Nokia E6: You feel me?

Finnish cell phone giant Nokia has always been about tactility: you feel their phones, and the phone becomes an extension of you. Even as the company goes through a massive restructuring, phasing out its backbone Symbian software for Microsoft Window’s Phone 7, it’s the basic touch of a Nokia phone that stays the same, and it’s why it stays in your hand after other models have crashed and burned.

Nokia E6, launched earlier this year, is an advance over the popular E5 (their self-proclaimed “BlackBerry killer”), and it shows the company is ready to put smiles on faces again.

First, there’s the pick-up. Out of the box, the E6 has a sleek, quality hard-case design with True-Type buttons that really respond to touch. The QWERTY keypad is familiar and satisfying with each click; but now Nokia is deeply into touch-screens, so that’s where the E6 begins to impress even more.

It’s nice to be able to set up your e-mail account on a Nokia in less than two minutes. Navigating the touch-screen makes it all the more easier. In no time, in fact, I was checking mail and setting up an Ovi account. Now, I’ve never really explored Ovi, but with the E6 it’s way too tempting to leave it alone. Within minutes, I was downloading movie trailers and free games (Fruit Ninja, anyone?) as well as useful local app content such as Click The City (yes!). Of course, there’s always the web to explore, though the 2.46-inch screen is not exactly IMAX size (still, it’s slightly bigger than the BlackBerry screen). Of course, there’s also Ovi Maps with ample free downloads to get you around in traffic or whatever city you’re in. (Ovi Maps really is a gem: you can download detailed maps from over a hundred cities, try their “Walk” function, switch to 3D views, even let Nokia’s voice function navigate you home.)

Even without a phone plan, the E6 is WiFi- and 3G-ready, so you can start checking mail immediately in WiFi areas. Ovi still requires a PC (not available for Mac) to set up your personal “suite” and manage your photos, movies, music and other files; but it’s definitely worth exploring once you set it up. In the meantime, Bluetooth seems to work to offload and manage content.

Another way the E6 does it better than the E5 is the eight-megapixel camera and video function. Though lacking auto-focus, you can manually zoom in on the action, and pictures are clear and sharp; videos are even better (at 1280 x 720p resolution and 25fps with 3x digital zoom). With the pinch-and-resize feature now in the mix, you can really get your fingers working. Another plus is a front camera allowing you to take self-portrait shots (so far, no Skype apps in sight, though there’s Video Call if you have a 3G plan). There’s even Video Editor so you can quickly stitch together videos and photos with music: perfect for blogging videos of the latest coup or street protest.

Nokia has always looked at things a bit differently: they sought to bring entry-level “smart” phones to the world, believing everyone should have a personal computer in his or her pocket. They’re committed to recycling Nokia phones and parts at levels few phone giants can compare with. And the phones themselves are wonderful objects to handle: you really don’t fear dropping a Nokia, unlike a lot of plastic-shell competitors. The E6 — while not as heavy as its business cousin, the E7 — has a definite heft, at 133 grams, that feels real, robust.

Running on Anna, a version of Symbian 3, the E6 is a definite improvement over past Symbian models. Web navigation is surprisingly quick, though other functions take some getting used to. Widget menu pages are laid out in sequential pages, available with a finger swipe, but it takes a few swipes and touches to get at, say, the camera function. Of course, you can designate certain widgets with Favorite buttons, and arguably, Nokia lays out the menu interface like this to allow you to separate your “work” life from your “home” life. We can also say the Nokia E6 has a longer battery life than before (I sometimes go days without plugging it into the charger).

With a lot of things in life, it’s love at first sight. With other things, it’s all about the touch. The E6 does not disappoint. All in all, this may be the Nokia you’ve been waiting for.