I recently bought the Nokia E71 and wanted to share my experience with the phone.
With all the hype about the iPhone I was waiting to buy it. After checking it out a Optus store in Adelaide I was very impressed. The only thing stopping me was that it was not yet available with my network provider of choice – 3. 3 is fantastic in many ways as I explain below. 3 is also important as I get free 3-3 network minutes every month and I have my wife and friends on 3.
The main issue was that apart from the phone, the plans were not promising at all. Optus was the best but everybody were bundling the Voice, Data and Handset cost together. It was not easy to increase only Voice or Only Data. Kind of dumb.
After waiting for a month (and with the hype decreasing) I checked out other phones. To get this started I strated making a list of my most used apps that I would prefer on the phone.
With the founding of my new company, I was sure that e-mail was on the top of the list. Web browsing was fine but nothing as important as e-mail. Next came VOIP solutions and after that Skype.
I checked out the Blackberry Bold again at a Optus Store and it was good looking, amazing screen and very easy for e-mail. It is a Blackberry, so it has to be. Again, waiting for it to come on 3.
As I was checking through the All Phones store in Rundle Mall, I came across Nokia E71 from 3. It was free on the $49 Cap or the $69 Cap with X-Series bundle of 1GB data and other goodies like Skype.
Since I was on a 24 month contract and finished 18 month out of it, I wanted to know if I was eligible for a free upgrade. I was and I went with the $69 cap. I recently changed my cap to $69 (more calls for the business etc) and it was perfect.
This plan gives me $650 worth of calls to any phone, including $100 worth for international calls or local. 500 minutes to 3 phones. 4000 Skype minutes. 1 GB of data. Unlimited use of Planet 3 News, Weather and Sports info including Videos.
I added the Mobile TV pack for $10 a month which gives me unlimited use of 14 TV channels including CNN, BBC, SBS, South Park, MTV etc.
I went back and did my research.
The E71 has Symbia S60 3rd edition. A mature platform with a lot of apps.
Since E-Mail was top priority, the Qwerty keyboard on the Nokia was fantastic. Small but useful and you can type fast enough. It has its own messaging app but no Push. Nokia is launching a new email Push service (Video) called Intellisync which should take care of it.
It has Quickoffice for viewing and editing MS Office files. Great.
The 3 plan has 4000 minutes of Skype-to-Skype free. Easily talk to family in India and friends here in Australia.
It has Adobe PDF reader. Wifi, A-GPS – So that was good. Coming to the battery, the online reviews gave that the best of almost any smartphone on the market. That was important.
And of all the things, it looks great, is slim with a stainless steel back.
The iPhone on the contrary cannot do Skype, has multiple issues in terms of a walled garden approach and I found it very tough to type on the touchscreen. Worst part, it does not come with a good data plan and 3 does not carry the iPhone for some reason.
I went ahead and bought it.
Frankly, after a week of use I am totally impressed with this.
Design: Looks good. Slim. Keyboard is good and is useful.
Battery: This is good however, with the testing, installing and other stuff I am doing, I have to recharge almost everyday. But still good.
E-Mail: Multiple options. In-built App. This works well but is not push. Even connected to my Google Apps for your Domain email easily.
Then there is Seven Push Email which you can download. Push is fantastic, but has no contact support for Google Apps for your Domain. This may be paid in the future.
There is Emoze which I am trying.
There is Profimail (paid). This has the easiest way to read the e-mail on the phone with the way they have changed the fonts etc. Shows data usage while updating and the size of each e-mail before you download the body.
And Google App for Symbian. This works as advertised. However, no push.
Still looking for the best solution. However, will decide on one of these soon.
The best part is the multiple options available.
VOIP: Skype works like a treat. Fring works very well. However, the best part is the built in VOIP functionality.
You can enter the SIP details of any VOIP account you have. I use My Net Fone. Once that is done, then you can easily select the option of making a normal Voice call or Internet Call for all contacts. Just fantastic.
For My Net Fone, the local calls is working but the international calls are an issue. Working on that.
QuickOffice: Very good one. All apps work well.
Customizability: You can select Apps, shortcuts and what to see on the home screen.
Search: From the home screen you can search for documents, applications, notes, emails or the internet. Works very well. Almost like Spotlight for E71.
Wifi-3G: Both work well. Good speeds. One issue is access points management.
However, the best solution is to buy the Psiloc Connect App and it does everything. If you select the Access point as Psiloc Connect then it will determine to use Wifi or 3G depending on the availability.
Cost $15 but worth it.
In Adelaide CBD, there are a lot of Wifi free options mainly from Internode.
Calender: It works well. The two pane outlook type design is good.
Need to Sync with Google Calender. I will be trying out some apps for that.
GPS: Did not try much of the GPS yet. Google Maps work very well again.
Video: Video plays well. With a inbuilt flash player you tube is fine too.
Music: Music is good too. I have not used it much though.
Browsing: In built browser is good but Opera Mini is best.
Other Apps: I am trying Scribe for WordPress blogging.
For some strange reason, I am unable to figure out how to scan for devices in bluetooth but apart from that just very happy with the phone.
Multi-tasking: The phone can easily handle multiple open apps. You can switch between easily too.
There are lots more apps but more functionality. Good 3.2 MP camera, FM Radio, Voice Recorder, Active notes, Bar code scanner etc. However, these are the main things for me.
