Nokia E71

The basics

Nokia E71 is a mobile phone from Nokia that makes use of a QWERTY keypad. It has a 3.15 megapixel phone as well as a secondary videocall camera, and it comes in white steel and grey steel. Some of its features include MP3/MPEG4/AAC player, FM radio, calendar, and to-do list.

The good

Nokia's answer to the BlackBerry, the E71 struts its telephonic stuff in the boardroom with a full-blown QWERTY keyboard. It's no chunker, though. In fact its 10mm profile makes the BlackBerry flock look like a family of porkers. We found the QWERTY's thumbability (new word alert!) to be surprisingly spacious for a small phone and ideal for quick message drafting. Downloading emails and web browsing is also fast enough thanks to HSDPA. Business types will particularly enjoy the neat PIM flourishes such as the granny-proof email set-up, homescreen contact search and split-panel calendar. The satnav function, with Nokia Maps 2.0, also works well, while pictures from the 3.2-megapixel camera are smoother than the Bollinger city boy's quaff.

The bad

Our only quibble with the E71 is to do with its looks. They're more bland than spam. That's it. Nothing more to see here.

The bottom line

BlackBerry beware: there's a new business/pleasure mobile in town and its gunning for your pin-striped crown.