Nokia E71

[shariqq]

I've zeroed in on the Nokia E71 - but its still in concept territory, and a few months away from actual release. My entitlement from work means I have to purchase by April.

So, what did you get?

Here's what I found about the e71 while surfing.

Rumoured specifications

    * Symbian OS, S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2
    * Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE
    * UMTS/HSDPA (3.6 Mbps) - assumed to be 2100MHz band at least
    * QVGA (320x240) 2.36" landscape display
    * Dimensions: 112 x 57 x 10 mm Weight: 120 g (E61i: 117 x 70 x 14 mm 150 g)
    * 3.2 Megapixel camera (plus front camera for those, oh so important video calls}
    * Micro SD up to 8GB
    * Bluetooth, GPS, WiFi etc
    * Available Q2 2008
    * All the usual S60 goodies
    * For connector freaks, usb or 3.5mm sockets can't be confirmed or denied from the spy shots yet

Below, a comparison of the E61i & E71, and the prototype.

[fizz]

The first pic is a fake photoshopped image. The Second is real, but surprise, surprise, there is NOTHING out even now...3 months since the original leak. Some people are now saying perhaps the phone might just remain at concept stage since there is nothing wrong with the sturdy E61i anyway. Perhaps you might be able to get the inside scoop from Nokia (hint, hint!).

If I had to pick one phone now perfect for my needs it would likely be the Blackberry 8320, thought it still is no 'officially' released here, and I don't want the one available in stores with the big ugly T-Mobile logo...

[fizz]

Here is a pic. Also, I'm 1 month overdue in terms of buying an official phone from work...

[sammy]

did u get anything yet ?

the e71 hit US a few weeks ago (or week??) and the new iphone is out soon too!
iPhone SDK was launched as well..
the BB's new baby's UI looks decent as well.
Check out the garmin mobile too...but no keypad - all touch....

[fizz]

Nothing bought yet...but soon.

Since E71 has (finally) been officially announced (but not released), it seems to be the strongest contender. Even though I'd prefer Palm over Nokia any day, the fact that Palm refuses to bother with Wifi is a pain in these wireless times. There is no deal breaker for me at the moment, but yes, E71 looks pretty (close). Depends on UAE launch (word on the street is sometime in July) and price (probably in the vicinity of AED 2K).

The iphone I'd stay far away from.

I've been doing some research on Garmin, but the technology right now is too new, so its likely that any products launched would likely have revisions come out soon after. I would not want any experimental device till its reached maturity.

[sammy]

apparently the new iphone has full support for enterprise apps ?
Whats your reasons for staying away?

[fizz]

My problem with Iphone, based on what I've read about it and having used it somewhat, is that its no better than lets say the Palm was a couple of years ago, without the advantage of all the freeware. Even though developers have now been allowed to work on Apple software's, they will take sometime before hitting critical mass (say 2 years or so). Also, basic things that I take for granted are missing, for e.g. copy and paste functions just aren't there. And boy, that touchscreen keyboard is messy - give me a stylus over that anyday.

Despite all this, the Iphone 2.0 has great synchronization with mail clients like Outlook that makes it more appealing than the previous version. Either way, I'm not willing to dish out 2k+ on a phone that doesn't come with a warranty.

[fizz]

Bought this gorgeous beauty the past weekend and I still haven't stopped playing with it. It's everything I could hope for as a Palm-replacement phone and then some. Though I've never been very Nokia centric, I can see why they are so popular...using their phones is just so damn easy. The only compromise I made, and one I was ready for given how little I relied on it, is the lack of touch screen. What I now realise is that the phones interface and form factor are so well developed that the lack of a stylus never registers as an issue.

What I really love about this phone is that it has 2 modes - one for work and the other for home, all with customizable home screen application shortcuts, so that when I go back, I can literally switch to the personal mode that has shortcuts to all non-work related applications and none of the outlook synchronized calendar and task lists. I've also managed to find a whole host of Symbian 60 freeware, the variety and wealth of which can compete with the selection that Palm would offer during its glory days. My favourite application is an SMS enhancer that allows you to view all SMS's you've received from one person in a google talk like chat interface (this was always a standard feature in Palm and I'm glad I have it in this phone too!). All in all, a near-perfect device.

P.S. Had to search high and low before I found the only available version in Dubai with a English only keyboard. Avoid the one that has an Arabic keyboard...typing on it will squint your eyes.

[ozzylogic]

I've been asking you to get a Nokia for eons, but you just don't listen. iMate > Palm > Palm > Nokia!

[X.]

How much is the E71 here?

[ozzylogic]

AED 1799 - Hyper Panda until stocks last (with 15 months warranty!)
AED 1750 - Ansar Mall
Everywhere else - almost AED 2000+

[fizz]

Ak, be careful of the Arabic keypads - even though they have English keys, not only are they bloody confusing to type on (because of all the different characters), they aren't even fucking QWERTY arranged! Avoid this phone if you can't find the English ones, or better yet, pick it when you get back 'home'.

[ozzylogic]

Yeah, the ones in Hyper Panda aren't QWERTY, but AZERTY. Wankers didn't even warn us, and we didn't even notice.

[fizz]

CNET does a comprehensive feature roundup of the best Smartphone's out in the market...and E71 comes right on top!

View their list of Top 15 here

[X.]

May be one of the mods should create a separate E71 thread.

I think this will be my next phone -- I'll be ready to buy it in, say, 3 years.