Nokia E62 (finally) hits Cingular

Well, it sure took them long enough, but Cingular has finally gotten around to rolling out Nokia's biz-centric QWERTY phone, the E62. Luckily, the price is right: going for "as low as" $150, as expected. At 0.5-inches thick, and with a well-sized QVGA screen, the E62 isn't totally weak-sauce compared to its E61 high-end predecessor, but it does lack the fancy WiFi and UMTS of the E61. Plenty has already been said about the specs (EDGE, Symbian 9.1, the like), so we'll spare you this time around. You should be able to nab this one September 29th -- none too soon, to be sure.

[Bryan @ Sep 12th 2006 3:54PM]

Someone explain to me why Cingular insists on rolling out non-3G phones.....WHAT IS THE POINT?!?

If they're supposed to have a full (or decent) rollout of HSDPA, what's the sense in selling what is basically dated equipment?

[jay @ Sep 12th 2006 4:01PM]

i got my Nokia E61 in hand for the last 3 months -- WiFi, 3G, VOIP etc etc etc
it costs me 450 but it's a gem, non-branded unlocked straight from europe.

E62 sucks. what a ripoff

[Kenundrum @ Sep 12th 2006 4:06PM]

Does that button next to the Ctrl say 0wn? wtf?

[Evan @ Sep 12th 2006 4:09PM]

Hah! Bond James, those Finnish crack me up...

[PPC @ Sep 12th 2006 4:15PM]

it does say "own" lmao!

[bluetraned @ Sep 12th 2006 4:43PM]

ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha im sik of it

[David Geller @ Sep 12th 2006 4:55PM]

I have an E61 and it is, perhaps, the single worst phone/organizer device I've ever used. While it's bursting at the seams with great radio gadgetry and a gorgeous screen, the UI is absolutely horrible. I thought the MDA was bad, but this is a total piece of crap - clearly designed by monkeys or a highly disorganized committee. I hope the E62 is better. If not we'll know for sure that the major telcos have zero usability review. Really - you don't want this. It's big and the UI will drive you nuts. Still not convinced? I'll sell you mine. Used only a few hours - and still not configured properly. Why? Well, because the UI is so freak'n goofy.

[Tim @ Sep 21st 2006 6:31PM]

Usability isn't going to be different than the E61. Either you're a huge fan of Symbian, or you hate it. Clearly, you hate it.

Thanks for sharing.

[JHook @ Oct 5th 2006 2:22PM]

David,
I am curious as to what is so bad about the E61's user interface. I have never heard anyone be quite so negative as you on the E61. I had started to do research into buying an E61 but was concerned about your comments.

Thanks for any feedback you can provide.
Jonathan

[Audi R8 @ Sep 12th 2006 4:56PM]

Could you use an unlocked version with Verizon?

[Pasha @ Sep 12th 2006 5:01PM]

This is not a smartphone anymore. Get yourself E61 or don't buy this one it's useless...

Pasha
http://www.nokme.com My Nokia E61 Blog

[Ryan @ Sep 12th 2006 5:03PM]

I'm still holding out for the N93

[Matt @ Sep 12th 2006 5:07PM]

looks pretty cool, but from what David said I am not going to get one

[PPC @ Sep 12th 2006 5:13PM]

How much David?

[BklynKid @ Sep 12th 2006 5:15PM]

This guy knows James Bond! OMG!

[paolo @ Sep 12th 2006 5:51PM]

"I have an E61 and it is, perhaps, the single worst phone/organizer device I've ever used. While it's bursting at the seams with great radio gadgetry and a gorgeous screen, the UI is absolutely horrible. I thought the MDA was bad, but this is a total piece of crap - clearly designed by monkeys or a highly disorganized committee. I hope the E62 is better. If not we'll know for sure that the major telcos have zero usability review. Really - you don't want this. It's big and the UI will drive you nuts. Still not convinced? I'll sell you mine. Used only a few hours - and still not configured properly. Why? Well, because the UI is so freak'n goofy."



yeah i guess thats why the SYMBIAN OS has SO MANY great reviews about it.from every phone that i've owned this OS is one of the best. and trust me i've used many phones. only monkeies wouldnt know how to use this (no offense). by the way how much you selling it for?? LOL

[David Geller @ Sep 12th 2006 6:45PM]

Paolo - I was surprised too. I read with great anticipation reviews by MSNBC's Krakow and one from PC Magazine and was really excited by the device - from what I read. They all praised the E62 and wonder why the E61 wasn't shipped - since it, supposedly, was so much better. I bought it for someone on our team who was a Treo fan. I, too, have heard great things about Symbian. So, frankly, I can't figure out why it's so bad. My monkey comment, well, wasn't really fair. I know these are complex devices. But this is too complex. I'll try and write up a more detailed review any why I thought it was so poor. Hey, I love my Razr and readily admit it has a horrible (and often unresponsive) UI.

