Nokia E71 - Black (Unlocked) Smartphone

While Nokia makes a habit of practically defining "featurephone" for the industry, traditionally it's handsets like the N95 that hog all the spotlight, leaving Nokia's few QWERTY phones in the shadows. Not that they've been trying too hard -- while the E62 and E61i have both shipped over here, neither has featured 3G data in US bands, and the E62 even had the distinct pleasure of having WiFi stripped out. Enter E71, the successor to those phones, and Nokia's very first QWERTY device to feature US-friendly 3G.

Nokia is also (finally) taking form factor much more seriously: at 10mm thick, the E71 is one of the slimmest Nokia phones to date, and Nokia claims it's the thinnest QWERTY smartphone on the market. The E71 also attacks the drab, plastic looks of its predecessors with chrome accents and a glossy screen. The phone is incredibly pocketable, and comfortable to hold and use. Of course, with the smaller size Nokia had to cut down on screen real estate and keyboard spacing, but at a QVGA resolution there's little suffering on that front. The keyboard had a much more rigid, clicky feel to it compared to the spongy keys of the E62, and we were virtually typo-free on it within minutes.
With all this concentration on the exterior, Nokia hasn't forgotten the feature overload of old. The E71 includes A-GPS, WiFi, a 3.2 megapixel camera, A2DP Bluetooth, 110MB of built-in memory and a microSD slot. There's also plenty of software to take advantage of all that tech, thanks to the quite-mature S60 platform. It's running 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1, which lacks the screen transition fanciness of FP2, but seems much more stable and usable to us than its fresh-faced successor. Being a business centric device, the E71 comes with a full complement of office, email and PIM software, including a feature to switch on the fully between business and personal accounts, complete with separate mailboxes and home screens.



We'll confess to being spoiled by the iPhone's touch interface -- while there is more customizability and more power at your fingertips with the standard, d-pad controlled S60, there certainly seem to be an abundance of button presses to accomplish even simple tasks, though we never feel lost or confused by the OS. Some of the truly powerful features include Nokia's impressive Maps 2.0 application, the WebKit-powered S60 browser (which even includes an easy-to-use feed reader), and a strong integration with online photo services such as Ovi and Flickr, the former of which even includes geotagging for your photos. Nokia's own music store doesn't yet support the United States, but while the media-playback interface pales in comparison to today's more music-centric phones, playback support is certainly there, including true YouTube and Flash support.
The screen isn't particularly stunning, only 2.36-inches diagonal, QVGA and none-too-bright, but it certainly gets the job done and leaves room for all that QWERTY. Battery life is basically a non-issue, with 20 days of standby, and 10.5 hours of GSM talk, though the 4.5 hours of 3G talk might pose an issue. We didn't really put the processor to the test, but load times for just about everything were quite zippy, especially compared to the E62's consistent sluggishness in loading up simple things like recent calls and the address book.

Overall it's all about your OS of choice and what exactly you want to do with your phone.

Well I can break it down by the categories to keep it simple.

Like:
Slim design: I'm tired of carrying bulky phones and this phone feels sturdy when I hold it. The build quality is what I have come accustomed to with the e series.

Qwerty: I need this as I seem to have a hard time texting on a touch screen. Plus the buttons are raised an are responsive unlike some which are flat.

OS: I like the symbian system its clean an to the point. People will complain about its not intuitive enough or its hard to set certain things up. Every phone has a learning curve an this one is no different from any other. I like how I can switch modes from work to home and have a different set up for my needs.

Battery: What more can I say this battery for me lives up to the specs. Give or take depending on the day but I can go about a 2.5 days with heavy internet use texting an about maybe 5 hours of calls.

Apps: It seems now a days if your phone doesnt or cant download or use third party apps then its not worth it. Well this phone can download apps and they have a ton of them out there for all kinds of needs. So before I bought this phone I wanted to see whats available an how much or if its free.

Dislike:
Camera: I would have like to see a better camera on here like they have on the N series phones as well as a dedicated camera button. But I can deal with it. The flash is pretty bright but again I have seen an had better. Its doable for me.

2.5 MM jack: I wish they would have put the 3mm one on but it seems they have remedied that with the e72 I believe.

Signature manager: It seems that nokia decided to do this to stem people from downloading illegal or questionable programing on to their phone. But you can work around this by either getting it signed or just telling your phone to except all, if you trust whom you are downloading from an the program.

Back cover Plate: This thing is a finger print magnet. I just installed a zagg protector an it keeps it looking clean. Or what ever you want like a skin or cover.

Screen: The screen is excellent except for the upper center it seems that the letters seem faded or is fading. It was the same on my last e71 an that was used(one reviewing is new). Im not sure if it is a factory problem or what but I can live with it.