I have added some bookmarks on Diigo and created a E71 group if anyone is interested.
My suggestion is that if you want a business smart phone, then this is the one to go.
For other reviews that have helped me, check the links below.
- Joel Spolsky.
- Boy genius report and video walkthrough
- CNet Review
- E71 Fanatics - great resource site.
Nokia E71 is a fantastic mobile phone with so many features in it .Battery is also good.
to search for bluetooth in area…press the “menu” or “home” button…go to connectivity …select bluetooth which gives you the first page to turn bt on off etc…..IF YOU click to go right then you will get to list of bluetooth linked to your phone ….SELECT OPTION…then click on “new paired device” this should do the trick for you.
hope that helps
bluetooth scanning stumped me too for a while. go to bluetooth then click right to bring up the ‘paired devices’ screen. from there choose ‘options’, ‘new paired device’
Thanks angel, art and luro for the tip. I figured that out over the weekend.
The only gripe now is the access point. The Psiloc Connect thing does not work well. Need to see if I am doing something wrong.
Or else, the E71 is going great.
Google Calendar Sync is still left.
Plz I need help in this:
Does anyone know how to use the pointer options ( save target as ..etc..)while using the net in E71 ???
Suhit Anantula,
If you sign up for a free Zyb account :-
http://www.zyb.com/
You can sync and view your phonebook contacts online.
They also have a calendar sync feature to sync with Google Calendars.
Worked very well for me.
hi,
please help me,i ve one nokia e71 mobile i wanna know thw skype messenger ll work it in my mobile?it is posible to download to my mobile plz tel me and vedio chating is posibble or not?
The main function of my phone is push email. From what I have read on reviews this phone supports proper push for Exchange which is fine (I am admin for our work exchange server), but for my personal email I use IMAP via push. Is it correct that natively this phone only supports scheduled updates, not proper push?
I’ve just got a E71 , I got my contacts from my blackberry phone by using my previous phones software to sync/backup contacts, (calender & notes too), to outlook. Then I installed the nokia e71 software & synched it to outlook & all of the info was copied from outlook to the e71 perfectly
I’m loving the google maps & in built maps on the phone. It works like a car gps system & it moves with you & gives directions & travel routes. i used it on a train & the satellites gave full 3d satellite view of my whole journey from above, with surrounding streets with names
Also the great option of picking random wireless , or ,your own phone network internet is great. Pick unlocked wlan points when your out & i use my home wireless at home . Its also great that u can use the phone as a pc modem, so i dont have to pay for a dongle as well as a phone.
Skype is also free on 3, but try to get a short contract & get them to write everything agreed on the contract.
Hi Suhit,
Thanx for the review mate. Blackberry Bold in now available on 3. I got BB Bold yesterday and I am loving it. Browsing is good on the built in browser. I am gonna try Opera Mini today. It increases your productivuty two folds. It has got good IM and Web 2.0 capabilities. Downside is there is no proper Acrobat reader. I found out a third party solution yet to try. I like the video and music on this phone.
Has been waiting for iPhone all these days. After seeing it everywhere I go and playing with it, I decided this is not my type. Too much noise will all those good for nothing apps. Checkout the data plan on 3 for BB. 3 Gig Data and Unlimited Email what more can you ask.
Cheers
Jag
You forgot to mention Nokia’s Mail For Exchange email client. This app. reliably and securely synchronises email, contacts, calendar and to do items with an Exchange server via the connection type you choose (normally 3G internet). Also regarding VoIP, Cisco have an SIP client for this handset (and other compatible Nokia devices) which enables use via a wireless network. So you can use the SIP client on the handset across a wireless network then cut across to the 3G network without losing the call if required (ie. if you walk out of range of the wireless network).
I have to check out the CISCO client. I have seen that E71 does not seamlessly handle moving from Wifi to 3G or vice versa. That’s my biggest gripe.
Attention 3 Customers Australia!!!!
Further to the netowork issue with the Nokia E71-3 , (not being able to choose GSM and only roaming on telstra 3g) I have been informed today by 3 Customer Care and Technical services that my fone is not suited to roam on Telstras Network and that after 3 months of continuous complaining they can only offer me a $25 credit to my account, no cancellation or different handset for there mistake and non help in the last 3 months. NOT GOOD ENOUGH 3. I have been mislead like hundreds of other 3 customers.
I was told that I would get a better service then my previous gsm roaming service. I can assure you that this is not the case and I will be taking this matter to the ACCC and DEPT OF FAIR TRAIDING as I have been mislead by 3;s advertising and sales staff.
My mate has E71-3 with telstra and he has full reception where ever he goes in Newcastle, I use to when i was roaming on the Telstra gsm network but since i updated my fone to the 3 E71-3 I cannot lock it into GSM as this has been removed by the fone and I get poor coverage in Newcastle.
My mate can be standing next to me with full reception and i get 1 or 2 bars if lucky. This is what i found out:
I was told by a Telstra Rep that 3 customers roaming on the Telstra 3g network will have access to 40% and this is why I have not been getting good signal from my handset because I will not be getting the same service as a Telstra Customer would. I would strongly recommend if anyther 3 customer is having the same issue when roaming outside 3s network to please email me or reply to me.
Cheers