Customer Reviews

Nokia E71x Phone, Black (AT&T)

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I've had many cell phones over the years and this phone is the best I've had yet.

I had an LG VU before this one and I loved the VU's capabilities as an internet device because of the full touch screen. However, I found myself using java chat apps on it and the touchscreen was not that great. Plus, I needed a better way to get my work e-mail than using the outlook web access.

My wife saw an ad for this phone on a web site and we visited a store to check it out. I played around with it for 25 minutes in the store and decided that I had to have it. The build in web browser is far better than I expected and was used to. Pages render well and navigating them is far easier than most devices I have used. The full keyboard makes it easy to enter in search terms, addresses, and even full messages on forums.

Installing Opera Mini creates an excellent experiance as well. The only thing missing is flash support.

For java applications, it works perfect, although now I am finding that there are a ton of Symbian S60 apps available that run far better and far faster than java apps. Using instant messenger is super easy and combined with the multitasking ability, I can be chatting in IM and talking on the phone with my bluetooth headset at the same time.

Syncing my work e-mail with this phone was a snap. I just installed the Mail for Exchange and put in my username, password, and server address and all of my outlook contacts, calendar items, and e-mails instantly showed up. This was far better than what had to be done for blackberry (it costs extra if there are more than 1 blackberry phones in an organization and IT has to install server software!).

I'm really surprised that no one has mentioned the camera. This phone has a 3.2 MP camera on it with flash. The color is amazing for a cell phone and pictures are clear.

This phone comes with a data cable and sync software can be downloaded for free. The software installs easily and allows you to install applications, sync your contacts and address book with outlook (if not using exchange server) and also make a backup of your phone should something bad happen.

Call quality is great to excellent. I can hear people very clear and they can hear me just fine and say I sound better than my VU. Signal strength has been as good as the VU if not a little better.

The GPS, while not super fast, is great. Combined with the free google maps, it does exactly what I need it to do and I didn't even know I would use it.

Now on to some of the bad points:
The battery life kind of sucks. I have to charge it EVERY DAY. As you have read, I am a power user, so I am constantly using it. I am always on IM, twitter using Gravity, and my phone is constantly syncing with the exchange server. Not doing all these and you may have better luck. I keep my charger at my desk during the week and charge it before leaving for the day and have to recharge it by noon the next day. The charge comes home on the weekend so I will be buying another one...

I ran out of memory pretty quick with all the stuff I put on it. So I bought a $15 2 gig memory card. I haven't come close to filling that yet.

This will definitely be my phone for a very long time.

P.S. I have a family plan and had no problem buying this phone.

First off, I have to say that I am a long time diehard fan of Nokia phones. In fact, I have never owned another brand. I am totally loyal! They take a beating and last forever. They have exceptional call quality and clarity. They are durable and biult to last. Never once had a problem with any that I owned.

Typically I don't like the Blackberry style phones, however, this is a Nokia we're talking about! So I had to get it. It was time to replace my 6682 anyway. I had it for quite a while. I tend to keep my Nokia's for a while because I become so attached to them and they just never die!

I love the E71x! Very easy to use. The WiFi is great! Buttons are a little small, but I am sure I will adapt quickly. The selection of ringtones is great - funny too because they have a few on there that are actually sung by a female voice lol. I love that the casing is made of stainless steel - adds to the durability. The lcd screen is a decent size. If you like a full screen like on the iPhone, you might not like this one, but I don't have a problem with it at all. After seeing it online, I thought I would be disappointed with the screen size, but it turns out it is just right. Plenty big enough for me.

The phone is slim, but a tad heavy. Nothing to complain about though and I believe the weight is due to the battery. I love the sleek black finish on it. It does gather fingerprints easily but they are easily "polished" off using a cloth. A microfiber cloth is great for this... kinda like the ones you use for eyeglass lenses.

The buttons feel good when using. The back casing snaps on and off easily and feels secure when doing so. This one actually latches very well and has 2 push buttons to release it.

The feature list is complete and useful. All functions process fast too! My 6682 always seemed a little sluggish at times, however I still loved it just the same. I wish this E71x had a sliding case for the camera like my 6682 did. I absolutely loved that feature! There was no chance of damaging the lens, getting dust in it, etc. The camera on this phone, as with all Nokia's is great and includes all of the features/settings you could ask for. I truly believe that Nokia phones have the best cameras. I have messed around with bzillions of other cell phones and I just have never found one to rank up there with Nokia phones in regards to any features, wether technical or physical.

