(Last updated: Feb 22, 2009)

Palm Discovery would like to extend a BIG THANKS to Katie and others at Womworld for providing the product for this review.

This Nokia E71 review has been broken down into 5 parts:

Part 1 will cover an overview of the device including the specs, physical appearance, etc.

Part 2 will provide videos of the smartphone and the underlying Symbian OS.

Part 3 will make some camera comparisons with the Treo 650 and 750 smartphones plus some more videos of third party applications, the microUSB cable.

Part 4 will cover my observations of the device.

Part 5 will conclude the review with my final thoughts.

I was especially fortunate recently to have been provided with the extremely popular Nokia E71 smartphone device to test and try it out. At the time, I had no idea that the smartphone I was reviewing had won so many awards in the smartphone and cellphone category including Best Smartphone and Phone of the Year at Mobile Choice Awards but that it would also continue to win more awards including Wired’s Top Gadgets of 2008: Mobile Phone. And I ‘thought’ I was simply reviewing “yet another smartphone”. Boy was I wrong. And this is one of those times when I’m glad to have been ‘wrong’.

The Nokia E71 smartphone comes in two different colors: gray (default) and white. There are no differences between the two except for the color of the casing. (EDIT. Feb 20, 2009. There are two additional colors coming: black and red). Also, the E71 soon to be available on AT&T’s network will be called Nokia E71x as it is rumored to run Symbian S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2.

Nokia E71-2 gray (Newegg.com)Nokia E71-2 white (Newegg.com)

Quick note (1/2/09): Newegg currently offers the Nokia E71 in gray at an amazing price of $299 USD! Yes! (Sorry, the white is $369 which still isn’t bad either. The prices do fluctuate and change each week so if you’re interested in getting it, NOW’s the time!

Even for Canadians, the Nokia E71 is at a very reasonable price too. I’m just waiting for it to get back to $400 Cdn (I missed it last time around).

Nokia E71-2 Gray (Newegg.ca) Nokia E71-2 White (Newegg.ca)

Needless to say, much like my previous review of a Nokia device, the Nokia Internet Tablet N810, for which the Wi-MAX version was discontinued recently, I was quite impressed with the smartphone. I was so impressed that, by the end of the review period that I was determined to purchase one as my next upgrade device. Please keep in mind that these are my personal opinions and that you may have your own personal opinion of the device and the Symbian platform.

The Nokia E71 smartphone I’m reviewing today is the European version (E71-1) and not the US version (E71-2) or the Asian version (E71-3). What’s the main difference between them? Mainly the cellular network reception for 3G.

The European version (E71-1) will support 3G in the WCDMA 900/2100 bands,
The North American (E71-2) version will support 3G in the WCDMA 850/1900 bands
The Asian version (E71-3) will support 3G in the WCDMA 850/2100 bands.

Thus, there is a reason to stick with your localized version of the smartphone if you wish to access 3G where you reside. Of course, if 3G isn’t as big of a deal for you, any of the versions will do just fine for non-3G cellular calls. I have found that enabling the E71 on 3G will drain the battery a lot faster. Again, this is my personal experience and likely due to the lack of 3G reception where I am. So, for me, it seems that not having it on 3G reception will extend the battery life somewhat.

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As a smartphone, the Nokia E71 offers the best of both worlds, offering the capability to place and receive cellular phone calls as well as extensive support for business oriented tasks like creating, editing office documents, receiving and sending emails, accessing the internet via built-in Wi-fi or cellular data network plus a host of other features like built-in GPS, 3.2MP camera with flash and many more. Unlike many other smartphones out on the market, the E71 is extremely thin and lightweight, yet offers exceptional battery life. What really turned me over are the number of third party applications (Mobbler, Twibble, emoze, qik, etc) that are supported on the E71 and Symbian operating system that are not supported or available on my Windows Mobile Treo 750. These are some of the many reasons why it has claimed me as a fan.

However, unlike other smartphones I have reviewed, the Nokia E71 is a non-touchscreen smartphone, which means, that there is no stylus and the screen will not accept any taps on its screen. At first, being a touchscreen smartphone user coming from a Treo 650 and 750, it was awkward to keep reaching for the stylus when there wasn’t one. After a while, I got used to it. As with everything, there is good and bad in being non-touchscreen. The good is that the screen is much less likely to experience scratches since there is no need to tap on it with a stylus (since it doesn’t come with one and it doesn’t support it). Also, the screen will not likely need to be replaced for a faulty digitizer which seems to be a common problem with many touchscreen devices. On the other hand, a non-touchscreen device will solely rely on the directional keypad and keys for input. Should any of the keys fail, you are in trouble. Also, I have noticed that with the directional keys that there is a predefined amount of movement with the pressing of the keys. So, when navigating a web page where you may need to go to a specific “point” you may encounter some problem, which I have, many times. This is one of the main problems I have encountered with the E71 which I think will likely need improvement. I will dscuss this issue and others in a later part. Aside from the non-touchscreen and of course, the much different operating system, the Symbian OS which also takes a bit of getting used to, the E71 is a very solid device that in my view, has undoubtedly earned the rightful awards and a special place in my heart.

