After only a few hours of playing these are my first impressions for those hungry for news of this device. If you have any questions or comments please leave them below… we’ll post a longer, more complete review in a week or so.

The good:

1. Call quality is excellent. Speaker sound from device is crisp and clear.
2. The phone has a nice weight. Feels good in hand in ‘candy bar’ mode.
3. All the settings options are now behind a ‘control panel’ icon.
4. The e-mail client is even further improved over the Nokia messaging version tested with the E63. It has better configuration options and graphics.
5. The build quality of the device feels solid and the internal QWERTY keypad has a good rubberised finish which improves accuracy and prevents sliding onto adjacent keys.
6. Has a great crisp screen with a nice bright finish which copes well in direct sunlight. Lacks the attractive FP2 transitions that the N86 had though.
7. The slide-out keyboard really has a ‘wow factor’ and impressed colleagues.
8. Best of all! The keypad tones are now off by default – the first Nokia I’ve ever tested where this isn’t the first thing I turn off!

The ‘not sure’:

1. If used flat on a desk with the QWERTY keypad open, the device falls backwards when the D-pad button is used.
2. With ‘tap to silence’ turned on the device only rings for a second or two before silencing (even if untouched on a desk) – could be a bug or user error, will check further.
3. No ‘full-stop and space’ feature on space-bar double-tap like the iPhone and Android.
4. Camera images are a bit too ‘contrasty’ with some colour over-saturated. So far ‘good enough’, but low light tests will be the decider (see the demo images below).
5. No charging via USB port – it’s only just being added to the more expensive N-series devices, but it would have been nice to see.

The bad:

1. When using the D-pad in QWERTY ‘mode’ it’s easy to hit surrounding short-cut keys such as Calendar or E-mail.  This seems much less of a problem in ‘candy bar’ orientation.
2. The E75, like the E71, is still a finger-print magnet – the patterned metal back is already looking mucky after only 15 minutes of handling.
3. My unit has a large gap at one end when the QWERTY keyboard is closed. Could be a manufacturing defect (although slide mechanism is rock-solid).
4. The memory card slot on this unit is so tight I can’t open it.
5. There’s no ‘leather’ sleeve like the E71 and E66 have – it might be a bit naff, but it saved my E71 from a certain death drop.

Overwhelmingly first impressions are good – including (and it’s been a long time since I’ve said this) the software enhancements which are beginning to address some of the usability / complexity issues Nokia and S60 have been suffering from for a while.

Here’s a few camera demo shots in good light.  Low-light ones (where most E-series struggle) to follow: