Nokia E63 review: E for Economy

Nokia E63 is the next QWERTY messenger by Nokia, set on the glorious path of the E71. Only this time it slips off the high heels to walk it in plain straight and simple boots instead. And the matching price tag leaves little doubt of what this Working Joe here is all about.

No fancy spoils, the Nokia E63 means business and brings connectivity and messaging together in a sharp and reliable package. Certainly a no-thrills mobile, the E63 does its jobs with no fuss and at a fair wage. Well, who would frown at that?

Nokia E63 official photos

Now, comparisons to E71 are clearly inevitable and maybe we know better than expect Nokia E63 to impress us as much. But who says it can't persuade through common sense.

Key features:

• Quad-band GSM support
• 3G support
• Landscape 2.36" 16M-color display of QVGA resolution
• Symbian 9.2 OS, S60 UI with FP1 (sprinkled with some FP2)
• 369 MHz ARM 11 CPU and 128 MB of SDRAM
• Wi-Fi
• 2 megapixel fixed focus camera with LED flash
• 120 MB of internal memory, microSD expansion
• Standard 3.5mm audio jack
• Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP support
• microUSB v2.0
• FM radio
• Comfortable full QWERTY keypad
• Convenient shortcut keys
• Provider-independent VoIP support
• Office document editor
• Nokia Maps
• User-friendly Mode Switch for swapping two homescreen setups
• Great battery life
• Remote Lock and Wipe feature
• One-year free subscription for Files on Ovi

Main disadvantages:

• Poor camera performance
• Video recording maxes out at QVGA@15fps
• No GPS
• No RDS in the FM radio
• 3.5mm jack protective bud is not attached to the body
• No USB cable in the retail package
• No preinstalled games at all

Nokia E63 is undoubtedly a trimmed-down version of the E71 and almost a return to the E61i roots - with a 2 megapixel camera and no built-in GPS receiver. Well, the camera of the E71 was largely disappointing in the first place plus, an external Bluetooth GPS receiver is always an option, so we hardly count these as serious drawbacks.

Nokia E63 at ours

The styling of the E63 is where the difference is most significant. Nokia E63 still looks OK and feels sturdy, but it sure lacks the solid metal charm of the E71. Anyway, the mild price tag may as well make you forgive the cost-effective approach to the exterior.

The potential market rivals of the E63 aren't that many but there are still a few affordable QWERTY smartphones out there.