We were getting kind of tired of slab QWERTY phones before we saw the Nokia E71. The Motorola Q9 and Samsung BlackJack II didn't add much to their predecessors, and both seemed to be moving in the wrong direction in terms of design. This week, at the Digital Experience show in New York City, we finally got our hands on the Nokia E71 and we were frankly shocked to see such a sleek, slim design from Nokia. Nokia is known for well made handsets, but not so much for inspiring design. With the Nokia E71, however, Nokia has created a very tightly constructed device, with great keyboard and the slimmest body on a QWERTY phone.
The keys are all individually raised, and the plastic material from which they are made seemed grippy and clean. It is bordered in chrome, which catches the eye as much as it attracts fingerprints. Oh well, such is the price of beauty. Like the Nokia E66, the phone runs a business-focused version of the Symbian S60 operating system, with an enhanced calendar app and some other nice business features, including ActiveSync Exchange support.
The model we tried was running on AT&T's fast 3G HSDPA network; it's one of the rare Nokia devices to support American 3G bands. The Web browser was just as good as we've come to expect from Nokia's devices, as was the bright, colorful screen up top. In fact, the screen was so clear we almost wish it had some touch capabilities, but we'll have to wait for that. Nokia Maps opened and ran smoothly in our tests, though we obviously couldn't get an A-GPS fix indoors.
We'll have a full review of the Nokia E71 shortly, but in our experience so far, the design seems like a winner. Huge things are happening on the Symbian platform right now, so it's a good time to follow Nokia, as the future could be interesting. Unfortunately, no carrier support has been announced for this phone, which means it will be for sale unlocked without the benefit of carrier subsidies. Quick checks showed pre-order prices around $600, which would be unfortunate because American audiences have been gravitating toward lower-priced smartphones. Still, we're curious to get our hands on a review sample for a longer look.
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