Nokia E52 is a continuation of the line started by the E50/E51 devices, a line of thin and pleasant-looking 3G smartphones with great battery life battery life, optimized primarily for working with basic “telephone” functions: voice communication and text messages. Unfortunately, with the E52, Nokia departed from some of the traditions of the E-series, resulting in a rather ambiguous device.
Nokia E52 Specifications
- Standard: GSM 850/900/1800/1900, UMTS/HSPA 2100.
- Dimensions: 116x49x10 mm.
- Weight:'98
- Operating system: S60 3rd Edition FP2.
- CPU: on ARM11 core, clock frequency 600 MHz.
- Screen: 240x320 pixels, 262 thousand colors, TFT, mirror backing.
- Memory: 60 MB + micro-SD cards (1 GB card included in delivery).
- Camera: 3 MP, LED backlight, no autofocus, video recording (640x480 at 15 fps).
- Additionally: FM radio, GPS receiver.
Contents of delivery
Here's what was in the box:
- Nokia E52 phone.
- Battery BP-4L.
- Charger with micro-USB connector.
- Adapter from the “old” ones chargers Nokia on micro-USB.
- Cable for connecting to a computer.
- Stereo headset.
- Instructions, warranty card, etc.
Left behind the scenes is a 1 GB micro-SD memory card - it was originally installed in the phone.
Appearance, design features
The device looks very, very nice. In our market it is available in four color options (metallic silver, metallic gold, white and black), all four look great. The proportions are chosen in such a way that the Nokia E52 seems thinner than it actually is (although much thinner - the body thickness is exactly 1 cm). The phone fits well in your hand, but you don’t feel it in your pocket at all and does not cause any inconvenience at all.
As in other E-series devices, the back cover is made of metal with fine corrugation. The soft keys and navigation button are made of aluminum.
Despite this, the phone gives the impression of a flimsy thing, not least due to the disgusting build quality, which is generally uncharacteristic of the E-series. The back cover is poorly secured, the plastic edging around the keyboard and display moves and creaks. The feeling of sloppiness intensifies when the keyboard backlight comes on: the LEDs are located in such a way that they are clearly visible through the gaps between the keys. It should be noted that in our hands we did not have a test sample tortured in captivity, but a real retail one, in a beautiful box, with a UA UCRF sticker and the proud inscription Made in Finland. Again, I don't mean to say that All Nokia E52 has similar shortcomings, I’m just stating the fact that our copy was put together extremely poorly. In general, judging by the reviews on the forums, this is a fairly common problem.
I would also like to praise Nokia for the fact that the E52 finally uses exclusively standard connectors: micro-USB for connecting to a computer and charging (hallelujah!) and a regular 3.5 mm headphone jack. Just for fun, I tried connecting a headset from Samsung Jet to the Nokia E52. To my surprise, absolutely everything (including the microphone and answer button) worked without any problems.
Pay attention to the size of the battery: it takes up most of the internal volume of the phone. This is definitely a good sign.
Display
Nokia E52 is equipped with the most ordinary screen with a resolution of 240x320 pixels. The phone is equipped with an orientation sensor, and screen rotation occurs almost instantly (those who used early N-series smartphones - for example, N80 - know how painful this simple procedure was in those distant times). Traditionally for Nokia, the screen is equipped with a mirror backing and remains absolutely readable even in the brightest sun.
Keyboard
The keys on the Nokia E52 are very large, with soft pressing. Overall, this is one of the best telephone keyboards on the market, but there is one big “BUT”: since the plastic edging in our screen was poorly secured, the keyboard dangled noticeably when pressing the keys on the bottom row, leaving an extremely unpleasant feeling. When purchasing, we recommend paying close attention to this.
Menu, control
Before us is the standard S60 platform of the third edition with the second update package. Since the S60 has probably been seen by everyone who is at least a little interested in mobile phones, I will not write about standard things (call logs, working with messages, phone book) and will only focus on the implementation of specific applications and functions.
The player is the most primitive, but with a media library, it allows you to sort music by artists/albums/genres. The biggest drawback is the lack of a Now Playing item, which allows you to quickly jump to the current playlist. In addition, Nokia E52 does not allow you to adjust the volume when listening to music without unlocking the keyboard. Overall, this is one of the most inconvenient implementations of a player in mobile phones that I have ever seen. Only Fly is worse.
The radio, on the contrary, pleased with its human approach: Nokia has an online catalog of radio stations; to load stations into the device’s memory, you just need to specify the country, region and city. True, the reception quality is very mediocre: where the Sony Ericsson Yari received the radio clearly and without interference, the Nokia E52 did not perform at its best.
The phone supports Home Media (the proprietary name for UPnP and DLNA), not only as a client, but also as a server. It’s a nice addition, but it’s not clear why it’s needed for a phone that’s primarily aimed at business.
Built-in browser for speed and quality of web page rendering significantly inferior to browsers in phones (not smartphones!) such as LG Arena and Samsung Jet.