I have only been using my phone for 2 days now, but I have tested all of the features and "played" with it extensively and I have to say that I am totally happy with my purchase and would recommend this phone to anyone. It will appeal to business users and "regular" users as well. In fact, my 15 yr old son who likes the full screen touch screen phones w/slide out QWERTY boards actually said "Whoa! That's nice!" when he saw my phone. He does not like the Blackberry/Palm phones either. He was quite impressed and also played with it for a while.

I am not a business user, but I do like to have all of the features as I do find use for them from time to time and it comes in handy to have them. I use all of the multi media features though and always use the camera/video features as primary camera. I text a TON and also email quite often from my cell phone. Like I said, this phone will appeal to the business user as well the non business user.

Definitely a 5 star phone in all regards!

Now, I am just waiting for Krusell to release a leather case for the E71x. Their cases are the best! I buy one for all of my phones and all of my family's phones. They fit perfectly and totally protect all surfaces of the phone while allowing full functions while the case is on. Highly recommend Krusell as well!

Edited to add: In case anyone is interestes, the Krusell case for the Nokia e71 also fits the e71x perfectly. I don't know why I assumed it wouldn't since they are both the same size/design. I got my case and my Nokia is snuggled inside it :). I could not be any more happy with either purchase!

UPDATE - I do have to admit that the battery life on this is on the short side. It pains me to find a complaint with this phone, but I have to be honest. All my previous Nokia's we able to go DAYS without charging. I charge this phone everyday and sometimes twice a day. I have gotten in the habit of plugging it in to charge each night when I go to bed. It seems to charge more slowly than my previous phones too. I am not sure if it makes a difference or not, but my other (Nokia) chargers always had the "rapid charger" claim in the name .. this one doesn't. I also plug it into the car charger during any and all car trips, no matter how short, just to get a little extra charge on it.

One final peeve, as someone else also has mentioned, you cannot dial by letter; for example 1-800-SEPHORA .. you have to dial the actual numbers because of the qwery keypad. That really threw me off when I wanted to call Sephora lol. Just something to keep in mind. Hopefully I won't run into too many situations where it will be an issue, but it is soo much easier to dial 1-800-PROGRESSIVE than to memorize the number lol. I guess anyone who already uses qwerty phones will already be used to this issue anyway.

All in all, I still love the phone. Those things aren't enough to change that. It is a beautiful phone! :)

Oh, one more thing.. I am also on a family plan.

Background,

I am a librarian and a very patient person. Through my work, I support engineers, chemists, scientist, physicians and attorneys. One of my professional functions is to work with the IT group to design end user interfaces and train end users new database products. So, I am not technologically challenged.

If you buy this phone, become familiar with these Nokia e71 blogs as well as the Nokia website. You may want to read up on it here first. [...]

After receiving the phone, I showed the E71X to some of our non-IT techie professional types. I just handed them the phone and did not try to prejudice their views. Most were Blackberry users or IPhone users and said that it was not very intuitive and the screen was very small. They all commented that there was a steep learning curve just to be able to use all the functionality.

I could use all the functions on my boyfriends Blackberry and on my friends Apple IPhone without picking up a user manual. Compared to the Blackberry or IPhone it is not user friendly at all. The phone is way too complicated for the average user. I also believe that AT&T does not support this phone well. I've only found one support person at the local corporate AT&T store that is extremely familiar. He has an E71X and loves it. But he has been trained on the phone and uses it himself.

I consider myself an early adopter and will patiently learn new applications and work through issues. I ordered the phone May 18. After having the phone for one month, I am in agreement with others. It has a lot of functionality for the freebie price on Amazon, if you have the time and inclination to work through a steep learning curve.

I believe that most of the problems I had are related to the AT&T software applications and the screen "theme" because the unlocked version E71 carries high marks.

Negatives

Headphones:
A non-standard 2.5mm instead of 3.5mm headphone jack (remedied by an aftermarket radio shack $9.99 headphone adapter or from an Amazon 3rd party seller). An EE friend who is quite good with technology said that some of the headphones sold by AT&T for use with the E71X do not provide stereo. Take the E71X into the store with the adapter and try the headphones before you buy. A cheap headset that works is the plantronics MHS213. I'm looking into the Sony earbuds that will work with the above adapter.

Screen size:
The screen size is too small -- not enough real estate space. No fix.