Specs and Details

The following specs are for the European version of the Nokia E71 smartphone.

For more information on the specific details for the Nokia E71, please visit the following respective Nokia E71 product sites:

Nokia E71-1 European version

Nokia E71-2 North American version

Nokia E71-3 Asian version

Physical features, power and memory

Size

* Form: Monoblock with full keyboard
* Dimensions: 114 x 57 x 10 mm
* Weight: 127 g
* Volume: 66 cc
* Full keyboard
* High quality QVGA display

Display and 3D

* Size: 2.36″
* Resolution: 320 x 240 pixels (QVGA)
* Up to 16 million colors
* TFT active matrix (QVGA)
* Two customisable home screen modes

Security features

* Device lock
* Remote lock
* Data encryption for both phone memory an microSD content
* mobile VPN

Keys and input method

* Full keyboard
* Dedicated one-touch keys: Home, calendar, contacts, and email
* Speaker dependent and speaker independent voice dialling
* Intelligent input with auto-completion, auto-correction and learning capability
* Accelerated scrolling with NaviTMKey
* Notification light in NaviTMKey

Colors and covers

* Available in-box colours:
- Grey steel
- White steel

Connectors

* Micro-USB connector, full-speed
* 2.5 mm Nokia AV connector

Power

* BP-4L 1500 mAh Li-Po standard battery
* Talk time:
- GSM up to 10 h 30 min
- WCDMA up to 4 h 30 min
* Standby time:
- GSM up to 17 days
- WCDMA up to 20 days
- WLAN idle up to 166 hours
* Music playback time (maximum): 18 h

Memory

* microSD memory card slot, hot swappable, max. 8 GB
* 110 MB internal dynamic memory

Communication and navigation

Operating frequency

* E71-1 Quad-band EGSM 850/900/1800/1900, WCDMA 900/2100 HSDPA
* E71-2 Quad-band EGSM 850/900/1800/1900, WCDMA 850/1900 HSDPA
* E71-3 Quad-band EGSM 850/900/1800/1900, WCDMA 850/2100 HSDPA
* Offline mode

Data network

* CSD
* HSCSD
* GPRS class A, multislot class 32, maximum speed 100/60 kbps (DL/UL)
* EDGE class A, multislot class 32, maximum speed 296/177.6 kbps (DL/UL)
* WCDMA 900/2100 or 850/1900 or 850/2100, maximum speed 384/384 kbps (DL/UL)
* HSDPA class 6, maximum speed 3.6 Mbps/384 kbps (DL/UL)
* WLAN IEEE 802.11b/g
* WLAN Security: WEP, 802.1X, WPA, WPA2
* TCP/IP support
* Nokia PC Internet Access (capability to serve as a data modem)
* IETF SIP and 3GPP

Local connectivity and synchronization

* Infrared, maximum speed 115 kbps
* Bluetooth version 2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate
- Bluetooth profiles: DUN, OPP, FTP, HFP, GOEP, HSP, BIP, RSAP, GAVDP, AVRCP, A2DP
* MTP (Multimedia Transfer Protocol) support
* Bluetooth (Bluetooth Serial Port Profile. BT SPP)
* Infrared
* File
* Network (Raw). Direct TCP/IP socket connection to any specified port (a.k.a HP JetDirectTM).
* Network (LPR). Line Printer Daemon protocol (RFC1179).
* Support for local and remote SyncML synchronization, iSync, Intellisync, ActiveSync

Call features

* Integrated handsfree speakerphone
* Automatic answer with headset or car kit
* Any key answer
* Call waiting, call hold, call divert
* Call timer
* Logging of dialed, received and missed calls
* Automatic redial and fallback
* Speed dialing
* Fixed dialing number support
* Vibrating alert (internal)
* Side volume keys
* Mute key
* Contacts with images
* Conference calling
* Push to talk
* VoIP

Messaging

* SMS
* Multiple SMS deletion
* Text-to-speech message reader
* MMS
* Distribution lists for messaging
* Instant messaging with Presence-enhanced contacts
* Cell broadcast

E-mail

* Supported protocols: IMAP4, Mail for Exchange, POP3, SMTP
* Support for e-mail attachments
* IMAP IDLE support
* Support for Nokia Intellisync Wireless Email
* Integrated Nokia Mobile VPN
* Easy Email set-up

Web browsing

* Supported markup languages: HTML, XHTML, MP, WML, CSS
* Supported protocols: HTTP, WAP 2.0
* TCP/IP support
* Nokia browser
- JavaScript version 1.3 and 1.5
- Mini Map
* Nokia Mobile Search
* Nokia PC Internet Access (capability to serve as a data modem)

