Nokia launches E51 'desk phone replacement' mobile

Nokia is trying to muscle-in on the business telephony market with a new mobile phone that can integrate with an existing PBX system, allowing calls normally destined for the desk phone to be routed to a mobile, meaning staff need only have one phone for the office and on the move.

The E51 is a dual-mode handset with both 3G and Wi-Fi. The latter allows the handset to connect to a business's PBX phone system, allowing users to access internal phone lists as well as make and receive calls.

"We want to add mobile to unified communications. We think we are bringing something unique," says Antti Vasara, general manager of Nokia's mobile device business unit. "The E51 can also be your desk phone - it can be connected to your corporate phone system and have all the functionality of that."

Providing employees with mobile access to their fixed phone line can have tangible productivity benefits, according to Nokia's solutions partner BT Global Services. It claims 56 per cent of office phone calls go unanswered in businesses without fixed/mobile convergence (FMC), falling to 33 per cent when the employee effectively carries their landline with them around the office.

FMC also allows employees who roam between different branch offices to have access to their landline facilities, providing the office has full Wi-Fi deployment. "For people who are making a lot of calls on their mobile, away from their desk, in offices with full Wi-Fi coverage, there are cost savings to be made," says Rakesh Mahajan, global director of mobility at BT Global Services.

The phone also includes features such as a 2-megapxiel digital camera, video playback from its 240 x 320 resolution screen. It also supports Bluetooth stereo audio streaming.

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