Nokia E71 (2008)

Good – A great phone and considering it came out in 2008, I think there is a couple of years left in it. There aren’t many current phones out there that are as good (especially in the price bracket). I paid $150 for a second hand one in pristine condition, and still in warranty. A bargain. In short, if you are looking for a phone to use mostly for… Read more

calls & emails with a bit of Web browsing then this is an excellent choice. It has a lot of features, excellent battery life, looks stylish & very well made. Its a decent choice and glad I bought it. As I do IT support, I needed a phone that I could play with and test online apps, emails, browsing etc. This way I could test various apps (particular Exchange & IMAP email for clients). After searching reviews and reading Newsgroups this seemed a reasonable pick. I didn’t want to spend a fortune on a HTC or Iphone etc.

I should note, For those that want a phone for Web browsing and reading the news etc then this isn't for you. The screen is a tad small.

It has all the email options one could as for, whether it be POP, Exchange Server or IMAP. It’s a surprisingly smallish phone considering it has a full keyboard rather than touch screen. I like this as it makes for speedier typing of emails etc. Basic web browsing works fine (however being a small screen, & doesn’t fully support adobe flash, I wouldn’t be relying on it for research. That’s what a PC/Notebook is for!

Call quality has been great, loud and clear. Speakerphone acceptable and could hear in the car. It does have Bluetooth so could be connected to in car systems (supports most).

The built in GPS is great and supports Nokias FREE Ovi Maps. Overall there are plenty of free apps that work well on this unit. You can check Nokia’s OVI site for a list. Google Maps do work on this unit however No Voice directions (that I got working) and it does require a Internet Signal whether it be WiFi or 3G.

Battery life is excellent and can last up to a week. Mine only makes it around 3 days (older battery). This is still a lot better than most current smart phones that require daily charging due to their Big touch screens. I also use Skype & VoIP without issues, through both Wi-Fi & PacketData (3G). There can be a bit of latency when using VoIP though 3G but that comes down to signal and location.

It was also nice to see that the Firmware/Software is still current & decent support from Nokia to a large community of users online more than willing to help out. Small screen so not suitable as a Media player or a lot of Browsing.

Small keyboard so if you have fat fingers might be awkward?

OVI Maps doesn't show St numbers (but does bring you to correct).

Doesn't support a lot websites that utilise Adobe Flash (but then don't buy if you want to do a lot of Web Browsing).

GPS can take a few mins to kick in. But hey, Maps are free forever

Love my Phone – In this case the pros outweigh the cons, I Love the fact that I can be on facebook, google information, check certain websites while I'm out or shopping like eg: to check out reviews on a product while shopping or in the car while DH is driving to shops of course lol. Can hook my phone to my netbook to go on the net. Love that! Slight problem with… Read more

this phone is that it's a bit slow to turn on and slow to load especially having a full memory and sometimes freezes. But other than that it's a perfect little phone. I've also dropped it a couple of times and it has still survived *touch wood* After reading reviews on here about the Nokia E71 I brought mine cause my biggest problem has been if phone has been dropped to many times then the screen (like my old phone)or something in phone stops working. So far with this phone I haven't had that happen yet and I've had it for 10 months so far so good. Can surf the net, has Wi-Fi, Memory card, Inexpensive now to buy, does most things an Iphone does, Can hook to pc/laptop to surf the net instead of looking at a small screen on phone all time especially if you don't have internet access at home save on bills that way. Solid. Bit slow on start up and loading, sometimes it freezes so have to restart the phone

Good – It is feature packed phone from Nokia and quite improved over its previous alike model E63. The biggest upgrade being the 3.5G support, in-built GPS and upgraded 3.2 MP Camera. There are some attractive cosmetic upgrades as well. You no longer require to search for a case, thanks to the elegant and custom fit case provided in the box. Side… Read more

volume buttons, metallic back cover, thickness reduction, additional "/" button in the keypad.

Personally I consider the 2.5mm audio jack in E71 as a downgrade from 3.5mm of the E63, but for many people it may be vice versa.

The battery is identical for both the phones.

There is a barcode scanner in E71, which apparently uses the phone camera but I have not been able to use it really so won't comment on it either.

E71 gives me a more robust feel as compared to E63 and I love the 3.5G (HSDPA) allowing me to browse and access mails much faster and the GPS allows me to use Nokia Maps and Goggle maps extensively (for the maps you need to go online).

The thing I hate about E71 is that it sometimes goes sluggish and benchmarks your patience. Sometimes it consumes up the battery much faster so you need to watch out in leaving your apps open and running. It warms up on prolonged usage.

An excellent phone for those who prefer real keyboard than the touch keyboards. People with broad fingers might dislike the keypad but then the buttons are in "bulging out" formation, which eases the use. QWERTY keyboard

Sleek (in comparison to E63)

Metal back cover

In built speaker

3.2 MP camera

3.5G Support Sluggish at times

Warms up on long usage

2.5 mm jack

Decent full-featured phone – This is a handy little full-featured phone. It does just about everything a user would want in a phone. However, people who use their phones as personal computers for heavy web browsing and other non-phone-related tasks may prefer other phones. I upgraded to this from a much older Nokia 5140i. The older phone was actually significantly faster… Read more

than this one! In this one, doing just about any action on the phone takes about a second or more. This is a nuisance when you want to do something quickly.

The camera is also not very good. The quality is poor when you zoom in; it might use digital zoom, so I think it would be better if you couldn't zoom at all or at least if it didn't save the photo with the horrible digital zooming applied. Turning off the flash doesn't work; it still happens anyway. The auto focus often doesn't work, and you can't manually focus.

Like with other Nokia phones, the menu structure is complicated and it can take a while to find what you're looking for in it.

The phone is also a bit heavy in your pocket, which can be annoying. It's probably light compared to today's phones, though.

If you use the phone at night-time, the screen is quite bright, even on the lowest brightness setting. This might not be a problem for some people, but if you want to use it at night and also want to take care of your eyes, it can be a possible problem.

The phone also includes the free Nokia Maps. This is a great feature; having a free GPS on-hand can be really useful. The phone is quite slow to figure out your location when compared with a normal GPS, but it still works fine. This functionality adds a lot of value, since GPSs can be a bit expensive, and other phones may require subscriptions for GPS services.

It also has built-in VoIP support, which I'm glad about. It works for me, but it was significantly difficult to set-up. If you get any settings wrong, it doesn't tell you what you did wrong. It just gives generic errors like "Unable to connect to connection network".

The built-in web browser was decent, but I ended up using Opera Mini instead when possible since it's quicker.

It supports Exchange ActiveSync, which I've been using to successfully synchronise my Outlook.com calendar, tasks and contacts.

It has working e-mail support. It works fine, but it doesn't support push-based message delivery. It supports some automatic e-mail checking functions, but they caused my phone to almost completely freeze, so I consider them unusable. An alternative to the built-in e-mail support is Nokia Mail. It provides push-based message delivery, but it passes all of your e-mails through a Nokia server, and it had some other problems.

The phone's been dropped several times and survived without a problem. It seems durable against that sort of thing. However, once I put it in my pocket without its cover for about half a minute, and my car key scratched the screen. It seems that the screen scratches extremely easily, so make sure to keep the cover on before putting in a pocket or handbag.

I liked the full Qwerty keyboard. I found it easy and efficient to use. This surprised me, because I had previously thought the keys were too small for convenient use. I don't think it's as easy to type accurately without looking when compared to a normal 9-key arrangement with T9, though.

I have also found its built-in multilingual translation dictionary useful. It's not comprehensive, though.

Viewing long SMS messages has a minor problem in which scrolling up and down always scrolls by several lines, which makes it hard to track where you are up to.

I've contacted Nokia's customer support for help troubleshooting non-trivial problems, and the support was not helpful. The staff didn't seem to know the phone as well as I did, and they only seemed to know how to fix very basic problems such as user errors.

The Nokia Store application is extremely slow to use, so I find it more productive to instead browse the store using the built-in web browser.

I've noticed that a lot of modern phone applications are not available for this phone; they usually seem to be provided for Android and iOS phones.

In summary, despite the various minor problems I've pointed out, I'm quite happy with this phone because it has a lot of useful features that I use and it generally works reliably and intuitively. Full-featured, Qwerty keyboard, free GPS, Wifi, VoIP, Exchange ActiveSync, e-mail, web browsing, durable, reliable Slower than older Nokia phones, camera not very good, complicated menu organisation, screen bright at night, poor customer service, problems with automatic e-mail retrieval, screen scratches easily, VoIP very difficult to set up, store app is extremely slow

Great phone – OK, this is not a phone like the iPhone or Android, but it's still a smart phone, with some very cool apps. It has good battery life and all the good features. Lots of features, inexpensive, energy efficient no not a phone for playing games

Good – great little phone for the price, heaps of applications and relatively easy to use (eventually I had to read the instructions) Once you get it all working it's easy to use. Easy to connect to wireless internet good choice of down-loadable applications. Gps is good, free updated maps etc. keyboard can be a pain with big fingers, takes a while to sync with gps

Good – This is a great phone and quite reliable. It lasted me a good couple of years without drama, however recently stopped texting for me. However this seems to be a glitch with my sim as it now works fine for my mum. This is one of the better Nokia smart phones, with a lot of great features. It has a full keypad, which is great for texting in a hurry.… Read more

The screen is quite large and it surfs the net quite well. The battery life is by far one of the best features of this phone, lasting up to a week without charging. Definitely good if you use your phone a lot. Nokia now has its own app store now too, with the Ovi store. The camera is quite low in resolution so not a good replacement for a normal camera.

Good – The Nokia E71 is a very sleek phone that delivers great performance. It was a little bit expensive at the time of launch but today you can pick one up for less than half price. This phone comes with everything you need in a phone. It also has good battery life and comes with wonderful connectivity and strong performance. If you are looking for a… Read more

good value for money phone that doesn't feel cheap. This is the one. Best slim design from Nokia. Nice feelings body. Great features. Long battery life. The best of all phones in Nokia E serie. Cramped keyboard. Quite pricey at launch.

Excellent – Another great nokia product, could do everything the iPhone 4 could do back in 2008. Great solid build and seems to live up to my thoughts that Nokia makes unkillable phones. Lots of great free apps and is expandable up to 32gig of disk space (despite the specs only stating up to 8gig). Another great product from Nokia, they haven't let me down… Read more

yet! Perfect Multitasking capabilities, Great Wi-Fi, Symbian OS, Solid build, Expandable up to 32G of memory (despite specs) 2.5mm audio out (rather than the 3.5mm) , cramped keyboard

I have a white one and I love it! – The keypad was easy to get used to and I can txt very quickly. I have customised mine using themes and downloaded ringtones. And I have downloaded a couple of apps and some music. It has wifi and 3g for the internet use and checking emails. Also has Bluetooth which connects it to my car hands free system. I love this phone and I will be keeping it… Read more

as a second phone when I upgrade. Battery seems to last forever. I think I recharge once a week maybe twice if I’m making a lot of calls. I can't think of anything.

Battery Die very easily – The phone has been used about 8 months. and the battery is poor! I have to recharge it everyday. Tried to get a new battery same problem occure. however i do like the keyboard (well I know this is not the only model in the market. Camera is ok, nothing special. but the price is very attractive tho Keyboard Battery life

Good – I really like this phone.. not having to use predictive text is really very handy! You can do just about everything with this phone (some cool apps) and it's actually great to make and receive calls with! Qwerty keyboard, gps, email, internet features it turns itself off quite suddenly and processing can get really slow

Excellent especially its price – Needed something that was easy and in the nokia brand without the big price tag and this mobile is great. The big screen is an added bonus and the functions and keyboard are super easy to navigate. Cheap price with lots of functions, easy to work, big screen, camera. Slow start up if battery runs out and/or if you turn it off (I rarely do)

Good but has flaws! – This phone is quite good, works well, however does not have all nessesary applications and functions that would be useful. For what I am payin on my plan, this is a good phone. Design - sophisticated. The keyboard is great! easy for texting! Great little light in the middle which tells if a text message or a missed call has come through, without… Read more ·  2

having to touch the phone. it flashes at you! contacts take a while to appear when pressed, the camera is average quality, and the ringing length is absolutely terrible. I can never reach my phone in time, and there is no way to change this.

Excellent – I love this phone! it has every program needed, or the programs are easily downloaded. Easy to use and navigate. Highly recommend! - Slim - Qwerty keypad - Has all features needed in a phone

Good – overall very good product , affordable price with quality with all the important accessories needed that you can get with a more expensive phone. great for multi-tasking , loud and clear speaker , easy to find music , images ect.. camera could be a bit better.

OK – It's generally good, but it’s boring in web browsing. But it has a good battery with an accepted camera resolution. Cheap price and good battery life very big with a small screen, so it's boring in web browsing

Good – This is a very good camera, not too heavy and with excellent features. A reasonably priced alternative to Blackberries and IPhones. The keyboard appears quite small but is surprisingly easy to use even for someone with big fingers who can't touch type! I really like the GPS and wireless internet capabilities of the phone. Internet… Read more

application works particularly well using Opera mini. The screen is good but being plastic it scratches very easily if not covered. Glass screens would be a lot better. Mine lasted for about 1 week in my pocket before being badly etched with fine sand (I think). Good capabilities: GPS, good camera, keyboard, excellent wireless internet easy to scratch glass cover

Bad – A really average phone with average features in comparison. I would recommend buying another equivalent phone. You wont be able to download and install any other applications that arent made by Nokia or you will get errors. Battery life is dismal. Sluggish performance when using it, menus not easy to navigate. VERY frustrating to start using,… Read more

bearable once you get used to it. Nice looking, Slim Bad battery life, Cant get new applications, Freezes, Slow, Frustrating to use, Very user unfriendly, counterintuitive. Dont buy.

