Well, my colleagues and I are into our 4th week of our collective seeding test and our conscience is that the E71 is a great phone that is (almost) perfect for business. Of the 5 engineers (myself and 4 colleagues) who participated in this test and review of the E71, three of us (myself included) could find no fault with the E71. It handled every task and test we could devise flawlessly. However, my other two colleagues identified what I think is the only chink in the E71s armor, the lack of Blackberry Connect. I don't use BB Connect and so it's absence from the E71 does not affect me. However, my other two colleagues rely heavily on BB Connect and it's absence from the E71, as much as they liked it in every other way, made the E71 a non-starter for them. Unfortunately, to be successful in the US business market, I have to agree with my colleagues. The lack of BB Connect will severely limit the adoption of the E71 in the US. That said, myself, my business partner and one other colleague liked the E71 so much we're all buying the US version (I've actually already taken delivery of mine).
The other question that I wanted to answer at the end of this test is whether the E71 can replace the E90. Prior to the start of this test I had used an E90 for nearly a year and am therefore very knowledgeable of the E90's capabilities. So my answer to the question is yes and no. Yes in the sense that I found nothing that I could do on the E90 that I couldn't also do on the E71. No in the sense that the wide screen and larger keyboard of the E90 makes document creation easier than on the E71. Both the E90 and the E71 are great phones and the market for both phones overlap somewhat. However, the E90, while not a perfect laptop replacement, does a better job replacing a laptop than the E71. However, for messaging, email, and reviewing & revising documents the E71 provides a very stylish tool with which to keep up with business while on the go.
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4 comments:
Hi Mark,
Excellent review. Since the day you announced your plan of plan of reviewing E71 in four parts, I eagerly have been eagerly waiting for the series. Thank you so much to all we your team.
As I'm also seriously considering buying E71, please help me by kindly answering my following queries:-
1.Is the tiny keys and small compact keypad is capable for FASTER TYPING? I mean, is the keyboard inferior/at par/better than other capable qwerty keyboards(like E61i etc) for FAST TYPING?
2. Can I use Nokia E71 as laptop-substitute? While away from home, on the go I want to use my cellphone for FASTER TYPING to take long notes, organise my days schedule, creat and edit documents, drafting and sending and checking a lot of emails with attachments, posting my writings directly to blogs, surfing web, taking occational snaps and small video clips and post them directly to related websites, and for listening to some music.
Will E71 be able to do these works on the go? If not, is there any other better candybar-shaped alternative handheld? Thanks a lot in advance!
psmartk, the E71 has a very good keyboard that is great for testing, emails, etc. As for fast typing, I think with time you could achieve reasonable speed. Whether this would be classified as fast our not is very subjective. I know that my speed increased considerably over the past 3+ weeks. That said, I found that typing anything very long was very tiring. I never encountered this problem when using the E90. While the tactile feedback from the E90's keyboard is no where near as good as the E71, I found typing on the E90 much easier. Also, the camera on the E71, in spite of the fact that it is the same number of megapixels as the E90, does not come close to the quality of the E90. Given the extensive use you describe, I'd recommend the E90. While not a perfect laptop replacement, the E90 comes closer than the E71 to replacing your laptop.
Have u tried using Seven's email solution for Symbian? Could it replace the BB connect? Thanks..Enrique
Great review! thanks.
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