Screen theme:
The screen is not well organized and is cluttered. I would like to easily remove unneeded application icons. The only option that I know of is to uninstall the application. [...]

FRING vs SKYPE:
I hear that others on the BLOG have been able to make it work with FRING but I was unable to make the E71X work with SKYPE and most of my overseas friends have SKYPE.
This may be the AT&T E71X software. One blog said the developers are working on a SKYPE application.

Locked vs. unlocked:
If I were to purchase this phone again, I would buy the unlocked version E71 and pay the difference and hold off buying until Nokia supports SKYPE applications. The unlocked version has a different software load and software can be downloaded easily from the Nokia site.

Positives:

Nokia support:
Through the Nokia website, the online support engineers are very knowledgeable and helpful. Someone usually gets back to you within 2 days by email.

Storage:
The E71X will hold a 8GB of music or files and you can buy memory cheap on Amazon. Amazon is currently selling the "Transcend 8 GB Class 6 microSDHC Flash Memory Card TS8GUSDHC6". Transcend's micro SDHC Class 6 memory cards work with your cell phone, game console, GPS, cameras and other portable devices. Your phone doesn't need a class 6 memory card. It will actually work with a class 4.[...]

WIFI:
The e71X works in WIFI locations. You need to know the WEP key info. Easy to set up.

International SIM:
E71X can work with an international SIM card if you can get AT&T to supply the unlock code. Shortly, I will be working in the Middle East and am hoping that I can at least use the phone at WIFI locations and with the international SIM card. AT&T quoted me $2.49 per minute to use this phone in Qatar in addition to my domestic contract.

Push Mail:
To use the phone overseas, I will have to pay for every e-mail in my inbox that is pushed through unless I have AT&T turn off the e-mail push feature. That is a minimum of %59.99 extra per month for additional GB storage and the domestic unlimited data contract I purchased does not apply.

In retrospect, I would pay the diffference and buy the E71 unlocked.

svoebel

Length:: 8:02 Mins

Pros:
*Wi-Fi: Take advantage of your own wireless internet for blazing fast connections or use a friend's or your company's or a Wi-Fi hotspot at, say, Starbucks
*Syncs contacts and calendar with Google, and syncs completely with MS Outlook
*USB REMOVABLE storage up to 8GB. Replace your memory card as often as you want with various music collections or movies. Your phone can act as a USB mass storage device for dragging and dropping files
*DRAG AND DROP media (music, videos, pictures, ANYTHING) - use Windows Media Player or Windows Explorer or iTunes, but realize you can use whatever you want!
*Bluetooth 2.0 Stereo
*play FULL-LENGTH movies on your phone (e.g., .mp4) by just loading them to a memory card(s) before a trip. (about 3 movies will fit only an 8GB memory card) - use offline mode for airplanes
*browse multiple web pages easily with image previews of the pages, so it's easy to multi-task (multi-surf?)
*Type with ONE HAND - this is why the QWERTY keyboard is more narrow - so you can reach all the keys without needing two hands.
*multi-task with ease - never have to close an application - pressing options displays a list of all your open "windows"
*music player has an EQUALIZER, PLAYLIST ability BUILT-IN, plus visualizations to boot! displays album artwork too. WOW!
*OS has NO LAG - VERY FAST web browsing even for videos [...]
*at&t's THINNEST smart phone - fits into my pocket without adding bulk
*lightweight considering all its features
*can be tethered to a computer (PC or laptop) and used a modem! (useful for power outages or during hurricane season if you have a laptop or UPSupply) via Bluetooth or USB
*3.2MP camera can also do up to an hour of VIDEO...AND it offers many adjustment features plus a self-timer and LED Flash
*download and view office documents such as MS Word, Powerpoint, Excel and PDF

Cons:
*not a touch screen (but i prefer physical keys instead of on-screen ones anyway)
*interface is not as intuitive to navigate (find things) as others I've used including the t-mobile G1
*my package did not include a 2.0 to 3.5mm headphone adapter (but this is very cheap to buy on eBay) needed to use with most headphones
*no letters associated (on screen) for the numbers, so dialing a number like 800-GOOG-411 can be a problem if you can't figure out the numbers (or guess them)

Note:
*GPS location-based services (such as for Google Latitude or AT&T Navigator) will drain the battery, but this is true for ALL PHONES with GPS services, so i prefer NOT to leave this enabled

Bottom line:
*Perfect for business people and tech enthusiasts who do not demand a touch screen. This phone does absolutely everything you could ever expect a phone to do and then some, plus it's stylish and extremely thin. I recommend this phone to anyone who is not concerned with using their phone as a status symbol but more for the purpose of what amazing capabilities and tools it offers them.