But the most unpleasant feature of the Nokia E52 is that with the current firmware the device does not allow you to quickly switch the language while typing (for example, when writing a message). The only way to do this is to press the asterisk key, select “Input languages” in the menu that appears and swap the first and second languages. To be honest, when I first encountered this, I simply did not believe that Nokia could make such a mistake. However, an Internet search showed that the problem does exist. Let me remind you that previously, almost all smartphones on the S60 had a button with a pencil that allowed you to quickly switch languages; for some reason, modern devices do not have it, which led to a significant deterioration in ergonomics. To be fair, I should note that when T9 is turned on, the phone will try to guess what language you want to type the word in. But this is not a solution, since when trying to enter a more or less complex word, the smart system constantly makes mistakes and offers options in the wrong language. Moreover, if you use three languages (for example, Russian/English/Ukrainian), then this feature will not help you at all. I really hope that Nokia will fix this flaw in future firmware. In the meantime, you can use it as a temporary “crutch” free program EQ FastLang, which implements fast switching between Russian and English languages. Other languages, unfortunately, are not supported.
GPS
The phone is equipped with a GPS module and, accordingly, the Ovi Maps program. Currently, a map of Ukraine has appeared in Ovi Maps, although it is of rather low quality. I don’t want to dwell on this in detail here; we promise to make a separate material dedicated to Nokia cards in the near future.
Synchronization with PC
To synchronize Nokia E52 with a computer running Windows control The standard Ovi Suite is used - a program of rare monstrosity. Fortunately, in Mac OS X you just need to install the iSync plugin to be able to synchronize your calendar and address book with iCal and Address Book.
Battery and operating time
The device is equipped with a huge lithium-polymer battery with a capacity of 1500 mAh. In the conditions of the Kyiv MTS network, Nokia E52 worked on one battery charge for a week, and the charge indicator still showed 2 bars. During this time there were about 40 minutes of conversations, more than 3 hours Wi-Fi usage(Skype via fring, watching videos on YouTube), more than 10 hours of using the music player and radio. So the Nokia E52 deserves only praise for its battery life.
Subjective impressions
First of all, I would like to note the good sounding of the call melodies. There are many complaints on the forums about the sound quality in the conversational dynamics, but there were no complaints about my copy in this regard. The speed of the phone in most cases is very good due to fast processor. Unfortunately, with the current firmware the E52 is unstable. While working on the review, the phone froze several times without visible reasons(this happened especially often in the browser). After a long period of inactivity, the device often “thinks” for several minutes (!) when trying to unlock the keyboard, and the following is displayed on the screen:
Bottom line
Initially, I really liked the Nokia E52, I was even determined to buy it for personal use. On paper, the device’s parameters fully correspond to the ideal “dialer”. In particular, the S60 platform allows you to install fring and use Skype for free conversations where there is Wi-Fi. This is especially important for me, since all my relatives and most of my friends live in Russia. At the same time, a capacious battery allows you not to worry about the phone running out at the wrong time. Pleasant appearance and a comfortable keyboard are also important advantages. Unfortunately, for me personally, the poor build quality and (especially) the usability flaws described above outweigh all the positive features of the phone. Perhaps this is a side effect of close acquaintance with Apple technology: after communicating with it, you want to deal exclusively with devices that simply work, and do not drain the user’s brains. If you are accustomed to the S60 platform and, let’s say, have learned to put up with its peculiarities, then the Nokia E52 will probably not cause such sharp negative emotions in you.
In this series, Nokia produced smartphones for business people. The distinguishing characteristics of these models were the features that were required by businesses and corporate workers. For example, access to MS Word, Excel documents and presentations. In addition, the data on the phone is encrypted so that if the phone is lost it cannot be used.
The E series even produced phones without a built-in camera, because... Some corporations did not allow visitors to certain buildings or premises with devices that could take photos and videos. In general, there was such an era. Now everything is completely different.
Some information about Nokia E series
Nokia phone catalog includes a category of business phones called Nokia E series. The first models from this line of phones began to be sold back in 2005.
In the fall of 2005, Nokia announced the N series and E series on a grand scale. These two categories of phones have, in principle, common functional characteristics, but at the same time they have fundamental differences.
Nokia E series- These are smartphones for business, for active business people who, first of all, need a good mobile assistant-secretary.
E series smartphones solve all the most necessary issues of their owner: viewing and sending email, working with documents (office applications Microsoft Office, pdf files, etc.), a wide range of communication functions for data transfer.
In addition, E series smartphones also implement such necessary business functions: device blocking, remote blocking via SMS, data encryption, mobile VPN client, OMA DM client. Thus, Nokia solves the security issues of your business phone, protecting your data from theft or information leakage.
Nokia E series catalog
Let's take a closer look at Nokia business phones from the E series model range.
The first models were Nokia E60, Nokia E61 and Nokia E70. Some were still produced then Nokia E series phones without a camera, and this was argued by the fact that in some corporations, entry into buildings with recording devices is prohibited. But they soon abandoned this idea, so now everything Nokia smartphones E series have an integrated camera.
The lineup The Nokia E series differs from other Nokia phones in that phones with a QWERTY keyboard, a metal body, and a large screen predominate here.
Nokia E series smartphones
In a word, Nokia E series business smartphones are an excellent solution for active business people who need a mobile assistant secretary.
Thank you for visiting the site directory site. We are always happy to help you in choosing and purchasing a Nokia phone.
Nokia E 52-1 - My first Nokia
18.09.2011
how long have you had this phone?
Two weeks, purchased from the Euroset online store.
Do you use it until now? If not, why did you break up with him?
I use it and have no plans to part with it yet.
How did you get this phone? By what criteria was he chosen?