[Dan @ Sep 12th 2006 7:08PM]

I have an e61. After using a jam and a kjam i can absolutely say that this is an amazing phone. And after the new rom it is faster, more stable and even better.

[Intrepid @ Sep 12th 2006 8:56PM]

Another phone without Windows? That blows.

[craig @ Sep 12th 2006 9:24PM]

"I have an E61 and it is, perhaps, the single worst phone/organizer device I've ever used. While it's bursting at the seams with great radio gadgetry and a gorgeous screen, the UI is absolutely horrible. I thought the MDA was bad, but this is a total piece of crap - clearly designed by monkeys or a highly disorganized committee. I hope the E62 is better. If not we'll know for sure that the major telcos have zero usability review. Really - you don't want this. It's big and the UI will drive you nuts. Still not convinced? I'll sell you mine. Used only a few hours - and still not configured properly. Why? Well, because the UI is so freak'n goofy."

I might agree, but the MDA was really bad, too.

I've used my E61 for a while now, and in the beginning it was quite snappy ignoring the horrible UI. Now, it's sluggish in everything it does, takes upwards of a minute to send a text, email is almost useless, buttons unresponsive, etc. It locks up and crashes regularly and jumps into a random application when I take a call. It is definitely the worst QWERTY phone I have ever owned, and I've owned bad ones. As pissed as I was about the horrible Treo 650 I'd take it back now.

[Ravenwood @ Sep 13th 2007 9:05AM]

I'm at my wits end with the E62. Buggy, crashes all the time, very very slow. If I had it to do over again I would not have bought it.

When it receives an SMS message and you try to open it, it takes a full 10 seconds just to display the message. Sending takes even longer, and whenever you pick it up it launches into the voice recorder because of the extra sensative voice recorder button on the side.

Probably the most annoying "feature" is when it tries to check your email and fails. Instead of waiting 5 minutes and trying again it turns that feature off completely, so you have to navigate back into the email settings and turn it on again. Only to have it turn off again next time it can't reach your email server.

I've had 4 different E-62s replaced under warranty and they all suck. Whoever designed this phone should be dragged out into the street and shot.

[Mark M @ Sep 12th 2006 9:36PM]

The 2 main features dropped from the E61 are:

1) Wi-Fi

2) WCDMA (UMTS) 2100 MHz WHICH DOES NOT WORK IN NORTH
AMERICA because phones there are currently restricted to 850/1900 MHz bands

So far as I am aware, Nokia has not yet announced phones with WCDMA 850/1900 MHz, which Cingular is insisting on going forward. Obviously this will have to come soon; there have been several tri-band WCDMA phones announced by major competitors in the past week.

[Don @ Sep 12th 2006 10:03PM]

I have a e61 and have had a Sony Ericsson p910a and a MDA, I will vote best phone I have ever owned, including the gui. I would definitely prefer symbian to windows.

don

[Pyry @ Sep 12th 2006 10:50PM]

Kun kaikkia naurattavat suomen nimet pitäisihän kirjoittaa suomeksi. Hohohoo... jne.

They're cool names, so there!

[unsigned @ Sep 12th 2006 11:14PM]

LMAO!!!! So I guess the '0wn' button is a "Security Feature" ?

[Ed @ Sep 13th 2006 12:54AM]

This is great news. I have the Nokia E61 and it is by far the best smartphones available. However, it is not cheap.

The Nokia E62 is targeting a different user group that would give up UMTS and WiFi for a cheaper price.

http://www.e-series.org

[Charles Hoard @ Sep 13th 2006 1:34AM]

no camera on either one?

[James @ Sep 13th 2006 5:12AM]

"The Nokia E62 is targeting a different user group that would give up UMTS and WiFi for a cheaper price."

