by Tmyphone: Another special delivery arrived earlier this month thanks to Nokia, and this time it was in the form of the Nokia E55. The Nokia E55 is one of the smallest E-Series devices to date and sports a revolutionary hybrid QWERTY keypad, giving you the pleasure of a QWERTY input method in a thin and narrow candybar. It measures in at a mere 9.9mm at the widest part, which is incredible considering the capabilities of this powerhouse. Check out some more images and first impressions after the jump…
When I first held the device the first thing I noticed was how thin it was. After using the E71 as my primary device for the past year, I found the new minimalist outer shell a lot more appealing, and the edges are simply beautiful and precise, giving the device a very professional feel. The cheap looking matte finish of the bezel around the edge of the device is surprisingly attractive and very much welcomed, as I find the need to constantly wipe the fingerprints off my E71’s shiny finish.
So looking head on at the device the screen is a 2.4″ 16M color QVGA display, with the standard resolution of 240×320. This is fairly disappointing, and I don’t see why at the very least an OLED display hasn’t been implemented, nevertheless, its hard to find a device as slim and compact sporting anything higher
Moving down the device to the navigation key area, you will find the four E-Series trademark shortcut keys, which are displayed in an exquisite manner. The shortcut keys are raised and are slightly curved fitting the thumb perfectly. The two selection keys and the send and end keys are all flushed to the device, on a single piece of brushed steel, which is without a doubt the sexiest material used in the construction of the device. The navigation key itself has like a dotted imprint, making it more distinguished and grippy. All the keys have good tactile feedback apart from the two inner shortcut keys, which feel a bit softer with less press in them.
Moving further down we are introduced to a new 20-key hybrid QWERTY keypad, with each key offering the right amount of feedback. The four rows are layered, almost like roof tiles without the overlap, thus making it easy to identify each individual key when sliding your thumbs over them. I cannot understand why the shift key has been placed on the right of the space bar. I got so used to using it from the left on the E71. It’ll be interesting to see how it fits in there and whether or not I can adapt. There is also now a ’sym’ key on left of the space bar, not too sure what it does yet, but hopefully more on that in the full review.
Around the back of the device there is a bizarre back cover, one that feels almost like material (I still can’t put my finger on which it resembles). It’s the sort of material that when you scratch it, it makes your teeth grind, a little like scratching a plate with a folk. Anyhow, I like it. It’s different and its classy, like the patterned inner lining of an Armani suit. Removing the back cover will reveal the MicroSD card slot along with a BP-4L 1500mAh battery. Also latching onto the back of the device is the 3.2mp camera. Yet again there is no Carl Zeiss lense nor is there a dual LED flash. Same ole same ole in this department then. I must assure you however that my recent test did highlight how these 3.2mp E-Series cameras have improved. Much below par, but improving nevertheless.
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