A phone, or rather a smartphone, a Finnish-made Nokia E 52-1 was purchased new (with protective stickers and films) to replace the LG KF-300, which, in turn, was once chosen because of its huge font and excellent display and keyboard, but which has two significant disadvantages - reliability and an extremely weak battery if you use the phone’s multimedia functions to their fullest extent. Therefore, one of the main selection criteria was powerful battery. Well, in terms of money it would cost around 10 thousand. I considered the Philips x513, but just dialers weren’t enough for me, so I moved on to considering smartphones. With a huge variety of choices, upon closer examination it turned out that there are not so many smartphones with buttons and with functions that suit me. Everything came together on the E-series from Nokia. I started with phones with qwerty keyboards and ended with classics.
The choice of E52 was not accidental. Firstly, this is Nokia, i.e. a very popular model among cellular equipment sellers. Nokia has everything everywhere and always - headsets, batteries, cases and other bells and whistles. Very good fan sites (no worse than the famous Motorola ones) and off. support. Those. And Nokia drivers have no problems with the software. Secondly, a capacious battery. And thirdly, the use of entertainment and business functions, which are sufficient in this phone and even more than required. Since the E52 has options for enlarging the font (I have vision problems), it also became a contender for my wallet in this regard. One more thing. After using the folding bed, I realized that it’s not for me, I want a candy bar and that’s it. Therefore, the LG was handed over to the wife for use as just a dialer (by the way, a very good dialer), and the E52 was purchased after a thorough test of this phone from a colleague (this is not counting the many hours at the computer when we re-read, even several times, reviews and testimonials ), who has had his phone for over a year.
In general, I have two phones, the main one is the “first” one and the second one is on standby. The “second” I had and remains reliable as a tank, but categorically morally (but not physically!) outdated Motorola L7. The "first" before Nokia was LG KF-300. I will sometimes compare E52 with them, although I understand that these are incomparable values.
What do you like? Strengths of the phone, advantages.
A lot has been written about the “pros” and “cons” both in reviews and reviews, there are also videos and pictures. So I won’t repeat myself, I’ll dwell on what touched me. So, the pros. Of course, the connection is reliable and of high quality. Here Nokia has few competitors - Siemens and Motorola. But, unfortunately, there is neither one nor the other on our market anymore. Is that Ericsson, which is now Sony, from the companies involved only in telecommunications, remained. But this is most likely just a prejudice - as experience shows, the same LG KF-300 provides quite a decent connection. But nevertheless, apparently I am a conservative. So, again about Nokia. You will not be left without communication with the E52, at least through the fault of the phone. Even if the battery is almost at “0”, it is still possible to make calls and receive incoming calls. The phone simply automatically switches to economy mode, and you can use it until it turns off completely. This, of course, is vandalism, but anything can happen in life.
Further. I definitely like the design - strictly businesslike, but not harsh. Bright, contrasting display that does not fade in the sun. The battery is long lasting. I checked it when I was pumping the battery, it lasts for three days with moderate use of the phone. Maybe it’s not enough for some, but for my eyes. The LG KF-300 died in the same mode of use in a couple of hours. The difference, in my opinion, is obvious. Quite fast applications. After the LG KF-300, the Internet just flies. Although when using the phone as a modem there is practically no difference. I like multitasking, you can turn on almost everything and this “everything” will work in the background. I also like the huge electronic clock that appears on the display in the keypad lock mode when you long press the central joystick button. Many people criticize the navigator. I don’t know, I’m not an experienced person in these matters, so I liked the navigator - everything is simple and convenient, without any problems.
What's not to like? Weaknesses, shortcomings.
I absolutely don't like the assembly, even though the phone was assembled in Finland. Creaking and play in the body and decorative trim (the one under “chrome”), especially when “twisting” diagonally. I discovered it by accident when, while browsing the Internet page horizontally, I awkwardly grabbed the phone with both hands. The creaking was such that it seemed as if the body had curled up into a rope. And this is the vaunted “Finnish assembly”? Sorry, but my Chinese Motorola L7 and Korean LG KF-300, which are completely budget phones in every sense, and do not pretend to be “quality,” are much better built than a smartphone from “Noki itself.”
Further. Disgusting implementation of soft keys by one solid aluminum panel - the keyboard crunches, the operation is unclear. The “house” (menu) and “e-mail” keys protrude too much above the general “horizon” of the soft panel. This is especially true when working with the soft keyboard with one hand. After all, the phone is quite wide and your fingers don’t always get where they need to go, and with such a keyboard, mistakes and false presses are very common. The soft keyboard is definitely huge "minus". The rest, the alphanumeric push-button part, is quite well made.
And one more drawback. Here I agree with the author of the previous review. Why does a business device have so many unnecessary pre-installed programs, and even in English? After all, despite the fact that the E52 has a very confusing, illogical menu, these applications simply take up time when trying to simply view them, not to mention “configure them.” When should a businessman do all this, considering that the operating instructions don’t bore you with details? Bottom line: two more small disadvantages - a complex menu and useless applications.
Oh, here's something else I remembered. The phone comes with, among other things, a USB cable for connecting to a computer. It's just some kind of laughter! Maybe there’s something I don’t understand in this life, but putting a cable only 10 cm long in a box is simply a shame (I’m talking about the manufacturer)! The fact is that I don’t have a laptop, and sometimes I have to connect the Internet at work via a modem. USB connector on system unit in its upper part, and the phone connected with such a short cable simply dangles like a pig's tail. I had to buy a meter extension cord for 75 rubles. I didn’t go broke, of course, but I had to drag myself to the store to buy something for my phone for eight-odd thousand rubles, huh? This is not a “minus”, of course, but it does sound like an “unpleasant aftertaste”. Although, in fairness, I note that neither the KF-300 nor the KF-300 included such a cable; I had to buy it separately.
