Customer Reviews

Nokia E63-2 Unlocked Phone with 2 MP Camera, 3G, Wi-Fi, Media Player, and MicroSD Slot--U.S. Version with Warranty (Ruby Red)

5 star:		(55)
4 star:		(37)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Pros:
*Great screen resolution
*Awesome keyboard, very easy to type. Much better than the Blackberry Curve. Similar to the BOLD.
*Phone reception is very good no issues at all. I think I get a stronger 3G signal than my IPhone 3G
*As far as Data I use this phone with WI-FI only, and it has a great inbuilt tool that always asks which way you want to connect to the net. I can also set certain applications to use WI-FI by default so I done have to worry about accidentally using the data service. The WI-FI connectivity is great.
*Web browser is one of the best I have used. The IPhone browser is obviously better because of the screen size and the touch user interface. But the S60 browser is far better than the windows mobile or blackberry browsers. It even executes flash pages, YouTube mobile and many other flash oriented website.
*The email capabilities are amazing, Very easy to set up. I was able to access exchange email (via push) and Gmail without any issues at all. Nokia has some sort of trial email application [...] which works amazing well. I am able to use Gmail with push capability. That's something even the IPhone can't do yet. However this service is in beta and may be costly down the road. It rendered HTML emails perfectly.
*Attachments were easy to open and view. However quick office requires a 19.00 update to open the new MS Office 2007 file formats.
*I use Google for calendaring and contacts. Thanks to Google enabling Microsoft ActiveSync technology for its calendar and contacts applications I am able to sync real time. [...]
*As far listening to music the phone works quite well. It is obviously not even close to the I-Phone. If media is your primary requirement this particular model will be slightly disappointing. However I was able to transfer play list from I-tunes to the Nokia Music Desktop software and Sync the play lists with the phone [...] . The external speakers on the phone produce a crisp sound, better than the external speakers of the IPhone but not as good as the Blackberry Bold. Via headphones the sound was quite good. I was able to browse the music by play list, Artist, Album etc. I would say the music playback capability was as good as the blackberries with media Sync.
*I have not tried the video playback capabilities.
*The camera on the phone is quite adequate, and it has a flash that is amazingly bright. Be sure not flash someone in the eye as its blinding at a close range. I was able to take pictures and email as attachments and MMS them to my contacts without any issues. I felt the picture quality was as good as the IPhone. With the added bonus of a flash. The Video capability was decent and worked well. Nothing to write home about, but a cool feature to have.
*Files on OVI. Yes it is possible to install a desktop application called Files on OVI and access desktop files via the phone. It works well and setup was a breeze. Cool feature to have. But I did notice my desktop acting slightly slow and decided to uninstall it. But this is most likely a unique issue related to my desktop.
*The battery life was better than average no issues at all with heavy use. Three times better than the IPhone 3G
*It has an App store which is interesting and shows a lot of potential. I found many useful apps for free. (Nibmuzz, Bloomberg etc)

Cons:
*The lack of the side volume toggle is annoying. Mostly when trying to adjust the volume while listing to music and when trying to turn off the ringer when the phone is in the pocket.
*The User Interface is a little dated and does not feel very user friendly. The menu system is extensive but a little annoying at times as it requires multiple clicks to get simple things done.
*No USB data cable, memory card or out of the box compatibility for MS Office 2007 files formats. These upgrades cost me $46.00 (8GB Micro SDHC).


This is a great phone for the price. I am a smart phone power user and have used Blackberries, IPhone and Windows mobile. I love what this phone can do out of the box. It is really a little gem. I would highly recommend this phone to anyone who does not want to sign or extend their contracts and does not need IPod like media capabilities. The lack of a volume toggle is not a deal breaker in my books. The rubberized plastic exterior is great and has a slight grip to it. I can't imagine how uncomfortable the Nokia E71 must feel in the hand with its metal exterior. Metal sounds cool and fancy but its slippery and gets cold. Hope this review helps!!