Since I don't need it for a family plan, I'll try to review the phone:

1. This is the best deal round on one of the best smart phones around

2. Feel and touch: just go to the store and pick it up, you won't want to put it down.

3. Applications: Great multi-tasking - was listening to music over my Bluetooth stereo headset, while running GPS application and browsing the net in 3G speed.

Love it !

I am a E61i owner. I bought E71x to replace my wife's Palm Treo 750 a few days ago. The quality of build is solid. E71x is a bit smaller (thinner) than E61i with better and well-organized software setting menus (E61i's setting is kind of all over the place). It took my wife about 30 minutes to play around and reconfigured the phone to fit her convenience. It is easy enough to use.

When I download Nokia PC Suite, it is important to "pick" the right phone, otherwise, your PC may not find your phone (apparently, I made that mistake). Also, for the first time, check the phone to agree on updating the service component on the phone from 1.0 to 1.xx(click Yes on your phone and accept the connection when you see "Windows is installing..." screen hanging for a bit too long like several minutes).

After PC suite installation is finished, it is a walk in the park to synch up e-mails, notes, appointments with Outlook. External E-mail setup is a snap, nothing particularly difficult (mostly, same information you need to set up your PC in the office/home).

The reception is amazing (the basic function as a phone). I did not even know my wife was already on the road (usually, a lot noises and breakups with her old phone on the speaker). When she warned me that she was arriving her company's underground parking lot, we kept on talking until I finally asked her where she was. She told me sitting in the car in the parking lot chatting with me.

The display is better than most of the phones I saw in the office. Camera is so much better than my E61i. I took a picture on my lunch in the lunch room and printed on a letter size (8 by 10 I think) through office's color laser and still looked good. The response from the phone is terrific (meaning much faster comparing to my E61i). You feel the good quality on the keypad when you text.

I am just a regular Joe with no particularly strong technical background and this is my 2 cents about this phone.

Really love the phone... easy product to upload all you pics & documents, light weight, easy to upload my personal and work items, etc. I could go on and on about it abou thow easy it is to do, but I am not.

The design is sleek and simple.

Nokia products are made to uphold and this one is. I have been a nokia lover for all phones. And will continue to be until another company steps their game up. I love the fact that the battery cover for this phone is metal not plastic. You will not fail by purchasing this phone. Phone is light weight. fits in you pocket/purse. Camera/video great, easy to text, GPS outstanding, easy to check work/personal e-mails, just a great phone all around.

Can't go wrong with this phone... Nokia gets an A+ with this phone....

I own the E71 unlocked version and this has got to be the best phone out there. In comparison, iPhone has the "cool" factor but in terms of features, the E71 wins hands down. Blackberry has a better email client but if you go with the Nokia email client (in Beta currently), it comes pretty darn close.

In reply to another reviewers comment about not being able to dial by letters, i.e. 1-800-SEPHORA, I wanted to add that it is actually possible and easy to do that. Here is what you do:

1. First, dial the digits. So in the example above, that will be 1800

2. Then, press Shift twice on the phone (second button from left, bottom row - the up arrow). Then press the function key (first button from left bottom row)

3. Type SEPHORA on your keypad. Don't worry that you are actually not pressing any numbers

4. Hit Dial. Here's where the E71 is cool. It will actually translate the letters to numbers!! Try it and be in awe.

And, that my friends, is only the tip of the E71 coolness.

I have had my e71x for just over a month. I didn't return it so I guess the positives barely outweigh the negatives. My recommendation at this point is if you are going to use a smart phone with full ATT data package then get the iPhone (my wife has one so I can compare). If you don't want the data plan and want wifi then the e71x (which allows you to opt out of the data plan and save $30/month) probably is your next best bet.

I consider myself to be fairly tech literate and I find the e71x one of the more challenging pieces of tech hardware I have owned.

Pro:

Wonderful piece of hardware. Thin, solid and works well as a phone. I do not have some of the problems associated with the keyboard that others have reported.

I have experienced very good battery life.

Cons:

The phone software has been severely crippled by the ATT implementation. So many problems I will mention only a few. Others can be easily found with a google search. Major problems I have run into are:

1. Cannot remove unneeded software or screen icons launching the software. These include MediaNet, ATT Nav and Profiles on idle screen. ATT music, cellular video, ATT GPS, Yellow pages, MediaMall, MediaNet and built in games on menu screen.

