Part 1 Hardware:
First lets give you the official specs on the size of this phone. Dimensions: 4.54 x 2.32 x .41 inches I am aware that these dimensions don't really help you picture how big this phone is in your mind so...I have put it next to an E63 for comparison in every picture.
This phone feels solid in the hand like all of the recent Nokia phones I have tested. Even tough the most of the phone is plastic you get the feeling that if you dropped it nothing would happen to it. It feels good in the hand, and the metal trim gives you a good grip so you don't feel like your going to drop it. (this was one of my few problems with the N8)
Let's take a quick tour around the phone...
On the top of the phone is the power button, 3.5mm headset jack, and the Micro SD card slot. Not much to note here, expect the cover for the SD card hinges from the front as opposed from the middle like you would expect. This gives the cover a more solid feel than say the C7, or the N8.
Heading down the right side of the phone everything is as expected, volume control with voice command in the middle, and your physical lock and unlock button. If you look close on the very bottom you can see a spot for a lanyard...which is nice to see these days. Just because it is out of style does not make it useless all of sudden. It kind of threw me not to see a dedicated camera button on the bottom. I believe it is a form factor thing on the E series, I don't remember seeing it on the E71 and there is none on the E63 it is pictured with here either.
Not much to see here on the bottom, just a charging port. But this is a good shot to see just how thin this phone is as compared to the E63.
Just a mini USB port on this side, but you can really see how the D-pad is raised up a little from the face of the phone. This is something you can't really see from the front view. Also to be noted is finally you can charge your phone from the USB port, this is a recent event for Nokia phones.
On the back is the 8MP EDOF camera with dual flash and a single loudspeaker. The camera is raised up slightly, this does not affect the pocketablity of this phone at all. Nor does it affect the feel of the phone in your hand in any negative way. When holding this phone it seems to act as a kind of "stopper" for your index finger. I have found it allows me to pick up the phone "blindly" and orient the phone in my hand without even looking at it.
On the front of the phone starting from the top: earpiece, front facing camera, proximity sensor, psychical menu keys and keyboard. Notice how the two psychical buttons for "options and menu" are gone. They are now integrated into the touch screen, and will pop up on screen when they become necessary. The send, home, and calendar button are one big piece. The end, mail, and contact button also is now all one big piece. At first I thought this would be an issue with the phone "hitting the wrong button" but I have not had an issue with this once.
The keyboard is slightly smaller than the E63, but not to the point where I found myself pushing the wrong buttons. (Normally I type on this phone with one hand, using my fat thumb) It has a space bar which is four keys big, (which is really nice) but the trade off to this is you are losing two keys as compared to previous phones. All of these keys seem to have been moved expect the & symbol. I can't seem to find it and can't think of a good reason to omit it either.
All the hardware seems to be well placed and designed well on this phone. All expect for the notification light, which is now buried on the left hand side under the usb port. On all previous E series phones the notification light would light up around the middle D-pad where it was easily seen, in it's new spot it's kind of unnoticeable.
Coming up soon.....review on the E6's screen and software
