Nokia’s E71 means business
Posted on Thursday, October 2nd, 2008 at 09:30 by Simon and filed under Mobile Phones, Reviews.
Following on the highly successful E61, Nokia’s E71 is the new kid on the business-phone block bringing a robust smartphone offering to market complete with just about every feature available. ZA Tech got hands-on with the device and soon placed it on top of the 2008 smartphone pile in terms of features and value.
The form-factor of the E71 is possibly its most appealing feature. The phone is slender and small, but feels remarkably robust and solid with its attractive metal casing. The full qwerty keyboard is a miracle of ergonomics and at first glance looks like it’s way too small to be usable – but then you use it. With the ‘z’ key situated right under the ‘a’ (where it should be) the keyboard on the E71 is one of a kind in the mobile world and a pleasure to type on.
In terms of connectivity the E71 has everything you need. Wireless networking, Bluetooth, integrated GPS and lightning-fast HSDPA connectivity offering the best of mobile broadband. The included browser is highly capable with tabbed browsing and support for most web standards, while the email client offers one-step setup for the most popular mail options, including Gmail. BlackBerry support is not included out-of-the-box however, and this requires a third party application to be downloaded and installed.
Nokia Maps is included on the device for use with the integrated GPS, along with a one-year subscription to voice navigation services. Maps is an impressive service offering maps of the world for free via the Nokia Map Loader desktop software. Navigation services are also included for free, but voice navigation as such is a paid-for subscription after the first year. If you don’t mind glancing at the screen while driving then you could probably get by without the voice prompts anyway.
A new feature from the Symbian operating system is the ability to have alternative home screens, and this works really well on the E71. You could, for example, set up one screen with the applications you most commonly use at work, and another with those you use at home. Switching between the two is a one-click process.
The E71 also introduces the Navi key for scrolling, with a notification light built in. The key is functional but took some getting used to.
As a media device the E71 is way more capable than its predecessor and does a decent job of playing videos and music – although a trip to Youtube on the device revealed highly-pixelated playback for flash video. Not bad, but not as good as, for example, the iPhone.
That said, the E71′s camera is better than most, offering 3.2 megapixels, digital zoom and LED flash with decent video capture.
Make no mistake, however – the E71 is a business phone. Its looks will turn heads around the boardroom table and its features have been tweaked for the corporate environment. For example, you can turn the phone over to silence it, or simply tap the screen. Perfect for quickly dismissing a call during a meeting. The E71 also has improved support for Exchange and IMAP mail with the ability to view office attachments on the fly, including most Microsoft Office formats.
But the E71 is a modern business phone, designed for the mobile migration where work and life blend and the ability to view Facebook is as important as being able to answer emails while out of the office. On the work-life seesaw it teeters over on the work-end, but won’t disappoint as and entertainment device.
The E71 uses a standard USB port for sync services and data transfer, but can not charge from this port. This is the only real letdown I experienced with the phone and something I hope Nokia includes in the E72.
Other than that the Nokia E71 is one of the best smartphone devices I have used and earns a top-spot on the 2008 listings along with the iPhone 3G and new devices from BlackBerry. Unlike its competitors, however, the E71 is an unlimited device in terms of applications and being able to use Skype over your HSDPA connection with Fring, for example, is a trivial affair while being nigh-impossible on the iPhone or Blackberry without some form of hack. And for that the E71 gets my vote.
4 Comments so far
Comment by Steve, posted on November 11th, 2008 at 13:01
I agree with your review. It is an awesome phone. I am still getting used to the Mail for Exchange app. I may download a third-party sync solution . I also still need to download fring.
The NAVTEQ powered maps work well. As a business phone, it has everything, even an FM radio and decent camera for the weekends! I am now a Nokia fan!
I am hoping to get mine today….I’m so excited.
Love your review though.
If a supplier had to make ‘the perfect’ phone all the others would run out of business….so this almost perfect E71 will certainly satisfy me.
I just hope the navigation works well cause I am gonna need it!
Hi there. Very good review, very helpful. Does the standard package include a micro SD card? Thank you.
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I got the E71 about a month ago and have also been thoroughly impressed. My two complaints
1 – why can’t they use a normal USB connection?
2 – why doesnt the USB connection charge the cell phone? You need to puy an additional USB cable that plugs into the battery charge port.
2 minuses amidst a sea of plusses though.