Why do we need three desktops?! There are two active ones - business and personal, on which you can display any icons and notifications, but in these modes you cannot “assign” to application buttons (and what’s the point? You can still display it), and “completely personal”, on which there is nothing except signal level, clock and operator name, but you can also assign assignments to the buttons. But it was impossible to combine all this in one desktop? In my opinion, an absolutely stupid and unnecessary implementation. Although I may be wrong, all reviews mention this as a plus. Well, I don't know, I don't know...
What do you miss about it?
"Lacks high-quality assembly first of all. A phone worth nine thousand rubles is built like cheap Chinese consumer goods" - this is a quote from a review by a user under the nickname "Slava". There is nothing to add.
What phone features do you use often?
Calls, SMS, read books (I installed my favorite e-reader from Tequilacat, my smartphone doesn’t have an e-reader), Internet, calendar (business and personal reminders).
What phone features do you use occasionally?
Almost a little bit of everything.
What functions do you not use at all?
Did you have to repair your phone?
Not yet (ugh three times).
What troubles happened with your phone?
Haven't happened yet. Just a small thing - I downloaded a free theme “about space” from the Ovi store. I didn’t like the theme, but I couldn’t remove it from my phone. You'll have to read the allnokia forum, there is a solution to this problem.
What glitches were noticed?
Nothing new, everything has been written about a hundred times. There are ripples on the screen (if you look at the display, a small “sea wave” rolls from the right corner diagonally to the lower left corner), the picture installed on the display disappeared somewhere after connecting to the PC-suite... well, etc. . This is what all E52s have (is stability a sign of skill?) and I was ready for it. In general, not critical.
Try to compare the phone with other models you have used.
This is my first Nokia and first smartphone. Before that there were Motorolas, many of them, and one LG (see above). In terms of capabilities, the E52 “wins” by a large margin over almost all of my former phones, which is quite natural for a smartphone, but in terms of assembly it loses. I don’t know what Motorola assembles now, but what it collected before was much better assembled than my Nokia E52
Score - 9 points. "Minus" for the assembly. I wanted to give a minus for the clumsy menu and a bunch of unnecessary applications, but changed my mind - there is still no ideal, and the menu can be more slick. I would definitely recommend “the last Symbian” to anyone who needs a classic (in terms of performance) smartphone for relatively little money while it’s still on sale. If you don’t find fault with the assembly (it’s not all that scary), then the phone as a whole is good, although at first it evokes very conflicting feelings.
P.S.. One site contains a bunch of reviews and reviews - this helps a lot in choosing, because in thematic forums you can simply drown in an abyss of information. I wish the site longevity and prosperity.
Thank you for attention,
Alexander Krasnoyarsk
dated April 22, 2016Pros:
price and quality
Minuses:
No
General impression:
I bought the phone two years ago. I've been looking for him for a long time. very reliable... Smartphone, good functions, I like its design. Very strong and reliable, I recommend this brand to everyone
Vladimir
dated January 23, 2015Pros:
1. Fits well in the hand. Relatively heavy, since the body is metal, but for me this is a plus - you are holding a thing, not a plastic one... toy
2. Allows you to record long names.
3. Holds charge for a relatively long time.
Minuses:
It's buggy, and in different ways.
1. When dialing a number, it says that forwarding is enabled, although I turned it off both all at once and individually by type of communication (voice calls, faxes, etc.). This appeared in the third year.
2. A request to select an accessory spontaneously appears, and the set of selection options is such that it is not clear what exactly to choose and you have to look into the description.
3. Spontaneously begins to search for a network to access the Internet, offers a choice and asks which one to choose. Tried to turn it off - doesn't respond.
4. When charging is turned on, sometimes (rarely) the screen settings disappear.
5. For some reason, it is impossible to associate some phones with names - neither by typing keys, nor after trying to save the name after incoming call. I don’t understand whether it’s the fault of the device or the network. I put 8 or +7 in front of the number - no difference.
6. In my opinion, there are a number of duplicating functions, sometimes completely unnecessary.
7. Many people have already written about the weak photo and video capabilities of the device - I agree.
8. Because large number functions turned out to be a cumbersome menu. If you open it often, it gradually becomes easier to navigate, but if you take a sufficient break, then a lot is simply forgotten and you have to remember at random.
General impression:
If it weren’t for the described glitches, I would be quite satisfied, since for me a phone is, first of all, just a phone. For toys, navigation, mail, Internet, video and music, I have a desktop computer, a laptop and a tablet.
But the described glitches have bothered me so much after almost 4 years of use that I want to change the device
Pros:
The whole device, except for the quality of photo and video shooting, is a big plus)
Another + for me personally is that it is... Nokia)
Minuses:
It happened several times that when listening to music through headphones (music from a memory card), the phone froze and did not even respond to the on/off button, but continued to play the current melody. A couple of times out of 416 songs on the flash drive, part of both lists of songs disappeared, for example, the first 200 songs or the last 150. Rebooting by removing the battery solved the problem, as indeed happens in any Nokia model in most cases) But so on for everything time of use (4.5 (!) years) only happened 4-5 times. I think that these few glitches, when using this model for more than 4 years, are forgivable on the phone :)
General impression:
I bought this phone in the summer of 2010 and am still very pleased with it. Of course, during this time it has become somewhat shabby (especially the back metal cover), but, in general, it still looks fine. The phone is not very suitable for accessing the Internet due to the rather small screen, but for me personally this is not a minus, since I don’t access the Internet from my phone at all. The overall impression is excellent! On a five-point scale - a solid 5!