GPS: It is slow an the price to run it all year is ridiculous. There are other GPS apps for it but I dont think its safe to try an look at a small screen an drive. Others may be more talented than me at that but why risk it. Plan ahead or get a real GPS system. You can never have to many gadgets anyway.

Decision to buy:

I bought this phone for a number of reasons an everyone is different. For me it fit the bill an most of everyone's dislikes about it are just personal preference and nothing that I couldn't live with or work around. Its slim, has a qwerty, it was unlocked an works great with my network. Doesn't feel flimsy in hand an the battery life is a must as I don't like charging my phone on the constant. Plus I got a great deal on the phone but it took awhile to get it at the price I wanted to pay for.
One more thing an it might seem odd but I also bought it for the fact that there are forums for this phone so if you run into a problem then there is help. Plus its great to have people do all the homework for you such as best places for themes or apps or even a work around to a simple issue.

Overall: Buy it an you wont look back

This has to be the best smartphone I've ever owned.
List of previous smartphones and their downfalls (IMO): SMT5600 (no wifi, hardware failed), t-mobile SDA (chubby phone, hard to browse net), t-mobile MDA (bulky), t-mobile Dash (great phone, so-so battery life), t-mobile G1 (poor battery life, bulky), HTC Touch dual (no wifi).

The Nokia E71 solves almost all of these little quirks I have with the previous phones I owned. The E71 is pencil thin, literally. The battery cover is metal instead of plastic, which makes it very sturdy. The keyboard is well built, buttons are easily accessed without error. Browsing with wifi is smooth and easy. connecting with wifi with apps installed is easily done too. I do not have internet data plan, therefore wifi is a big plus for me. Battery life has been rated very good for this phone, which is another feature I wanted. The built in GPS works well with Garmin XT mobile software. GPS signal fix takes about 2-5 minutes inside of a car. similar to the iphone and android app store, nokia has one called OviStore. It does not have as many apps as iphone or android but it does offer free apps as well as paid. This is the first phone I have used with Symbian OS instead of Windows mobile. Symbian60 OS is quite stable and quick. I like how there is 4 special buttons that already have built-in quick press and long-press actions. for example, press the home key to bring you back to home screen, or hold home key and it will pull up a task manager of all running programs to swap to. Connecting the USB to the phone you get an option of: mass storage, or pc sync, etc. Overall, Nokia has really done a great job setting up the phone software to work optimally out of the box.

Auido quality is superb! speaker phone is pretty loud and clear even at highest level. the location of the speaker is at the top of the phone which is a great place to prevent muffling the sound had it been placed on the back of the phone. the headphone jack is 2.5mm, which means you need to use an adapter to use regular headphones.

Camera function: although this phone was meant for business, it has a 3.2 MP camera with autofocus capability! there is no dedicated camera key. you'll notice professional reviews say the image quality is so-so and I completely agree. you have to have perfect lighting to get a high quality image, otherwise pictures are washed out or grainy. Closeup shots are pretty clear especially when using the autofocus button. it also shoots video, and the quality of it has nothing impressive or bad to mention about.

So how does this phone compare to Iphone and G1?
iphone and g1 both will have better webbrowsing experience due to larger screen and touch screen. although battery life will be considerably less than the nokia e71. Iphone does not have a keypad, which is something I look for in a phone. It's more responsive than touchscreen. with G1 it has a keyboard but you have to turn it to the side and slide open the keyboard to press in a phone number. My HTC Touch Dual was perfect, with the exception of not having wifi (something I really need when I don't have a data plan). The deal breaker might be a larger appstore and better cameraphone. So if those are you're two needs, look elsewhere because finding symbian software is considerably harder than finding windows mobile/android/iphone apps. On the other hand, most of the software needed is already supplied out of the box! Great job Nokia, you have converted me from WinMo!

I picked the E71x by Nokia due to their reputation for good sound quality and user friendliness. I wanted a Smart Phone that was easy to learn, fun to use, fully functional, and sanely priced. Was determined to keep my search under $200, and since my very first cellphone was a Nokia -- way back in the day -- I found a perfect test subject on eBay (very slightly used for $170). You might even do better on CraigsList.

