im 19 yr old male from texas.Got this phone for Christmas for 400$.
If you are thinking about this phone but cant decide, over others, consider this. i previously owned the original iphone. great phone, nonetheless, but decided to sell it and go for a nokia. Most people dont realize it, but this nokia really can do just about anything (and more) than that iphone your thinking about. (save the apps on the iphone) But i truly am more happy now with my Nokia. its such a solid, substantial piece of technology, in every way i can think of, nokia made this thing of quality materials. not fragile at all.
So what about the monthly internet (data plan) ?
Well, with the iphone get ready to pay 30$ a month for data alone! that is a rough estimate of 720$ over a span of a two year contract with at&t.
Why not get this Nokia, sign up for at&t's "smartphone data plan" (also known as MEdia net thing) i pay literally 15$ a month flat rate for unlimited data. it takes no genius to realize thats about 360$ savings over 24 months. (that number covers the actual cost of the phone it self!)
Do not be swayed away either by the e71's business appeal. I am a college kid and very into electronics, and i can honestly say this phone has everything a person would need (business/just for fun/practical uses) and seriously has technology a year ahead of its time. in otherwords, i could see myself using this phone in two years and still be more than pleased with it.
Buy also a micro SD card. i bought an 8gb card on here for around 20$ these plug into the phone and allow you to save your media on the phone. i.e. music, videos, pictures ect. this gives me a wonderful media device thats easily comparable to any ipod.
one setback on the phone is the 2.5mm headphone jack. Standard is 3.5mm so your favorite headphones wont plug into the phone without an adaptor. i bought one on dealextreme.com for literally 1.26$ (no tax, and no shipping) the adaptor is a 2.5mm male to 3.5mm female adaptor, and works wonderful.
Nokia did things right with this device.
the iphone strays away from the fundamentals of what a cell phone is really about: making/ recieving calls. Nokia sticks to simplicity and makes using the phone for calls/texts VERY straightforward and easy.
you wont be dissapointed, and at this price its really a deal that can save you a good chunk of change in the future.
Pro:
Build quality is great
Easy set up, auto wizards did everything
Browser is great
Call quality and signal is good (better than some LG phones but no better than my Q9h)
Menu system is very good (much better than Windows mobile which hides so much).
Lots of option for pic taking
PC Suite is a nice free app for syncing -integrates well with Outlool
GPS with Google maps is very quick to pick up signal
Nice to have a phone w/o all the garbage they put on the ones you get from the network operators.
Syncs Outlook notes
Cons:
Sending and deleting emails should be easier, they make it a 2 step process. I do a lot of email and this is a major disappointment.
When using IMAP for mail, no way to move emails to other folders.
Categories for contacts does not carry over from Outlook
No ability to filter contacts, you must use groups. Unable to set a default group
Does not play quicktime or windows media video files
Pic quality is just ok, color are really off unless the light is great
Signal strength meter is almost impossible to read
Limited ability to customize home page, no ability to add shortcuts to non original apps (lots of plug ins for Windows mobile allowed much more flexibility)
Enabling call forwarding is a very involved process
Alarms are not well done. You can not save an alarm turned off.
All in all I like the phone but am not sure there is much of an improvement over the Motorola Q9h. Generally better menu system, but email is a weak point on the E71. If you are a light email user and are looking for a good looking phone, the E71 is a good choice. If you are a heavy email user, go with either a Blackberry or Windows Mobile phone such as the Motorola q9hI have been a long time user of smartphone. Started with one of the first smartphones, Ericsson p800. Then some windows flavor as well as blackberry.
This phone is by far the best phone I have owned. And I think this phone is probably one of the best looking phones in the market. Here are some of the things I love about this phone:
1. It has a very strong signals.
2. Call/voice quality is really good. Speaker is loud as well.
3. Battery lasts a long time.
4. GPS works really well and fast (this phone has 3G). GPS works especially well with google map/earth.
5. It plays youtube out of the box.
6. One hand handling capability from typing, taking calls, etc.
7. Screen is bright and still usable under bright sunlight.
8. Lots of applications available including a free SEVEN push email solution which is still beta version.
9. Multi-tasking.
10. FM Radio.
11. An ability to subscribe to podcasts and download the only the ones you like.
Some of the features that can be improved:
1. Audio playback like play list creation and sound quality when using headphone are not as good.
Creating a play list requires too many clicks. I am using a kingston 4gb and often my song list just disappear. I need to refresh it many times.
I can hear a hissing sound from the headphone. From what I read many people experience this as well.
2. Lack of task manager. I can not kill an application like I can on windows phone.
Correction: The task manager came with the phone can kill most of the programs but not all. A media player for some reasons can't be killed using this. And in my experience, this is the one that hangs often.
3. Keyboard takes a little time to get used to. I don't have big hands but I am still trying to adjust to this keyboard.
4. Copy and paste only works in some applications. With windows phone, you can always copy and paste almost everywhere. Not with this phone.