Alexey Nikanorovich
dated October 13, 2012Pros:
1. Appearance and design. Metal monoblock, quite light. Classic.
2. Good performance. In principle, it copes... with all the tasks.
3. Reliable. Fell several times, flew up the wall. It still works fine.
4. The battery is not bad. In active use mode – at least three days without recharging.
5. The interface is good and convenient. Simple menu without unnecessary hassles.
6. The phone just works. And it’s stable.
Minuses:
1. There is no flashlight by default. You can download the application and use it, but was it really difficult to do it right away?
2. Very mediocre camera without autofocus. There is no protective curtain. The video captured is of low quality. There is no way to turn off the sound when taking a photo. Sometimes you want to take a picture of a beautiful girl, and he clicks so that half the street turns around.
3. Very slow built-in browser. I had to install Opera Mini.
4. Absolutely stupid dictionary. Unable to recognize the simplest words. They stuffed a crude and glitchy piece of equipment into a quite decent device.
5. Slowly, as if reluctantly, it turns on.
6. Very quiet vibration - lying on the table is not felt at all.
7. Strange operation of the music player. When you pause a track after an incoming call, it wakes up and continues playing.
General impression:
A classic and quite decent simple dialer. Reliable.
Perhaps your humble servant is the very target audience of our today's test subject: when the Nokia E50 appeared on showroom shelves in 2006, the faithful friend 6630 was scrapped for its large (of course, in comparison) dimensions and “old OS” ". The joy from the size of the new device cannot be expressed in words, although the small number of applications for Symbian 9.1 was felt, especially in messengers there was a “hunger”. Further, with the advent of applications and increased requirements for memory (there was objectively little of it in the E50), as well as the desire for change for the better, the E51 was purchased. Bright display, increased memory, WLAN module, live and be happy! But progress does not stand still, operating system evolves, acquires “packs”, and, in addition, new needs appear, for example, in GPS. So, a very long preface leads us to the long-awaited continuation of the E5x line, Nokia models E52.
Indeed, progress does not stand still, and fertile soil will bear fruit for new devices; all that remains is not to change the concept of a thin smartphone. So far the manufacturer has succeeded in this, and we hope that the series will continue further, acquiring more and more new technical “bells and whistles”. But we digress and it’s time to move directly to the descriptive part of the E52.
Nokia E52:: Review:: Design and Features
The smartphone is made in a classic form factor and has relatively small dimensions, although I will note right away that in the photographs it is perceived as much more compact than it actually is. In numbers, the situation is as follows - 116 x 49 x 9.9 mm, 98 g. When you first interact with the device, you get mixed feelings (do not forget that I used 2 of its predecessors and both were about a year old) - it is “wide,” but this does not spoil it; rather, this is due to the projection onto the same E51. Once you get used to it, you begin to listen to the sensations - this width is comfortable for conversation, and combined with the shallow depth and pleasant-to-touch back cover, the E52 even outperforms its peers. Since we are already talking about the back cover, let’s dwell in detail on the materials of the case. This, as before, is a combination of metal and plastic, skillfully combined by the manufacturer in the required proportions. So, the edging of the front panel is made of aluminum - it is a relatively thin strip, which is almost twice as thick at the bottom. The back cover of the device is also metal with a relief texture, which is very pleasant to the touch (this was noted by all respondents without exception). Along the contour, at the junction of the front and back panels, there is matte gray plastic, which turns into back panel in the upper and lower parts, as if enclosing the battery compartment cover. The display is covered with glossy plastic, which cannot be called practical - it gets dirty, and the keyboard unit is covered with gray matte plastic for alphanumeric keys and a metal control plate. I can’t help but note and envy the E52 owners the design of the joystick; it is metal, unlike the silver-coated plastic one in the E51 (photos of the E51 joystick after less than a year of use will speak volumes).
Let's take a closer look at the design elements, which in general do not sparkle with originality. First, the front panel. In the upper part we see a horizontal slot for the earpiece, trimmed with a silver outline with smoothed corners, inside of which, in a recess, there is a mesh covering the element itself. To the left of the speaker is a light sensor that regulates the backlight depending on external conditions, and to the right is front-camera for video calls.
Below is the dominant feature of the front panel, the 2.4” TFT display of the smartphone. This is a high-quality screen with pleasant, natural colors, fine grain and a good amount of brightness. Behavior in the sun, due to the mirror substrate, is not bad, the information is 100% readable, except that the picture becomes “black and white”.
Below the display we see a keyboard block, which consists of a control and alphanumeric, inextricably following each other. The control keys are made of a metal rectangle, in the center of which is a joystick with a confirmation key in the middle, contextual buttons, accepting and rejecting a call, as well as the E-series feature, shortcut keys. The latter are made of swings, in pairs - the menu and calendar are combined on the left, on the right - Post service and "back". This arrangement takes some getting used to, because... While working, sometimes my finger jumps off the context button and calls up the calendar. There is no crime in this, but there is an unnecessary action to close the application.
Alphanumeric keys - classic 3 columns with 4 buttons each. Large keys compensate for small intervals between keys, which, combined with a small but soft stroke, makes using the keyboard a complete pleasure. The keys practically do not protrude from the surface of the case, which, however, does not harm ergonomics. Applications are made in both Latin and Cyrillic characters, leaving a lot of space for numbers.
