Messaging Phones Compared - Nokia E71

As probably the world's leading cell phone corporation, it would have been surprising if Nokia had neglected to participate in the messaging phone trend. Having said that, the E71 is closer to a smartphone than anything else in this roundup. Lacking the computing power of the likes of the Blackberries, it sits uncomfortably somewhere between the two genres, and despite being a well-designed, thoroughly usable device, it could turn out to be too professional for the average messenger and too lightweight for the business market.

As far as design and layout are concerned, the E71 is satisfyingly well thought out. Smaller and sleeker than its immediate predecessor the E61, the candy-bar arrangement positions a 2.4 inch screen above a line of dedicated navigation buttons, below which sits the compact, densely-spaced keyboard. This might prove to be on the small side for those with bigger hands, but the small size is somewhat compensated for by the excellent responsiveness of the keys.

The key arrangement is fairly standard, with the numeric keys located centrally and the special keys, including Shift and Control, lined up along the bottom. Sadly, Nokia has made the unfortunate decision to cripple the control key by requiring a simultaneous Function press to make it work. The designers clearly didn't realize that pressing three keys simultaneously on a tiny keyboard requires tiny, double-jointed fingers.

The E71 is well supplied with hardware, although the software selection is something of an enigma. The camera offers 3.2 megapixels and high quality imaging, dedicated hardware controls are provided for volume and voice recording, and a micro-USB port and 2.5mm headphone jack round out the picture. All this hardware runs under the Symbian S60 third edition operating system, ensuring that everything works as it should.

Bundled software is comprehensive by messaging phone standards, if a little light for a smartphone. A selection of venerable and slightly tired applications such as Gallery and Messaging are placed alongside updated Contacts and Calendar software and a cut-down Quickoffice, contributing to the slightly confused feeling of this device by providing a strange hybrid of the bleeding edge, the restricted and the almost-obsolete. Perhaps the most interesting software choice is the inclusion of a licensed version of Kernerman's Dictionary Engine.

Verdict: Quality hardware but an odd choice of software make this one for the Nokia loyalist.

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