and silver when it becomes available sometime during Q3 2010.