Excellent – It's speaker function is good, it's buttons are good. It's applications are good. I wouldn't want to part with it I have been waiting for a phone that is smart but not a touch phone so this was it for me! I think it works great Sometimes it looses where it's at and freezes, and when that happens.. it can take its time coming back.. if not I've got… Read more

to open the case, slip out battery and put it back together as the option of turning it off doesn't apply in this limbo state.

Excellent – I've had a black berry and I'd say this is just as good. It does everything I need and syncs itself with my PC without a problem. I'm hopeless with technology yet have managed to set this up without any help at all. Would recommend this to anyone needing a phone and PDA. Cameron is pretty cool as well and very easy to use, send, edit, etc. … Read more

Great phone. Love it. Small and stylish and easy to use. Love how easy it is to set things up. Keyboard is great. Hard to find some symbols on the key pad. Battery life varies a lot between usage.

Excellent – I think this is a great phone if you're after value for money - it's currently at a very decent price, as the e72 and what not have been released. It has all the features most people need and good looks too! Fantastic features - has internet access, a decent camera, mp3 player (a GOOD mp3 - unlike my last sony ericsson), a nice interface, it can… Read more

play gba games, your music, a text msg AND take a call at the same time and it loooks snazzy! NOTHING. But that's probably because i got it really cheap :) If you have fat fingers, it's probably not the phone for you.

Excellent – I love my phone so much. It is so easy to use. Extremely easy to message with (I send A LOT of messages) I love how it can connect to WLAN networks, so that when i am at home I connect to the house internet so that it doesn't cost me anything. Just last night I updated to the Ovi store from the old software and I love it! Awesome free games and… Read more

apps. I was considering upgrading to an I-Phone but the Ovi has given me a new found love for my phone. I go through a lot of phones and get over them quickly but this one I have had for about a year I think and I still love it just as much as ever! QWERTY Keyboard, very easy to use when you get used to it, slim, stylish. Overall great phone My phone seems to not get reception sometimes, I'm not sure if others are like this but when it is in my pocket the reception goes away until I take it out sometimes. I told Optus about this and they gave me a new sim which has not fixed the problem so i think I will go back to them

Excellent – Nice, I do not regret this purchase. Its been a great bit of gear so far. The OVI store is good also for further apps and tones. Solid. Metal Case. Easy to use with a massive depth of standard features. The GPS maps are fantastic The software is not entirely big free. Mine "hangs" occasionally however it has not done it since updating the phone. Keys are a touch on the hard side to use

Good – A high quality phone full of all the features you look for in a phone, stylish design and user friendly interface. Overall a great phone at a reasonable price Slim and stylish phone design, easy to email, message and browse the internet. GPS compatible and is very easy to use to transfer files between a computer and the E72 Keys are fairly small… Read more

and close together, so if you do not have skinny fingers this can be a problem. Fairly small internal memory

Good – I love this phone, it works great has all the features you would expect and more. The only issue i have is the phone will reset itself at times and just lock up. I think this is more of an issue the the operator firmware that is installed rather then the phone itself. GPS, Design, Next G compatiable, push email, PDF viwer, bluetooth Key close together, phone locks up,

Good – A high quality phone much worth the consideration of one looking to buy a new mobile phone, a great PDA although a little complicated, but still a superb phone for a great value QWERTY keyboard, ease of use in most areas, the user can simply transfer files to their computor, slim design, handy apps, interestingly advanced features, email,… Read more

excellent sound projection, all for a reasonable price lighting in camera could improve aswell as as the camera (mainly vedio) itself, sometimes complicated/confusing feaures, needs more straight forward shortcuts, not very much memory

Good – I love how the E71 is so sleek and with so many features packed into its tiny package, and yet the interface is still so user-friendly. Nearly everyone in my family uses an E71, but with so many ways of customising it, none of us are able to use the others' phones! I've used many phones that were designed to sync with the computer, but this one… Read more

does it quite seamlessly.

I'm very happy with this phone, though you DO need to get used to the keypad. Overall, a good buy! Sleek design; sharp LCD screen; near limitless customisation options. Sometimes spontaneously resets; picture and video quality is very poor.

