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!