As Mark M said earlier, UMTS in the United States is 850/1900, and not the 2100 MHz that the E61 uses. So it's a moot point regarding the lack of UMTS.

Despite the lack of WiFi, what I dislike is the keyboard layout. Alot of characters obtainable through the FN+whatever button look to be no longer on the keys. Probably moved to the Chr screen. Also, what's with putting the 0 inbetween * and #? I thought it was fine next to the 9 on the E61.

The E62 boasts EDGE, does that mean that the lacks EDGE? The icon for GPRS and EGPRS are the same on the E61 so I don't know what I'm using, but the data speeds are fairly decent on my E61 with Cingular.

(Ed, love the site by the way, it's a been a big help to me. :) )

[ragnar @ Sep 13th 2006 6:10AM]

Btw, E61 users, Nokia has now a working software update page available:

http://europe.nokia.com/A4151185

Many bug fixes and performance improvements. At least I updated mine just now without a hitch.

[Ajay @ Sep 13th 2006 9:14AM]

the e61 does have edge.

[Richard @ Sep 13th 2006 10:10AM]

I like the idea of having wifi vs not having it. Especially if both the 61 and 62 have EDGE.

How easy is it to configure the E61 for Cingular?

When I bought my P910a durect from Sony Ericsson all the set-up was from SE over-the-air: simple, like me!

[James @ Sep 13th 2006 3:23PM]

"the e61 does have edge."

What's the point of having EDGE when you can use UMTS? That's probably what Nokia thought, because a quick check on Nokia's UK website shows that it does not. Had I checked my phone specs I would've seen it's quad GSM, and not a tri-EGSM phone, which would've ruled out EDGE immediately.

Oh well. :

[ChrisXS @ Sep 13th 2006 3:38PM]

I wish my phone had an 0wn button! Think of the possibilities! Leave it to Nokia to introduce the coolest feature ever implemented on a cell phone!

[lil mike @ Sep 13th 2006 10:07PM]

i wonder what the own button does

[Steve @ Sep 24th 2006 11:13AM]

I have the E61, I like it a lot, but the bluetooth won't work with the Morotola Blue Tooth Car Kit IHF1000. I asked Nokia about it and said "we don't support a phone bought in the US from Europe". I asked them what does bluetooth have with US or Europe, I thought it was a standard. They wouldn't help me at all, I thought Nokia had good support, I guess not. That's my only complaint.

[Nathan @ Sep 29th 2006 8:42AM]

I got my new E62 yesterday. It is challenging not to touch the screen to get around.I have 7 dead Treo 650's on my desk. So far I am pleased but I need to figure out why I can not see the radars on weather sites. I did have an issue getting Goodlink to work. I ended up reformatting the device and starting over. I do not see the phone being any better than the Treo. Battery life is great.

[Larry P @ Oct 10th 2006 1:04PM]

I just received my UK version E61 last week (was a former Treo owner). Integrating it with Cingulars network was a snap, but being a non-techie setting up the phones WiFi was difficult for me. With no support from Cingular and hours of corresponding with E61 users on a number of forums the phone now works impressively. It's faster than my wife�s Sprint PPC-67000, and it's a pleasure to own a phone that you don't have to soft reset twice a week (Wife's biggest complaint!)

Lastly, features (numerous) aside, it's one of the easiest one handed dialing smart phones I�ve ever used.

[bajanpat @ Nov 4th 2006 12:43AM]

I bought my Nokia E62 a week ago. So far I like the features because of its ease of use. I like the security features like being able to lock the phone and my Mini SD card. However, I don't like the fact that I cannot sync my email through Outlook.

[christopher mckenna @ Nov 16th 2006 11:39PM]

I have had two of the E62 deals and they are pissing me off. THe later one keeps locking up. I can't even shut it off. THe first one, the speakerphone did not work and the thing would go into no network mode. i had to keep rebooting the POS. I have had three SMS cards and that made no difference. Now i am returning this POS back to DIngular for a full refund. It is still within the 30 day limit. Gone. Now to find something that works. Chinese made junk is what this is. Feels like a windows machine. Where's the Geek Squad? That's why I switched to Mac. Avoid the pile. No issues with my Mac. Now to find a phone that is solid.