(Other participants, please add your Reviews above Roland's or link to your blog post on the Home Page)

Micki's E71 Review

I will post here in stages...

playing around in offline mode before receiving SIM card

GOOD:

• video playback looks and sounds nice
• keys have a nice feel when you click. Feels solid, like you've really pushed a button.
• Menus are pretty intuitive. I played around without checking the manual and was able to figure out the primary funcitons of the buttons. I like the big center button.
• Haven't tried it yet but I'm looking through the manual now and I'm keen on the podcasting feature.
• I'm also excited about the recorder.
• Barcode reader! Is there anything this thing can't do?

BAD:

• keys are small, might just take some getting used to
• I wish phones would allow you to connect to wifi networks without a SIM.
• I put the cd into my laptop (MBP) and it appears to be blank. Is this a mac/PC thing?
• The rubber covers for the ports seem flimsy
• Trying to figure out how to sync calendar and contacts. Went to nokia.com. Looks like nokia PC suite is only available for windows. :(
• After a bit of searching, I found out that nokia has a plugin that makes the E71 compatible with apple's isync. I downloaded the plugin but I couldn't figure out how to make it work. I tried to scan for devices (hooked up through USB, tried changing connection modes on E71) but it kept returning "no device found." I also tried to scan for the device using bluetooth but it still didn't recognize it.  I think this is the biggest problem so far - it's way too hard to sync with a mac. I'm willing to accept that I'm likely missing a step here but it's anything but plug and play.

   

initial impressions (before powering up)

GOOD: 

•  
• small and sleek
• list of features in manual is amazing!
  • GPS!
  • streaming video!
  • radio!

BAD:

• small screen (i'm used to iphone)
• lacks the sexiness of the iphone touch screen
• doesn't get power through USB

Roland's E71 Review

(in reverse chronological order)

Multiscanner

1. Tried it on 2 business cards and it didn't work very well (found first name field only, phone number was recognized though!), I'll try again with everybody's business cards in Helsinki

WorldMate

1. Tried to install it but then it asked for an Access Point and wouldn''t accept my WiFi access point which is a bug

Nokia Sports Tracker:

1. Installed it but screwed up during link to my account
2. So uninstalled it
3. Will install later
4. Hmm Coldn't find the installer on the Nokia Sports Tracker site

Twibble:

1. It's not working, I hate Java Apps (i put in my username and password but there's no prompt for an access point or any indication it's working.
2. It's working but it's slow, not bad for a Java app i guess

Unboxing Impressions:

1. there's a case! and a lanyard but it's a wrist lanyard that i'll never use! I only use lanyards that can go around my neck
2. weird 2.5 mm audio jack
3. weird that a company that's giving us carbon offsets has foam in the packaging  as well as silica gel
4. I plugged it in and started charging and tried to turn it on with the red key but no dice, hmmm, have to read the manual
5. oops, have to put the battery in !
6. Powered up without a SIM (will get Finnish SIM at airport!)
7. #6 means i get the dreaded "Can't Create WLAN Connection in Offline Mode". Nokia please remove this! or only display it once!
8. Screen looks great
9. Trying to set up email (roland@rolandtanglao.com which is gmail account rolandt@gmail.com)
   1. Keyboard is nice, there's an "@" key!
   2. Can't retrieve email in Offline mode?!? "Unable to use network. Phone is currently in Offline mode"
   3. Looking for the APPS key so I can start WLAN wizard
      1. doesn't appear to be one?!? only an N series thing?
      2. Hit "Menu" soft key instead->Connectivity->WLAN wizard->Define Access Point
      3. defined my access point
   4. Back to Email, set Access Point to "Always Ask" for incoming and outgoing to get rid of error message in step #2
   5. Was able to retrieve my email
   6. Testing send an email
   7. Can't get Nokia built-in it to work, stays in outbox
10. Trying Nokia email service beta client instead
    1. configured it properly it appears
    2. but queued up yet again, error -7510
    3. I hate email :-) ! I really do!
    4. Hmm not sure if i was using beta email client or built-in
    5. added same email account again
    6. deleted the other accounts
    7. change to StartTLS port 587 instead of ssl 587, hoping that will fix it! (my bad for getting it wrong the 1st time, i missed that in the Gmail docs!)
    8. and it worked!

First Impressions:

• Love the funky omega power adapter! I want one! too bad I have to return it
• It's my first E Series, it seems more solid than the N series phones I get from the Communicano-run Nokia Blogger Relations Program
• Not a fan of keyboards! But we'll see

• 71 yet.