I’ve finally gotten ahold of the Nokia E71 NAM, and had a few days to set it up and play over the weekend. I’ll be putting together a full review, but until then, I wanted to, as usual, give you my first knee-jerk reactions, followed by a look at how the handset tackles various common uses.
If you’re still not aware, the Nokia E71 NAM offers a QWERTY keyboard in the traditional candybar form factor. A 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus (sort of) and LED flash is on the back of this smartphone, and a microSD card slot and microUSB port keep things connected. Quad-band GSM (850/900/1800/1900MHz) and dual-band WCDMA (850/1900MHz) support for AT&T’s high-speed 3G network pair nicely with WiFi for data and calling.
First off, this thing is stinkin small – MUCH smaller than it looks in pictures, and much smaller than you would imagine. It’s also mind-bogglingly thin. All in all, a really killer hardware package. The build quality is rock solid, typical of the Eseries, and the keys all give a very nice tactile response.
Unfortunately, once you power the E71 on, the honeymoon is over, and you’re greeted with those horrendous grey default icons. Honestly, I wasn’t even able to look at the phone until I’d changed those to something more manageable. I’ve found that the icon pack from Flahorn looks really close to the old default icons, and will be on the hunt for more themes using those icons.
Overall, priced at less than $450, the E71 is really a rock solid purchase, specifically if you’re looking for a US 3G S60 with a QWERTY. Those panting after the mythical US 3G E90 (doesn’t exist) should DEFINITELY look a little closer at the E71, that’s for sure.
So, what questions do you have about the handset that I can answer as I give this baby a good workover? Is there anything specific that you’d like me to check out? Leave them in the comments and I’ll make sure to answer.
