Lady Geek

I thought I am overdoing it a bit by carrying around two phones. One smart phone, in my case a BlackBerry 8820 which I got from work, and my private phone. However I do not seem to be such a minority as I thought. A report by Rubicon Consulting shows that 36.4% of iPhone users have a second phone with them. Reading the comments of a review which looked at this phenomenon, it seems that many people carry two phones. Most of them are just like me because they have one for work use and one for personal use.

The workphone is usually a smart phone like a Blackberry. Like Belinda, I was sent a Nokia E65 for review purposes. Like her I am a bit disappointed by the device. While the N-Series got a lot of coverage including a blog, the E-Series is still uncharted territory. The E-Series is marketed as a Nokia for business needs. It is seen as a phone where substance meets style. It comes in a range of colours such as white (what I was given), red, pink, mocca, purple and black.

How does the E65 do in relation to my BlackBerry 8800? The E65 is a slider and although overall smaller it appears rather bulky and heavy. The overall appearance is almost a bit tacky in contrast to my BlackBerry. The 8800 is larger but slimmer and I really appreciate the qwerty keyboard which makes answering emails and messages much easier. The E65 is a bit of a let down in this respect as a smart phone without qwerty seems to defeat the objective. At least for me. However my BlackBerry lacks a camera and I was really impressed by the quality of the two mega pixel camera the E65 has. Overall, I prefer my BlackBerry due to ease of use with typing and also it takes less space in my handbag.

So the E65 maybe as a second phone? For most people it would probably be a good second phone and a good entry point into the smart phone area. However I am less convinced by this because the E65 feels quiet heavy. It also does not look very stylish and if you have a private phone you want to have something that is a good accessory.

Although the E65 is not a bad phone, it does not fit into my lifestyle. Neither as a business phone nor as a private phone. A true innovation would be to make the two phone syndrome obsolete. Given that lots of people fill their pockets with phones and despite of the fact that big handbags are in fashion for women, it seems like a waste to carry around two phones and other electronic gadgets like an iPod. Convergence might mean that future smart phones are truly smart and include different profiles for the same user such as one for work and one for private use. At least it would de-clutter handbags.