The backlight of the unit is white, quite bright and uniform - even dialing in the dark email very convenient.
On the left side of the phone there is only a microUSB interface connector, shifted to the bottom edge, which is responsible for both synchronization with a PC and charging the smartphone (for some reason the classic plug has been abolished, but quite recently there were 2 connectors and nothing prevented the device from being charged in two ways ).
On the right, everything is more fun, the volume control keys, in the center of which there is a voice command button, and just below the block is the camera key (launch the application and release the shutter). All 3 keys are small, have a silver coating and require some getting used to. Although due to the small depth of the device it was not possible to make them thicker, but I think it is possible to make them longer - the dimensions of the panel allowed.
On the bottom edge, due to the “moving” of the interface connector to the left, only a microscopic microphone hole and a slot for attaching a strap were placed, and on top there is a silver power button in the center and an audio connector (mini-jack 3.5mm) to the right of it. The tendency of manufacturers to equip their devices with classic connectors is certainly encouraging - now there is no need to use various adapters.
Let's turn the Nokia E52 over and see what's going on on its back. But here everything is quite ordinary - the horizontal camera console is in the upper part, to the right of which we see two recesses, behind which the external speaker is hidden under a metal mesh, and then almost the entire field is given over to the battery compartment and its corrugated cover.
The camera module, which protrudes a millimeter from the body panel, is not covered by a shutter, but the point here is in the positioning of the device, which is why, even with a flash, the camera does not have autofocus. We will talk about its characteristics a little later, when describing the corresponding application.
By pulling down the fixing plate, we snap off the fastening protrusion of the rear panel, after which we can pry the cover with our fingernail and release it outward by pulling it up. Oddly enough, the lid is fixed with exactly this pin at the bottom and two small protrusions at the top, but, nevertheless, the element does not play. There is no magic - just in the lower part the cover floats onto the sides of the case, which is why horizontal play is eliminated, and the location saves from vertical play - as you remember, the cover is surrounded on both sides by elements of the case.
Under the cover, in an impressive compartment, is the battery. This is BP-4L, familiar to us from the Nokia E71. The battery is held in the reservoir by friction, but it can only be pulled out by shaking the device - there are no special recesses. Below the body is a SIM card compartment, covered with an impressive metal plate that has a slot in the bottom for easy removal.
The compartment for removable memory cards is located to the left of the SIM card compartment, in the case. These are slides from which the card protrudes slightly with a shank - just press on it and the card will snap off. As you understand, this arrangement cannot be called a full-fledged “hot swap” - the back cover will still have to be removed, although this arrangement is the “feature” of the E5x series.
Thus, we have before us a tightly knit block of a thin, but full-sized smartphone in terms of size, high-quality assembled and pleasant to use.
Nokia E52:: Review:: User interface
The device runs on Symbian 9.3 (Series 60 3rd Edition, Feature Pack 2). A familiar, proven and reviewed operating system more than once, which has many fans. The use of Feature Pack 2 in the business line with a 3.5mm audio jack is already becoming a de facto standard, and we cease to be surprised by Nokia's innovations.
In our review of the smartphone’s interior, we will focus more on the basic functionality and will only superficially mention additional software, because, as you know, apart from basic applications, all others can be replaced by developments from third-party companies.
The desktop of the device is selected by the user from three options: standard, active and talking topic. The main thing is that it is unchanged, similar to the platform Windows Mobile, the top and bottom stripes of the screens remain: the date, time, operation and status indicators are at the top, as well as the captions for the context keys at the bottom.
The working field of the screen changes in accordance with a given type, which, however, is practically impossible to personalize, with the exception of individual elements and, of course, wallpaper. As before, in the manufacturer’s business smartphones we are offered to configure 2 desktops (standby modes) - personal and work, which will literally allow you to switch from work to leisure in one click and, as a result, from work applications to entertainment ones. A very convenient find and a very popular function.
The main menu of the smartphone is also selected from two options: icons or list. The sub-items are more conservative, presented entirely in the form of vertical lists with icons to the left of the name. Sorting items and grouping applications into folders is still possible and opens up wide opportunities for personalizing and customizing the interface to suit you. There are 6 design themes in the package, but they are all strict and similar to each other, which, however, does not exclude the installation of third-party themes, of which there are many on the Internet.
Nokia E52:: Review:: Telephone service
The contact book is one of the strongest points of smartphones based on the S60. The number of contacts is limited only by the free memory on the phone, which is absolutely typical for all smartphones. There are 3 standard fields (more precisely, three fields with standard labels) for mobile numbers, video calls, Internet telephone numbers, faxes, email addresses, Internet contact addresses, postal addresses, and one standard field each for pager, first name, last name, note, and date. The full name can be in a single copy, as well as the birthday (and a couple more), but the number of all other fields is at your discretion. Field postal address includes 7 internal fields. And, of course, the main “trick” of the Symbian contact book has not disappeared anywhere - renaming fields. The standard can be not only a phone number, but also an e-mail, a video phone, SMS, MMS and PTT. The PhotoID service remains the same, so without third party program no way around it, Nokia is not deliberately changing how this service works. Actually, the name of the field “minipicture” fully reflects the essence of the matter.
An interesting point is also the ability to pronounce the caller’s name with the built-in synthesizer. That is, the incoming call melody plays once, then the name is pronounced, and then only the call continues. From user in in this case nothing is required, just enable this option. Voice dialing works using the same synthesizer, that is, voice tags are not required - just say the name from the contact book. Recognition is very high quality, in most cases the tag is recognized the first time, problems arise only in a noisy room or on the street if there are strong noise sources. Speed dialing did not bring up anything unexpected, everything was standard.