07/01/2010
The phone is still working well. However I think I may need to buy a new battery for it. I also downloaded the official skype app from [...] on to the phone. I am able to use skype just as I would on my iPhone 3G. Please keep in mind that I don't think the Nokia e63 is in anyway better than the iPhone 3G. It just so happens that I have both phones at the moment and I am able to review them side by side.

I was also able to use [...] and stream iTunes playlist from my desktop to my Nokia e63. < On your Orb PC, click Start > Run* type regedit (Disclaimer: Use the Registry Editor at your own risk) > In HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Orb Networks\Orb\Config doubleclick on "app.iTunes.enabled" > In the pop up change the Value data to "true" > Close the Registry Editor > Restart Orb > Now login again to view the itunes playlists on the UI.>

this phone is awesome! i got it on amazon for 199.99 now its only 179.99 get it before it goes back up to 279.99. if you need a great phone and have att or tmobile buy this phone right away. 3g works with att only not tmobile but the 2g edge speed is decent on the tmobile network, i have it for tmobile. this phone has wi-fi so its always fast because theres wlan networks everywhere nowadays. everything works for this phone, facebook,myspace,aim,youtube,etc.... you can download apps and games using the phones browser right onto the phone or memory card. camera is 2 megapixels but compared to nokias e71 theres almost no difference except no autofocus but the phone still takes great pictures. hold down the space bar you use the phone as a flash light, and the audio output is a 3.5mm jack unlike the e71s. this means you can use any headphones or connect it to ipod, car, speaker and all other audio inputs.this phone is a little wider than the e71 so the qwerty board is easier to use and instead of metal like the e71 the e63s back feels more like rubber so it wont drop easily. this phone can basically do 99% of what the e71 can do except for the GPS. but this phone comes with nokia maps and/or you can just download google maps and works great. also, if theres a gps reciever in your car or near one, you can connect it through bluetooth and the phone will work as gps. this phone is great for the price, you basically pay more than 100.00 more for the e71 just for gps. but everything you need on this phone is on it calls, texts, mms, video calling, camera photo/video, java, browser, wifi, 3g(att), micro sd slot up to 8 gigs,flash light, alarm, tasks, email, calendar, etac...... great buy great phone i am fully satisfied

I bought this a few weeks ago and I'm overall very happy with it. The only difference between this and the more expensive e71 is that this does not include a GPS receiver and doesn't have the volume adjustable keys on the side of the phone. Otherwise it has the same operating system and features as the e71. The body is plastic and not metal like the e71 but it is still very sturdy and well-built. The push email works great with my Gmail account. There's no instant messaging application included so I downloaded Nimbuzz for this purpose.

There are a few things that bother me though. The reception isn't the greatest. I often get no signal where my other Nokia phones would get at least a few bars. So if you live in a more rural area like me where signals can be weak then proceed with caution before buying this phone. Also the calendar isn't the greatest. Out of the box there's no way to sync with iCal or Google Calendar. I use GooSync to sync with my Google Calendar (free if you only need to sync with one calendar, otherwise $40/year). Nokia does have a website which includes a calendar you can sync with but it isn't nearly as featured as Google Calendar. I have heard complaints about the quality of the camera but I don't use the camera very much and don't expect very good quality from a cellphone camera.

Overall though I am pleased with this phone, especially considering the price. Unlocked it is less than most if not all the Blackberry phones are with a 2 year contract. That's not including the data plan AT&T requires for smartphones. With this phone all you need to do is sign up for the data unlimited feature for $15/month. Corporate people are probably going to want to stick with the Blackberry but this is a great phone for small business and personal use.