On the plus side: (1) nice looking phone -- very Blackberry-like in appearance; (2) fully qwerty key board -- easy to maneuver and type; (3) keys, while seeming very tight and close together, actually are amazingly easy to work on; (3) better and more consistent call quality (AT&T signal) than any other phone I have used (I change phones frequently due to fickleness); (4) Nokia's PC Suite is simple and straightforward -- synching is fast and foolproof; (5) battery life is exceptional -- even with lots of calls and texts, my battery lasts 3-4 days without recharging; (6) it's really fun to use -- tempting to just play with -- you can put your whole life on it (it will take up to an 8gb mini SD -- rumors are rampant that it can take more, but 8gb is all I have now; (7) the SD card is easy to access from the side, so you don't have that annoying task of dismantling the entire phone to get to the memory card; (8) the screen is small but images are crisp and sharp -- and refreshingly readable in sunlight -- a genuine bonus, for sure; (9) pictures look great and videos transfer easily and are easy on the eyes; (10) songs sound good -- listening to music on my phone is not really my thing -- I have a Nano for that -- but in a pinch, the sound quality is fully acceptable.

On the minus side: (1) a really heavy phone: I moved from a Blackberry 8100 Pearl, which I loved and is lighter, to a small brick, but it doesn't really feel all that heavy in the pocket -- barely noticeable, actually; (2) the Symbian curve is a little weird when you begin -- not quite as intuitive as the Blackberry or even the simplistic Motorola Razor, but it takes a few days to adjust; (3) a few too many layers/levels to perform simple tasks -- shortcuts eliminate this, but it takes some studied practice to learn them -- definitely worth the effort, but the phone seems unnecessarily cluttered; (4) most definitely screams for a protective skin -- the weight alone makes you paranoid about dropping the thing on the nearest sidewalk -- I got a cheap but effective black silicone wrap. It's now easy to grip and difficult to let slip. Highly recommended, though -- Nokia should really ship the phone with one of these.

Overall, a great tool/toy for calling, texting, and e-mail. Not so much for internet use -- okay but it's certainly not an iPhone -- but if all you need is the basic 3, you'll be delighted. Might stay with this phone for a while.

In short: *** Get the E71, not the E71x. ***

The Nokia E71 series is simply awesome! I am really happy with the phone despite the monumental issues I have with the x version. Ergonomics, screen quality, sound quality, processor speed, WAN search, GPS, connect and reception (are awesome!), durability, applications, blue tooth functionality (fantastic!) and camera are all awesome.

That said, the AT&T x version has major annoyances I would NOT have purchased if I knew them before buying.

Major issues:
1. To get a phone number from phone book you must do the following:
a. Unlock the keypad
b. Click the phone book
c. Enter a name and numbers selection appear
d. If you chose a name incorrectly you must click back and then re- enter the name.

Get it? First off, I should not have to click and wait for the phone book to open, normal qwerty phones allow for search entry without clicking on phone book and waiting for it to open (4 or 5 seconds waiting time). Secondly, if you select the wrong name and click Back, it doesn't remember the name you entered. You have to type it AGAIN! Do all that while you are driving and you will eventually crash or get a ticket. E71 does not have these faults. E71x does. There should be nothing past step b. All I should have to do is unlock then type the name like the E71 does. The typed name should be REMEMBERED in case I go back. AT&T Jerks.

2. I legitimately had AT&T unlock the phone (after contract they unlock it upon request). But you cannot access the internet from any other provider. I unlocked it because I went to Europe and wanted to use it there. Phone GMS works, internet will not. It will only hook up with AT&T internet service. They lock you from using the profile to connect with the GSM internet. AT&T Jerks!

3. Tons and tons and tons and tons of useless apps that you have to pay for to use and cannot delete. The phone is loaded with all this crappy software and you cannot use it unless you pay for it. You cannot delete it if you don't want it. That is a jerky move. Tons!!!! Did I mention that? They just get in the way and you can't move /hide the majority of them to another folder so you have to go through them at all times to get to your own software you actually want and purchased. I don't want or need this crap software. AT&T Jerks!!

4. Can't change the screen layout, you must use only the AT&T crap desktop layout. E71 let's you use any version downloaded, they give you many nice useful option AND you can customize. Why the heck did AT&T get rid of that? AT&T Jerks!

5. No radio! They removed the radio! I like to listen to the radio. The E71 has this feature. The E71x hardware does have it technically. The AT&T version removed the software and won't allow it back in (I tried). They must want you to pay for their jerkass radio services I guess. AT&T Jerks!

6. I can't stress how crappy that phone book issue is, I am going to repeat it here. It reminds me of the crappiness every time I want to make a call.

That sums up the bad parts you will not find with the E71. Being that it does function like an E71 for the other important areas (noted in the first paragraph) I will give this device a 'Good' rating, I am still enjoying it. That is a testament to how awesome the important noted features are.
Pay the extra 20 bucks for the E71.

-Steve
PS, Credit due: I purchased this on ebay, called AT&T to unlock it. They did it without any problem.