Last week Wednesday Nokia unveiled both the E66 and E71, the new additions to the ESeries business phones portfolio, which incorporates quite interesting and attractive phones such as the E61i and E65. The latter device is the one which comes the closest to a non-business phone in terms of looks, but with the new additions, it's all about to change.

The E71 is standing in the line which separates business phones to entertainment devices. It's such a beautifully crafted phone that it suits any kind of person. Even if you are not a businessman and want to use a full QWERTY for "IMing" and texting you would go for the E71. Nokia has got it all right this time.
My first impression when I saw the E71 live in front of me was of extreme surprise. I never thought it was possible to squeeze a QWERTY keyboard in such a small space. I was more impressed because I had a E61i with me, and the difference is astonishing, as it's visible in the picture below.

One might think that it's impossible to type with such tiny keys, but the keys are rounded in such a way that you press the right key all the time. Of course, with the E61i it's much easier to type, but its dimensions are very different from the E71's ones. Just for the record, the E71 is the world's thinnest QWERTY device at 10mm thickness. Typing is made easier with Intelligent Auto-Completion, which completes your words as you type, but it's very slow at the moment. As it's a new technology, it should improve along few firmware releases. It's very useful for typing, even on the computer with a large keyboard, as OpenOffice has the feature.

It's not only advantages when it comes to smaller phones. The display is smaller on the E71 with 2.36” display, whereas the E61i has a 2.8” display. The resolution stays the same at QVGA (320x240).

As it is visible, the phone is quite shiny, which makes it glossy, which makes it prone to fingerprints. This had to be included as a way of making it look less serious, and more fashionable. It was a good choice from Nokia, although these kinds of materials have been for long criticized by us bloggers. I still do oppose the use of extremely glossy surfaces in phones, but in this context, the idea makes sense.

The battery remains the same BP-4L with 1500mAh, which is enough for such a phone.

The camera has been upgraded to a 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus and flash, from the E61i's 2 megapixel camera. I took quick camera captures at auto mode, and as we are aware of, cameras with autofocus do not perform well in close-up mode unless you select macro mode. As I said, the mode was automatic, and the E71's camera performed poorly, just like the N95's camera.

From left to right: E61i, E71, N95. Below in the same order, but in an extract from the full resolution pictures

A small detail which is missing from the phone is the call reject function when you flip the phone. On the E66 the function works with the ambience light detector, when the device "sees" it's dark, it will reject the call as it thinks that you flipped the phone over. Now that I'm thinking, perhaps the Nokia representative gave me the wrong information as if this was the only way to enable flip-to-reject, the phone would reject calls in your pocket. A big thank you to Ricky Cadden from Symbian-Guru for indirectly reminding me of this.

In terms of connectivity both devices have Bluetooth, but the E61i has the v1.2, while the E71 has v2.0 with EDR. The devices also have WiFi b/g, and 3G, but the E71 supports HSDPA at 3.6mbps.

The E71 has the very-much-needed GPS with A-GPS functionality, with a 1 year free navigation licence, and Maps 2.0 installed.

There are plenty of software changes on these ESeries. One of them is the smooth transitions, and the other is the "Switch" which turns the device from a business phone to a normal day-to-day phone. It simply changes all shortcuts, wallpapers, etc. It's almost like having two E71s.

The other software addition is the phone lock which is hard wired to the device. Apparently there isn't any way to erase or find out what the lock code is, and even if you flash the phone the lock won't disappear. This is an addition to the encryption functionality of the new Eseries, the other functionality is encrypting the entire phone memory. I'm worried if you lose the lock code, what will you do? There should be a secret question, just like for your email.

Email is also one of the highlights of these phones. There quite a lot of shortcuts on the active standby that allow you to configure and set-up your emails in quick and easy steps. There are over 1000 email service provider settings saved on the phones which will save you quite a lot of hassle.

For web browsing there are two modes: you can choose to view the pages in WML, as in a WAP browser, or as in HTML, as a desktop browser.

I don't have the phone with me right now for review, so I can't give much insight. I leave you with the press release. The E66 will be covered in an upcoming post.

Nokia unveils new E71 and E66 multimedia computers optimised for personal and professional email

Johannesburg, South Africa – At a press conference at Africa’s business heartbeat, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, Nokia today announced the local arrival of the new Nokia E71 and Nokia E66 – the latest offerings from Nokia’s Eseries product range. Both stylish devices support email accounts from over a thousand internet service providers around the world, and corporate email solutions such as Microsoft Mail for Exchange and Nokia Intellisync Wireless Email solution

General manager for Nokia in South Africa, Matthia Nalappan, believes the new devices are a perfect fit for the connected South African consumer. “The Nokia E71 and Nokia E66 devices are designed for people who lead a mobile lifestyle and want quick and easy access to their personal and professional email. People need email to be mobile, whether it is for private or professional use, and the E71 and E66 deliver superbly.”

One-touch access to email

The Nokia E71 and Nokia E66 come fully equipped for easy-to-install and easy-to-use professional and personal email. People who use Microsoft Exchange at work can access their email using the Mail for Exchange mobile email client, which comes pre-loaded with the Nokia E71 and Nokia E66. Users can get reliable real-time access to their email, calendar, contacts and tasks, as well as being able to download attachments like Word, Excel, PowerPoint or PDF files directly to their devices.

Built for businesses of all sizes

In addition to serving entrepreneurs and smaller businesses, the Nokia E71 and Nokia E66 also come fully equipped with a robust suite of enterprise grade features, including a built-in encryption function for both the device memory and for the memory card. Both the Nokia E71 and Nokia E66 also include integrated mobile VPN support that gives mobile professionals access to their company intranet, and device lock and wipe to protect corporate information. Incorporating underlying technologies that allow IT departments to effectively manage security settings, corporate applications, data and advanced voice features, the Nokia E71 and Nokia E66 expand the range of Nokia Eseries devices that support enterprise-specific deployment.

Always entertaining

The Nokia E71 and Nokia E66 support the latest Ovi services including maps, music and media sharing that power users expect from a top end multimedia device. This includes fast and seamless browsing with HSDPA or wireless LAN, Assisted GPS (A-GPS) and Nokia Maps for navigation, a music player with support for up to 8 GB expandable memory and a 3.2 megapixel autofocus camera.

Premium design inside and out

With a stainless steel case, etched graphics available in two colours - grey steel or white steel and a full QWERTY keyboard – the Nokia E71 bears the hallmarks of Nokia quality and craftsmanship. The cool metallic finish is complemented by the bright colour display, which showcases the Nokia E71’s simple user interface. Designed for both one-handed and two-handed use, the Nokia E71 pays special attention to ergonomics with its narrow shape and specially designed keypad.

The Nokia E66 offers a premium look and feel with its stainless steel accents and smooth sliding design. Sharing the same key features as the Nokia E71, including an enhanced calendar, contacts and customisable home screen modes, the Nokia E66 offers unique additions like an orientation sensor that automatically adapts for portrait or landscape viewing, or silences the device when it is turned over. Available in grey or white steel, the Nokia E66 leaves a lasting impression.

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