nüvifone™. The navigation phone.
- Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 40 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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20 out of 20 people found this review helpful
4.5 stars
"Great phone but not perfect: Full Review"
Pros: Wireless G, bright screen, VOIP, push email, solid design, bluetooth
Cons: menu layout, media functions, customizability, lack of 3G camera
Summary: As a business phone, the Nokia E61 gets an A- for being fast, powerful, and (reasonably) simple to use. The tools included have replaced my need for a PDA and mobile phone, which is great because who needs that extra bulk anyways?
In-the-box:
- Nokia E61
- User manual
- AC power adapter
- 64mb Mini-SD transflash card
- CD-Rom with Office Tools Suite
- Earbud/mic headset
As a multimedia phone, it disappoints a little. Mainly because of limited software options, not because of performance issues.
The built in wireless-G with VOIP support makes this phone very accessible, however, I myself am a power user and still felt a little uncomfortable at first when setting up the networking options. Business users will also notice IP-telephony, and IM networking options that they can plug into at their office.
The main problem with the E61 is that Nokia needs to take a better look at how they have the options and settings menus setup. It is not as intuitive as most would hope. Many options have to be centrally configured from the Tools folder, even though most of the applications you access are outside of it. The average user might find it a little frustrating, BUT, the manual included is very clear and easy to follow. In addition, the in-phone help and tutorial guides provide much support to the new/average user. Certainly these issues can be cleaned up with a simple firmware update from Nokia.
Others users that have complained about the menu system, I agree with for the most part, except some things are much more simple than they lead on. For instance, deleting messages does not require you to go through menus and submenus as some complain. Simply press the backspace/delete key and select 'Yes'.
The screen, in a word, is amazing. Colours are vibrant, crisp and most importantly, text is easy to read. Digital photos I've stored on mine look great in the viewer.
Web-browsing is functional, and compatible with all websited I frequent. Unfortunately, it is a barebones browser, with little options for adjusting layout views and navigating.
Audio quality is top notch, given that it's made by Nokia after all. Volume goes very high, and the speakerphone module included is strong as well. Music also sounds good through the speakerphone as well. Users can even select their favourite mp3's from the 64MB mini-SD card included as their ringtones. There is also a voice-recorder application that can be activated on the side button below the volume toggle.
I can't really say much about video at the moment because the included RealPlayer media player is very limited in terms of the types of files it can play. Nokia should invest some time into creating their own in-house application that uses a wide range of formats.
The keyboard has a good tactile feel and is a breeze to use when writing e-mails and text messages. Unfortunately, those with larger hands and fingers may find it difficult to use at times.
Battery life is good but not great, it can handle a little over two days without charging with phone calls here and there and wi-fi internet browsing. Obviously, use of the wi-fi card is going to be a great battery drain.
Nokia has decided to keep the E61 as a business phone and opted out to include a digital camera component. Although in the future perhaps it would be wise to at least include a video-calling lens in the front for 3G calling, which the symbian OS already supports.
As a side note, I should warn users that for the most part, most camera phones before adequately and genuinely below the standard expected of regular point-and-shoot digital cameras. For example, the new Nokia N80 touts a powerful lens (for a cell phone) but I can still take better pictures with my handy Pentax Optio S6 under any conditions. Camera phone technology has simply not been perfected yet, and one day I hope it will but for now, I would not consider the E61 not having a camera a great loss. Users who want a good camera in their phone should wait for the Sony Ericsson K790i or K800i( /w 3G video call support) to come out later this Summer.
Other than that, to reiterate my earlier point, the E61 works fantastic as a business phone. Some users may balk at the shortcomings in terms of multimedia options at play, but when it's time to work the E61 truly shines and gets the job done in style.
- 1 reply to this review
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This is a good phone but it as a serious battery charging issue that Nokia could not resolve.
Basically When I plug the phone into the charger, it?ll charge for a little while?30 seconds to 10 minutes?and then beep and say ?Not charging.? If I unplug and replug the charger, then it?ll charge for a little while longer, but I have to keep doing it over and over again to get a full charge.
Please do a search on the web and you will find that I am not the only person that has this issue.
Base on the experience I have, I would not recommend you to buy this phone.
Nokia E61 (Unlocked):
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