Nokia currently has two top of the line offerings, the Nseries line and the Eseries line.  The Nseries is focused on multimedia and services such as OVI and N-Gage, while the Eseries is focused on business tasks. Although both series run on the same S60 platform their differences would surprise you.  I have heard many people say ''The E90 is a N95 with QWERTY and slightly worse camera'' but is that true?  Can a Eseries work for a Nseries person? Or vice-versa, can a Nseries work for a Eseries person?

We will compare both offerings and get the answer.

Hardware

In the hardware lays the most important differences between Eseries and Nseries.  The Nseries has more Multimedia-friendly hardware.  a larger internal memory, a 3.5mm jack, the Carl-Zeiss Lens which brings a better camera, 30 FPS Recording and more recently, FM Transmitter and DVB-H tuner. The Eseries lacks all of the characteristics mentioned above, but the Eseries also has some hardware that the Nseries lacks. Build quality , QWERTY keyboard, personalized keys and long lasting battery are all present on Eseries, but missing on Nseries.

The Nseries user can't use a Eseries device, first of all,  Eseries devices take mediocre pictures. The Carl-Zeiss lens and the megapixel count get a much better result than the standard camera an Eseries has. Also. the multimedia user will go crazy without a 3.5mm port, in which he can connect a decent pair of headphones. Adaptors are just not convenient, they are generally big and damage the sound quality. The video recording is also necessary if you are a multimedia user.

On the other hand the Eseries user can't use a Nseries mostly because of the QWERTY keyboard, although he can use a Nseries without losing too much efficiency if the QWERTY keyboard is not a must-have.

Software

Both lines run on the S60 platform, but the Eseries S60 is different from the Nseries S60, for example ,the E-Mail is overall better on Eseries. Also, the Eseries includes the Internet Telephone application and IM application that the Nseries does not have. The Calendar and Organizer is richer and more effective on the Eseries, the QuickOffice is licensed unlike the Nseries QuickOffice. Overall, the Eseries has a more efficient software than the Nseries does. The Nseries' only strenght is N-Gage, which the Eseries will never have in my opinion.

Here the Eseries user tends to not like the Nseries software because of the lack of efficiency. If the Nseries user goes for a Eseries, he will loose one of the biggest advantages the Nseries has: the N-Gage service.   I am a Nseries user, but I just fell in love with the Eseries functionality and much better software offering.

Conclusion

The differences are clear, business/multimedia.  But I ask to myself: WHY? Why this difference? Can't a business user take decent pictures? Can't a multimedia user use QWERTY keyboard?  I still don't see the point of this division, both users are losing functionalities.  Nokia should fully merge these two branches.  Nokia divides Multimedia and Business as nature divides oil and water.  But in my opinion, what Nokia is not understanding is that users want both worlds, who says a multimedia user does not want a QWERTY keyboard for more efficient writing, or a business user does not need a 3.5mm Jack in his phone?  Currently Nseries users cannot use Eseries devices because it will not be enough, but nonetheless, Nseries users definitevely want a bigger long lasting battery in their phones as well as a good build quality and some of them want QWERTY keyboard. As for Eseries devices users, it would be more convenient to have a more multimedia capable phone. I would like to see Nokia merging both lines, and create a line which has the best of both worlds.