Just Received a Nokia E71: This Thing is a Hot Handset

E71I had a surprise waiting for me from the UPS man today, a brand new shiny Nokia E71, courtesy of the Nokia Blogger Relations program. I have been very excited about this phone, ever since it was announced.

This handset if the update to the ever popular E61i, a phone I’ve written about before. As you can see in the photo to the right, this business-centric phone has a full QWERTY keyboard and office productivity software. In addition, the Nokia E71 features:

  • an updated 3.2 MP camera
  • GPS unit with A-GPS
  • Narrow-sized keyboard for one-handed use
  • Two customizable home screens. For me, I’ll have one for work hours and one for non-work hours (ie, no work email).

Just playing with the E71 for a few hours, here are my initial thoughts:

  • This thing is FAST. No delay when hitting buttons – no thinking about tasks…just instant productivity and access to the phones menus and features.
  • This phone is thin and sexy. It’s about as thick as my RAZR and fits into the pocket very well.
  • Build quality seems solid.
  • E-mail set up was a snap. I instantly had m work Exchange email running along with Gmail IMAP.
  • The Switch application from Nokia instantly transferred my contacts, web bookmarks, and calendar appointments very easily.
  • The screen is bright and vibrant.