Review: Nokia E6, part 1 - hardware

Here's part 1 of our comprehensive (over 10,000 words!) review of the Nokia E6, building in the best of the other Symbian^3 and Anna phones into the classic 'slab Qwerty' (E72/Blackberry) form factor, with the added benefit of a high resolution touchscreen as well. It's fair to say that the Nokia E6 has become a firm favourite here and in this review part I look at the hardware, with a special focus on the keyboard and its usability. 

In talking about the E6, it is impossible not to reference the E71 and E72, its two immediate predecessors. The E71, in particular, was an iconic device for Nokia and both devices were among the best selling in Nokia's smartphone portfolio. The E6 is a refinement of these earlier devices: specification bumps in nearly all the key areas, a few hardware additions and updated software. 

The most important change is the removal of the hardware softkey buttons and the addition of a touchscreen. With this comes the move from S60 3rd Edition to Symbian Anna, from a non-touch UI, to a touch centric UI. While this has only a small visual impact, it has a major influence on device operations and the overall user experience. Thus, while the E6 is a refinement of its predecessors, it also breaks new ground, as Nokia

Also in the box you'll find a "Get to know your Nokia E6-00" fold-out leaflet. This replaces the slimline guide that Nokia was previously using. The topics covered are similar, but there's less text and better use of accompanying illustrations, which means it's quicker to read and more digestible. This should mean that it is more likely to be read, hopefully resulting in fewer frustrated users and lower support costs.

and HTML formats  online. However, it is still helpful to have a getting started guide in the box and this new approach is one of the best I've seen. Couple it with the extensive and illustrated on-device User guide application (which can be accessed from other applications in a context sensitive manner) and you've got a device that is much more welcoming to new smartphone owners than many of its competitors.

Visually, the E6 is obviously messaging and business centric. It retains the strong identity of its predecessors, with the same clean lines and harmonious front aspect. Nonetheless, as we shall see, over the next few sections, there are some important design refinements in the E6.

VIM inline calculator revisited, floating point ... - vimrc dissected

4. E806 + :try . VIM can't convert float to string automatically. Error E806 is generated when that is attempted. Scriptlet catches the error and applies suggested by documentation conversion method - printf(). The construct with try/catch also ensures that integer calculation remains integer. Only if there are floating point numbers involved, exception would be thrown and the conversion would be performed (spares the redundant '.0' in the integer calculations).

The PC companion

Modern dictionary of electronics

Wicked cool shell scripts, 101 scripts for Linux, Mac OS X, and Unix systems

McGraw-Hill encyclopedia of science & technology, MET-NIC.

Afternotes on numerical analysis, a series of lectures on elementary numerical analysis presented at the University of Maryland at College Park and recorded after the fact