2. Nokia software updater does not work. Instructs you to contact ATT for any updates. No online way to update phone and without data plan cannot update software or firmware through wireless connection. I will probably need to take the phone into ATT store to update.

3. Many if not most aftermarket software made for the E71 will not install on the E71x.

4. You cannot force the phone to use standard wireless connection rather than 3G (something you can do with the iPhone). What this means is that 3G is the default and if you live in an area with marginal 3G but strong standard wireless you will get a weak 3G connection and will suffer many dropped calls.

5. While there are excellent forums and other resources for E71 users on the Internet when you mention that you have a E71x some forum members will not go beyond suggesting that you should have gotten an unlocked E71 and don't bother them with your problems. Feels sort of like having an AOL email address.

6. I must have received one of the phones with a bad camera. Photos have a blue green tinge making them pretty much useless. I got this as a phone, wifi computer and PDA so not much of an issue for me. Do a google search and you will see this is a common problem.

Bottom line: While this is a beautiful piece of hardware the crippling of software by ATT has pretty much neutered the phone. If you will be using full ATT data plan then the iPhone probably is a better bet and not any more expensive. Only advantage I can see to the E71x is that the keyboard allows "blind" texting which is not practical with the touch screen iPhone. If you do not want the ATT data plan but do want a smart phone then the E71x is something to consider but an unlocked E71 might be less frustrating.

I don't know why Nokia and Symbian entered into this implementation agreement with ATT. It will only hurt their overall brand image and future sales of newer models. I could not in good conscience recommend this phone to anyone but the most tech savvy users.

I have had the previous generation Nokia E62 from AT&T for 2.5 years, and upgraded two days back to the E71x. Just a few notes, I will update this review as I go along.
First off, both phones have similar reception - good at home, really bad at work. I blame this on AT&T since both phones suffer - my colleagues have no issues with Sprint/Verizon. But I resigned myself to another 2-yr AT&T contract because the friends I talk to most are on AT&T, and I do like the Nokia QWERTY phones more than any other brand. [If there was no E71x, I wouldn't have renewed my contract, preferring month-to-month.]

Past that, just the phones. The E71x (ARM11 369 MHz processor) is a definite performance improvement over the E62 (ARM9 235 MHz), which is really slow (numbers from gsmarena.com). A definite plus.
The camera and WiFi inclusions on the E71x are good as well, since AT&T crippled the unlocked E61 by removing at least WiFi from AT&T's E62 (no camera in E61 either). However, I find the pictures soft, not sharply focused, at least in Auto mode. [Update 7/20/09: pictures taken in daylight/outside are pretty good. Just need a steady hand (camera phone IS, anyone? :-) )]

One of the big reasons to stick with the Nokia, of course, is the keyboard. You might want to try it out first*, as the keyboard is slimmer than the E62. I am getting used to the E71x keyboard (even though I have used the E62 for 2.5 years!) Other flaws with the E71x keyboard compared to the E62:
Not sure how to dial alphanumeric telephone numbers; in E62 Chr+letter would bring up that letter (e.g. 1-800-COMCAST). Probably can't do this, as a couple others have mentioned.
Special characters - %, $, =, ", ~, \, _, ', (, ) - no longer hard fn-keys printed on the keypad (Google E62/GSM Arena for a nice picture). Need to press Chr key to bring up soft keypad in the E71x.
No "Ctrl" key, which is useful for copy/paste!! No "Own" key either, though I never used it in the e62.

That's it for now. By the way, Nokia PC Suite is really sweet, even has a "connect to the Internet using the phone as a modem" feature.

Update 7/20/09:
I could use songs as ring tones with the E62 - the song was clipped to ringtone length automatically by the phone. That is not the case with the E71x - songs must be <300 kb. Weird.
Google Maps works wonderfully with the built-in GPS - at least for walking! I am in Montreal as I write, and I have used Google Maps/GPS to find my way around. Neat!

* The local AT&T store had the E71x held down with big clamps which made testing the keyboard impossible. I was about to order from Amazon (like I did the E62), but decided to check out the local 'Shack instead - they were quite helpful, brought a new E71x out of the box for me to test, and I didn't have to sign up for a data plan (except for the first month, due to weird promotional pricing.) Made the extra Benjamin totally worth it.