Good – now I have a Nokia E71, as long as I feel comfortable wearing. with a touch QWERTY keyboard allows me to write a message or anything. However, with the heavy, big and poor camera quality, makes me feel less comfortable have a QWERTY keyboard, great design, thin, and nice big body, and the camera have less quality

Good – A really great phone, easy to use, keeps up to date with all the technology needed. A simple way to keep up to date whilst on the go, check your emails while running errands. It is a really great smart phone. One touch of a button and you are reading your emails. Very easy to use. I connect it to the internet via wireless access at home (or… Read more

out and about via hot spots

It took me a little while to get used to the qwerty key pad for texting, but it is far superior then the standard numerical ones. With my old phone I used to be able to send text messages whilst talking on the phone, not able to do it with this phone, but not a huge deal.

The photo quality is not the best, but not really a problem for me as the phone is not a selling point for my use.

Excellent – I have the white/silver Nokia E71 an I had this phone since January 2009. One of my all time favourite phones. I got this phone mainly for it's qwerty keyboard and design. I like the blackberry smart phones for it's design but they're too pricey so this phone is a great cheaper alternative. I will be using this this phone for some time and so far… Read more

the phone has not left me down. Reliable, easy to use, nice design, great batter life, can connect wi-fi service, decent price (for a smart phone). Slim design and light weight. Camera quality is not that great, no time watch when on a call.

Excellent – I am surprised by some of the negative reviews. I've had my fone for 4 months now, downloaded many extra software and games, and never had an issue. I even downloaded GPS software which has all the current 2009 maps of Australia and works awesome. The software I purchased on eBay for only $29. I love the fone and can see myself using this for… Read more

many years. It syncs nicely with Lotus notes so all my work meetings and schedules sit on the fones calendar. Perfect and works for me. Awesome phone, great battery life and great looks. Non to date and surprised by some of the negative reviews.

Good – Good business phone, it is great for viewing calender appointments and is brilliant to use for texting. Ended up using an Itouch cover which works very well. I also use facebook quite a bit on this phone and its works well. I really love this phone. The qwerty keyboard is fantastic. I love to text and it is so easy to do on this phone. It… Read more

syncs well with my calender etc. Only 3 megapixels on the camera, no smileys. Although in saying all of this, I did buy a business phone so it is too be expected. I must admit Nokia music store is a pain. The cover options are not that great

Excellent – The bad: Menus are a little complicated to navigate. Some flash and graphics sites are slow to load up. (At least is loads up you tube). The good: Light, compact, great design, fantastic build quality. Keyboard and controller pad is excellent. Voice quality is really good and so is the speakerphone function. Has auto email setup function. Great… Read more

price in Aust through the Three network (free on $49 cap and above). I love this phone. After using the E61 for the last two years, this phone does everything the E61 does but does it faster. The GPS functionality is an added bonus plus the camera. Personally, I don't see what the big deal about the picture quality is. I think it is fine for a business phone. I also love the fact that I can Imap this phone to a Google account and receive all my mail. Only slight disappointment is that some websites take a little bit longer to load up but at least you can watch youtube which you can't with the iPhone. This is almost the perfect phone for me. Almost only because of web surfing limitations (but I'm probably asking for a bit too much). battery life is a bit bad, but nothing to complain about i had a htc touch dual.... and this was horrible battery life.

Bad – I originally bought this phone thinking it had GPS (and free). It only worked for 3 days (some sort of a teaser). I could still run Nokia Maps and see my location, search for streets etc, but can not navigate to my destination. The subscription is worth something around $200 per year (exactly why not get a standalone GPS anyways?!). The handset… Read more

I have now is the second (first was replaced within a week of purchase, GPS antenna kept hunting for signal without luck).

The E71 is a good away-from-the-office phone as it helps me read reports, do some quick writeups, and keep in touch via email. Everything works nicely, except for the operating system: it crashes from time to time (hangs, then reboots).

I would recommend this phone only if you are willing to accept those risks. I would say, find another phone that's more reliable, that doesn't get you mad for crashing when you're about to take or make an important call. I thought Nokia made better phones, what happened?

Ah, the previous comment about battery life: it goes on for 5 days between recharges if you just make/receive calls/sms, about 2 if you heavily use the internet, maps etc. Slim, neat looking (specially in white), GPS functionality, qwerty keyboard, plenty of software to install/play with, reads PDF's and Office files, good web navigator Crashes, reboots by itself, GPS requires paid subscription, menus are slow