You can access the call log either from the menu or by pressing the call send key. Call lists work as before: three types of calls (missed, received, dialed), there is no single list of all calls here. The call log can store information about all calls for a month (or you can change this interval yourself). Each event can be viewed in detail; there are various filters when working with the log. Information components such as duration and packet data, which reflect the duration of calls and the volume of Internet traffic, are also present.
Nokia E52:: Review:: Messages
The phone supports SMS, MMS and E-mail. Nothing particularly outstanding was noticed in the implementation, but almost everything that might be needed is there: templates, T9, drafts, storing messages on a memory card.
The MMS service is also familiar, it supports working with messages up to 300 KB in size, you can insert a picture, an audio clip (dictaphone recording), or a video clip into a message. There is also support for so-called MMS presentations - animated videos. It is possible to read incoming messages using the built-in synthesizer. Read implementation text messages not the best and the point is that the control system and settings are not very well thought out.
Nokia E52:: Review:: Organizer, office
The calendar supports two types of display: by month and week (except for a separate summary for the selected date), in the latter case there is a breakdown of the day by hour. There are four types of events on the calendar: meeting, reminder, anniversary and business. There is a separate display option for the to-do list, plus information about the number of uncompleted tasks is displayed on the screen in standby mode.
File Manager - file manager, which allows you to perform standard manipulations with content on the memory card and device memory. And for archiving files it is provided Zip archiver and at current prices for removable memory cards, its necessity is doubtful, although it will apparently be useful for some to unzip files directly on a smartphone.
Notes - simple text editor, which allows you to make entries on a lined sheet of paper (this is exactly how the application is displayed), which are then sorted in a vertical list according to the date and time of creation. “Active notes” are also supported, where text can be supplemented with multimedia content, but this is a separate application.
The clock app also includes alarms and a world clock feature. In the first case, you can set a repeating signal by day of the week and select a melody, and in the second, select the city of your stay and look at the local time relative to your home city.
The calculator is an adding machine with advanced functionality in the form of a memory function, square roots and percentages.
The E52 converter allows you to recalculate, in addition to currency, the following values:
Nokia E52:: Review:: Communications
The device is designed to work in GSM 850/900/1800/1900 and WCDMA networks. Communication capabilities are provided by Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and USB, but the IR port, which we also saw in the E51, disappeared from the E52 - the manufacturer considered its use inappropriate.
Bluetooth version 2.0, and support for the A2DP profile allows you to use a wireless stereo headset with the device. Performance testing was carried out with the Plantronics Pulsar 590E headset, no problems were recorded, just like data transfer between a smartphone and a PC, a communicator and several mobile phones.
The built-in WLAN (802.11 b/g) in the phone cannot be called superfluous, security standards are supported, and the settings are maximum. Everything works quite simply, in “connections” an access point is created, the network type is selected and then any application can use it, and in the “Communication” menu item there is a special WLAN Wizard that helps in setting up the connection. On the screen, in the status bar of standby mode, or in top corner When working with the menu, a symbol appears on the screen indicating the availability of Wi-Fi networks.
USB mode is selected from 4 options: PC Suite, storage device, image transfer, connection to a PC (modem mode). Moreover, these options can be set in the menu, or selected directly when connecting the data cable. Let us remind you that the E52 is charged via a microUSB connector and the classic plug has been eliminated.
The device also has a FOTA function - firmware update via a cellular network.
Nokia E52:: Review:: GPS
The device has a built-in A-GPS chip, and the Maps 3.01 application is installed for navigation. To start navigation, go to the “communications” section and launch “GPS data” - 3 tabs contain data about the current state of the receiver, position and path traveled. Subjective, informational component of this service very good - everything is quite informative and logical, understanding the settings will not be difficult.
Herself navigation program or just maps - Ovi Maps version 3.01. The application is not unique and is available on all smartphones of the company. In addition, it is practically a monopolist, although today other programs for the S60 are beginning to appear.
Nokia E52:: Review:: Camera
The device has a 3.2-megapixel camera, which is weak in modern times, without autofocus, but with an LED flash. In terms of how the application works, we have a traditional interface familiar to us from most modern Nokia devices. To launch the camera application, you can press and hold the corresponding key on the right side of the device, or select it from the menu.
To launch the camera application, you can press and hold the corresponding key on the right side of the device, or select it from the menu.
So, on the right there is a vertical strip with icons for quickly launching the main camera settings, namely:
It should be noted that these are “default” functions and they can be slightly expanded or replaced; for this purpose, a corresponding application menu is provided.
The rest of the advanced settings are hidden under the left or lower context key, because Shooting is more convenient when the display and the device as a whole are oriented horizontally.
These include:
Traditionally, the quality of the photo can be judged from the pictures below. In our opinion, cards are readable only in good lighting, preferably daylight, and focusing at infinity. There is no macro photography in the model as a class, and the built-in flash is more of a tribute to fashion than a full-fledged working tool, because it will not illuminate a large area, and nearby objects will be overexposed or out of focus.
Nokia E52:: Review:: games and applications
Despite the business-oriented nature of the device, the E52 is equipped with a powerful N-Gage gaming platform. Among the demo versions of games on the memory card you can find the following:
There is no point in describing the platform itself, but it is one of the best gaming tools on mobile phones.
