Nokia Bows Smartphone Without Camera

Most people would think it pretty strange if you walked into work with a camera strapped around your neck, especially in a lab or health care setting. The fact is, now that many smartphones are equipped with cameras, that's essentially what many people are doing. For those that need a smartphone, but are not allowed to have a camera, Nokia has the answer.

Finding smartphones that come without cameras is becoming more and more difficult. As the market heats up and the competition to have the ultimate converged device intensifies, this is only getting worse. Consider the most popular models from Research in Motion, Motorola and Palm. Almost all of them have cameras. That leaves government and health care workers in a bind. Often cameras are not allowed in the workplace, and that includes phones equipped with cameras.

Well, Nokia has heard your pleas, and today introduced a camera-free variant of its popular E51 smartphone.

The E51 is a sleek smartphone that combines function and style in one small device. From powerful voice capability, such as long battery life (13 days standby) to 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity ensuring quick access to emails and web content, the Nokia E51 has all the features you would expect from a business device. It is simple to use with one-touch keys taking the user directly to, 'contacts', 'email', 'calendar' or 'home' — one short press accesses the function and one long press on the key creates a new contact, email or appointment.

If you need to have secure email, the E51 is compatible 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. Setting up multiple inboxes is a snap. RIM has also made its BlackBerry Connect service available on Nokia phones.

The E51 uses Nokia's S60 operating system, which is one of the most capable in the world, and is compatible with thousands of third party applications. This will allow users to remotely access all the information that they might need directly on their device.

Despite its many powerful features, the E51 is small, light, and very pocket friendly. If you're in need of a smartphone without a camera, the E51 is a solid contender.