5. Headset output is not a standard size.
I found 'Shure' makes an adapter which allows you to use regular size (3.5 size?) headphone of your choice. This adapter comes with a microphone. There are a lot cheaper one, but none comes with microphone. This adapter was made for Palm device but works well with E71.
6. I like the FM radio but this feature only works when you attach the included headset. I think the antenna is actually on the headset.
I hope this brief review helps. Some of the feature like camera, I have never really used. So I don't mention it here.This phone is possibly the best smartphone available right now (December 2008). I've had windows mobile, palm and blackberry phones in the past to compare this to.
Very thin, sturdy (all metal casing) it feels solid in your hand, professional and sleek. Screen is good, keyboard better than most, camera, GPS, email....it essentially has it all. "Mail for exchange" software works flawlessly for "work" push email and calendar syncing. Battery life is outstanding (two days on one charge with moderate to heavy use...which is as good as it gets).
Nokia makes everything customizable with many shortcuts available to get to all functions. Really a great thing about Nokias in general and this one is no different. Short press the dedicated calendar key (like on a Palm) for the calendar, long press for a new calendar entry. 4 dedicated keys for these types of things (calendar, messaging, contacts and a home key) and 6 on screen shortcuts, plus two more soft key shortcuts and even some keyboard long press shortcuts on top of that. That means one click access to just about everything you would want to do with the phone.
OS crashes less than windows mobile, though not as good as blackberry (simply turn off / on to get back to normal this happens once every two weeks or so if you use it heavily). There are many app's available for download. Camera is good in good light, video quality is surprisingly good (even in bad light). GPS works great (download google maps).
This is the best smartphone that I have ever owned and as good as any smartphone available on the market right now in terms of build quality, battery, features and certainly in terms of looks (slimmer than the iPhone 3G and as I said before it is made out of metal). The metal gives the phone a certain gravitas, a certain feeling of quality that it generally not available in phones. It feels like a well made tool, it just feels good in your hand.
Get a blackberry if you mostly just need email and don't care as much about multi media and games and the like.
Get an iPhone if you mostly want multi media and the like and not so much email.
Get this phone if you are in the middle (though it handles email and calendar syncing about 95% as good as a blackberry I use it heavily for work email and have no complaints).I'm a 6-year T-Mobile customer. Why? Because frankly, I'm too scared to change! Really though, I have a $29 a month plan (Business 300) that is no longer offered 300 whenever, unlimited weekends, 100 texts, which has worked well for my needs and budget. Unfortunately all the handsets I've owned (Nokia and Motorola) have had terrible reception much of the time. I was blaming T-Mobile until I got the Nokia E71 and I'm THRILLED with the call clarity! Both on my end and for the recipients of my calls, who say they can't tell I'm on my cell 'a first'.
I purchased this item as a Gold Box deal after reading online reviews here and elsewhere, that gave it mostly glowing reviews. I also liked that it would work on T-Mobile or ATT, which are both available in my area. I had hopes of using T-Mobile's $10 a month add-on for 'unlimited web for phones' (previously called Web2Go.
Upon opening the box I was surprised to see that the size and thickness of the phone are almost identical to my iPod Touch. Very pretty sexy even the phone has an easy to use keyboard (my first phone with this type) with raised keys. I have small hands and didn't find it tough to punch in numbers or texts, but people with bigger fingers might. The keyboard is backlit, which is very helpful, but it's not very bright. I bet there's a setting for that which I've not yet discovered though.
The documentation, a CD for the PC Sync suite from Nokia, an AC charger, earphone/microphone combo, white (slip-in style) case, battery, and phone are in the box. I also bought a OtterBox Commuter Case for Nokia E71x (Black) to protect it. This case takes away from the beauty of the phone, but gives a bit of added protection. The Otterbox Defender series is even better, but more expensive.
Not being a big reader of directions, I tried to wade through the manuals anyway. That was daunting. There is a lot of info on this phone as it has a lot of functions! I found that after I swapped my SIM card from my previous T-Mobile phone and got to the home screen on the E71, I could press 'menu' and then 'help', and again 'help', to be where I wanted to be to learn about this device.
Some cool functions found on this phone and discussed in 'help':
-Adobe Reader
-Activation Keys
-Active Notes
-Barcode Reader... VERY unusual to find on a phone and very cool to save product info and compare prices.
-Dictionary
-Flash Player
-GPS
-Internet Radio
-Modem you can connect this phone (assuming you have mobile web on it activated) to a laptop for example, and use it as a wireless modem.
-Net calls... it has a webcam built in.
-Printing... add a printer to sync with your device to print docs.
-Real Player
-Recorder
-Wireless keyboard...if you link it to your phone, you can use it!
A 'Tutorial' section is a available in the 'Help' section as well, with short animated videos on 'how-to'. I like this area, but even with these helps... this phone has a lot to offer and a lot to learn.
