Nokia E71 review: Messenger of steel

Following some time off since the E51, the Nokia E-series is back to the shop with a new pet for business-minded users. Nokia E71 seems to have it all to take over and build on the E61 QWERTY messengers' expertise. The suave upgrade is much slimmer now (and thus much more pocket-friendly), more powerful and a whole lot more skilled. The smaller display is actually the only step down. Well, we're back in business too, and we're about to see if that's the step back before a major leap forward.

Nokia E71 official photos

Key features:

• Quad-band GSM support
• 3G with HSDPA 3.6Mbps support
• Landscape 2.36" 16M color display of QVGA resolution
• Comfortable full QWERTY keypad
• Convenient business-minded shortcut keys
• Symbian 9.2 OS, S60 UI with FP1 (topped with some FP2 goodies)
• 369 MHz ARM 11 CPU and 128 MB of SDRAM
• Wi-Fi
• Built-in GPS receiver, A-GPS
• 3.15 megapixel auto focus camera with LED flash
• 110 MB of internal memory, microSD expansion, ships with a 2GB card
• Slimmest smartphone to-date, slimmest Wi-Fi and/or GPS handset to-date
• Stainless steel casing
• Standard 2.5mm audio jack
• Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP support
• microUSB v2.0
• FM radio
• Remote Wipe
• Provider-independent VoIP support
• Infrared port
• Great battery life
• Office document editor
• User-friendly Mode Switch for swapping two homescreen setups
• Rich retail package

Main disadvantages:

• Below average camera performance
• Video recording maxes out at QVGA@15fps
• No dedicated camera key
• Smaller display than its predecessor
• Cheap-looking power key
• No RDS for the FM radio

The Nokia E71 is among the best-equipped Nokia smartphones to-date. It's quick and responsive and carries a remarkable feature load for its compact size. Connectivity is at its highest with the Nokia E71 boasting every single connectivity option, which is currently available. Add the GPS receiver and the slim metallic design and you've got yourself a smartphone that walks and talks high-end.

Nokia E71 however is in for some tough BlackBerry competition. The Bold 9000 seems like a nice alternative having almost the same feature pack as the Nokia. BlackBerry's proprietary OS is not as widespread as the Symbian S60 but the business applications are all there, so the target audience won't feel deprived. The Bold also has a screen of much higher-resolution than the E71, but then, size is worth a thought.

Nokia E71 looks

The Sony Ericsson business-minded P1 could also hope for some piece of the action, especially if you don't mind the peculiar QW-ER-TY keyboard and UIQ. It might not have the same feature pack as the E71 but the price is accordingly fixed.

A bunch of Windows Mobile devices are also to consider here, Samsung i600, Motorola Q9h and HP iPAQ 910c come to mind. They all sport the candybar form factor and feature full QWERTY keypads. Their size is quite acceptable but neither has as many features as the Nokia E71.

Now, having briefly looked aside, let's get back to our E71 and see if you will ever need to do that. We start off with a few loving pats on that steel body, and go on to check hardware and ergonomics. Hop on, and off we go.