Nokia "E62i" spotted?

Sure, Nokia knows how to make solid phone, and we hear they even manage move a few units, but if there's one thing Nokia hasn't quite nailed yet -- for whatever reason -- is that thin is in. Well, it doesn't look like they're planning on winning any prizes in this arena just yet (though that N75 is dang close), but some blurry camphone shots of a supposed "E62i" successor to the E61/62 qwerty handhelds points to a marked slimming of the phone, and every mm counts in a world of smartphones like the Excalibur, Q and Pearl. From the pics, it's apparent Nokia has also added a couple of face buttons, swapped the 5-way joystiq for a welcome new flat button, and added a camera. It's hard to tell from the pics if any other dimensions have gone under the knife in the interest of making this thing a bit more pocketable, but we definitely like where this one is headed. We're otherwise in the dark for specs, but supposedly "confirmation" is headed our way near the end of November. Keep reading for a couple more pics.

[Thanks, JC]

[james @ Nov 14th 2006 4:25PM]

why wont cingular pick up the Nokia E70...these phones are just too wide...like blackberry's of yore

[Julien Touaux @ Nov 14th 2006 4:31PM]

Wow that's what I always wanted from Nokia, and above all for a cellphone. Thinness, camera (i just hope it's a good one), qwerty keyboard ! I hope it's fo' real !

[Mike @ Nov 14th 2006 4:42PM]

I paid extra to get the E61 w/ WiFi. Seems to be a worthwhile tradeoff since it lacks 3G data services... though I would trade the WiFi for 3G since WiFi coverage is spotty at best.

[Jeb @ Nov 14th 2006 4:50PM]

This is great, but only if it has WiFi. 3G for the US would be nice also. My biggest dealbreaker/hope is that it comes with WiFi.

[shon Dempsey @ Nov 14th 2006 4:58PM]

strange. why is the front so out of focus, but the side shots are well done?
Great looking phone tho.. im a fan of aluminum!

[Jonathan Greene @ Nov 14th 2006 5:05PM]

I'd love to get this ... My E61 is very solid, but the addition of a 3MP camera like that in the N73 and it would have everything.

[tkmeister @ Nov 14th 2006 5:17PM]

Damn, I just got my E61. If I knew, I would have waited a bit.

[Scott @ Nov 14th 2006 5:14PM]

I prefer my RIM 8700g

[Saif @ Nov 14th 2006 5:22PM]

You think you're disappointed? I just got my new E62 :-/

[tkmeister @ Nov 14th 2006 5:27PM]

well, E62 is a lot cheaper than E61. if this puppy has a very similar spec to E61 instead of E62, then I'd be all over it.

[Jake @ Nov 14th 2006 6:27PM]

The first picture is just not focused right. The focus is on the background.
This happens alot when people think that they can take macro pictures with any camera. Yet alot of these picture are around and nobody is getting any smarter.

[TK @ Nov 14th 2006 6:34PM]

E61 has 3G & wifi, at least mine does.

[newyorktd @ Nov 14th 2006 9:24PM]

looks nice...not blackjack nice...but nice...

[james @ Nov 14th 2006 10:26PM]

I have an e61 and it is damn thin...don't see that it needs to be much thinner - and mine has 3g and wlan, so i dont know what people are talking about. The only thing it does not have is a camera, which is not important, but would have been nice. i only got the thing two days ago, too - so typical that i would find an article saying e62 is coming soon!

[crash @ Nov 15th 2006 12:42AM]

I'm probably just being paranoid - but this looks like a mash up of a N91 and an E61. (I have both ;0) - they're relatively cheap in australia now... )

The side buttons in the second photo are the same as the E61 but they look kinda funny - particularly the top one. The edges look stuffed... If i were to take a guess - maybe because the phone lost a little weight artificially at the hands of some 1337 photochopper.
The third photo, if you look at it closely or zoom in a bit the edge of the camera "piece" (not the lens the bit around it) looks odd too.

Otherwise it looks nearly identical - but knowing Nokia (and taking into account the fact that this guys camera is plain old craphouse). I'd still give this even odds of being out in the States soon. Not here though - we seem to either get things early or really late and people still look at the E61 and ask if its new or something...

[Adrian Graham @ Nov 15th 2006 3:40AM]

It's been redesigned with the visual style of the Nokia E50 - and it looks great too.

[T . W . G @ Nov 15th 2006 6:12AM]

it's a shame from Nokia: Their E61 currently does NOT run stable enough and they throw out an hardwareupdate to it ... :-(

Only think I like better on this E61i or E62i is the navipad instead of the joystick.


Thomas

[Mike @ Nov 15th 2006 8:51AM]

FINALLY!!!!!

[Kev50027 @ Nov 15th 2006 12:12PM]

I just got my Nokia N80 last week, and I am in love with this phone. However, this E62i looks pretty nice and sexy. I prefer a flip/slider phone to candybar/messaging form factor though

[speedsix @ Nov 15th 2006 3:20PM]

Surely they will still sell the E61 as alot of people don't want a camera in a business oriented phone? (work related restrictions etc.)

I struggle to see how they can slim down the E61 without losing some functionality, i.e wifi? The E61 is pretty thin.

Looks longer in those pics.

[Hong @ Nov 15th 2006 4:29PM]

I brought my E61 in Hong Kong and I really love it. From these pictures, seems like the new E61/62 is a bit thinner. I like the current E61/62 model because it is thinner than a BlackBerry 7100/8100/8700. I will certainly welcome a even thinner E61/62. I don't mind the current joystick design because it reduced the amount of repetitative thumb movements I made. To move through a web page (or an e-mail)on a BlackBerry, I have to make constant thumb movements with the thumbwheel and that caused pain to my joints after constant usage. I suspect the trackball on the Pearl will cause similar issue for me. With the joystick, I just hold it in the direction and the page will scroll. I hope the new flat button will behave like the joystick and save my thumbs.

[dansus @ Nov 15th 2006 9:24PM]

i love the joystick on mine, works perfectly, why the change. Shame the wifi never works on the 6 E61's ive had though.

[Bubba @ Nov 30th 2006 7:23PM]

You guys maybe smart but reading some of your articles is like pulling teeth. Your grammar is autriouscoious, just like my spelling.

[rulisa prince @ Oct 10th 2007 6:40AM]

je voulais voir en image le nokia E62i.si possible.

[balaazs @ Apr 15th 2008 8:48AM]

funny, this looks exactly like the phone sold as e61i in Hungary