The transformation, radical as it has been, is complete. Till recently, Nokia’s E-series smartphones were bulky business devices, a household name for enterprise users but cursed with form factors that wouldn’t have been out of place in the 90s. With last year’s E66 and the E71, the E-series blurred the lines between work and play, and sported all-new crossover designs and some multimedia goodness to boot. When I first saw the E71, I asked myself — could they better the E71? Let’s find out, shall we?

My scepticism arose from the fact that the crowded smartphone notwithstanding, the E75 is uncomfortably close to the E71 in terms of specs and functionality. Similar screen, similar processor, similar connectivity options. That’s not to say there’s nothing new on offer with the E75. For starters, the questionably-cramped keyboard of the E71 makes way for a regular numeric keypad and a side slide-out QWERTY keyboard. Surprisingly, the result isn’t clunky in the least — the E75 turned out to be far more compact than I expected. It is heavier though with the liberal use of steel, but it feels solid and is built like a tank. Even the slide-out keyboard feels sturdy and the hinges feel like they can take some abuse, and then some.

Now, for a device that’s meant to hammer out long e-mails and do double duty editing documents as well, the device lives and dies by its keyboard — ask any BlackBerry user. There’s good and bad news here — the alphanumeric keypad of the E75 is too cramped for my liking, especially around the direction-pad, and the keys are too thin for anything beyond dialling numbers. Just as well we have the full QWERTY keyboard which, after the initial hunt-and-peck routine, is rather comfortable to use despite the lack of separated/raised keys. Coming from the E71, I took to typing rather rapidly on this device. Even so, I would suggest you try it out a fair bit before you buy it — your mileage may vary!

Along with the keyboard, the E75 comes with the hugely improved Messaging Service application built-in, bringing together Nokia Email service and Mail For Exchange into a single user interface. Meant as an answer to the BlackBerry push e-mail service, the Nokia Messaging service allows you to set up upto 16 accounts, and rather easily, I must add. Just enter your e-mail address and password and the software does the rest, automatically discovering the servers and setting all your accounts under one universal inbox. There’s support for an array of third party e-mail providers like Gmail, Yahoo, Rediffmail, Sify, Indiatimes, Net4India, Hotmail and In.com, and with Exchange and Notes support, over 90 per cent of the world’s corporate inboxes are covered as well.

Also new on the E75 is a 3.5mm headphone jack (so you can use your own headphones) and a lower capacity battery. The E71’s 1500 mAh battery was stellar, and one questioned the sense in pushing a 1000 mAh battery into the E75. Turns out, the upgraded Feature Pack 2 of the Series 60 3rd edition (the E71 has Feature Pack 1) brings in some battery management enhancements which are supposed to make the E75’s battery last a bit longer. Plus Nokia’s added USB-charging to the E75, which charges the phone every time you connect the device with your PC/laptop and leave the wall charger at home when you’re travelling.

What hasn’t changed is the display, and at 2.4 inches, it feels a little small for the price you’re paying, but it is acceptable in terms of both brightness and contrast. And while it’s great that the E75 has a dedicated camera button, it takes nearly four seconds of holding down to actually launch the camera application, which is annoying when you want to ‘capture the moment’.

In a sense, by not changing much in the E75, Nokia’s kept the winning formula intact, and provided a form factor alternative — a slightly different approach to QWERTY keyboards in an extremely compact design. It’s pricier than its predecessors though, so it’s worth asking yourself — is the roomy keyboard worth paying the extra bit?

Quick Specs

• Networks: Quad-band EGSM 850/900/1800/1900
• Platform: S60 third Edition Feature Pack 2 based on Symbian OS v9.3
• Display: 2.4” 320 x 240 pixels (QVGA), upto 16 million colours
• Keys and Input: Full QWERTY keyboard, Accelerated scrolling and notification light with Navi Key
• Memory: 8GB microSD HC memory card included, hot swappable, support upto 16 GB, 50 MB internal dynamic memory
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.0 EDR, MTP (Multimedia Transfer Protocol), USB 2.0, network and USB PictBridge printing, micro-USB connector support charging, 3.5 mm AV connector
• Data Transfer: CSD, HSCSD, GPRS/EDGE. HSDPA, Wireless LAN, Nokia PC Internet Access
• Features: 3.2 megapixel camera with LED Flash, MP3/FM/Internet Radio, Integrated A-GPS with Nokia Maps, Nokia Messaging Service
• Battery: BL-4U 1000 mAh Li-Po with GSM talktime upto 5hrs 20 mins and standby time upto 280 hours
• Dimensions: 111.8 x 50/80 x 14.4 mm
• Weight: 139gm
• Rating: 8/10
• Price: Rs 26,299, available in silver, black and red
• URL: http://www.nokia.co.in/e75

Smart reader

If you thought Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) was meant only for factories and warehouses, think again. The Violet RFID Mirror is a little USB-enabled platter that can read RFID tags and launch any assigned application on the computer when it spots a tag it knows. Think about it — tagged umbrellas could launch weather forecasts, or a tagged wallet could pull up your bank statement. Waving your car keys over the Mirror could be programmed to send an e-mail to your spouse telling her you’re on your way home. The possibilities are endless.
• URL: http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/electronic/ba0d/
• Price: $19.99 upwards

Smooth flow

You may have got the most wired house in the neighborhood, but I’ll bet the SmartFaucet from iHouse will still blow your mind. It’s a tap with built-in face recognition technology that automatically adjusts the water pressure and temperature to your preferred settings. What’s more, the touchscreen display even allows at- a-glance access to e-mail, appointments, and the outside temperature while LEDs illuminate the flow with temperature matching colours!
• URL: http://www.ihouse.com.br/
• Price: Available on request