GSMArena.com GSMArena.com

Tip us

1.5m
109k
RSS

EV

Merch

Log in

Login

I forgot my password
Sign up
  • Home
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Videos
  • Featured
  • Phone Finder
  • Deals
  • MerchNew
  • Coverage
  • Contact
ADVERTISEMENTS
GSMArena team, 20 August 2010

Textbook texter


Nokia E5 review: Textbook texter

  • Comments (137)
  • User reviews
  • Nokia E5

3. User interface
  1. 1. Introduction
  2. 2. Unboxing, 360-degree spin, design and construction
  3. 3. User interface
  4. 4. Phonebook, telephony, messaging
  5. 5. Multimedia: photos, music, audio quality, video, FM radio
  6. 6. Camera, connectivity, web browser
  7. 7. Organizer and apps, GPS, Ovi Store
  8. 8. Conclusion
  9.  
  10. Nokia E5 specification
  11. User opinions and reviews
  12. Review comments (137)

Nokia Symbian S60

Symbian is pleased to serve

The Nokia E5 is powered by Symbian 9.3 and runs on the S60 3rd edition user interface with Feature Pack 2.

The E5 uses the so-called Active Standby homescreen. It is available in several different flavors so you can prioritize the set of shortcuts you need on the screen.

Nokia E5 Nokia E5 Nokia E5
Nokia E5 Nokia E5 Nokia E5
Basic standby mode • Vertical icon bar • Horizontal icon bar • Active standby

The Basic layout just shows you the wallpaper (and the usual status indicators of course) and you can assign shortcuts to the D-pad directions. The Vertical icon bar layout has four tabs - shortcuts, calendar, music player and personalization and it doesn't hide much of the wallpaper.

The other three layouts are more elaborate. They offer several rows of “homescreen applications” (e.g. upcoming events from the calendar, received emails and so on) along with shortcuts.

The Horizontal icon bar is the most basic of the three. You get a row of six customizable shortcuts at the top of the screen, below are email, calendar, Ovi Chat and WLAN notifications (they also act as shortcuts to their respective apps).

When the music player (or the radio) is on, a new row is displayed with the track info.

The Active layout is the good old Active Standby that was on the Nokia E71/E72 and others. It looks like the Horizontal layout, but tucks in an analog clock on the left of the screen and lets you customize what rows to appear under the shortcut toolbar.

There are 15 different options to choose from (e.g. missed calls, voice mail, to-dos and so on). You could turn them all on, but only five are visible at any time and you can’t scroll up and down to see the rest.

Typical E-series, there the Business and Personal modes for this layout. They allow you to quickly switch between two sets of shortcuts and homescreen apps – one with business apps at hand, the other, say, with Twitter and Facebook shortcuts.

Nokia E5 Nokia E5 Nokia E5
The Contacts bar • viewing a contact from the Contacts bar

The other option is the Contact bar layout, which has been available on Nokia handsets for quite a while too. It puts a row of favorite contacts on top three homescreen applications - Calendar, WLAN wizard, Ovi Contacts – along with the usual six customizable shortcuts (this time at the bottom).

The Favorite contacts are placed on top, each represented by the contact photo and their first name. Four contacts are visible at a time and you can scroll left and right for the rest. The music player traditionally has a tab for the homescreen – but because the space is limited, it usually ends up replacing the Calendar tab.

There’s one final layout – the Talking theme. It enhances accessibility by reading out loud the option you’ve selected.

As with all Symbian phones, there is a built-in voice recognition system. It does a good job, being fully speaker-independent.

The Symbian task manager appears on every pop-up menu. It's actually placed on top of every list, which can be a little irritating at times, considering you can still invoke it with the well-known shortcut of pressing and holding the Menu key (the one with the House pictogram).

Nokia E5 Nokia E5
The Nokia E5 is a good multitasker

The Nokia E5 is powered by a 600MHz CPU with 256MB RAM, which is plenty for a Symbian smartphone. The UI is speedy and the battery lasts quite a while between charges, the only lags we noticed concern some transition effects when going through the menus.

Next Page » 4. Phonebook, telephony, messaging
3. User interface
  1. 1. Introduction
  2. 2. Unboxing, 360-degree spin, design and construction
  3. 3. User interface
  4. 4. Phonebook, telephony, messaging
  5. 5. Multimedia: photos, music, audio quality, video, FM radio
  6. 6. Camera, connectivity, web browser
  7. 7. Organizer and apps, GPS, Ovi Store
  8. 8. Conclusion
  9.  
  10. Nokia E5 specification
  11. User opinions and reviews
  12. Review comments (137)

Reviews Nokia E5 reviewPage 3
  • Comments (137)
  • User reviews
  • Nokia E5

Phone finder

  • Samsung
  • Apple
  • Huawei
  • Nokia
  • Sony
  • LG
  • HTC
  • Motorola
  • Lenovo
  • Xiaomi
  • Google
  • Honor
  • Oppo
  • Realme
  • OnePlus
  • vivo
  • Meizu
  • BlackBerry
  • Asus
  • Alcatel
  • ZTE
  • Microsoft
  • Vodafone
  • Energizer
  • Cat
  • Sharp
  • Micromax
  • Infinix
  • TCL
  • Ulefone
  • Tecno
  • Doogee
  • Blackview
  • BLU
  • Panasonic
  • Plum

All brands Rumor mill

ADVERTISEMENTS

Related articles

  • Nokia and Samsung extend cross-license patent agreement
  • Nokia C12 launches with Android 12 Go Edition, 6.3" display
  • Nokia X10 and X20 start receiving Android 13
  • Nokia confirms Android 13 is coming to five more phones
ADVERTISEMENTS

Popular reviews

Apple iOS 14 review

Apple iOS 14 review
Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review

Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review
Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G review

Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G review

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

Lamborghini doesn't believe electric supercars will be ready before 2028 Lamborghini doesn't believe electric supercars will be ready before 2028 The upcoming all-electric Audi A8 2024 will be very similar to the Grandsphere conceptTesla Model Y's wheel falls off on the highway
ADVERTISEMENTS

Home News Reviews Compare Coverage Glossary FAQ RSS feed Youtube Facebook Twitter Instagram

© 2000-2023 GSMArena.com Mobile version Android app Tools Contact us Merch store Privacy Terms of use Change Ad Consent Do not sell my data