Nokia E61 User reviews  Editors' choice

By Alex Kidman on 16/08/2006

More Nokia reviews , RRP: AU$749.00

The good:

  • Connects to anything
  • Keyboard is easy to use
  • Good battery life

The bad:

  • Some menus aren't well laid out
  • Joystick input can be touchy
  • No Camera

The bottomline:

What do you call something that looks like a Blackberry, acts like a Blackberry and yet offers a lot more than most Blackberry devices? Nokia calls it the E61.

Editors' rating:

9/10

Users' rating:

8.7/10

Tags:

e | e61 | mobile | nokia | phone | series | smart

Cutler
14/06/2007, 02:51 PM

rating
3
/10

I had this phone for 12 months and although I initially loved it - the quality turned out to be very poor and I've recently got rid of it. Rather disappointing. :-(

Pros: Screen, battery, keyboard

Cons: After 6 months the joystick key failed and would no longer scroll down (So I had to scroll up through menus.
It started to lock up often and took ages to send SMS (up to 1 minute during which time it was frozen).
My initial E61 would not charge and had to be exchanged.
It would not connect to any PC using the sync software provided.
Last month the power button failed and it started turning itself off all the time.
I gave up and it's now in my bottom draw as a spare.

Report offensive comment

Brett
23/03/2007, 03:12 PM

rating
10
/10

i had an o2 xda and gave it away. this has all those features but actually works as a phone!

Pros: screen, phone

Cons: size - thickness

Report offensive comment

pinping
07/02/2007, 12:32 PM

rating
9
/10

Ive had this phone for about 3 months now, and on the whole am happy with it. IT is complicated to navigate the menus, and mine freezes every so often, but it does everything I want, ESPECIALLY sync with my desktop, which ive never been able to get working with other phones, A1000 especially. mine has been updated to newer firmware.

Pros: Mostly reliable, BATTERY is brilliant, email with three is good, and web surfing is excellent.Did I say BATTERY life is brilliant... Love the metal casing. Will definitely buy an unlocked version next time.

Cons: freezes occasionally with new firmware, record button is a pain, but v3 firmware supposedly fixes this. Connector at bottom is flaky.

Report offensive comment

Wolfie
20/12/2006, 01:01 AM

rating
9
/10

E61 has all the Blackberry advantages + WiFi

Pros: Great for business and I can save on free WiFi calls. I registered with www.challengermobile.com and it works really well.

Cons: No camera, but I don't miss it. This is a working tool.

Report offensive comment

IsleSeat
17/12/2006, 10:59 AM

rating
10
/10

Best phone I've ever had.

Pros: Connectivity, battery life, display, solid quality feel, synchronization

Cons: You need to buy it unlocked from third part y sources, since the E61 is not offered in this version by US mobile carriers

Report offensive comment

Santosh
10/12/2006, 07:47 PM

rating
9
/10

Great Phone - Browsing is great - it's almost like a PC in your hands. Display is fantastic.

Pros: Fantastic display
Great for browsing
User friendly.
Wi fi connectivity is good

Cons: Some basic software - like wallet is missing
One touch key to activate loudspeaker missing

Report offensive comment

TechNomads
21/10/2006, 08:42 AM

rating
10
/10

Great phone for a business person

Best phone on the market. Try the Nokia N73, which has better features and better quality!

Pros: screen, user interface, features, 3G, Camera, Sound Quality, Qwerky keyboard, Battery life is excellent. Phone works in WCDMA regions like Japan. 3G services very good but cost can add up. Sound quality from speaker is excellent. Browsing on internet is quite good. Software works very well with Outlook. Music sync software works well. Has Bluetooth which automatically connects to my car hands free kit. Sound quality of phone is excellent. However, if volume turned above 5 bars (about halfway) the person on the other end of line will hear an echo whenever they are speaking. Loudspeaker function seems to get rid of this problem. Very cost effective device compared to other PDA phones. Finding wifi hotspots is easy using the inbuilt WLAN finder. It shows whether the WLAN is locked and the strength of reception. Comes with free Worldmate software for travellers - very useful. Opens word documents with no problems.Cons: Wifi range isn't as good as I though it could be, though it isn't bad. Email service with Three network is a bit limited - you can't set filtering rules. Also once connected to an imap server via auto retrieve, there is no timeout so battery can be drained somewhat. Does not come with a cradle for the phone. Limited software support. Won't play youtube videos due to flash software being older version. (Flash Ver 1.1 I think is shipped with unit, ver 2 will play but is not available for e61). Although email headers are delivered automatically, I seem to have to manually retrieve the email content (could be a Three network phone issue). If there are any email attachments, these have to be downloaded again. You can create a 'To-do' item but there doesn't seem to be a place where you can make notes about the item.

