Nokia fails to push the right buttons

INBOX:MOST BUSINESS PEOPLE I know are always looking for the perfect mobile phone. There was the BlackBerry, which had e-mail addicts agog, and the iPhone afficionados who wowed with their touchy-feely screen. Then there were the Nokia devotees who extolled the handset's battery life and rock-solid performance, even as other mobiles seemed more innovative.

But Nokia is back on the warpath with its new E75 smartphone – its first to feature a a slide-out Qwerty keyboard. At first sight, it’s a normal-sized mobile – and it’s difficult to imagine that not long ago phones of the same size barely fit a normal numeric keypad let alone a keyboard. The 2.5in screen may not be big, but at least the phone is a normal 139g in weight.

The phone features the usual micro USB port and micro SD memory card slot, and comes with a 4GB card to boost its 50MB onboard memory. It also has camera shutter, volume buttons, voice commands button and 3.5mm audio jack.

The 3.2 megapixel camera comes with LED flash and a self-portrait mirror. Taking pictures, however, is a slow process compared to Nokia’s N Series phones, which seem to have cracked the camera issue.

There are problems with the keyboard too. It is, admittedly, well spaced, but the flat keys are made of rubberised plastic and seem to require a definitive press to get them to register a letter.

Nokia’s E71 makes a better job of this, while Treo and BlackBerry users may find that their thumb-sized keyboards are more usable.

So fast typing is an issue on the E75 – not good given that the entire phone is built around this concept. Then again, if you have big hands you may well welcome its voluminous keys.

At least e-mail is easy to set up and use on the E75. Nokia Messaging is free and supports Yahoo Mail and Gmail, as well as Pop and Imap accounts. E-mail can be viewed in HTML formats and you can access up to 10 e-mail addresses. Web browsing is satisfying and will hunt down text, phone numbers and e-mail addresses on webpages. The phone has a HSDPA 3G connection and wi-fi, making it a speedy surfer.

The E75’s media player covers all the basics, and has an FM radio. It also has assisted GPS with Nokia Maps and even N-Gage games – unusual on a Nokia business phone.

This is a good addition to the Nokia smartphone family but, given that the keyboard is not as usable as it appears at first glance, the phone ends up being something of a half-way house. Overall, however, it is a powerful phone both for work and play.