e-ignite: Tech

Archive for February, 2009

The Nokia E71 Smartphone

So I recently bought myself a Nokia E71 – the first phone that I’ve actually “wanted” for quite some time. My initial impressions are generally excellent and I’ve enjoyed making good use of it, so I thought I’d put together a review of my experience with the handset. I’ve had it for just over a month, so the experience I’ve had with it will hopefully help you make a decision about the phone if you’re interested.

The Looks
Firstly, the looks. It’s the best looking business phone by far – IMO it looks much tidier than the qwerty Blackberry offerings that are available, most likely to do with how thin the phone is. If you lay it flat on a surface, the screen sits slightly higher than the width of a plastic CD case off the surface. The phone feels thinner than this though, since the camera housing protrudes from the back slightly. The metal battery cover is very nice to touch, although it does get badly fingerprinted with use and this appears to be unavoidable.
From a purely operational point of view, the phone is going to have to last at least 18 months – you therefore don’t want it to look scratched or generally worn. I invested in an Invisible Shield for the screen of mine and I was quite happy to pay a few dollars for peace of mind. Generally, the phone doesn’t seem to be too scratch prone, but the chromed plate on the front where the microphone is does seem to mark. As I’ve said, I’ve had my E71 for just over a month and there are light scratch marks. The metal back, camera lens and sides don’t seem to have marked at all however, so I don’t feel that Full Body protection from the likes of the Invisible Shield is necessary, but if you think that light scratches on the microphone plate might bother you, then I’d recommend buying an Invisible Shield and only covering the screen and plate.

The phone comes with a plastic case to keep it scratch free, however I was extremely disappointed in the one I got. It seems to be made from some kind of pressed plastic with a thin fabric material covering on the inside. Along the opening edge of my case, there is a sharp “tag” hanging off the plastic and I simply didn’t use it because I thought it would scratch the phone. My impression of the case is not good – it’s cheap, plastic and feels pretty crappy. If you think you’re getting a nice case to go with it, think again. If you must have a case with your E71, you’ll need to buy one separately.

As a phone
Read the rest of this entry »