Nokia E51, a Business Cellphone

I was shopping for a cellphone that had a built-in WLAN. Hoping to get a zero interest installment for a phone, I headed off to SMART service center. My disappointment over the overpriced Nokia phones was set aside when the lady suggested to shop for cellphones in Singapore. Fortunately, I was scheduled to leave for Singapore last week. The first gadget I purchased in Singapore’s Funan Digital Mall at the local Nokia store was naturally a cellphone. I needed to buy it first so there is enough time to test it out before heading back to the Philippines.

I chose a black Nokia E51 because of its slim and sleek look (click on the thumbnail) at first yet I was impressed with the features:

* Thin design loaded with features to help balance your business and leisure time
* Access your email while on the go with support for most leading corporate and personal email applications
* Browse the web and email with high speed 3G, HSDPA, or WLAN connection
* Make lower cost voice calls over the internet with the built-in WLAN
* Stay connected to the people and information you need with a long battery life and large internal memory
* Take pictures and capture video with the 2 megapixel camera with 4x digital zoom
* Listen to the latest hits with FM Visual Radio or play your favorite tunes on the MP3 music player

The most appealing feature is that the Nokia E51 “is also ideal for any user wishing to leverage broadband connections to access mobile Internet telephony from homes and hotspots.” The Nokia E51 can use Gizmo, a Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) application. Gizmo not only allows you to make inexpensive calls but also chat and talk with friends who are also online and using the application. Gizmo can be downloaded in the Nokia Download! application that comes with the phone.

For S $588 (singapore dollars) or $ US 411.18, Nokia Singapore added a bluetooth worth $98 Singapore or $68.50. Since I was a tourist, I was entitled to a GST refund at the airport of 23 Singapore dollars. (Don’t forget your GST refund receipt though which is different from the sales receipt). Hence, the net cost of the phone was $467 (singapore dollars) or $ US 326.57 or 14,000 pesos. That is so much cheaper than the outdated WLAN enabled phones that were selling for 25,000 thousand pesos. The risk of buying in another country is that they only give local warranty but I took the risk because I’ve rarely had problems with Nokia phones.

Another wonderful feature is the indicator light to nudge you of new mails. The preview window is a nifty way for quickly checking mails on the home screen. “With the new Nokia E51 device, we are responding to this need with a business smartphone that combines the latest advances in business mobility and a classic, stainless steel design, at a price that makes it perfect for company-wide deployments,” Antti Vasara, Mobile Devices Unit senior vice president said in a company statement.

A cool application that I really love is the SMS SPam Manager which came pre-installed. I had been besieged by spam SMS in the past and I had no way to control it. Am I so glad that I finally have an anti-spam application.

SMS Spam Manager blocks unwanted SMS messages without producing any sound or light indication.

With SMS Spam Manager you can effectively filter all your incoming SMS messages. There are 6 different types of filters to block unwanted SMS. You have the freedom to choose whether to reject all incoming messages or to accept messages only from people listed in your phonebook. You can also choose to block incoming SMS messages from a defined phone number, from a defined prefix number and even messages that contain a defined phrase.

Take a look at this animation:

Goodbye junk and unwanted messages.

My Nokia E51 is bundled with an FM radio, a digital media player and 2-megapixel camera. The Nokia browser works with Microsoft’s Windows Live services, including Hotmail, Messenger and Spaces.

Overall, the E51 is one of the most affordable business cellphones. It’s slim and sleek features makes it look classy yet classic looking cellphone. The features are everything that any business oriented person would want to own.