Nokia E71

Nokia E71

So this is a Nokia E71 - an upgrade from E61 which was a nice phone but looked like a Volvo. In terms of capabilities, Nokia E71 is almost flawless, offering a wide range of multimedia and connectivity possibilities. The design has much improved and now Nokia is possibly the sleekest qwerty cell phone in existence, measuring only 1cm in depth.

Memory and OS

Nokia E71 qwerty cell phone is running a Symbian OS 9.2. It is a major competitor of Windows Mobile and probably if you love Windows, you won’t like Symbian - and oposite. However, this phone is quite close to be a super-smartphone showing off many computer-like capabilities like selecting and copying bits of text from a browser to a notepad or similar tricks. Overall, Symbian is not that bad - it is not crashing as often any more. You will probably experience problems while watching videos online or downloading large chunks of information.

It has a 256 MB in-built memory (only 112 Mb free due to software) that can be upgraded to 8 Gb with a help of MicroSD flash cards.

Nokia E71 has an office suite called QuickOffice that is compatible with all Microsoft Office products. That means you will be able to read, edit and save Word documents and Excel spreadsheets. A wireless printing interface will let you print your work while you’re out of your office.

Multimedia and Socializing

Now, how do you like the screen? You will definitely see the difference. Nokia E71 qwerty cell phone comes with a 320 x 240 pixel screen that supports 16.7 million colours (24 bit). Videos will look much better, the picture is crisp and sharp, you will also have a chance to evaluate all the flaws of the phone camera.

Although the hardware bit is OK - well, it is a 3.2 Megapixel camera with a LED flash - there is a problem with the way software handles the images. My HTC 620 with 1.4 Megapixel camera does better images. If you are not too fussy, don’t worry though. You won’t be able to do art photo with Nokia E71 but stick around. Possibly with the next software update, this camera will work better. The camera can make an image of 2048 x 1536 pixels. To have at least some quality, set the camera to a smaller size - let’s say 1280 x 1024. In a smaller resolution the images taken by Nokia E71 look quite OK.

Other forms of entertainment on this qwerty cell phone include FM radio, MP3 player and video viewer. As this phone supports Java, you will find mobile games to your liking. Although it runs on a single core 369MHz ARM processor, 3D games are obviously no problem for Nokia E71.

Walk On - you’ve got a GPS

This qwerty cell phone provides a very convincing version of GPS navigation. It is aimed not only at motorists but as walkers too. If you enjoy moving around the city on Shank’s pony. This version of Symbian software comes with Nokia Maps 2.0 which has a much better sense of orientation. It shows both driving directions and walking directions, which means that if there is a satellite up in the sky, you will never lose your way.

Connectivity

Quad-band is definitely a standard among qwerty cell phones. Also BlueTooth 2.0, USB cable connect and Wi-Fi is provided by Nokia E71. It has a strong 3G connection that monitors the signal constantly. Once the coverage is weak it switches to EDGE but still keeps looking for 3G and once it is back in the radar, switches to 3G. Very convenient. Don’t forget that on 3G you can shift data and talk simultaneously. So there’s no need in stopping a download to pick up an incoming call.

Cons?

Well, the camera is a pain. Probably the next software update will solve that.

Symbian OS - you have to try it before you buy. Maybe it is OK for you, but some people don’t like this operational system.

Design - it doesn’t look businessy enough. Still “smells” of an old Volvo but now much better than E61.

Bottomline

Nokia E71 qwerty cell phone is a classic looking gadget packed with multimedia capabilities. If you are always on the move, you will enjoy the FM radio and GPS navigation. Business users are unlikely to switch to Nokia, though.

Where to buy?

Phones & Plans

not available

Unlocked Phones

Unlocked or pre-used Nokia E71

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Customer Reviews:

Nokia E71 International Version review

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