Source: Tom's Guide US | Keywords: Nokia, E75, Samsung, Propel, Pro | Themes: Smartphones
2. Propel Pro: Design and Usability
Upon first glance, the Propel Pro is fairly odd. The mirrored screen is unusual for a phone, especially of its caliber. The Pro looks sleek, but it picks up fingerprints very easily, both on the screen and the back cover, which makes the device look dirty.
The candybar design is larger than most phones, both in width and thickness. We found the size to be uncomfortable and awkward in our hands because the phone doesn't feel sturdy. Sliding out the keyboard is harder than it should be because the back cover feels greasy and gripping the device from the back is difficult.
Once slid open, the screen activates, revealing the joystick-controlled interface. The joystick is very cumbersome to use, mostly because it is too sensitive in comparison to standard directional control pads. Besides the joystick, there are two soft keys and the Home, Back, Talk, and End buttons. The power button is on the left side of the phone, above the volume control. Below that is the Micro SD slot, which supports cards with up to 8 GB of storage capacity.
The right side has a dedicated camera button and a proprietary power and headphone jack, which we're not particularly fond of. If you want to listen to music or watch videos, you'll have to buy an adapter, Bluetooth stereo headphones, or the proper earphones.
Sliding the keypad open also reveals the three megapixel camera. Surprisingly, the size of the handset makes it exceptional for taking pictures because it sits snug in your hand. It also takes fairly good pictures, featuring vivid colors, though expectantly fuzzy images. You can read more about the picture quality on page seven.
It is possible to navigate the menu screen without sliding the keyboard, such as when powering on, unplugging it after charging, or receiving emails. It doesn't lock until the slider is opened and closed or the lock function is toggled by hitting the power button, then "Lock Keyboard." Making accidental phone calls on it is possible, but we haven't done it yet.
What is bothersome is the cramped keyboard. The keys are large enough, but too closely packed together to type messages at a reasonable speed without making plenty of mistakes. Even for just typing phone numbers, the keyboard is uncomfortable to use. Typing for longer periods of time, such as for writing up Word documents, may leave your hands hurting from the cramped position.
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"The E75 also has a front 0.8 megapixel camera for self portraits and video conferencing, which is an unusual feature for a smart phone. We’re not sure how many people would take advantage of this “vanity” camera, at least for business calls, but the image is good enough for a quick VoIP chat with video."
What?
The camera is for normal video calls, that's it. I you want to take a photo of yourself, you'd use the 3,2 Mpxl camera, of course.
Unusual feature for a smart phone? Well, don't know about that, 'cause I don't have a smart phone, but I haven't ever seen any phone which is video call capable, without this second camera.
"But the real question is whether either of these two phones perform well enough to take on larger smart phone companies, like RIM and Apple."
LOL. Nokia is by far world's largest phone and smart phone producer. By far.
"The E75 also has a front 0.8 megapixel camera for self portraits and video conferencing, which is an unusual feature for a smart phone. We’re not sure how many people would take advantage of this “vanity” camera, at least for business calls, but the image is good enough for a quick VoIP chat with video."What?The camera is for normal video calls, that's it. I you want to take a photo of yourself, you'd use the 3,2 Mpxl camera, of course.Unusual feature for a smart phone? Well, don't know about that, 'cause I don't have a smart phone, but I haven't ever seen any phone which is video call capable, without this second camera."But the real question is whether either of these two phones perform well enough to take on larger smart phone companies, like RIM and Apple."LOL. Nokia is by far world's largest phone and smart phone producer. By far.
Hey Rundle,
The article states that the small camera is for video calls--but calling it a vanity camera doesn't mean we think it is just for photos. We mean it is for video of yourself (which, c'mon, is kind of "vain"). It is definitely not a common feature on smart phones.
You're right--Nokia sells the most smart phones worldwide. We should probably specify in our article that we are referring to the U.S. market (we almost always are referring to the U.S. market on Tom's Guide).
