Nokia E71 : What I didnt like

I was on the lookout for a Nokia E61 upgrade and when the E71 first showed up at sites like e-series.org and engadgetmobile, I was thrilled. So I got myself one, soon as it was available and soon as I could afford it.

Connecting it to the Mac for iSync and using as a tethered modem was as easy as expected.

Get the compatible iSync plugin from Nokia

The E71 looks drop-dead gorgeous and works amazingly well too! You will find tonnes of reviews of this phone on the net, so I am just writing what I am missing, after having a two year stint with the E61.

*) When making a call the ‘Loudspeaker’ function is not enabled until the called phone starts ringing. Its really annoying. On my E61, I would often dial a number, immediately put it on the loudspeaker and wait for the other person to pick up the phone.

*) I miss the first bracket keys and the exclamation key was better on ‘Q’ than on the ‘?’ key. I could type really fast on the E61′s expanded keyboard layout, but no more! In short I really really loved the keyboard layout of the E61. Please give it back to me.

*) There’s something with the font of the OS. Somehow, it seems to be taking a lot of screen real estate. Even setting it at smallest doesnt seem quiet right.

*) the QuickOffice 4.x.x that comes with the E71 doesnt support charts and graphs, a feature I miss terribly from the the E61′s spreadsheet program.

*) GPS is a fun feature that I have been toying with. A more detailed review of that soon. I tried Nokia Maps, and in two different locations, I saved my locations. Then I asked Nokia Maps to show me the way. It was bang-on accurate for most of the way except towards the end it asked me to take a steep left, which left me baffled, since the left would have taken me AWAY from my destination, which I could see was some 200 meters straight in front of me!

potpourrie

Skyfire mobile browser up for public beta…

…but unfortunately only in the USA

sky

Nokia Maps uploader alternative

Nokia Map Loader only works on Windows, needs .net framework, and if you add a new map the map loader deletes all your existing maps so you’ll have to download them all over again.

But you don’t need Nokia Map Loader. This site links to all maps on Nokia’s smart2go server. Works with any browser on any operating system, including Mac and Linux. No need to install anything on your computer, so it works when you’re in a hotel, school, at work, or in an internet cafe.
If your phone talks WiFi or 3G you can add and update maps from your phone’s web browser without even touching a computer.

You can download maps for entire continents, individual countries, or individual regions within some countries. Download sizes range from one megabyte (Gibraltar) to over a gigabyte (europe or america). You’ll need a 4 GB card to fit the entire planet. Map coverage for western countries is quite good, maps for commercially less attractive parts of the world tend to contain lots of white space.

Yahoo! search for mobile..

Yahoo! now offers a search shortcut for Nokia phones.

Make search the first thing you see with new Yahoo! oneSearch shortcut, a faster way to access search on your phone. Press one key and you’re ready to search for anything — from local information to sports scores or flight status. You’ll get all the information you’d expect from Yahoo! oneSearch, with a single touch of one key. Yahoo! oneSearch shortcut will become the mobile service you rely on to get you where you want to go. 

yahoo search 

Enable Google Contact Sync without an iPod touch or iPhone

Fantastic post at LifeHacker