How about an alternate to the X1 -- the Nokia E71?

Okay, so if you're still looking for a super-cool, full qwerty-keyboarded phone, but are unwilling to part with RM 3,199 of your hard-earned cash, what can you do?

Well, if waiting is an option (I think my M600i can go on indefinitely, actually) then that's the surest way of getting the price down. Give it six months and I'm sure it will be in the comfortable side of 2k.

If waiting is 'not' an option, and you really need /want / itch to upgrade the phone, then how about this...

Presenting the kinda new and not quite hot-off-the-shelf, but still top scoring Nokia E71!

Lets start with what it isn't

• it surely isn't the X1 (duh!)
• it isn't trying to be an iPhone killer
  
• it isn't the loser of a wifi-less, boring and bulky Nokia E60/62 as well!! (I almost bought that, yikes!!)

Okay, before you proceed further, I must stress that this is *not* a touchscreen phone. So if you're looking to touch, poke, stroke and write on a phone, then you can forget about the E71.

If you've made it through the caveats so far... then you're in for the alternate coolness that the E71 can offer! Firstly, lets hear what the critics have to say...

• CNET.UK says the E71 has enough finesse to not look out of place, sitting in an Aston Martin. And gives it a 8.9 (excellent) rating for an almost-perfect phone.

• Allaboutsymbian.com says there's a lot to like about the E71, which it calls a 'miniaturised masterpiece'.
  

• engadgetmobile.com summarises the E71 as as "manages it all with style, providing a plethora of features in a speedy, beautiful and minuscule device"

• Boygeniusreport.com boldly calls it "is the best phone Nokia has made to date"

• Brighthand.com concluded its review calling it "probably the best handset available for prosumers" by taking the iPhone features people want and the BlackBerry functions needed and sticking it into a "package that is well designed"
  

Here are a few shots of the E71 from GSMArena .... if you love the BlackBerry's looks, then you'll find this quite irristable!

Source: GSMArena.com

Source: GSMArena.com

Source: GSMArena.com

And this is what you have inside that slim, 10mm metal-clad body -- Nokia's slimmest phone so far!!

• Quad band, 3.5G (3.6mbps), GPRS (100kbps), Edge (296kbps), Wi-Fi (54mbps) and Bluetooth
  
• 16million colour 320x240 display that still looks clear under sunlight
• GPS receiver with assisted GPS function
• Fullscreen browser, FM radio, instant , Vlan, VIOP
• Stable S60 Symbian OS 9.2 with loads of 3rd party software
• Software included in the package: QuickOffice, Active Notes, Dictionary, PDF reader, Skype.... the list goes on!
  

There is, however, one consistent complaint about the E71 -- its Achilles' heel -- the 3.2m autofocus camera. It seems that Nokia had gone cheapskate with this particular component and put in a mediocre camera -- washed out colours, poor contrast, slow shutter, purple fringing... in short, something not at par with the rest of this phone! So phone snappers... beware this point!

So, with all of the above, wrapped up in a nice, handsome package, and a street price of RM 15xx for 'original' and RM 13xx for grey imports.... one would say this is actually a real bargain!