Gadget Review: Nokia E65

My youngest sister turn to be generous as she allowed me to "study" her new Nokia E65 smartphone for two days last week. The smooth-sliding Nokia E65 is one attractive smartphone that exhibits a lot more style than the first generation of E-series devices. The Nokia E65, for instance, is one of the smallest in its class at 105x49x15.5mm, which is just slightly longer than a calling card. It weighs just 115 grams, with rounded edges and easy-to-grip, leather-like materials that make it a joy to hold.

The Nokia E65 has a lot of buttons, though, which take some getting used to. There are 11 upfront: the usual navigator key, four control keys, plus a one-touch key each for Conference, Contacts, My Own, Mute, Menu, and Backspace. There are 12 on the keypad when the phone is spread, and there are four on the side for recording.

On the plus side, the user of a Nokia E65 smartphone can access basic commands with just one touch of a button - once all the buttons are figured out. Experimenting with one-touch buttons shows market sensitivity on Nokia's side, since the feature is becoming more important to consumers. Buttons also access features for reading text messages aloud and setting Voice Controls, which can be accessed by holding down the record button on the side of the device. [Read Full Review]