GPS and navigation

* Integrated A-GPS
* Nokia Maps application

Image and sound

Photography

* 3.2 megapixel camera (2048 x 1536 pixels)
* Image formats: JPEG/EXIF
* CMOS sensor
* digital zoom
* Autofocus
* Focal length: 3.8 mm
* Focus range: 10 cm to infinity
* Macro focus: 10-60 cm
* LED flash
* Flash modes: Automatic, On, Red-eye reduction, Off
* Flash operating range: 1 m
* White balance modes: automatic, sunny, incandescent, fluorescent
* Centre weighted auto exposure; exposure compensation: +2 ~ -2EV at 0.7 step
* Capture modes: still, sequence, self-timer, video
* Scene modes: auto, user defined, close-up, portrait, landscape, night, night portrait
* Colour tone modes: normal, sepia, black & white, negative
* Full-screen viewfinder with grid
* Active toolbar
* Share photos with Share on Ovi

Video

* Main camera
* 320 x 240 (QVGA) up to 15 fps
* 176 x 144 at 15 fps (QCIF)
* digital video zoom
* Front camera
- Video recording at up to 128 x 96 pixels (QCIF) and up to 15 fps
- Up to 2x digital video zoom
* Video recording file formats: .mp4, .3gp; codecs: H.263, MPEG-4 VSP
* Audio recording formats: AMR,AAC
* Video white balance modes: automatic, sunny, incandescent, fluorescent
* Scene modes: automatic, night
* Colour tone modes: normal, sepia, black & white, negative
* Clip length (maximum): 1 h
* RealPlayer
* Video playback file formats: .Flash Lite 3, mp4, .3gp; codecs: H.263, MPEG-4 VSP,RealVideo,H.264
* Video streaming: .3gp, mp4, .rm
* Customisable video ring tones

Music and audio playback

* Music player
* Media player
* Music playback file formats: .mp3, .wma, .aac, AAC+, eAAC+
* Audio streaming formats: .rm, .eAAC+
* FM radio 87.5-108 MHz
* Visual Radio support. Read more: www.visualradio.com
* 2.5 mm Nokia AV connector
* Nokia Music Manager
* Nokia Music Store support
* Nokia Podcasting support
* Customizable ring tones
* Synchronize music with Windows Media Player
* NaviTM wheel support
* Voice Aid

Voice and audio recording

* Voice commands
* Speaker dependent and speaker independent voice dialling (SIND)
* Voice recorder
* Audio recording formats: AMR-WB, AMR-NB
* Speech codecs: FR, EFR, HRO/1, AMR-HR, and AMR-FR
* Text-to-speech

Personalization: profiles, themes, ring tones

* Customizable profiles
* Customizable ring tones
* Customisable video ring tones
* Support for talking ring tones
* Customizable themes
* Customizable home screen content in Business and Personal modes

Software

Software platform and user interface

* S60 3rd Edition
* Feature Pack 1 based on Symbian OS v9.2
* Two home screens with customizable active standby views
* Voice commands

Personal information management (PIM): contacts, clock, calendar etc.

* Advanced contacts database: multiple number and e-mail details per contact, contacts with images
* Support for assigning images to contacts
* Support for contact groups
* Closed user group support
* Fixed Dialling Number support
* Clock: analogue and digital
* Alarm clock with ring tones
* Reminders
* Calculator with advanced functions
* Calendar with week and month view
* Converter
* Active Notes
* To-do list
* PIM information viewable during call

Applications

* JavaTM MIDP 2.0
* Flash Lite 3.0
* Chat and instant messaging
* Nokia browser
- JavaScript version 1.3 and 1.5
- Mini Map
* Dictionary
* Quickoffice (Quickword, Quickpoint, Quicksheet)
* PDF Viewer
* ZIP Manager
* Download!
* File Manager
* Nokia Search
* Nokia Maps
* Adding more applications:
- Use the Download! client
- Over-the-air (OTA) downloads

Click on the thumbnail images for a bigger picture

PLEASE NOTE: Although my picture of the review package contents contains the Nokia Bluetooth headset BH-701 and the Mapsters doll (Maptor representing Nokia Maps), they are NOT included in the typical Nokia E71 smartphone package. They were included for my review purposes only and are sold separately.

Slideshow of the above pictures

Overview Video of the Nokia E71 smartphone

Here’s an overview video of the Nokia E71 smartphone in comparison with the Treo 650 and 750.

Overview video of Nokia E71

Enjoyed this review? Check out the many other Palm Discovery reviews of pda and smartphone devices and nokia related posts here.

This is the end of the first part of my Nokia E71 smartphone review providing an oveview of the smartphone. Stay tuned for the next part where I will be getting into the software and the Symbian platform.

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