I recently cracked the screen of my Crackberry and when that happens, the phone is totally gone... so I had to shop for something new. I considered the iPhone, but didn't really want to pay for the plan that must be contracted with it since I have an old $19.99 t-mobile plan that I'm not sure I want to give up, even though t-mobile coverage sucks. I also considered another BlackBerry, but every time I get a new phone I think about how much I loved my first few Nokia phones because they just make sense, they are simple to use and are just more logical than most of the other phones out there. So... I found this E63 and read up on it. It sounded good, but I was still a little worried that I'd be sorry if I got it. I went to Best Buy to see if I could find one in person and it looked very nice, so I ordered it on Amazon (for about $100 less than other retailers! yay!)

I can't even express how happy I am with this phone. It is sooooooooo much better than the BlackBerry! It has just about every function you could wish for and is so easy to use and navigate.

I was able to sync it easily with my Mac using Bluetooth - I was going to get a new cable to sync it that way, but found that it was very easy to do wirelessly. I did have to look up how to get it to sync with Mac Entourage (Outlook) because it is only set up to sync with iCal, but it was easy to find the setup instructions and it worked without a glitch. I love that it has FM radio because I can listen to music wherever I am, I can also surf the web without a data plan, which is super fantabulous!!!

If you are looking for a new phone that can help you manage your life, I highly recommend the Nokia E63 - especially in Ruby Red because it's just beautiful!

Oh, and I think the keypad is easier to use than the BB, the only strange thing is that the zero is not at the bottom of the number area like it usually would be, it is on the right side - but I haven't had trouble getting used to it at all (I thought I would).

Oh, and one more thing... my crappy t-mobile coverage is MUCH improved... I don't know how, but I am getting higher signals everywhere and am able to use my phone in areas where I couldn't before - and not on other networks either (I checked by setting it to use only t-mobile for a while rather than picking up the stronger networks).

I have had this phone for 2-3 days. I am a very technical person.

This phone is very well built mechanically. It's a slick package. The keyboard feels a little cheap but not so much that I wouldn't have bought the phone.

However, the software is absolutely horrible. It really is a disgrace and someone in charge over at Nokia should be terminated. While trying to set up email, a wizard runs that is fixated on installing "Nokia Email" which is their new email manager that has lots of animated icons and also has push-technology. I didn't want this, because it hogs up resources and you have to provide your personal login information to Nokia's servers which then retrieve your mail and sends it to your phone. I just wanted to use the old-style simple built-in client. But NOOOOOOO, the wizard demands that you download and install the new software. It is well documented how to get around the wizard, which is to supply it with bogus server information, upon which the wizard balks and reverts to manual input of settings. I was able to use this method after much time wasting. The whole experience was ridiculous.

You will like this phone if you are like me...

(1) somewhat technically oriented
(2) able to google for tips and workarounds
(3) don't have a data plan and want to buy an unlocked phone
(4) Want a basic good quality phone with the ability to occasionally go on line (using WiFi) to do web stuff or email

If you are tech averse and you don't mind getting a locked phone that is committed to a data plan, I would get an iPhone or an Android phone, as the software has actually been given some consideration and has been reviewed by actual lay people instead of only in-house software people.

After losing my Blackberry Pearl and with the screen of my back up Razr gone, I started shopping, trying to decide whether to wait until my contract with T-Mobile was up and get an iPhone or continue buying unlocked phones and keeping my great plan. Reading all the reviews on Amazon and going to other sites, I decided on the Nokia e63-2 in true blue. I had read about how syncing with Mac was not the easiest project. True. I had to go through the isync set up a few times before my phone was finally recognized. The next step is the media transfer, which you can download from Apple, if you have OS X. 5 or higher, but not OS X .4. If you have an older version of OS x, do not try to download the media transfer from Apple, it will not load. When I went to Nokia's sight, the new pages only have the updates for OS X.5. I did a google search with my current Mac operating system and found the Nokia, free download (There are sites charging $39 for syncing program). I followed the instructions from Nokia and by using my microUSB cord (I also loaded files with the Bluetooth feature, for a little test), I easily transfer music from my iTunes library and created my own, free ringtones, and photos to create my own wall paper. Now I am also synced for my calenders, notes, appointments, contacts, etc.

