Nokia E55 review

And, connection-wise, there's little missing. The phone supports the HSDPA data standard with 802.11bg Wi-Fi for backup. You get a rear-facing 3.2-megapixel digital camera with an LED flash, a handy panorama mode and video capability at 640 x 480 and 15fps, plus a front-facing camera for video calls. In addition there's an FM radio equipped with RDS, which does a good job of holding a solid signal.

The E55's third and final weapon, and one of its keenest, is battery life. In our real world tests the E55 lasted comfortably past five days and well into the sixth day, a remarkable performance proving that whatever you say about S60, it certainly has power efficiency down to a tee.

The Nokia E55's major weakness is its S60 operating system, which in the face of growing competition is beginning to look seriously long in the tooth. Its App Store rival OVI is woefully thin on applications, and although its browser is effective, it's nowhere near as pleasant to use as the touch-driven browsers on Android, Apple and even HTC's Windows Mobile handsets.

But if physical size is more important to you than screen breadth, Nokia's latest business handset should be top of your list. It's packed with features, it's small and light, and impressively, it's cheap and available on some good deals straight away.

Author: Jonathan Bray