In case anyone is interested in recent market share data: http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=985912
Let me continue shortly.
Consider yourself making a video call. How do you then use your phone? You'll have it in front of you and you'll be watching the screen so you can see the person you are talking to, right. Now, this definetely requires that your phone has a camera next to it's screen, otherwise the other person won't see you on his phone, right. So, not having this little 0,8 Mpx camera on your phone is plain stupid. So I can't even imagine a video call capable smartphone without this other camera. It would be straight from the stone age and virtually not useable for video calls.
As of what comes to the size of the manufacture I think it is a valuable piece of info to know weather the company in question is a big time world leader but small in USA or just small.
That said, thanks for your quick response and an interesting review.
Let me continue shortly.Consider yourself making a video call. How do you then use your phone? You'll have it in front of you and you'll be watching the screen so you can see the person you are talking to, right. Now, this definetely requires that your phone has a camera next to it's screen, otherwise the other person won't see you on his phone, right. So, not having this little 0,8 Mpx camera on your phone is plain stupid. So I can't even imagine a video call capable smartphone without this other camera. It would be straight from the stone age and virtually not useable for video calls.As of what comes to the size of the manufacture I think it is a valuable piece of info to know weather the company in question is a big time world leader but small in USA or just small.That said, thanks for your quick response and an interesting review.
I guess perhaps the writer was expressing his opinion that showing yourself in a video call is vain. But that's just his opinion! I know what you are saying, don't worry.
For the record, we all know Nokia is pretty "small" in the U.S.--hardly any of their smart phones are even available to U.S. consumers via the wireless carriers! We love Nokia--we wish their phones could come to the U.S. carriers. That's our vote. But until that happens, Nokia unfortunately is off the radar because unlocked phones are so expensive.
Nokia is poised for a takeover in the US. I live in LA and they have major advertising schemes placed everywhere and even bought out buildings next to the staples center and called it Nokia live which is a one stop live entertainment are. T-mobile is already supporting a couple of phones and I'm sure it won't be too long before all the carriers have some type of nokia phone.
Nokia is poised for a takeover in the US. I live in LA and they have major advertising schemes placed everywhere and even bought out buildings next to the staples center and called it Nokia live which is a one stop live entertainment are. T-mobile is already supporting a couple of phones and I'm sure it won't be too long before all the carriers have some type of nokia phone.
We can hope! But I'll believe it when I see it.
Lotus Notes on the E75? I worked at a company that was still using Lotus Notes a year ago. It was the clunkiest, most cumbersome and difficult to use software I had ever seen. I can only hope their mobile version is much better.
The E75 sounds like a nice phone, but without dealer subsidies (i.e. discounts w/ plan), it may not take off very well here in the U.S. As the mobile companies always say, we're spoiled here.
When you say "the mobile companies always say, we're spoiled here." Do you mean the mobile companies think U.S. consumers are spoiled or the companies themselves?
Obviously the subsidies make the phones reasonable, but when you factor the contract and high monthly charges, it hardly seems as if we are getting a bargain in the United States.
If you meant the consumers, wireless rates are typically cheaper, more feature rich and often require no contracts outside the United States. Notice I said typically. Of course if you mean the companies are spoiled here, then I totally agree
I'm a little surprised that the HTC Fuze was not included in this comparison, since it is the other, lesser well known Smartphone in the AT&T lineup. It also has a 640x480 screen and the same sort of keyboard as the Nokia.
It's called a "vanity" camera for the same reason the vanity mirrors in your car are named that. It's not an opinion, it's just a fact that having a camera facing its user at all times is a vanity camera, regardless of its use. Bear in mind that there's nothing wrong with a vanity camera or mirror...they're quite useful!
While I don't use Lotus Notes hellwig, my brother does. I'd say you wouldn't believe how often he complains about it, but if you use it, you probably would.
The Fuze wasn't included because it's already a dated model.
So... should I assume N97 review is in the works?