So after spending a few hours (mostly my fault) with the setup, I was ready to go. I love the keyboard, no trouble texting nor typing. There is a light sensor on the camera that will automatically turn on the keyboard backlight, in a dark room, but I found that it did not light the whole keyboard. Until I go through the instructions, thoroughly, I will blame myself for this.

Calls sounded crisp and clean. The headphones that come with the phone are not bad, so I will save my Shures for my iPod. I like the weight of the phone and the way it feels in my hand. The keyboard lock feature took a little getting use to, but it comes in handy when putting the phone in a bag or pocket. With all the playing around I have done, I still have not drained half of the battery power. I have dropped the phone once, and with my Razr, I had to take the phone apart and adjust the battery, but the Nokia was ready to go, no problem.

I took advantage of Amazon's low price and a $50 rebate from Nokia, making the phone cost $169 instead of being over $227.

With all the electronics I buy, there is some letdown and I often regret not getting the most expensive choice, but, I am happy I saved a lot of money by not buying the e71x. I got a great deal and have no regrets included the 2 mp camera, which I would only use in an emergency and no GPS.

I've had my Nokia E63 since May 2009 and overall my experiences have been positive. The factors that led me to purchase this phone specifically were: my familiarity with the SymbianOS (I had an E62 previously), it was the least expensive Nokia phone (at the time) that offered WiFi capabilities, I wanted a QWERTY keyboard (I'm not ready for a touchscreen), and this phone could be used with regular mini-plug headphones (instead of having to purchase an adapter or special headset).

Positive aspects, in no particular order:
**Display and function keys are fully customizable.** I can change the six application shortcuts that are displayed at the top of the active idle screen and I can change the four task buttons to the left and right of the directional pad. **Unlocked, means my phone isn't crippled.** Several carriers including my current AT&T are in the habit of crippling their phones so a user cannot get the full functionality from their units. I have full 3G speed (where available by reception), my phone's internet browser doesn't default to AT&T pages and I don't have AT&T applications installed by default that I can't remove. **Applications are plentiful.** There are some people that would lead others to believe the SymbianOS has no applications, and while it's true that the iPhone is the internet's current favorite phone, there is no lack of applications for S60 phones. Several I would recommend getting (if you have an unlimited data plan) are: Google Maps (this app is able to triangulate my location based off the nearest reception tower and I use my phone as a GPS), Mobbler (streams music from Last.FM personalized internet radio service), SkyFire (almost the full functionality of a traditional internet browser), Nokia Email (much better email app versus default), Nokia Podcasting (it should be already installed, allowing users to download podcasts directly to there phone and play them.. invest in a MicroSD card), and finally, if you have a Google account, definitely go for Google Sync to sync contacts and calendar entries with your phone. The service can update automagically and you can have your information on your phone plus Google.

Negative aspects, in order of annoyance:
**It's possible to overload the phones resources.** Sometimes if I have too many apps open, then ask the phone to do something intensive [like open 'Conversation' (another app)], the phone will lock up and restart, this usually happens to me once every two weeks. **Messaging app will not open text messages.** Sometime after I installed 'Conversation', my phone stopped allowing me to view text message content from the default messaging application. I can read text messages from the active idle notification or the Conversation app, but not in the default messaging application. I can fix this by resetting the phone, but I don't want to lose all my apps and personalizations. **The display font will mess up letters now and then**. This sometimes happens after playing with display settings or installing new applications, all of a particular letter will disappear or display some of their lines as dots. I've been able to fix this by going into the display settings and changing the font size and saving the setting, then going back to the previous setting.

Once again, I've had mostly positive experiences with this phone. For me, the positives out-weigh the negatives, I would still recommend this phone and I'm still invested in Nokia products; the next phone I want is a N97.

