The E61i feels solid even though it sports a slimmer form factor than the E61. Click for more images
It's been over a year since we looked at Nokia's first batch of E series business phones designed for mobile professions. The Editors' Choice Award-winning E61 was also the Finnish phone giant's first BlackBerry contender, a phone with a full QWERTY keyboard and push e-mail in a compact PDA form-factor.
Design
Nokia has made subtle design changes to the E61i, enhancing the back with a sturdier aluminium case and changing the all-silver design by introducing "mocha" (purpley-brown) highlights around the edges. Although it's quite wide -- its dimensions are 117mm by 70mm by 13.9mm -- it's comfortable to hold in your palm and thin enough to slip into a pocket.
Features
Aside from the addition of a 2-megapixel camera, Nokia's upped the battery life to 400 hours of standby and nine hours of talk.
Connectivity options are still extensive, with the E61i supporting quad-band GSM networks and 3G -- great for travellers -- Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and for some reason that escapes us, infrared.
Corporate mobile e-mail solutions such as Nokia Intellisync Wireless Email, Good Mobile Messaging, Mail for Exchange, Seven Mobile Mail and BlackBerry Connect to turn the E61i in to a push e-mail device are supported. There's also the video camera, a music player and a video player for a bit of fun.
Quickoffice and Adobe Acrobat Reader are onboard for viewing and editing documents, and Nokia also includes an application called Teams that lets you set up groups of contacts for conference calls and mass messaging.
Unfortunately USB connections still require a proprietary Nokia Pop-Port cable -- no borrowing someone's spare mini-USB cable if it goes missing.
Nokia's changed from miniSD on the E61i to the smaller microSD memory format on the E61i, with a 256MB card bundled with our review model. It's hot-swappable once you remove the battery cover..
The E61i comes with an onboard 2-megapixel camera. Click for more images
Performance
Nokia seems to have addressed most of the downsides we found with its predecessor, namely a fiddly joystick, lack of camera and the menu layout.
The 2-megapixel camera has quite a shutter lag, but we were impressed with the clarity of low-light shots, even if they were a little noisy.
Battery life with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth switched off was decent at four days during normal use, dropping considerably with wireless use.
One thing we were a little disappointed about -- while it's a 3G phone, Nokia hasn't added support for faster downloads through HSDPA.
If you've got a Nokia E61, there's nothing in the E61i that warrants an upgrade. If you're considering a 3G smartphone, however, the E61i is a formidable work tool for any business user or traveller.
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sohailchat
23/09/2008, 10:50 AM
rating
10/10
Crazy Phone for Teens like me... GOt everything u want in a smart phone...It does make aimpression on others!! --Syed Qadri
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nokia e61i
10/06/2008, 03:14 PM
rating
8/10
Best for me because I am always on my business tours. This is specially for businessmen. Brings best speed of broadband.
Pros: Decent talk time.
Very light.
Detailed menu options.
Very easy to use.
Finger-friendly keypad.
Intuitive menu design.
Cons: Battery timing is so so.
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Aussie Pete
10/06/2008, 11:39 AM
rating
9/10
I upgraded to the E61i from an N70. It is my first smartphone although I have used email etc for quite some time. Excellent unit and very user friendly after experiencing the updated Nokia interfaces. Very good web surfing performance and user friendliness. Key to my needs is a proper car kit and ease of use for which this E61i scores highly. With the Nokia CK7W carkit and CR-83 holder the carkit is covered and with the added bonus of external aerial for country coevrage. Great size and user friendliness versus Blackberry. Blackberry users in my workplace love the Nokia design! Works well with my POP3 email and syncs with IMAP4. Only negative is setting of quotas for inbox which causes tail-end new emails (i.e. after deleting items old emails come in). Phone software updating doesn't work from the site like some otehr Nokia models which is a housekeeping issue - not a negative. It's been a long long time since I bought a piece of technology and was truly impressed - this is it.
Pros: Full car kit with external aerial provisions
Design and looks
Cons: Email functionality and customisation of function but nothing major
Software updater not working for E61i
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Foo
07/06/2008, 03:49 PM
rating
9/10
Just the best phone ever
Pros: Wide screen
Long battery
Stylish
QWERTY keyboard
Symbion OS
Looks
Cons: NO HSDPA
Propitary USB cable
Separate USB cable/charge (USB connectio n does not charge)
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wy
07/05/2008, 11:07 PM
rating
10/10
i have had this phone for just over 6 months and I love it to death! it does everything a normal phone would do + much more. I have had so many compliments about how stylish the phone is as well. I recently switched to 3 and this 3G phone has made it possible for me to send/receive emails with the push of a button and also access planet3 without the need of the planet3 button. Its great and I would recommend it to everyone!
Pros: Stylish, qwerty keypad, big and bright screen, great quality
Cons: its abit slow when loading
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angelo
06/05/2008, 03:54 AM
rating
10/10
love it.this phone is soo efficient, it will last u 20 years if u want it to. camera.video,games,email.wifi,music,expandable memory,and i got a tom tom on it,u just have to buy gps reciever for 25 pounds from ebay....and u got a phone music and video player, camera.navigation device....what else can it do...cook my dinner!!!! buy it seriously worth every penny
Pros: all
Cons: non apart from that its tough exterior doesnt break..but scratches easy..i mean the stainless steel
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jsalton
13/03/2008, 03:24 PM
rating
4/10
If you want to use the E61i phone to sync with exchange, forget it. E-mail is slow and unreliable. Messages can sit in the outbox for hours or days before you notice the little icon telling you it failed to send and is still waiting to send. Sent items are not synced with outlook. I tried RoadSync but that is no better either. Calendar syncing is also bad. You are better off with a WM device for outlook exchange. I had an HP smart phone before and whilst some things in the Nokia are better, I feel much more angry and frustrated with the Nokia than with the HP. Battery now only lasts a day, even with bluetooth etc switched off. I wont buy a Nokia again.
Pros: looks good
good keyboard
robust
Cons: Doesn't sit well with Outlook exchange (this is a show stopper)
Poor battery life after only 6 months
Skinny Nokia charger connector breaks off in the phone
Manual is bad. I still don't know what the @ icon means
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Mack
07/03/2008, 03:41 PM
rating
9/10
I have only had it for a week, but I am very impressed.
Pros: Great PDA phone.
Cons: none so far
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CJ
11/02/2008, 01:27 AM
rating
9/10
Have had this phone since July 2007 and absolutely love its features and functionality. If Nokia wanted, this could be the blackberry killer. Everyone that has seen this phone has stopped to ask about it.
Pros: It's not an iPhone nor is it a BlackBerry. Yet, fully functional and what a terrific OS.
Cons: Limited on-board memory makes it difficult sometimes for the phone to process multiple apps so the phone seems to hang requiring a restart. Also, startup time could be faster. But I am not definitely complaining.
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Vinncced
05/02/2008, 04:07 PM
rating
9/10
she is sexier than Beyonce. Everything you need to look smart. my chick magnet.long lasting battery , interesting to internet brousing.
Pros: corporate look,user friendly, wide screen,different design,
Cons: usb internet connectivity not easy to configure.
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