Cons: Size, Wifi range isn't as good as I though it could be, though it isn't bad.

Report offensive comment

Lloydie
15/10/2006, 01:36 PM

rating
9
/10

Powerful phone, PDA

Overall, for the price and features - this phone is a BARGAIN. I was recently in Japan, and making local calls there was a breeze. I also roamed there with no issue. You can text anyone in Australia by sending a text to their Aussie number. Sending an email also was not a problem. The phone has great battery life and once I found a free wifi spot, could do a bit of web surfing and updating of worldmate. Worldmate software is great for currency conversions and weather forecasts for day trips and planning your holiday generally. I love this phone. I'm glad I bought it and it has met my expectations. I didn't realise you can buy a GPS unit for the phone also. The GPS could come in very handy if you are travelling a lot. However, I didn't test this function of the phone.

Pros: Battery life is excellent. Phone works in WCDMA regions like Japan. 3G services very good but cost can add up. Sound quality from speaker is excellent. Browsing on internet is quite good. Software works very well with Outlook. Music sync software works well. Has Bluetooth which automatically connects to my car hands free kit. Sound quality of phone is excellent. However, if volume turned above 5 bars (about halfway) the person on the other end of line will hear an echo whenever they are speaking. Loudspeaker function seems to get rid of this problem. Very cost effective device compared to other PDA phones. Finding wifi hotspots is easy using the inbuilt WLAN finder. It shows whether the WLAN is locked and the strength of reception. Comes with free Worldmate software for travellers - very useful. Opens word documents with no problems.

Cons: Wifi range isn't as good as I though it could be, though it isn't bad. Email service with Three network is a bit limited - you can't set filtering rules. Also once connected to an imap server via auto retrieve, there is no timeout so battery can be drained somewhat. Does not come with a cradle for the phone. Limited software support. Won't play youtube videos due to flash software being older version. (Flash Ver 1.1 I think is shipped with unit, ver 2 will play but is not available for e61). Although email headers are delivered automatically, I seem to have to manually retrieve the email content (could be a Three network phone issue). If there are any email attachments, these have to be downloaded again. You can create a 'To-do' item but there doesn't seem to be a place where you can make notes about the item.

Report offensive comment

joselyn.rozario
29/09/2006, 11:21 PM

rating
10
/10

A must have business phone with all the edges for a travel freak

Report offensive comment

Darren Larkin
14/09/2006, 12:03 PM

rating
10
/10

Best smartphone ever made

Pros: Extremely user friendly - particularly email, SMS, and contacts. Excellent features, many unique. Navigation with joystick is surprisingly easy - would find it very hard to go back to a stylus. Great value for money compared to other smartphones. This is my 3rd smartphone (previously Palm Treo 650 and O2 XDA) and I have also had various PDA's, however this is by far the best I have ever used.

Cons: Limited software available - bundled calendar is very basic. Software developers seem slow to release compatable software.

Report offensive comment

  • Leave a comment

All fields marked with * are required

What do you think

Rate this product:

Need help? Read our guidelines for what each number rating represents.

Your e-mail will not be displayed

You must read and type the 6 chars within 0..9 and A..F

You must read and type the 6 chars.

  • Vodafone 3G upgrade delayed to 2009

  • MWg: There's a new phone in town

  • BlackBerry Storm 9500

  • BlackBerry Storm finally official

  • Oi!: Rock out with your tech out

  • 50 significant moments from internet history

  • Megaphone #1: Your monthly dose of mobile

  • OLED, 3D displaying the future

  • Best free Windows Mobile software

More articles »

Find the right mobile phone

Brand
  • Multiple options can be selected

    Membership benefits

    Contact community members

    Contact community members

    Add friends or tech gurus to you contacts and send them messages. Sign up for a free CNET.com.au membership now!