Nokia have been showing off their Nokia E75 and E55 messaging phones at MWC 2009 this morning. Both phones are business phones that have been designed to take on the Blackberry in the Enterprise market.

Nokia E75 overview

The first thing that strikes you about the E75 is that it looks like a normal phone, yet it contains a full QWERTY keyboard that slides out from underneath the device.

In many ways, the E75 is a Nokia E90 in a much smaller form factor. The keyboard isn’t quite so fancy as the E90, and the screen’s not as big either, but then the E75 is much smaller than the E90, meaning it’ll actually fit in your pocket!

Nokia E55 Overview

The Nokia E55 is the baby brother of the E75. As you can see from the pic, it still has a QWERTY keyboard, but rather than having a full-QWERTY slide-out jobby, it has only a tiny half-QWERTY keyboard instead, with each key containing two characters (you rock the key to the left or right to get the character you want).

Both phones come with Nokia’s enhanced messaging service, and can render emails encoded with HTML as well as text. In addition, they both also comes with GPS, and, oddly for business phones, Nokia’s N-Gage mobile gaming platform!

Nokia E75 and E55 in detail

From the press release:

Nokia today unveiled two new additions to its Eseries range, the Nokia E75 and Nokia E55, which are the first to ship with the companys new email user interface. Both devices also come standard with Nokia Messaging that, when added to the companys corporate email clients, gives people the most efficient solution for accessing the worlds consumer and corporate email on the go.

In todays climate, the costs and benefits of technology are under closer scrutiny and email is an essential driver of efficiency and productivity.

“Efficiency is about doing more with less and focusing on whats truly essential, says Kai Oistamo”, Executive Vice President at Nokia. “With direct access to Microsoft Exchange and IBM Lotus Notes, companies can potentially save up to a third of their operating costs as theres no need for middleware or additional servers.”

Enhanced email and messaging support

With the latest Eseries devices, people will no longer need to boot up a PC to get a full desktop email experience. The enhanced email UI includes folder and HTML email support, expandable views and sorting capability by date, sender and size, as well as the most commonly used email functions just a single click away.

On top of email, the devices also offer improved calendar capability, as well as contacts and task management. With the Nokia E75 we took a lot of inspiration from the Nokia 9300, which was our first mini communicator, adds Oistamo. Owners of the Nokia 9300 loved the messaging functionality a full keyboard provided, but also used the traditional phone keypad a great deal. With the Nokia E75 we kept these essential ingredients, significantly upgraded all of the features and made it as compact as possible.

“When we launched the Nokia E71 last year, we really set a new standard for just how compact a full QWERTY device could be”, continues Oistamo. “We have continued on this theme and have come back with the worlds most compact messaging device, the Nokia E55. With the benefits of a compact QWERTY keyboard – as well as one click access to the most commonly use programs – reading, managing and responding to emails is quick and efficient.”

Superb battery life

Another standout feature is the extensive battery life, with the Nokia E55 providing up to 28 days of standby time.

“With the Nokia E55 we have made messaging as efficient and pocketable as possible, continues Oistamo. In our usage tests, the Nokia E55s compact QWERTY keyboard has been proven to be fast to learn and quicker to use than standard phone keypads.”

GPS and N-Gage

Added to the Nokia Messaging service, both devices come with full Nokia Maps and assisted GPS with integrated 3-month license for turn-by-turn navigation, and a great gaming experience with N-Gage on board. With Ovi Files, also included on the Nokia E75, important files stored on a PC can be remotely managed and shared, even when your PC is switched off.

The new handsets come in the wake of the most successful year for Eseries to date, with more than 10 million units shipped in 2008. With companies looking to consolidate costs and assets, and with the number of email-enabled devices in the Nokia range and our direct access model, Nokia look set to continue this performance in 2009, concludes Oistamo.

The Nokia E75 release date is expected to be in March at an estimated retail price of 375 EUR, before taxes and subsidies. The Nokia E55 release date is expected to ship in the second quarter at an estimated retail price will be 265 EUR, before taxes and subsidies.