Refine search for Mobile Phones

Nokia E71 Review

Author	Jonathan Bray
Published	8th Jul 2008
Manufacturer	Nokia
Price	£267.77 (Exc VAT)
as reviewed	£307.94 (Inc VAT)
Latest Price	Click here

Design & Features
Performance
Value
Overall

42 comments

Email this to a friend

TrustedReviews Newsletters

The BlackBerry 8820 has been one of the best slab-style QWERTY smartphones for so long now, it's hard to imagine anything overtaking it. Its combination of ease of use, long battery life and excellent keyboard contributed to a maximum score of 10 out of 10 when we first looked at it last August, and our opinion hasn't changed much over that time.

But times move on, new handsets are released, and inevitably - eventually - a new champion comes along. That new champion, it would seem, is Nokia's E71 - the long-awaited successor to the E61. Why? First, this is a simply gorgeous phone. With a solid metal rear, chrome-trimmed front and flat, almost mirror-finish screen, it's one beautiful piece of design.

And, not only does it look fantastic, but it's also very slim and pocketable. Unlike its E61 predecessor, which was about as broad-shouldered as a phone could get, the E71 is as slim-waisted as an iPhone and 2.3mm thinner, too, at a mere 10mm. It may boast a full QWERTY keyboard, but you can slide it into a pocket and barely notice it. Even the slip case it comes with doesn't add to the bulk too much.

It's a remarkable piece of engineering ergonomically, as well. Cramming a full keyboard into a chassis this narrow is easily enough done, but making it usable is much more of a challenge. Nokia has achieved that and more with the E71: the keys, like the E61 before it, are slightly rubbery so your fingers don't slip off them when you're trying to type; they're slightly domed, so you can press one easily without hitting a neighbouring letter by accident; and the keyboard is blessed with a sensible layout too - important symbols such as the full stop, comma and @ characters are all accessible instantly, without the need to press shift - an ailment all too many other phone keypads are afflicted by.

The keyboard, then, is easily a match for the 8820's excellent offering, but how about the rest of the device? Well, there's no scrolling trackball, but the directional pad above the keyboard is easy to use and works well. If anything, the buttons for picking up and hanging up calls next to the pad are a little on the small side but they're easy to get used to. Combine those with the four well-sized shortcut keys and the pair of soft keys and overall you've got a very comprehensive control cluster.

Latest 4 of 42 Comments

Have your say: Leave a comment below about this article.

Mike Lewis said on 6th June 2009

I've had an E71 for about three weeks now. I chose it after looking at these reviews.

I chose it for the e-mail function and the QWERTY keypad. In a nustshell I adore it,I think it's a brilliant piece of kit.I like Nokia telephones, the manufacturer seems to have a good understanding of what the customer wants and from my experience they are well made.

That said it would appear to have a few shortcomings, these will affect different people in different ways, depending on what you use the phone for.

The keypad is very small and for people with big,stodgy fingers, this takes a little mastering. The keypad is cleverly designed and although small, the shape of the buttons (pointy) makes them reliable to use, albeit after a little practice.

This phone, which would be better described as a PDA,has a solid quality feel,I do wonder how it will cope when used in rough,dusty enviroments. It is without doubt a superb office tool,but whether it will stand the test of time in the rough outdoors, remains to be seen.

I dislike the small screen icons depicting battery charge and the signal strength, these are features I use a lot and are too small for my liking. The screen in general is well up to e-mail reading and internet browsing, no problems on that score.The colour balance and contrast are nothing less than extraordinary.Superb!!

The E71 is absolutely crammed with office features. It is a daunting device until you get the hang of the menus. It took me a good week to scratch the surface, the best way to overcome this, is to 'play' with it. Without doubt,the E71 is like having your office in your pocket,having features like text document,spreadsheet and PDF formats, makes this a very capable tool in the right hands.The E71 can act as an external modem for your laptop.It has a printer connection and has Nokia PC suite software,allowing you to synchronise information with your main computer.

If you are looking at a PDA to rival a Blackberry,this makes a good choice. I haven't got around to testing every function yet,but those that I have are very capable applications.

The E71 will certainly please 'techies' and it pleases me. Call me Sad if you will,but if you had the joy to own one of those, so would you be !

I've had an E71 for about three weeks now. I chose it after looking at these reviews.

I chose it for the e-mail function and the QWERTY keypad. In a nustshell I... more

sarah said on 7th June 2009

i can upgrade my phone on the 3 network next week. i am stuck between the E71,the tocco ultra edition and lg renoir. being able to access my hotmail account is very important.can a... more

Myrtlemay said on 7th June 2009

Just ordered E71 as my upgrade, chosen because of reviews I've read, really looking forward to using it!! Oh by the way to Mike, there is footage from Everest on You Tube, t... more

drdark said on 3rd July 2009

If Sarah's still wondering about Hotmail support on the E71, you can either use Nokia's new Nokia Messaging email app (betalabs.nokia.com), or msn mobile site. Nokia Mess... more

See all 42 comments on this article.

Add your comment

You must be logged in to comment. Login or register here.