The E71's build quality is excellent! Metal housing makes a world of difference in the feel of the phone. I expect it would add to the durability as well. My Nokia 5300 with a hard case started cracking within months of light use, as have other plastic phones I've owned, so for me, this is a big deal.
Navigating the phones many functions is relatively easy, but yes, it takes time to get the hang of it. Buttons for specific functions like email, 'home' and others are clearly marked. The side of the phone has a mini-usb port and mini-SD card slot, covered by rubber inserts. Volume controls are on the opposite side of the phone and work easily and well.
The 3.2mp camera is better than previous phones I've owned and it does come with a flash, which is new to me on a camera phone. Images were blurry or 'cloudy' looking, until one reader of the review mentioned taking the plastic film off the lens. "Duh!" Usually I remember these things, but not this time. Taking the film off the camera lens definitely makes for better pictures clarity wise however the color of the images taken indoors with the flash, tends to be a bit off. Not a huge deal as photo editing software takes care of a multitude of sins, but you probably wouldn't want this camera to be your only one.
Charging port is at the base of the phone, with the speaker and on/off at the top. I noted the microphone is at the lower left-hand side of the phone. This is great if you are right handed while making calls, but call quality seems to suffer just a bit when you switch to left-handed chats. Microphone placement... who knew?!
The keypad does lock and the screen goes dark rather quickly. Again, probably just a setting issue I've not yet discovered in my 3 days playing with it. I looked it up in the book how to 'unlock' pressing two buttons which while a pain, is no big deal either.
The screen is big enough for most things. Not fantastic for viewing web content, but this isn't really a web-maximized phone either. The OS alone should tell you that, and if you're looking for a multi-media phone, keep looking. It will email, do basic web browsing, and open media files if you have the appropriate data plan. I didn't want to pay for the $20-30 a month web plan, so I am trying out the $10 a month unlimited web plan for phones with TM right now. While I have a very basic Facebook interface for example, it's nothing like you would see on your home computer. It is however, handy to Google things, comparison shop while out and about, check weather, etc..., which is good enough for me. **I have been told by some that T-Mobile may try and kick me off this $10 plan saying if I have a smartphone I need the more expensive one. My time with T-Mobile would be cut short if this happens, and I'd be looking to switch to ATT, as for me, this would be simply a way for more cash without 3G! T-Mobile does not have 3G to this phone, but the phone IS capable of it.
I was going to return this phone, but that was due more to T-Mobile issues rather than the phone. I love the clear call quality most of all and the easy texting. Admittedly, basic stuff. The internet, if available, also affords some nice things like email, Skype chat, Facebook, and Internet radio (too bad it's got that 2.5mm port versus the 3.5mm standard).
In conclusion, it's a really nice phone for the right user. Not the best for multi-media or taking pictures, but a quad-band phone that has exceptionally good call quality, nice speaker and keyboard, moves quickly through apps, has built-in GPS (no internet needed) and Wifi capable. I really like it, which I can't say about many phones I've owned. So the only real problems I find with it are linked more to T-Mobile as a provider than the phone itself. Which leads me to the basic question: 'Is the money I paid for it even on sale, worth it?' "Probably... at least for me."
4/26/10:
I have had a full 24 hrs of using this phone with T-Mobile's 'unlimited web for phones' ($10 a month) add on. I lost it initially when T-Mobile figured out I'd switched phones. I went back to their site and put in my old phone as the one I'm using, and so far, they've not cut off my internet service. While it's nowhere as fast as 3G, nor visually as 'wow' as the newest touch-screen phones with Android OS... it's the useful kick I needed to make me happy and at the right price.
Now I have a phone that has great voice quality, speedy bluetooth uploads (took some photos and got them to my desktop very quickly), easy texting, GPS (tried that today too, and had it plot some routes with great success), music player and other assorted goodies that for me, are really sweet!
I'll be keeping this phone and may end up adding more texts or more minutes to my phone plan simply because it's a joy to use. Has held a good charge too, even with lots of web browsing, texting and playing music. I like it and would recommend it to the consumer who wants a feature packed phone, that while not the 'latest and greatest', does a damn good job at the things it was designed to do.
4/48/10:
T-Mobile's Web2Go is called 'unlimited web for phones'. I had added it (free for 1 month), but decided $10 was more than I wanted to pay for this basic stuff (not G3). Today when I went to take it off, T-Mobile offered it for $5 a month, calling it "Preferred Phone First Unlimited Web Only". I snagged it and upgraded to a non-contract extending plan: 'Even More Plus 500 Talk + Text' which is $39.95 a month. Now I have unlimited text (video, IM, Photo, or text), unlimited weekends and evenings, unlimited web and 500 anytime minutes for $44.99 plus taxes. The Even More Plus 500 Talk, Text and Web unlimited is priced at $59.95 plus tax... so I feel really good about both the T-Mobile deal AND keeping this wonderful phone!
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