- 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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6 out of 6 people found this review helpful
4.5 stars
"Great Phone - Buy it, you won't be disappointed"
Pros: Screen, connections, keyboard, solid design, VOIP, battery life
Cons: Menu layout, no camera, price (although it's worth it)
Summary: If you're like me, you are surfing the Internet to find out as much info as possible on the E61 especially user generated comments. After doing my research I decided the E61 was for me and it's one of the best technology investments I've ever made.
First, let's set the record straight. Most of the people that left negative opinions just didn't take the time to learn how to use the phone. For example, comments like "10 steps to delete an email" (only take 2 steps - highlight it and press backspace key), not being able to select WIFI (select "always ask" in the setup and you can choose WIFI or any other connection anytime you go online), Applications running in the background using battery power (hold down the menu button and all active apps display and can be exited out of by pressing the backspace key). Issues like hanging and freezing just haven't happened to me. I suspect it's because people have downloaded incompatible software or they just got a bad apple.
Positives of the phone include the most flexible connections available in any phone today. For business users, it's good to know that you can always be in touch. Additionally, if you lose connectivity, the phone will automatically switch from one connection to the next available connection (ex. WIFI to GPRS).
The screen may be the best available in any phone today. With 16 million colors the screen is vibrant, bright, and text is easy to read. You will be amazed at how great your pictures and video look.
The keyboard is the best available in a blackberry style phone. The size of the phone makes it possible to have larger keys (Other phones like the Treo have keys that are too small for me to type comfortably). The keys also have a good tactile feel. Unless you have huge fingers typing won't be a problem on this phone.
Nokia is known for quality and this phone is no exception. Audio quality is excellent, the speakerphone is great and the volume can be turned up loud, battery life is incredible (I've gone up to three days without having to recharge even when using WIFI and numerous applications). Also, the design is solid with metal parts instead of plastic. The phone just feels good in your hand.
I believe that web browsing on any phone today is functional at best and not a truly satisfying experience. However, the E61 has one of the better browsers available. It's compatible with all the sites I have been to and the thumbnail viewer and history functions make it easy to find what you're looking for on a particular web page.
All the usual suspects are available and good on this phone: bluetooth, upgradable memory (hot swappable 2GB), and media playback. Music playback is very good. Video playback is good but can be enhanced with third party apps.
An added benefit is VOIP. I love this app which lets me make free or discounted calls over WIFI (must have a third party VOIP provider) but it may not be useful to everyone. It's also highly useful for business users if you have IP Telephony in the office. Setup can be confusing.
Also important to me is the ability to download popular window documents (word, excel, powerpoint) and adobe attachments. However, the E61 goes a step further letting me edit the document as well (not adobe). For the business user, this can be critical. You will lose some of the formatting but this makes the phone unique and very powerful. You can also do presentations from the phone with a cable connection or bluetooth.
Getting to the "meat" of the phone is the email capability. After you setup the email function (which can be confusing) the E61 is one of the most powerful units available. I have several accounts that I easily access daily. The phone supports POP3/IMAP and supports multiple push email solutions. The phone is second to none in this category.
One of the great pluses for the phone that no one has talked about is the ability to get advice, info, etc. Although it's true that US providers will not give you support for the phone (true of all international unlocked phones), it's easy to get help from other E61 users. People love the phone so much it's has an almost cult like following. There are 17 blogs that I know of (go to www.e-series.org first) where you can get everything you need to know about the phone.
The setup issues that others have had I didn't go through because of this resource. For example, I found out that Nokia has a configuration resource online. So I just went to the website from the hyperlink on one of the blog sites, input my phone type, carrier and number, and I received a text message which I simply downloaded and it automatically set my internet, email and SMS settings. These blogs also give excellent advice about tips and tricks, third party apps and accessories.
Now the negative. The menu and setups can be confusing. As others have stated, it's not intuitive and it will require some reading and experimenting to get a full understanding of everything. The phone has so many features it takes a bit of work to become versed on the phone functions, menu layout, keyboard shortcut, etc. However, the manual, phone help, and online resource like the above mentioned one do come to the rescue. Take my word for it, once you take the time to learn it, the phone will reward you.
Some people complain about the Calendar and To Do apps not being able to give the same level of detail as Outlook and other Palm devices. Also, you lose some Outlook info when syncing to your phone. This is true but there is are a few third party apps that handle this problem (check out Payprus).
Another ding is the price ($360 and up). Although, I think the phone is worth it, it could be cheaper. I believe the reasons are: the phone is not available in the US at retail (ex. E62 is much cheaper thanks to Cingular - but no WIFI), and it's an unlocked international phone that's in demand.
Last is the lack of a camera. This is not a big issue for me but it would be helpful for Nokia to at least offer it in this device. Instead they offer the camera in other E-series phones. The one perplexing thing is the phone has a video call feature but no camera. Someone has to explain that one to me.
Overall, it's an excellent phone and I highly recommend it to anyone.
Nokia E61 (Unlocked):
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