Friday, July 11, 2008

Nokia E51 business phone announced

Nokia E51 smartphone
Nokia have announced the new Nokia E51, a small, compact smartphone designed specifically for the business market. The E51 is designed to provide all the features needed in a business environment, and to make it as easy as possible to access those features.

To this end, there's a user-configurable homescreen, enabling the user to place icons to their most-frequently used applications; One Touch keys to such applications as email, contact, calendar, etc.; and easy integration with a wide range of business email applications.

More details of the Nokia E51 after the jump.

Perhaps the most important aspect of the Nokia E51, though, at least for businesses, is the way it integrates tightly with existing business communication services, enabling the user to use one device to access email, voice mail, and a plethora of corporate phone options, including extension dialling, hold, transfer and conferencing.

You can even route calls over your company's IP network, ensuring you cut down on phone costs (particularly with international calls).

In summary, the Nokia E51 isn't particularly innovative, but for business use it'll be a hard phone to beat, as it does exactly what businesses want it to do, and does it extremely well.

Full details of the Nokia E51 smartphone

Nokia E51 smartphone

From the press release:

Nokia today bolstered its Nokia Eseries portfolio of business devices with the introduction of the new Nokia E51 device. The slim and elegant Nokia E51 adds greater simplicity, faster access and tighter integration to key applications, while maintaining the smartphone capabilities and stylish design that customers have come to expect in a Nokia Eseries device.

An all-round device, Nokia E51 is ideal for business professionals who require reliable, real-time access to business and people, need to manage time effectively and value a single device that is easy to set up, maintain and use.

Nokia E51 users with Nokia mobility solutions can experience mobile telephony, mobile email and messaging, office phone functionality, and cost savings - with the convenience of one phone number, one voice mailbox, one dial plan - in a single device.

"Business users increasingly need one device that they can count on to work productively and which offers them the level of efficiency that brings more freedom and balance to their personal lives," said Antti Vasara, senior vice president, Mobile Devices Unit, Enterprise Solutions, Nokia. "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."

While expanding the rich functionality that business users require, Nokia continues to simplify the use of its business devices via the following:

  • A home screen including user-selected icons to the most used applications
  • One Touch keys with one-click access to key functionalities including email, contacts, calendar and the home screen
  • Set-up wizards offering step-by-step guidance for setting up email accounts, configuring
  • Internet calling and accessing wireless local area networks
  • Integration with a wide range of business email solutions, including Nokia Intellisync Wireless
  • Email and Mail for Exchange to communicate with Microsoft Exchange Server, and consumer email
  • Streamlined email reading experience with easy access to attachments
  • Dedicated Email key on the front cover, indicator light for new email, and a preview window to the latest email on the home screen to help keep up with email when on the move

Nokia E51 also extends business value to end users and businesses through its ability to integrate tightly with corporate telephony systems (PBX) through Nokia Mobile Unified Communications solutions such as Nokia Intellisync Call Connect for Cisco and Nokia Intellisync Call Connect for Alcatel. These solutions deliver desk phone calling features - such as extension dialing, hold, transfer and conferencing - to a single, mobile device. Companies can also reduce their international call charges by routing the call over the corporate IP networks.

"Nokia and BT share a vision that business mobility adoption will thrive when our collective customers and their respective end users, derive productivity improvements from mobile enabled applications," said Rakesh Mahajan, global director of mobility at BT Global Services. "For the BT Corporate Fusion solution, we chose the Nokia E51 for its classic Nokia business smartphone features and design, its ease of integration into our solution, and its affordability, making it more appealing for widespread use within companies of all sizes."

Nokia E51 is also ideal for any user wishing to leverage broadband connections to access mobile Internet telephony from homes and hotspots. For example, Gizmo, a Voice over IP (VoIP) application, is available for Nokia Eseries customers free of charge, enabling users to make and receive inexpensive calls from their mobile phones and chat or talk with friends who are online. Gizmo application is available to Nokia Eseries customers through the Nokia Download! application on their mobile phone.

In addition to increased features and functionality for business use, Nokia E51 lends itself well to personal use and offers a polished look for both business and personal use. The thin, stainless steel device is equipped with personal applications, including:

  • FM radio, music and multimedia players
  • 2 megapixel camera
  • Nokia browser, serving as the gateway to a variety of Internet services including interoperability with Windows Live, providing mobile access to most popular Windows Live services including Hotmail, Messenger and Spaces, available through the Nokia Download! application
  • Via the Download! application access to Yahoo Go! WidSets, and a number of travel, personal productivity and entertainment applications

Nokia E51 is the latest offering in the industry-leading Nokia Eseries portfolio of business optimized devices that support companies' business mobility strategies by protecting their investments in workforce mobility. Joining the ranks of Nokia E90 Communicator, Nokia E61i and Nokia E65, the Nokia E51 device enables business users to collaborate, communicate, and operate whether they are conducting business from their offices, working remotely or traveling - while also keeping in touch with their personal lives.

The Nokia E51 release date will be the fourth quarter of 2007 for an unsubsidized retail price of approximately 350 EUR.

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