Nokia E71 - Thoroughly

It's slim, stylish, and with a full keyboard. The Nokia E71 packs the typical features of a professional phone while maintaining a fairly slim design for its class, at just 1 cm thick and weighing 127 grams . A well-connected mobile with satisfactory autonomy . Just one snag. The advantage of having a QWERTY keyboard is clouded by the unavoidable size of the keys which, of course, are difficult to operate with the thumbs.

These are, broadly speaking, the conclusions we reached after thoroughly testing this phone. A Nokia that completes the professional family (the E series) of the Finnish firm. Let's take a closer look at it in this review.

A compact and stylish smartphone

If we forget for a moment the QWERTY keyboard , this Nokia E71 could pass for a conventional tablet phone . Of all the phones with this writing system that have passed through our hands, such as the Palm Treo 500v or the Samsung F700 , it is the one with the tightest dimensions. Especially the thickness and width, the latter more than one centimeter less than that of the Nokia E61i , its predecessor . The result is a terminal that is comfortable both in the hand and in the pocket , and that maintains a good size screen: 2.36 inches (320 x 240 pixels) .

Of course, as a consequence we have a keyboard with smaller keys and together than usual . In the first contact shots, it is difficult to hit the desired letters, but with practice good writing speeds are achieved , as in any other smartphone. With one exception: the number buttons . We are very used to operating with a single thumb the classic alphanumeric keyboard with three rows of three buttons. The Nokia E71, integrates in the central part of the QWERTY keyboard three rows of four buttons that we operate with both thumbs . And this throws us off a bit. It is also a matter of getting used to,but it costs a bit more to change the chip to mark the numbers than when writing text.

In its design, which we can choose in two different finishes (black and silver gray) , the ergonomic edges of the back also stand out , with which a very comfortable grip of the terminal with the hand is achieved . They are those folds that we appreciate in the chrome back , which must be cleaned from time to time to prevent dirt from permeating and the surface losing its shine.

Centralized messaging

To connect to the Internet and download mail, the Nokia E71 has two forms of connection par excellence: Wi-Fi , to take advantage of wireless networks within reach, and HSDPA , to navigate the high-speed telephone network. But in this type of phone, the interface that is proposed to us to manage the mail also has a great influence, and this terminal opts for a very successful system: integrating all the messaging, both SMS and emails, in a single menu .

In fact, the phone's home screen does not distinguish between the different types of messages. Just an envelope icon appears at the bottom, along with a number indicating the number of messages. If we access this icon, we already find the short text messages on the one hand, and on the other all the email accounts that we have configured. There we can include the classic webmail services (Gmail, Yahoo !, Hotmail / MSN…) and the Microsoft Outlook accounts that we have on the PC , with which we synchronize the inbox in a few seconds.

In general, the behavior of the telephone on the Internet is fast and efficient . The emails are downloaded in a few seconds, with the possibility of first seeing the headers in case they are not important matters and we prefer to read them at home , saving us a few cents if we are connected by HSDPA . The same happens with browsing web pages . Those 2.36 inches are not bad , but in this aspect the large and touch screen terminals are one step ahead of the Nokia E71 .

Well organized office

Governed by the operating system of the advanced terminals of the Finnish firm, Symbian S60 , the Nokia E71 offers us an intuitive and well-categorized management system . This is achieved by placing several shortcuts both on physical buttons just below the screen (to access the contact book or calendar with one click ) and on the screen itself , where the icons of the music player , the web browser , are located. the search for Wi-Fi networks or camera .

The latter has 3.2 megapixels of resolution and integrated flash , although it is not endorsed by any quality optical signature as Nokia usually does with Carl Zeiss and its N series terminals . In practice, this causes the behavior of the camera depends on lighting conditions with both photos and videos. Of course, it is not an important aspect in professional mobiles either.

These, by the way, can fiddle with the business card reader to digitize data printed from a photo , one of the new technologies in which Nokia works . A small curiosity within a terminal that, how could it be otherwise, includes programs to edit text files, spreadsheets and slide shows within the Quickoffice platform , along with other utilities such as the measurement converter or the application ZIP to compress files .

Complete equipment with well equipped battery

The Nokia E71 also incorporates other features common to any mobile intended for the professional. Some more basic ones, such as the possibility of making video calls thanks to 3G technology, and other high-end ones, such as the integrated GPS navigator (A-GPS) to guide us on our routes both on the road and on foot. The internal storage is based on microSD memory cards , so the price does not skyrocket by not integrating a flash memory module inside .

This terminal also covers the file in the multimedia section, with a music and video player compatible with the usual formats (except DivX) and the possibility of using wireless headphones thanks to the Bluetooth connection with an A2DP profile . According to the technical sheet, this mobile achieves an autonomy of 18 hours of music playback. Of course, that is the duration when the phone does not perform another function, but in our tests we have found that the battery achieves a great performance .

Its 1500 mAh capacity gives us a good margin of maneuver, even making an average use of all the functions of the phone. With a couple of hours of music playback a day and Wi-Fi active during working hours to receive emails on the mobile, the Nokia E71 has endured us between three and four days without resorting to the charger. Of course, receiving and making several calls per day.

Who wants this Nokia E71?

Like any smartphone or smart phone, the Nokia E71 is intended for those who need to carry their virtual office in their pocket , in a device ready to connect to the Internet at any time and work with office files . Professionals and executives who meet this profile will find in the Nokia E71 a very well compensated mobile in the relationship between benefits and price , since it costs 409 euros in free version . That is, if you buy with the financed price and a data plan from an operator, the cost of the machine can be almost anecdotal.

Strengths

The Nokia E71 is one of the most comfortable handheld and transportable QWERTY keyboard terminals on the market . Not only because of its tight dimensions, but also because of the good judgment with which the on-screen interface and direct access buttons have been developed . If we add to this its excellent autonomy, the result is a fairly round terminal.

It can improve

Nokia equips many of its terminals with a universal 3.5 mm headphone connection, but for this Nokia E71 it has chosen a much less widespread standard: the 2.5 mm minijack . On the other hand, getting used to dialing numbers on the keyboard requires more practice and skill than usual .

Data sheet