What are the main differences? Is the E-series supposed to be more upmarket? I was looking at all the Nokia phones in a shop yesterday and the N-series all seem quite plasticy.

Yeeaa.....can't understand why they would use cheap plastic in their casings.

Originally the N-series was multimedia-oriented and the E-series was business/enterprise-oriented.

The distinction between the two has been blurred though. E-series devices with 3+ MP cameras and Ovi support, N-series devices running Nokia Messaging, all show the different models encroaching on the others' turf.

The E-series has always enjoyed near-legendary build quality, but even that is now suspect. There has never been an N-series with a full QWERTY keyboard, but the N97 will change that and continue to blur the line between the two types. I think it's now a question of finding the model that best suits your individual needs by pouring through the features of each device and noticing the subtle nuances of each.

Rambo pretty much summed it up. The E Series was originally intended as a business-focused series of devices(full QWERTY keyboards, focus on email, exceptional build quality, etc.) while the N Series was initially originally intended to be a series of phones that excelled in the multimedia department(high resolution cameras, "DVD-like" video recording and playback, integrated FM radios, N-Gage, etc.) but they're now blurring that line and, in essence, rendering labeling devices either E or N Series a moot point.

I think Nokia should do what Sony Ericsson did. Sony Ericsson combined features from their Cybershot and Walkman lines of phones in their high-end phones(i.e. the C905 and W995) while saving the Walkman/Cybershot distinction for the low- to mid-end phones.

As jaekidd and rambo have mentioned, the distinction was previously about media v. business, but the lines have now been blurred significantly with release of devices like the E75 and n85 that share many of the same features, such as Nokia Messaging on the N85 or a 3.5mm headphone jack on the E75. The build quality of E series devices (excepting the E90) is still by and large superior, with more metal and stiffer, sturdier cases, but outside of that it comes down to choosing a form factor and importance of media quality v. build quality.

little things are still different..

E series will allow much more customization of the active standby screen than the N series, missed calls, email etc...Some of the newer N series wont even allow you to remove certain items from active standby.

Yeah that kinda sucks.

Also I believe E-series has a far better contact search system. Even the S40 phones better the N-series with their recently used contacts list.

I always felt, but couldn't confirm this . That the reception/sound quality was always better on the N. The E never sounded right too soft but always were build well.

Not to mention the XpressMusic line is already blurring the divide. The 5730 would have a slider qwerty too. All in all, Nokia is introducing three new slider qwerty in three different lines. Furthermore, the 5730XM, like the E75, runs on Symbian S60 3.2. The 5730 succeeds the 5700 which is the first XM to have Symbian S60.

If you have a hypothetical future "5830" that has the 5800 with a slider qwerty, it blurs the distinction with the N97.

Basically you can say that eseries sucks at multimedia(hiss on earphone/super crappy camera) , and nseries sucks at built quality (loose slider / inconsistance keys). Is upto you which would suck less on you.

one thing i'd like to say...

despite the nseries phones "feeling" cheap, the plastic they use is really good for drops and bumps. the e71 is built like a tank, but i dropped mine out of the car the other day and the sides are all scuffed up. on the other hand my n82 has hit the floor many times and not a scratch

Aren't these all running the same OS, Symbian 9.1, Series 3, FP1 or 2? If so, then how come there are differences in the way the OS behaves, and some apps aren't 'compatible' with some E or N models?? Very confusing.

Yes but there are different software tweaks to each handset which differentiates it from the others. Otherwise, there would be nothing to differentiate the handsets on the software side of things which would essentially defeat the purpose of choosing between different handsets.

Yeah, brand distinction is a part of effective marketing. But it's annoying when an application that is published by Nokia is listed as compliant with S60 but NOT your model of Nokia that is running S60...!...??

I can attest to that. I've dropped my N95 a few times with only a couple of small nicks to show for it and it still ticks on with no problems. . Just gotta make sure I don't push my luck LOL!