If you are reading reviews, you've probably checked reviews on a lot of other sites as well. And you've probably read that this is a quality phone, all I can add to those reviews is another rave review. Just search this site and others and try to find another unlocked phone that ranks higher for the price range (<$200)... you're not likely to find it. Yes, you can spend more money, but why? This phones does everything you need it to do and more.

My family has had a lot of smartphones, I never joined that group because everytime I tried to talk to them, they couldn't hear me or I couldn't hear them or the call was dropped altogehter... it was not my phone, it was the "do-it-all" piece of junk they were using... guess what... this phone works AS A PHONE! I know, hard to believe that this feature would be important... BUT IT IS! And it WORKS WELL!

But, in addition to call quality, with 3 simple FREE downloads, you can do anything you want with this phone. Before you do anything else, download SKYFIRE, GOOGLE MAPS and PALRINGO. Just search for them, the downloads are fast and easy and before you know it, you are viewing REAL webpages, getting directions and finding sites of interest as well as any GPS, and chatting with everyone you keep in touch with... so simple.

If I had a complaint, it would be that the POP email settings for Yahoo mean you have to upgrade to Yahoo Plus for it to work properly and that costs $20 per year, but that is a yahoo issue, and its worth it. The email interface is not all that impressive either, but it works just as it should. You can avoid all this by adding Yahoo Mobile as a bookmark in Skyfire. No fee, emails rendered as they are on your desktop, I've done both since the POP email is so easy to check on the run. But you will find that the yahoo POP email does not work until you upgrade and adjust the phones email account settings properly, google it to find out how, it's easy.

Yes, the GPS feature is more advanced for the e71, but not worth the extra $ in my opinion. With google maps, the phone can approximate your position and get you where you want to go no problem. If you want more precise locations and tracking, buy a bluetooth GPS reciever, you can get one on this site for $40 and you still come out ahead. Stash it in your glove box and you are set. Again, not necessary though, cell tower location works well enough for most, I have yet to find a situation where I needed to know my location within 10m. Its unnecessary.

Oh, and don't be afraid of the plastic shell, the rubberized back shell has a better feel in your hand than the metal e71... no joke... you'll like the quality tactile feel of the phone and keyboard a lot!

And the camera works great. Not so much in low light, but you can say that about most cameras. All the negative reviews are people splitting hairs, let them spend the extra $, I'll just use that $ toward buy a second phone for my wife or a nice evening out.

In summary, great phone, good quality, tons of features, DOWNLOAD SKYFIRE, GOOGLE MAPS and PALRINGO and you will be set. Buying one for my wife ASAP. You should get this phone, you won't be disappointed.

I'll keep it short. Nokia is a great mobile phone brand. This particular phone is a great balance between business and personal. It's sleek and thin, but not to the point of feeling cheap and flimsy. It has wifi, which for me, was reason enough to snatch it up at $199. You can create and edit Microsoft Word docs, pdf's, powerpoint's, etc. The camera is decent, it has a standard headphone jack, flash player. Call quality is good, no dropped calls. Easy to use interface and menus. Great keyboard layout. I'd definitely recommend this phone for the price.

I bought this cellphone after waiting for a good while for an affordable business cellphone. Very usefull cellphone which the selling point for me was the wifi support and the symbian os, which has a lot of support for applications unlike the blackberry. I have wifi at home and at work and this is more affordable than using a GPRS data plan. I use my cellphone with skype, and nimbuzz which supports yahoo messenger, hotmail messenger, facebook chat, it has microsoft exchange support. This enable me to be always connected without a pc. The phone supports upto 16g memcards and it has a 3.5mm headphone jack which which enable me to replace my ipod with this phone. A last very useful feature in this phone is the very bright led, which turns the phone into a very usefull flashlight.It can light up a decent size room. Camera quality is good in bright light, but in dm conditions it is very poor.