Nokia E6: Symbian Anna Homescreens hands-on

The Nokia E6 has landed and brings with it the Symbian Anna update. One of the first things you notice on this QWERTY smartphone is the three new Homescreen layouts Join us as we check out the Nokia E6 Symbian Anna Homescreens hands-on.

The Nokia E6 differs from previous QWERTY business smartphones by virtue of having a touchscreen display, it also manages to pack in a Full VGA display into its 2.46-inch panel. Due to the compact nature of the display you'll find the Nokia E6 display isn't the same as on the likes of the Nokia N8 or Nokia E7.

Check out our Nokia E6 unboxing review

So much so, it follows the same laid down by the Nokia E71 and Nokia E72. To this end you'll find the clock and date pushed into the left-hand corner with your active profile details placed underneath – on the Nokia N8, for example, you'll find this to the right. Below active profiles is an empty box, which sadly can't presently be utilised for anything.

On the right-hand side of the screen you'll find a similar three banks, with enough space for four apps in each one. You'll find that Nokia defaults this to Messaging, Web, Store and Maps on the main screen, with email options in the bottom box. The middle one is left empty waiting for you to populate it with your own preferences.

Symbian Anna has a neat trick in that you can now preview the screen you're scrolling to, something that was lacking in the previous version. The second and third homescreens follow a similar pattern by offering up the clock and profiles on each page, something you don't have to have on the Nokia E7 or Nokia N8, for example.

The second homescreen is aimed at more personal apps, so you'll find Phone Setup, Photos, Camera and Search along the top, while the option to load your favourite social networking apps. The third screen simply has a music player, waiting for you to fill the rest of the page with your favourite multimedia apps.

The Nokia e6 homescreens make the most of the space available and while they hark back to the older Symbian S60 3rd Edition screen, the addition of touchscreen makes it so much easier to use.