Nokia E71 review

Other apps include useful if minor additions such as a calculator, currency converter and Adobe Reader 1.5 LE. None of these are astonishing in themselves, but it adds up to a good suite of software the moment you start using the E71. Naturally, there's full Java support as well.

Performance

We also love this device's sheer speed. The 369MHz ARM processor is more than enough to make the Symbian S60-based operating system race along and we were never left staring vacantly at the screen, waiting for a task to complete.

Another point in the E71's favour is its battery life. We used the device intensively over three days - far more than anyone would in general - and it just kept on going. Under light use it will easily last a week, and we'd expect a life of three-to-five days for most people.

That's astonishingly impressive for such a slim phone, especially as it includes battery-draining technologies like GPS, 3G and WLAN. And, unlike the much-lauded iPhone, you can replace the 1,500mAh battery with ease.

Snap happy

As an entertainment device, though, the E71 certainly falls behind the iPhone. Though you can expand storage by 8GB via the microSD slot, the music player is very basic and many people simply won't find it loud enough.

The 3.2-megapixel camera is also a little disappointing, with average rather than stunning image quality. You won't be blown away by the detail capture or natural colours, nor by the amount of noise in low-light conditions, but at the least the maximum resolution of 2,048 x 1,536 means you can print out at A4 without horrible compromises. Should you wish to.

It can take video too, but these are again best thought of as snapshots - if that. With a maximum resolution of 320 x 240, they look their best on the E71's screen rather than back on the PC. But by "best" we don't mean anything special - the video stutters a little and there's clear compression. This is reflected in the file size: a 15-second video, recorded in MP4 format, consumed just 833KB.

A little unpleasantness

So the E71 isn't perfect. And our biggest complaint is a familiar one with Nokia phones: the fact it won't charge over USB. This problem is compounded by Nokia's proprietary connector for both the power charger and the USB connector.

People switching over from Windows Mobile will also be unimpressed by the need to install yet another piece of software - Nokia's PC Suite - rather than just plugging the phone into a USB socket. This is one of the few advantages a Windows Mobile device indisputably holds over the Symbian and BlackBerry alternative.

Conclusion

Are these weaknesses enough to put us off the E71? Absolutely not. Few people buy a phone like this for its photo-taking or music-playing abilities, and the proprietary connectors - while annoying - are issues most can live with.

Its ability to handle email, make calls and handle day-to-day office chores is much more important, and this is where the E71 excels. Add the brilliant battery life, and it's no surprise it wins a place on the A List and a Recommended award.

Author: Tim Danton