In addition, in the package you will find 2 independent games - a set of solitaire games - Solitaires and logic game- Block Cascade fusion
In addition, the device supports MIDP Java 2.0, tests of which were carried out using traditional JBenchmark tools and their results can be found in the table - they are quite good compared to modern phones.
Table "JAVA" Nokia E52 |
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| Characteristics | ||||
| Platform | MIDP 2.0, CLDC 1.1 |
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| Tests | ||||
| JBenchmark 1.1.1 |
6073;
Text/1148, 2D/1635, 3D/844, FillRate/627, Animation/1819 |
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| JBenchmark 2.1.1 |
841;
Image/481, Text/1101, Sprites/733, 3D/1161, UI/928 |
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| JBenchmark 3D 3.1.0 |
HQ/314 LQ/590 Triangle ps/70927 Ktexels ps/5155 |
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| JBenchmark HD 3.4.3 | Smooth triangles/140657 Textured triangles/124097 Fill rate/3463 kTexels Gaming/244 (8.1 fps) |
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Nokia E52:: Review:: Multimedia capabilities
In addition to the music player, the E52 has access to the Nokia music store, a podcasting service, music search, radio and a voice recorder.
Myself music player has not undergone any changes, it is still the same convenient tool for listening to songs with a big plus in the form of a 3.5mm jack, which allows you to use your favorite headphones rather than a proprietary Nokia headset. In our case, these were Sennheiser CX 300 and it must be said that if the sound in combination was not ideal, it was of very high quality.
Let's look at the application in a little more detail - after launching we find ourselves in a vertical list in which compositions are sorted by data type from tags, although for the first time for this sorting it makes sense to “update the library”. Before us: artists, albums, playlists, all tunes, podcasts, genres and composers. Select what you need and proceed to play: top part The screen is given over to the cover of the composition; below, in a creeping line, follows the name, under which there is a “status bar”, on the left and right of which there is data about the elapsed and remaining time. At the bottom we can see symbols of the joystick's actions in player mode (although, as you remember, there are separate keys for it, to the left of the display).
Among the settings, we note the ability to select random playback, repeat playback of one or all melodies, 6 equalizer options, balance changes, bass boost, extended stereo.
The radio in the E52 is a convenient FM receiver with a minimum number of settings. To select radio stations, you can use either an Internet connection, which allows you to set almost all radio stations in your region, or you can manual setting. Playback is possible through external smartphone speakers and headphones, but the latter accessory is required, because acts as an antenna.
Voice Recorder is a useful and efficient application that allows you to record not only the world around you, but also conversations. In the settings you can select the recording quality and memory for saving.
Nokia E52:: Review:: Comparison with E50 and E51
The review would not be complete if we did not trace the evolution of the E5x line. This can be done as informatively as possible in a tabular form, which you can see below.
Nokia E52:: Review:: Impressions and conclusions
In the conditions of the Moscow BeeLine and MTS networks, the device worked for about 2.5–3 days with the following load: 30 minutes of calls per day, listening to the radio or player for 30–40 minutes daily, using Bluetooth and WiFi as needed, but not limiting yourself by periodically checking email and using instant messenger. In my opinion, the numbers are worthy of respect, and USB charging is a good bonus. On the other hand, the rejection of the traditional charging plug is somewhat disappointing - the device connected to the PC, even after 3 hours, showed a running charge indicator, to say nothing of the various car chargers, left over from their predecessors.
The level of smartphone reception is traditional for the manufacturer - the device tenaciously holds the network and does not think twice about searching for it. The volume of the ringing bell is subjectively slightly higher than its predecessors, just like the vibration alert - it has become a little more powerful.
The speaker has not undergone any changes and remains a full-fledged, high-quality design element, and the microphone did not earn negative points during testing.
It’s unfortunate, but the time for testing the device is coming to an end, and it needs to be returned to the editor. Did you notice any regret in these lines? If not, then believe me, it is there. Indeed, the E52 is a worthy successor to the worthy Nokia line, which in the process of evolution is acquiring more and more new and useful innovations. The device fits perfectly target audience, like a compact, calm, but at the same time elegant smartphone with good battery life. Bonuses in the form of a 3.5 mm jack and the N-gage application may not be in demand, while a powerful e-mail client, WiFi and Bluetooth will be clearly used, and the presence of A-GPS will allow you to refuse to purchase an additional independent device - navigator.
The absence of IrDa is the spirit of the times; indeed, how long ago has each of you used this type connections? I’ll tell you a secret, just a week ago I scrapped an infrared port for a PC as an atavism and due to the inability to connect to a laptop via a COM port. The second, obvious disadvantage for followers of the brand, I have described more than once in the article - this is the charging connector, although the data cable included in the kit slightly brightens up the picture.
Having tried to answer for myself the question that will definitely torment some readers, whether to change the E51 to E52, I briefly came to a dead end. What exactly has become better, why should I upgrade for me personally? A-GPS? Yes, but not critical. Audio jack? The penny adapter 2.5–3.5 mm solves this problem. Enlarged screen? Quite possible, but tolerable. Email client? On the E51 it has been installed and used for a long time, the only thing is that it is not built into the firmware. Keyboard? Here the main (I repeat, for me) advantage is the metal joystick and large keys, because on the old E51 this design element is already obsolete.
Therefore, if you are choosing the first E-series smartphone and you need compactness, don’t hesitate, take the E52, and for an upgrade you should find good reasons for yourself, although the aging of its predecessor is also a good reason and has every chance of becoming the main one.
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