The Nokia E71 is one of the best smartphones on the market, and this has been proven by its immense popularity. With attractive stylish looks, an awesome set of features, great performance and affordable cost, it’s hard to find a better business phone. It’s not without its faults though, as a slightly undersized keyboard and display keep the E71 from reaching total perfection.

Like other Nokia E-series phones, the E71 has been designed to satisfy the needs of the corporate and business community, however, it looks so great average consumers can’t help but be drawn to its sleek beauty. The E71 is an extremely thin device that is still able to house a full QWERTY keyboard, as well as a massive set of features.

There’s a good chance you would never have come across a smartphone as stylish as this one. The Nokia E71 is only 10mm thick; that’s 1cm! It’s hard to believe something so minute could be so substantial, as it sits so comfortably in your palm, yet gets all of your business needs done with ease. It may be small, but its glossed metal coating makes it feel as though it’s built tough and solid. You may have to watch out for fingerprints on that shiny metal finish though.

This is not an uncomfortable keyboard to type on, but the keys are a little bit smaller than those on some competitors’ handsets. The Nokia E71 has rubbery keys that prove to be tactile, but they’re a little bit squished together, and a couple rows of letters are too close to the edge of the mobile’s casing. However, new additions like the home, contacts, email and calendar shortcut keys are well received, as are the five-way navigational pad, call keys and selection buttons, which when used together result in a quality user experience.

One negative aspect resulting from having such a compact handset is the smaller screen display size, but it does the job well nonetheless. It’s not as clear a picture as the BlackBerry Bold's screen, but it’s doubtful you’ll ever come across a BlackBerry this size.

Running the now famous Symbian S60 platform, the Nokia E71 comes packed with all the business functionality you’ll ever need. You can read and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint docs, plus have the ability to view PDF files. It does all of this with great speed; essentially this is the Lamborghini of smartphones. All of your applications will open and close instantly, even if you’re running several simultaneously. There is a need to mention the menu screen could look more aesthetically pleasing, but you can download numerous Symbian themes to combat this issue.

The Nokia E71 is a total whale when it comes to functionality. Those pedantic, critical and cynical analysts will come away satisfied, as there’s HSDPA connectivity, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. You can use the Microsoft Exchange Server, plus personal email accounts like Yahoo! Mail and Gmail. Unlike some other phones around, setting up these email accounts is simple and easy. All you have to do is input your name and password to automatically search for the necessary settings. It’ll only take a few minutes to get going. You also get a GPS receiver and a Nokia Maps application to keep you from getting lost on the way to a meeting.

One especially effective feature on the E71 is the switch mode that swaps you back and forth between business and personal modes. You have the option to edit various settings such as enabled applications, themes and notifications, and then you can swap between the two modes. For example, you can block all access to personal email and tools while you’re in work mode.

The Nokia E71 is a business smartphone, so its multimedia functionality isn’t as good as other entertainment-based handsets. Videos look quite good on the E71’s screen, but it’s a little small to be used on a regular basis. It only has a proprietary 2.5mm headphone jack, so you’ll have to buy an adaptor if you want to use your favourite pair of standard headphones. You receive a 2GB microSD memory card in the box, and as multimedia here isn’t top-notch, it’ll probably suit your needs.

When you surf the internet the Nokia E71’s browser does support Flash animation, which is a real bonus, and navigation is of high quality even though there’s no touchscreen involved. You’ll be able to browse websites like Facebook and YouTube with relative ease. The Nokia E71 is definitely a formidable choice for smartphone enthusiasts.

Pros:

-    Excellent, slim and attractive design
-    Full QWERTY keyboard
-    A plethora of features
-    Switch mode function
-    Speedy interface
-    HSDPA, GPS, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi capable
-    Great tools for voice, messaging and productivity
-    Outstanding battery life

Cons:

-    Display screen is slightly undersized
-    Keyboard keys are a little squished together
-    Menu could visually look better