A few weeks ago I won a Nokia N79 from a raffle from Nokia. Having really wanted the semi-brand new E71 in its stead, I bargained for a swap since the latter was a tad cheaper in price mainly due to an earlier release date. The E71 is a fantastic QWERTY business device and my one and I guess biggest complaint is the dropping of support for BlackBerry Connect. If this is a software issue, I hope Nokia can release a firmware upgrade in the future so it can support both Intellisync and BlackBerry Connect.
A few weeks after the E71’s release, Nokia announces a lower end enterprise phone – the Nokia E63 which is basically the same in most respects except for its slightly less conservative form factor. As seen above, the Nokia E63 resembles much of the E71 and is in fact cheaper by a mile – only P14,200 whereas the E71 retails between P19,500 to P22,000. The main difference between the two is really more on the form factor and “lower end” 2.0MP camera – which is really relative as the E71 comes with a 3.2MP camera.
Who said cheaper meant worse specs? The E63 comes with support for 3.5mm headsets while my E71 supports 2.5mm connectivity – I’d need to use an adapter to use regular earphones. Bluetooth, WiFi, Share on Ovi, a really good browser, and fast UI make this phone a definite winner if you don’t need HSDPA! More specs available here.
The Nokia E63 is available NOW for only P14,200. This is the most affordable mass market enterprise level phone of Nokia and I don’t see any reason why you shouldn’t consider it for Christmas.